“There are times in life when something is done for strategic reasons. But there are also times when it is just a matter of telling the truth as I know it, and speaking very bluntly and speaking from the heart and I’m going to keep doing that. And I think, that has its own power. I think people have cut The Post way too much slack over the years. They should not be treated like the other outlets. They just shouldn’t. And it’s time to call it out. And I’ll keep doing that. From my point of view maybe there are people who read The Post who would disagree with that. I think there are a lot of people who look at The Post and have their doubts.

“And when I say to people, typically don’t believe what you read in The New York Post, a lot of people acknowledge they may enjoy it as an entertainment vehicle. But a lot of people in this city who even look at it doubt whether it is factual. And I think it is important, as I said, with the other major newspapers, I have my ups-and-downs. But I think all of them are devoted to the pursuit of facts. The Post simply is not. From my point of view, no, I don’t think it benefits them. I think it’s a conversation that’s needed to be had for decades and I look forward to contributing to that conversation because people have to learn that they cannot believe what they read in The New York Post.”

I would push back and say that The Post has good reporters who cover local issues, though they may present things differently than we would in The Times. They put a homeless man on their cover and were one of the first outlets to call attention to the homelessness issue.

“David, respectfully, that was a wild misrepresentation of reality considering that that man had been there for years and years. It was absolutely politically driven. And it was a strategy. Look, I’m not saying there are individuals who don’t work hard or aren’t smart people, who don’t bring up some important stories. You can say that in the same breath with the fact that it’s an ideological apparatus, it is a propaganda mechanism. And by the way, I think there’s plenty of people who have looked at Rupert Murdoch and what he’s done all over the globe and would be quick to acknowledge that he turned every outlet that he purchased into a right-wing vehicle. This is not a news flash. And it doesn’t mean there aren’t some people laboring within those vehicles that aren’t trying to do some good work but I’m sorry, I think there is a motivation behind so much of what they do and a bias. And that makes it different.”

Do you risk missing the trees for the forest? That you may be missing things that they bring up that are legitimate.

“No. And that’s a great question. No, we by definition, whatever comes up from the media — and this is a valuable role the media plays — whatever comes up we look at. And we don’t have to like the source to still want to know what we think of the substance. And so no, there’s never that danger. In my opinion, after two years and nine months I haven’t had that problem and my team hasn’t had that problem.

“But we cannot confuse an honest effort at objective reporting, which is what the vast majority of the press corps is doing, with a propaganda apparatus. We just can’t. They are two different things. And maybe you or any other reporter might experience your colleagues as colleagues and I understand that, and see people doing some the same kind of work. I don’t think it should be seen from the reporter level. I think it should be seen from the leadership level. This is a corporation with an ideological mission. I would not say that about the other media outlets. This is a corporation with a profound, distinct, global ideological mission. It has been going on for decades. It has been well documented.