New York Times reporters circulated a draft of an open letter to editor-in-chief Joe Kahn, responding to his comments that they are “unaccustomed to public debate” and “robust exchange of ideas.” scolded the young journalist. The newsroom as a “safe space.”
The draft letter hits back at Mr Khan, accusing him of being “unwilling to tolerate dissenting views”. This was reported by the news site Semafor.
“Instead of engaging in a lively exchange of ideas, we are increasingly discouraged from speaking out at all,” the staff wrote in the draft letter.
“We are taught that it is appropriate to express concerns and serious questions only in one-on-one conversations with people above us.”
In the letter, the staffers said the Times failed to provide an opportunity for an exchange of views and that “more diverse perspectives were needed to protect not only the independence but also the empathy of our journalism.” Ta.
In his letter, Khan was accused of making “broad generalizations that reflect a lack of understanding of the people who make up newsrooms.”
In a letter obtained by Semafor, the officials wrote: “We do not have a full staff of activists who are willing to impose their views on the report.”
“Those who raise concerns are doing so to make The New York Times the best version it can be, with a focus on accuracy and fairness, not on tribalism or ideology.”
In response to an interview with the newspaper, a Times spokesperson said: “We will not be commenting on a draft letter that has not yet been sent.”
A spokesperson referred the Post to comments Khan made in interviews with Semaphore and the Wall Street Journal.
“Young people who have come through the education system are not very accustomed to this kind of public debate. This type of lively exchange about issues that they feel strongly about may have happened in the past. unknown.” Khan told the Journal last month.
The newspaper reported a major incident in which about 20 employees were called in for questioning for information that leaked details of the newsroom’s dispute over the Times’ coverage of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza to rival media outlets. The Times detailed the details of its internal investigation.
The Times’ staff is reportedly divided over one particular report regarding widespread rape allegations by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 terrorist attack in Israel.
The power of reporting has been called into question, with the Times reportedly canceling an episode of its popular podcast The Daily that was scheduled to feature details of the rape allegation.
The Times recently closed its investigation, saying it could not make a final conclusion about the cause of the leak.
Khan was furious about the leak to The Intercept. He told the magazine: “The idea that someone could come in midway through the process and find something that they think is interesting or potentially damaging to the ongoing story and provide that to people outside of me or my To my colleagues, it felt like a breakdown in the trust and collaboration necessary for the editorial process.”
“I’ve never seen anything like that before,” he said.
Earlier this month, Mr. Khan reportedly told Semaphore that “the newsroom is not a safe place.”
He said today’s college graduates are “not adequately prepared for what we want our people to do: commit themselves to the idea of independent journalism.”
“I don’t think it’s conceivable that they would have been trained for that, even if they were in a secure location,” Khan added.
“The newsroom is not a safe place. It’s a place where you’re exposed to a lot of journalism, some of which you don’t like.”
In recent years, the Times has been the subject of controversy over its newsroom’s left-leaning bias.
In 2020, Bari Weiss, who was in charge of the paper’s editorial page, resigned in protest of “bullying by colleagues” that created an “illiberal environment” for people with different views.
Kahn recently fired back at Weiss, saying, “She has a single note and keeps playing it.”
That same year, Opinion editor-in-chief James Bennett was forced to resign after staffers protested a guest editorial written by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) calling for a military response to the riots that erupted. In the aftermath of George Floyd’s death.
