Worse, the article quotes the three employees — Walter Bailey, Kristie Lavorgna and Ann Terranova — without mentioning that they are a part of the organized anti-union campaign, called “Just Us.” Bailey, in particular, is often quoted in the media representing the anti-union side. The reporter presents her subjects as if she encountered them almost by chance. Rather, the reporter told me in a phone interview, is that she got the names of the three workers from Vin Petrini, the hospital’s senior vice president for public affairs. In other words, the Herald called the hospital’s PR officer and got the names of three hand-picked anti-union activists, and then proceeded to quote them knowingly without including their credentials.
To be clear, the problem here is not that the reporter quoted Bailey, Lavorgna and Terranova, but that their backgrounds are misrepresented. It would be equally wrong to quote a union organizer without mentioning her affiliation. If I interviewed a spokesman for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, I would identify that person as such, and not equate his opinion with that of the average voter.
Looking for examples of Sexton hyperbole, eh? How about "the union is a virus" or "the union can either die a quick death or a slow death" or "We are witnessing a palpable decline in the public’s appetite for nuance, complexity and critical thinking, which in turn has spawned a virulent secular dogmatism and an alarming devolution in both the substance and style of public discourse," not only a hyperbolic jeremiad, but a hypocritical one as well? How about when he publicly claimed that only six people were on strike during the spring of 2006? (Though that's more of a flat out lie than an exaggeration.) What about "None of the striking graduate students will have their ability to continue their own studies affected. In all cases, their tuition and health benefits will remain in place, and where the suspension of stipend would create economic hardship, loans will be provided to students upon their request." (Not true, though again not hyperbolic so much as simply mendacious.) "There was a time during the summer when GSOC and the union might have emerged as the collective bargaining representative of our graduate assistants." (Ditto.) "We are a community of principle and reason, and all of us, no matter what our views, have a part in advancing that ideal." (What principle? principal investment? This seems hyperbolic in that it vastly overstates NYU's commitment to a model of the university long since, in any case, expired.)
How is this not hyperbolic?
Edited for snark reduction and clarification
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