One of my main goals over the course of this semester was to become better versed in the world of opinion journalism and the writers that make up the profession. One of my favorite reads I’ve come across throughout the semester is Farhad Manjoo, an opinion columnist for the New York Times.
Prior to beginning their opinion column with The Times in 2018, Manjoo started writing for The Times State of the Art column in 2014. They’ve also written for the political, tech, and culture Slate magazine, the independent for-profit publication Salon, all the way up to journalism giants such as the Wall Street Journal. In addition to their work at publications, in 2008 Manjoo published their book “True Enough: Learning to Live in a Post-Fact Society,” which, funny enough, discusses and explores the issues of how false information can remain so prevalent in the news and media even after being discredited. I find it funny that this was published in 2008 right at the beginning of most digital news and media, they already had their finger on the pulse of this issue. If only they knew what else was to come.
They’re very active on Twitter, for instance yesterday when Donald Trump surrendered to the New York authorities he was life-tweeting their thoughts and opinions as new information surfaced. However, they don’t Tweet a lot themselves, the majority of their feed consists of retweets of stories or projects they’re interested in. When I searched their name for a blog or a website after their name pops up, my laptop warned me that there was no content and gave me a warning that the site wasn’t secure.
Manjoo’s column mainly consists of technology, global affairs, and culture. What I like so much about them is the fact that they have such a wide-range of topics that they cover under the umbrella of the technology, global affairs, and culture label, all suppplemented by what I think are reasonable arguments, solutions, and opinions. Their most recent piece, “There’s a Much Smarter Way to Take on TikTok,” looks at the potential ban and how it’s unreasonable to sense danger coming from the app simply because it’s a Chinese app. Instead, a higher priority should be placed on protecting American’s data privacy in general from all of social media, including U.S.-based apps and all others. Other opinion columns they’ve written include “Why Alex Murduagh’s Quick Conviction Worries Me,” looks at the dangerous reliance on inaccurate cell phone data that had the power to paint a false narrative that led to this fast conviction. They also wrote a piece in January entitled “Alec Baldwin Didn’t Have To Talk To Police. Neither Do You” which uses the recent incident Alec Baldwin had on the set of “Rust” to have a larger conversation with the public about the importance of having an attorney present when being questioned by the police and not jeopardizing yourself to “be a good person” just because someone with a lot more money and power did the same.
Other publications on Manjoo’s column consist of trying and analyzing new media, like in their piece “My Sad, Lonely, Expensive Adventures in Zuckerberg’s V.R.” where they talk about Zuckerberg and Meta’s misuse of funds in the Metaverse that has made it an experience unattainable to most because of the price and a lonely one for those who can because of how few people currently partake.
Manjoo continues to cover an array of other topics, from animal cruelty, to ChatGPT, to climate change and homelessness in California, Farhad Manjoo is a great opinion journalist to follow for a well-rounded sense of issues happening in the world and sound arguments and opinions.
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