Bari Weiss, an opinion writer for The New York Times, tendered her resignation on Monday, lambasting the organisation on her way out in a severely critical note describing in detail the reasons for leaving her job.
Relentlessly subjected to constant bullying by colleagues
In a blistering attack against the culture at the American news daily, Weiss claimed that the organisation is fostering an “illiberal environment” and accused her colleagues of subjecting her to constant bullying for having views at variance with them. She had also alleged that she was a victim of “unlawful discrimination” and her work and character were “openly demeaned” across the company’s internal communication channels.
“Some coworkers insist I need to be rooted out if this company is to be a truly “inclusive” one, while others post axe emojis next to my name. Still, other New York Times employees publicly smear me as a liar and a bigot on Twitter with no fear that harassing me will be met with appropriate action,” Weiss wrote about the harassment she faced at the workplace.
Weiss also lamented that the organisation has caved in to the whims and fancies of the social media critics, claiming that “stories are chosen and told in a way to satisfy the narrowest of audiences, rather than to allow a curious public to read about the world and then draw their own conclusions”.
Twitter had become the ultimate editor of The New York Times
“Twitter is not on the masthead of The New York Times. But Twitter has become its ultimate editor,” Weiss sharply noted in her resignation letter, adding that the company has betrayed its legacy as a “paper of record” and capitulated it to an agenda set by Twitter.
“The paper of record is, more and more, the record of those living in a distant galaxy, one whose concerns are profoundly removed from the lives of most people,” she said. “Nowadays, standing up for principle at the paper does not win plaudits. It puts a target on your back.”
Weiss, a centrist-liberal persistently challenged NYT’s left-leaning editorial line
In her brief 3-year-tenure as an opinion page editor and columnist at The New York Times, Weiss, 36, raised many hackles by persistently challenging the employer’s left-leaning editorial line, most notably at the peak of the #MeToo movement, during which she questioned the pervasive conventionality that women accusers should always be believed. Casting herself as a centrist-liberal, she wrote about anti-Semitism, Women’s March and lauded cultural appropriation.
Many journalists and intellectuals commented on the Weiss’ resignation, sharing concerns that the far-left ideology is ruling media spaces and anyone who doesn’t conform is being hounded.
Bari Weiss isn’t a conservative, far from it, and they still made her life unbearable because she challenged aspects of Leftist orthodoxy.
— Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) July 15, 2020
The modern Left is ruled by its fanatics & poses the greatest threat to free expression.
“What rules that remain at The Times are applied with extreme selectivity. If a person’s ideology is in keeping with the new orthodoxy, they and their work remain unscrutinized. Everyone else lives in fear of digital Thunderdome. Online venom is excused so long as it is directed at the proper targets,” Weiss narrated about the deteriorating culture at The New York Times.
