Sun Sep 15 14:07:00 UTC 2024: ## The New York Times’s Western Blind Spot: Former Idaho Senator Steve Symms Dies Without Obituary
While the New York Times swiftly published obituaries for deceased politicians from the east coast, the paper has remained silent on the death of former Idaho Senator Steve Symms, who passed away recently.
This omission has sparked outrage from some readers, who argue that the Times’s apparent disregard for western figures, especially those with controversial pasts, perpetuates a bias against the region.
Symms, a Republican senator from 1981 to 1993, was a vocal proponent of conservative ideology and gained notoriety for his controversial statements, including accusing Kitty Dukakis, the wife of Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis, of burning an American flag during the 1988 presidential campaign.
Despite his two terms in the Senate and his role in the defeat of the celebrated senator Frank Church, the Times has yet to acknowledge his passing, a stark contrast to the promptness with which they honored the passing of eastern politicians, even those with checkered pasts.
This incident highlights the ongoing debate about media representation of the west and the importance of giving equal weight to political figures from all regions of the country. Critics argue that the Times’s silence on Symms’s death reinforces a perception that the east coast holds a disproportionate amount of power and influence in the national narrative.
First Piper 