New York Times opinion editor resigns, alleges 'constant bullying by colleagues'
Fox News media analyst Howard Kurtz on the resignation of Bari Weiss.
Many liberal journalists shrugged off the fiery exit of New York Times opinion editor Bari Weiss, some even mocking the writer over the open letter she had penned to the paper's publisher.
While many conservatives rallied behind Weiss after she released the letter detailing the abuse she faced from her Times colleagues and how the Twitter mob "has become its ultimate editor" of the paper, members of the mainstream media were not merely as concerned, some even mocked her.
"I don’t know what a Bari Weiss is. Sounds like a type of flower," MSNBC correspondent Garrett Haake reacted. "But have you heard about the raging global pandemic that’s killing hundreds of Americans every day, and that demands all of us pay attention and do our part to help keep our friends and neighbors safe?"
"That’s, um, one way to leave a job," Daily Beast politics editor Sam Stein quipped.
He later dismissed the suggestion that Weiss' departure from the Times signals a decline in journalism.
"Seeing a lot of folks saying Bari Weiss’ resignation exposes the roots of the demise of American journalism. I’d suggest that hedge funds buying and ripping apart outlets across the country and massive tech giants sucking up all the ad revenue are more important matters," Stein wrote.
CNN's report of Weiss' exit from the Times labels the journalist in its headline as a "controversial opinion writer."
The Intercept columnist and Al Jazeera host Mehdi Hasan rejected her argument that she was alienated at the paper for being a "centrist," insisting "they're the majority at @nytopinion!"
"The other thing that jumps out is her weird attack on Twitter when, irony of ironies!, she would not exist as a media 'brand' or public figure *without* Twitter. She was a junior editor at @nytopinion hired in 2016 as a nobody from @WSJ. Twitter – Twitter rows! – made her career," Hasan tweeted.
NY TIMES EDITOR BARI WEISS SAYS THERE'S A 'CIVIL WAR' WITHIN PAPER AMID TOM COTTON UPROAR
Hasan also accused Weiss of expressing "bigoted, racist views about Palestinians," something he added never prompted her to face "censure" from the Times.
The Hill's Krystal Ball offered a similar reaction, also accusing her of hypocrisy when it comes to advocating against "cancel culture."
"There is no issue of legitimate inquiry which is more likely to get you 'canceled' than support for Palestinian rights. That Bari Weiss, an intellectual architect of that regime of censorship, has the audacity to 'self-expel' and cry cancellation is outrageously hypocritical," Ball exclaimed.
The Young Turks founder Cenk Uygur called the idea "absurd" that the Times is "too progressive," insisting it's the "epicenter of the establishment.
"It borderline despises progressives & is greatly disdainful of our policies & political leaders," Uygur said.
Weiss' letter was embraced by several prominent conservatives, including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Donald Trump Jr., and Ben Shapiro. However, one prominent liberal who expressed solidarily toward Weiss was "Real Time" host Bill Maher.
"As a longtime reader who has in recent years read the paper with increasing dismay over just the reasons outlined here, I hope this letter finds receptive ears at the paper. But for the reasons outlined here, I doubt it," Maher tweeted about Weiss' letter.
Weiss published a scathing resignation letter that she sent to Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger on her personal website, noting 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."
“It is with sadness that I write to tell you that I am resigning from The New York Times,” Weiss wrote.
Weiss then explained that she joined the paper in 2017 to help offer a different perspective, as the Times’ “failure to anticipate the outcome of the 2016 election meant that it didn’t have a firm grasp of the country it covers,” and fixing that issue was critical.
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“But the lessons that ought to have followed the election — lessons about the importance of understanding other Americans, the necessity of resisting tribalism, and the centrality of the free exchange of ideas to a democratic society — have not been learned,” Weiss wrote. “Instead, a new consensus has emerged in the press, but perhaps especially at this paper: that truth isn’t a process of collective discovery, but an orthodoxy already known to an enlightened few whose job is to inform everyone else.”
Weiss wrote that “Twitter is not on the masthead of The New York Times,” but social media acts as the ultimate editor.
Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.