There’s something to be said about legacy media members that still generate clicks. However, when those clicks hinge solely on “old man yelling at cloud”-style rage bait, it’s fair to wonder if the plot has been entirely lost. Phil Mushnick and the New York Post appear to have stopped searching for that plot long ago.
Owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, the Post doesn’t seem too concerned about how Mushnick tarnishes both his own reputation and that of the publication.
It’s long past that point.
You can glance at the headline of almost any sports article on the Post’s website and immediately know who wrote it. Not because of exceptional talent or a distinctive journalistic voice but because Phil Mushnick has honed a particular writing style — one rooted in denigrating others and delivering some of the most thinly veiled takes imaginable.
He does this mainly because he’s been with the paper since 1982. And mainly because he can.
His longevity is commendable, sure, but when his takes come at the expense of sullying the reputation of his colleagues, it’s no longer an asset; it’s a liability.