The New York Times is taking heat for running a Republican senator’s opinion-editorial by Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) for approval, according to a claim from former Times editorialist Bari Weiss.
Bari Weiss resigned from the New York Times in 2020, citing credible claims of “bullying” and an “illiberal environment.”
Weiss said that the Times discussed whether or not to publish Senator Tim Scott’s (R-SC) editorial on his Justice Act. She claimed, and now with secondary source backing at National Review Online, that the Times editor wanted to screen the article with Schumer.
A Times spokesperson told The New York Post, which reported on Weiss’ claim: “New York Times Opinion never seeks outside approval or consultation whether to publish guest opinion essays.”
.@nytopinion does not seek outside approval or consultation before publishing anything. This is simply not how journalism works. Times Opinion publishes a wide spectrum of diverse voices, and we always welcome hearing from more. pic.twitter.com/QatH3f7unV
— NYTimes Communications (@NYTimesPR) August 12, 2022
However, that is looking increasingly unlikely to have been the case. The New York Post related the conversation that Weiss had on her podcast “Honestly with Bari Weiss.”
“Well, here’s what happened,” Weiss told Scott. “And this is the part I’m not sure if you know. There was a discussion about the piece and whether or not we should run it.”
“And one colleague, a more senior colleague said to a more junior colleague who was pushing for the piece, ‘Do you think the Republicans really care about minority rights?’” Weiss said.
“Wow,” Scott said.
“And the more junior colleagues said, ‘I think Tim Scott cares about minority rights’,” Weiss added.
“And then, and here’s the pretty shocking part. The more senior colleague said, ‘Let’s check with Sen. Schumer before we run it’,” Weiss continud.
She stipulated that the younger colleague declined to reach out to Schumer due to ethics concerns. Senator Tim Scott’s op-ed was never published.
“Are you surprised to hear that? Or does that story feel kind of representative of the way the media has treated you and maybe some of your colleagues?” Weiss asked.
“I am disappointed to hear that. I am not surprised to hear that. You have to remember that The Washington Post fact-checked my life,” Scott said.
This is further cause for the New York Times’ readers to believe that they aren’t reading “reporting,” but state propaganda from the ruling class’s preferred political party. If you want to get both sides of a story, the New York Times is the last place anybody should look.
Current Founder, CEO and Chief Editor of Becker News. Former Writer & Associate Producer at Fox News for #1 top-rated prime-time cable news show. Former Director of Viral Media and Senior Managing Editor for award-winning startup website IJReview, which grew to a readership of 20-30 million Americans a month. Led editorial and social media team that was #1 ranked news & politics publisher on Facebook for story engagement. Writer whose thousands of digital articles have been read by over 100 million unique users.