Journalist Bari Weiss Skewers NY Times in Resignation Letter

Opinion editor and writer Bari Weiss has left the New York Times, publishing a scathing resignation letter on her way out Tuesday that accused the newspaper of allowing “unlawful discrimination, hostile work environment, and constructive discharge,” among other misdeeds.

The L-A Times reports the  journalist’s exit comes amid a reckoning prompted by the Black Lives Matter movement and after the New York Times’ publication of the inflammatory “Send in the Troops” op-ed by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), which called for military mobilization against protesters.

The June piece was widely condemned within and beyond the newspaper and among scores of readers. It sparked what Weiss called a war between "(mostly young) wokes” and "(mostly 40+) liberals” and ultimately led to the departure of Opinion editor James Bennet.

Weiss, who said she experienced “constant bullying by colleagues” who disagree with her views, was also among the signatories of last week’s divisive Harper’s open letter on cancel culture. She said she experienced bullying online and lamented the New York Times’ inaction on her harassment allegations.

The civil war inside The New York Times between the (mostly young) wokes the (mostly 40+) liberals is the same one raging inside other publications and companies across the country. The dynamic is always the same. (Thread.)

— Bari Weiss (@bariweiss) June 4, 2020

“Some coworkers insist I need to be rooted out if this company is to be a truly ‘inclusive’ one, while others post ax 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. They never are,” she wrote in her resignation letter addressed to Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger.


“Twitter is not on the masthead of The New York Times. But Twitter has become its ultimate editor,” she continued. “As the ethics and mores of that platform have become those of the paper, the paper itself has increasingly become a kind of performance space. 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. I was always taught that journalists were charged with writing the first rough draft of history. Now, history itself is one more ephemeral thing molded to fit the needs of a predetermined narrative.”

In a Tuesday statement, Kathleen Kingsbury, the New York Times’ acting editorial page editor, said that she appreciated Weiss’ contributions to the section and is “personally committed to ensuring that The Times continues to publish voices, experiences and viewpoints from across the political spectrum in the Opinion report.”