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Chris Matthews: New York Times 'Is Still the Liberal Paper'

May 1, 2018

MSNBC host Chris Matthews said the New York Times is "still the liberal paper" during an interview posted Tuesday about the media and the Trump administration.

Speaking with Edward-Isaac Dovere for Politico's "Off Message" podcast, Matthews described the evolution of some of the major newspapers over his lengthy career in politics and media. Matthews was an aide to Democratic Speaker Tip O'Neill before going into newspaper reporting. He's hosted "Hardball" since 1997.

Matthews said the Washington Post was a thorn in the side of the Richard Nixon administration and would "play down any good economic news," as opposed to the now defunct Washington Star, which leaned conservative.

"The Post has changed now ... It's not as exciting a paper as it was, but it's definitely not ideological anymore," he said. "The New York Times is ideological. The New York Times is still the liberal paper. The [Wall Street] Journal has always been pretty straight in the front pages."

He added newspapers were more straight now as opposed to the polarized cable news world.

"People go to their own sources and their own media, and politicians do too," he said.

He described himself as "center-left," scoffing at conservatives who think of him as purely left-wing.