BANNED BY THE 'TIMES': Andrew Sullivan noticed this yesterday, and I wanted to add my two cents. Nat Hentoff weighs in on the "New York Times" blacklist of William McGowan, author of "Coloring The News."

McGowan quotes Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr.'s remark in 1992 that "diversity is the single most important issue" facing the Times ". . . . We can no longer offer our reader a predominantly white, straight version of events." He was right, of course. But the failure to seriously cover diverse viewpoints on issues has led to clear political correctness in the pages of the Times—as in the paper's unflagging support of collective affirmative action that violates the "equal protection of the laws" guarantee of the 14th Amendment. As McGowan notes, Sulzberger has neglected a very important issue of fairness still facing the Times.

As for my personal views of McGowan's book, I'll defer to Jim Sleeper, whose excellent "Liberal Racism" is another must-read book. Sleeper reviewed "Coloring the News" a couple of months ago for the "Los Angeles Times" and had this great conclusion:

This country's vast race industry of activists, consultants, foundation officers, civil rights lawyers and government monitors enhances its funding, job lines and moral cachet by playing up bad racial news and discounting the good. Whatever his mistakes, McGowan is right to argue that journalists should be investigating the race industry, not working for it.