New York Times opinion section editor Bari Weiss announces resignation
Weiss says she faced ridicule from social media mobs; Fox News media analyst Howard Kurtz, host of 'Media Buzz,' reports.
Bari Weiss blasted The New York Times after one of her former colleagues reportedly resigned from the paper after his involvement in the infamous Tom Cotton op-ed that sparked turmoil among employees.
The Daily Beast reported on Friday that editorial assistant Adam Rubenstein resigned six months after he edited the piece written by the GOP Arkansas senator, who argued in June to "send in the troops" to quell violence in cities throughout the country in response to civil unrest following the death of George Floyd.
Rubenstein and other members of the Times opinion staff faced backlash from their own colleagues, who accused the op-ed of putting Black staff in "danger."
It is unclear whether Rubenstein's resignation is directly tied to the Cotton op-ed.
Weiss, who resigned in July as an opinion columnist and editor for the paper after alleging that she was bullied by her colleagues, offered a full-throated defense of Rubenstein and a complete condemnation of her former employer.
"Let me tell you a little bit about @RubensteinAdam, who as of this week is out at @nytimes," Weiss wrote on Twitter. "Adam is among the most meticulous, hard-working editors I've ever encountered. He is a total professional, which is all the more amazing because he's 25."
An internal Times report identified Rubenstein as one of the editors of the controversial op-ed.
"Adam doesn't seek the spotlight, which is why you likely hadn't heard his name until June as the editor who published the Tom Cotton oped," Weiss wrote. "Adam was one of half a dozen editors who worked on that piece. He was the most junior among them. Yet Adam was named by @nytimes."
Weiss rejected the Daily Beast's claim that Rubenstein was "thrust into the media spotlight."
"No. Adam was hung out to dry by his own colleagues," Weiss said. "Then he and his work were lied about, including in this mendacious editor's note. There is a bigger story to be told here, but the bottom line is that what @nytimes did to Adam was a disgrace. So is the fact that there wasn't a massive and public union campaign to defend him."
The Times and Rubenstein did not immediately respond to Fox News' requests for comment.
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In her scathing resignation letter to Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger, Weiss noted that she doesn’t understand how toxic behavior is allowed inside the newsroom and "showing up for work as a centrist at an American newspaper should not require bravery."
She later wrote that “Twitter is not on the masthead of The New York Times,” but social media acts as the ultimate editor.