The New York Times omitted key information in a piece out Sunday criticizing Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina.
The article, meant to spotlight Fiorina’s "extensive effort" to debunk her "rocky business reputation," seized on a moment from last week’s GOP debate in which the candidate cited a former business rival’s praise.
"Fiorina said a prominent venture capitalist who pushed for her firing at Hewlett-Packard in 2005 had recently taken out a full-page newspaper ad saying that he had been wrong to do so and that she had been ‘a terrific C.E.O,’" Times reporters Amy Chozick and Quentin Hardy wrote. "What Mrs. Fiorina did not mention was that the ad—which cost roughly $140,000—was paid for by the ‘super PAC’ supporting her presidential candidacy."
The Times piece did not mention that the Super PAC Carly for America purchased the advertisement space only after the Times declined an op-ed submitted by Tom Perkins, the former member of the Hewlett-Packard board of directors and the "prominent venture capitalist" whose praise appeared in the full-page advertisement.
Perkins penned the opinion article for the Times in response to a critical piece written by Andrew Ross Sorkin about Fiorina’s business record. After the Times refused his 758-word piece and suggested it be cut by 80 percent into a 150-200- word letter to the editor, Carly for America purchased the ad space so that Perkins’ op-ed would be prominently featured in the Aug. 27 issue of the paper.
"The New York Times ran an op-ed that provided a dishonest picture of Carly’s work and leadership at HP," Leslie Shedd, the press secretary for Carly for America, told the Washington Free Beacon at the time. "We decided to buy the space and display Mr. Perkins’ account prominently in the same paper in which Carly was attacked, so their readers could get an honest take on her great work there."
"In this presidential race, the American people deserve to be presented with all of the facts by the media—not just the bits and pieces the media wants you to know," Shedd told the Free Beacon on Monday. "I hope that all media outlets, including the New York Times, will ensure that all sides of the argument are presented fairly and equally moving forward."
The Times did not respond to a request for comment.