Tom Cotton op.ed .: New York Times staff rebelled over publication of Republican Senator’s work
The dedicated publication was published in The Times section of the opinion, but employees of both the opinion and the newsroom – acting separately from each other – publicly protested.
A parade of Times reporters tweeted a screen shot showing the title of Cotton’s “Send to Troops” with the accompanying words: “If this is triggered, Black @NYTimes staff is in danger.”
New York Times Magazine staff writers Jenna Wortham and Taffy Brodesser-Akner and senior editor of Kwame Opam were among the journalists who did so. National political reporter Astead W. Herndon tweeted his support to his “colleagues, especially blacks”.
But, he said, “Times Opinion owes our readers to show them counter-arguments, especially those made by people in a policy-making position.”
“We understand that many readers find Senator Cotton’s argument painful, even dangerous,” Bennet concluded. “We believe this is one of the reasons that requires public scrutiny and debate.”
Cotton said that “local police authorities in some cities desperately need support” and that the military is “ready” to help.
Opeded suggested invoking the Rebellion Act, arguing that deploying the U.S. military to U.S. cities “does not mean” martial law. “
Throughout the day, Times officials publicly rebelled against the act.
“I feel compelled to say I don’t agree with every word in that Tom Cotton, and that doesn’t reflect my values,” tweeted Charlie Warzel, a writer for The Times magazine.
“Christ,” tweeted tech journalist Mike Isaac.
“Exactly,” technical journalist Cecilia Kang replied.
Stacy Cowley, a business reporter, wrote that the work “led to a lot” of discussions about Slack, an instant messaging application that companies use to enable their employees to communicate.
Davey Alba, a technology reporter, wrote on Twitter that Cotton’s argument that Antifa members “infiltrated protest marches to exploit Floyd’s death for their anarchic purposes” was published in the magazine
“Our own newspaper reported that it was misinformation,” Alba tweeted.
A Cotton office spokesman declined to comment and directed CNN back to The Times.
The publication of Cotton’s opus on Wednesday is not the first time the Times section has sparked criticism.
Bennett’s tenure was marked by a series of high-profile failures.
Opinion verticals faced heat last summer for the actions of columnist Bret Stephens.
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