Bari Weiss' resignation letter proves New York Times engaging in 'outright censorship,' critic says
Scathing letter should send 'shockwaves through the world of journalism,' Brent Bozell says
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York Times opinion columnist and editor Bari Weiss announced Tuesday she is leaving the paper, issuing a blistering resignation letter that some feel proves the Gray Lady is censoring diversity of thought.
“What this journalist has done is not just to indict, but to convict The New York Times of outright censorship,” Media Research Center founder Brent Bozell told Fox News. “If it doesn’t send shockwaves through the world of journalism, it’s because the world of journalism no longer has ethics.”
BARI WEISS QUITS NY TIMES, SAYS SHE WAS BULLIED BY COLLEAGUES IN SCATHING RESIGNATION LETTER
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Weiss published the resignation letter she sent to Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger on her personal website, saying, "Showing up for work as a centrist at an American newspaper should not require bravery." She wrote she was bullied by colleagues in an "illiberal environment,” “Stories are chosen and told in a way to satisfy the narrowest of audiences” and "intellectual curiosity” is a liability at the Times, among a variety of other devastating feedback.
New York Times opinion columnist and editor Bari Weiss announced Tuesday she is leaving the Gray Lady, saying she was bullied by colleagues.
Bozell doesn’t think the once-proud Times can restore credibility with its current leadership, pointing to the paper caving to social media backlash as evidence.
“I thought the most salient observation she made was to declare that it’s Twitter that is leading the news today, that reporters are looking at their Twitter feeds and determining what is or isn’t news based on that silly contraption,” Bozell said. “Twitter is ablaze with radical leftist propaganda which the New York Times is then taking as news.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Last month, Weiss offered insight about the internal battle among her colleagues following the publishing of an op-ed written by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. that sparked a major backlash from its own staff with many taking to Twitter with their concerns and grievances.
“Twitter hated what Senator Cotton had to say, and therefore, The New York Times genuflected,” Bozell said. “She is making the salient point that journalism is dead at The New York Times and it’s been replaced by censorship that is controlled by radicals.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“She is making the salient point that journalism is dead at The New York Times and it’s been replaced by censorship that is controlled by radicals.”
After backlash for running Cotton's piece, the Times eventually offered a mea culpa and Editorial Page Editor James Bennet resigned as a result, all while Weiss claimed that a "civil war" was brewing within the paper.
“Weiss hit the nail on the head when she said that Twitter has become the editor of the Times. The paper’s treatment of the Tom Cotton op-ed was proof that it is only interested in placating the online mob that wishes to silence its political opponents,” Spectator USA Washington editor Amber Athey told Fox News, noting that her publication recently advertised it is “not” the New York Times.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Media consumers are desperate to find content that challenges them rather than just confirms their preexisting worldview,” Athey added.
DePauw University professor and media critic Jeffrey McCall told Fox News that Weiss’ letter “provides yet another window to the mindset of journalistic ideology and advocacy” at Times. He feels that Weiss’ claims need to be vetted and verified, but the picture she painted is consistent the paper’s coverage in recent years.
READ BARI WEISS' FULL RESIGNATION LETTER
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“It's unmistakable crusaderism for left-of-center causes reflects a narrowing of debate in the public sphere, which is dangerous for the journalism industry and public deliberation generally,” McCall said.
“The New York Times is perhaps the key agenda-setter for the rest of the news industry in the United States, and that is a serious responsibility. Weiss contends that the Times is narrowing that agenda for discourse and that is very concerning,” McCall said. “This is a time when Americans need a wide range of ideas to discuss and it is sad that a major news outlet is choosing to restrict the flow of ideas and dialogue. There is, indeed, a backhanded sort of censorship going on here.”
Weiss’ resignation quickly lit up Twitter, where many were aghast that she would blowtorch bridges on her way out the door.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}While some were shocked by Weiss’ scathing letter, Cornell Law School professor and media critic William A. Jacobson feels anyone paying attention to the Gray Lady should have known the paper has a lefty agenda.
"Liberalism at the NY Times is illiberal and intolerant. Water also is wet. Bari Weiss confirms what conservatives already knew, but liberals like Weiss previously refused to see,” Jacobson told Fox News. “The vicious social justice warfare culture has moved from campus to newsrooms, and there is no place for old-fashioned liberals like Weiss.”
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Acting editorial page editor Kathleen Kingsbury provided a statement to Fox News when Weiss published her resignation letter.
“We appreciate the many contributions that Bari made to Times Opinion. I’m personally committed to ensuring that The Times continues to publish voices, experiences and viewpoints from across the political spectrum in the Opinion report,” Kingsbury said. “We see every day how impactful and important that approach is, especially through the outsized influence The Times’s opinion journalism has on the national conversation.”