Editorial: The New York Times’s curious timing in targeting Realtors
The National Association of Realtors (NAR), a bipartisan organization representing 1.5 million real estate professionals, has found itself in the crosshairs of the New York Times.
Just days after the NAR launched an ad campaign praising the 2017 tax cuts for bolstering the housing industry and supporting small businesses, the Times released a podcast branding the group as “nefarious” and a “cartel.” The timing raises questions about the motives behind this latest salvo in the Times’ ongoing crusade against the NAR.
The 2017 tax reforms, championed by President Donald Trump, lowered rates for individuals and small businesses, delivering tangible benefits to realtors and homebuyers alike. The NAR’s ads, which highlighted these gains, were a clear endorsement of policies that have fueled economic growth and homeownership — policies Trump has consistently celebrated, once calling the NAR a “great business” that helps “millions of families.”
Yet, the Times’s podcast, part of a series of critical pieces on the NAR, seems less like journalism and more like a calculated response to the group’s support for a Republican-led achievement.
Republican officials have rightly called out this suspicious timing.
“It’s no coincidence the New York Times is targeting an organization that supports low taxes,” a senior Congressional official noted. A Senate committee staffer echoed this sentiment, suggesting to the Reporter that the Times is sending a warning to any group daring to back tax cuts or Trump’s agenda. Even a source close to the White House didn’t mince words, framing the podcast as the “liberal Times mad about Trump’s 2024 win.”
The irony is hard to ignore. The Times’s podcast urged listeners to distrust real estate industry studies because they’re produced by those with “vested interests.” Yet, the Times itself is no stranger to advocacy dressed as journalism. Its repeated focus on the NAR — through multiple articles by the same reporter and now this podcast — suggests an agenda that goes beyond fair scrutiny.
If the Times wants to lecture about bias, it might start by examining its own.
This isn’t about defending the NAR’s every practice; no organization is above critique. But when a media giant like the New York Times targets a bipartisan group with such peculiar timing, the giant undermines its own credibility.
The American public deserves journalism that informs, not activism that punishes groups for their political stances. The Times’s latest move looks less like a pursuit of truth and more like a shot across the bow at those who dare support policies it opposes.
The Washington Reporter calls for the media to hold itself to the same standard it demands of others. If the Times wants to critique the NAR, fine — but do so with evidence, not with vendettas.
Until then, its actions only fuel distrust in an institution that claims to champion fairness.