Looks like everything’s going just great over at the New York Times!
NBC News and MSNBC senior reporter Dylan Byers is offering yet another glimpse into the chaos unfolding under the Gray Lady’s already-shoddy roof:
#Scoop: New York Times columnist Bret Stephens says that publisher A.G. Sulzberger “spiked” his column that was supposed to run on Monday morning in which he took issue with NYT’s handling of the Donald J. McNeil case (McNeil was ousted for his use of racial slur).
Thread….
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) February 11, 2021
First, context: The McNeil case has created some chaos inside the Times.
See this via @joepompeo: https://t.co/HNl8cRw7jO
So, what did Stephens take issue with in this unpublished column?….
(2/?)
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) February 11, 2021
Stephens took issue with the fact that NYT Exec Editor Dean Baquet said "We do not tolerate racist language regardless of intent.”
"Do any of us want to live in a world, or work in a field, where intent is categorically ruled out as a mitigating factor?” BS asks. "I hope not."
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) February 11, 2021
Stephens goes on in his column (which never saw light of day) to cite famous Lee Atwater quote that uses racial slur, and which NYT has cited “at least seven times.”
"Is this now supposed to be a scandal?” he asks.
…
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) February 11, 2021
Recommended
In email to colleagues today, Bret Stephens wrote: "I wrote the following column on Monday morning. If you're wondering why it wasn't in the paper, it's because AG Sulzberger spiked it.”
More to come later…
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) February 11, 2021
*one point of clarification: When I say Stephens sent email to colleagues — he didn’t send it wide; he sent it to small handful of people. He did not expect it to become public.
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) February 11, 2021
NEW: In meeting just now, Baquet said: "In our zeal to make a powerful statement about our workplace culture, we hamhandedly said something that some of you saw as threatening to our journalism…. Of course intent matters when we are talkign about language in journalism.” …
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) February 11, 2021
Of course!
So "intent" matters after all! https://t.co/5iglR6xttj
— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) February 11, 2021
It mattered the whole time! Except for when it didn’t.
I don't understand this. If intent does matter, why was McNeil forced out? They've flip flopped twice now on whether intent and context matter, and it cost one of their employees his job and reputation.
— David (@freeAgent85) February 11, 2021
It’s almost as if the New York Times is a joke.
So it appears that NYT leadership actually agrees with the thrust of Bret Stephens column. Why didn’t they run it? Maybe they didn’t want him addressing something in print that they were getting ready to walk back.
Waiting on NYT statement.
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) February 11, 2021
Hope you brought something to read, Dylan.
He is somehow going to try to say that intent does matter to the NYT, but that it doesn't matter to the workplace culture. Get ready for it.
— Brian (@bmlong137) February 11, 2021
Sometimes even the executive editor of the @NYTimes could use an editor to say, Is that really what you want to write? https://t.co/5iglR6xttj
— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) February 11, 2021
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