James Bennet, the former editorial page editor of The New York Times, has penned a blistering critique of the newspaper, accusing it of deviating from its erstwhile journalistic principles.
The column, titled "When the New York Times lost its way," was published in the UK-based The Economist and also sheds light on the circumstances surrounding Bennet's departure from the Times.
Bennet's critique is pointedly directed at Times' publisher A.G. Sulzberger and former executive editor Dean Baquet. He alleges that both individuals sacrificed him to alleviate pressure, rather than upholding the principles they purportedly espouse.
In his column, Bennet states, "The Timess problem has metastasised from liberal bias to illiberal bias, from an inclination to favour one side of the national debate to an impulse to shut debate down altogether. All the empathy and humility in the world will not mean much against the pressures of intolerance and tribalism without an invaluable quality that Sulzberger did not emphasise: courage.
Bennet contends that his forced exit from the Times was precipitated by his approval of an op-ed that offered a platform to Republican Senator Tom Cotton. This move led to Bennet having to apologize for not adhering to liberal talking points during a company-wide Zoom meeting.
"The plan had been for the newsroom to talk about its coverage of the protests. Now the only subject was going to be the op-ed. Early that morning, I got an email from Sam Dolnick, a Sulzberger cousin and a top editor at the paper, who said he felt we he could have only meant me owed the whole staff an apology for appearing to place an abstract idea like open debate over the value of our colleagues lives, and their safety. Bennet quotes Dolnick as saying, He was worried that I and my colleagues had unintentionally sent a message to other people at the Times that: We dont care about their full humanity and their security as much as we care about our ideas.
Bennet reveals that he was advised by a Sulzberger ally to apologize and acknowledge his privilege. He describes the Zoom meeting, attended by thousands, as a disorienting experience.
I do not recommend it. As my first turn to speak came up, I was still struggling with what I should apologize for. I was not going to apologize for denying my colleagues humanity or endangering their lives. I had not done those things. I was not going to apologize for publishing the op-ed. Finally, I came up with something that felt true.
I told the meeting that I was sorry for the pain that my leadership of Opinion had caused. What a pathetic thing to say. I did not think to add, because Id lost track of this truth myself by then, that opinion journalism that never causes pain is not journalism. It cant hope to move society forward.
Bennet reflects on the incident, saying, As I look back at my notes of that awful day, I dont regret what I said. Even during that meeting, I was still hoping the blow-up might at last give me the chance either to win support for what I had been asked to do, or to clarify once and for all that the rules for journalism had changed at the Times.
Following the meeting, Bennet's comments were lambasted on the companys internal Slack messaging system. The next morning I was told to resign.
Bari Weiss, founder and CEO of the Free Press, joined Megyn Kelly to discuss Bennets piece and the transformation of the New York Times from a bastion of great journalism and curiosity to a reflection of the elites views.
Login