NYT Reporters Slam Union for Backing Critics of Trans Coverage

On Tuesday, dozens of high-profile New York Times journalists signed onto a private letter defending the paper’s coverage of transgender issues and firing back against their own union leadership in what has become a deepening internal row over the paper’s transgender coverage.

The letter was sent to NewsGuild of New York president Susan DeCarava, taking her to task for suggesting that the paper’s coverage of transgender issues — including the adverse effects of hormonal and surgical intervention and the recent dramatic increase in gender dysphoria in girls — might have created a “hostile” workplace.

“Factual, accurate journalism that is written, edited, and published in accordance with Times standards does not create a hostile workplace,” reads the letter, which was signed by dozens of Times journalists.

The internal back-and-forth began on Wednesday, February 15, when two separate groups published open letters to the Times‘ leadership calling the paper biased in its coverage of transgender issues. The groups also singled out particular articles and authors. One letter was signed by a collection of LGBTQ organizations and the other was signed by hundreds of Times contributors.

The Times’ leadership didn’t take the criticism laying down. Executive editor Joe Kahn and opinion editor Kathleen Kingsbury internally rebuked the staffers who joined the effort. “We do not welcome, and will not tolerate, participation by Times journalists in protests organized by advocacy groups or attacks on colleagues on social media and other public forums,” the pair wrote.