Ex–New York Times Editor Alleges ‘Militant’ Anti Trans Culture At The Paper

Описание: A former New York Times editor is accusing the paper’s top leadership of shutting down internal criticism and taking a militant stance on trans issues. Trans journalist and campaigner Billie Jean Sweeney told Trans News Network that senior staff at the 175-year-old publication blocked dissent over its reporting on trans people in the lead-up to the 2024 US election. Sweeney said the Times used to allow staff to raise questions and criticisms about senior staff decisions through Employee Resource Groups, but later the paper shut the groups down. Billie mentioned, “One of the things that happened was that NYT chairman A.G. Sulzberger kind of came around and gave a stump speech to every part of the paper, including the international desk…He talked for 40 minutes about how we were going to cover the election ‘fairly’ and that sort of thing.” She added that the speech felt out of place for desks not directly involved in election coverage, saying staff were left wondering why are we talking about this? Around the same time, Sulzberger said at a Reuters Foundation event in March 2024 that the Times had protected young people through its coverage of trans youth. Sweeney said internal tensions escalated after that, with dissent silenced through actions like cancelling internal forums. The Times’ trans coverage has long drawn criticism. In 2023, more than 100 LGBTQ+ organizations signed an open letter accusing the paper of publishing biased and inaccurate reporting that endangered trans people. That letter called for an end to anti-trans stories and demanded the hiring of at least four full-time trans journalists. Sweeney says that it still hasn’t happened: “They still don’t have any trans journalists covering trans news in the newsroom.” PinkNews has contacted the New York Times for comment.