New York: The New York Times says its editorial page editor James Bennet has resigned following public furor over the paper’s decision to publish an op-ed by Republican Senator Tom Cotton under the headline “Send in the Troops.”
Bennet’s deputy, James Dao, will resign from the paper’s masthead and be reassigned to the newsroom.
“Last week we saw a significant breakdown in our editing processes, not the first we’ve experienced in recent years,” A.G. Sulzberger, the Times publisher, said in a message to staff, the paper reported.
The paper concluded that the op-ed didn’t meet its standards after a review on Thursday. Earlier, Bennet defended publishing the piece on Twitter, saying that the “Times Opinions owes it to our readers to show them counter-arguments.”
In the op-ed, the Arkansas senator denounced “nihilist criminals” and “leftwing radicals” for exploiting George Floyd’s death. Among other issues, Times staffers said the article could put minority journalists’ lives in danger.
On Sunday, Senator Cotton said on Fox News that he’s disappointed at the New York Times’ reversal of decision, saying his column “exceeded” the paper’s editorial standard.
President Donald Trump also weighed in on Bennet’s departure.
Opinion Editor at @nytimes just walked out. That’s right, he quit over the excellent Op-Ed penned by our great Senator @TomCottonAR. TRANSPARENCY! The State of Arkansas is very proud of Tom. The New York Times is Fake News!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 7, 2020
– Bloomberg
Also read: Facebook, Twitter remove Trump George Floyd tribute amid escalating tension with US president
Imagine the number of people in Indian print media that should resign for their views. see the problem? Freedom of Expression is dead. If you carry anything remotely opposite to what the “Free” “open” media wants, you are out. The media world over has got polarised. The one institution which shouldnt take sides, did. Sad.