‘There’s a line people have to know not to cross’: The New York Times and that Black Lives Matter op-ed

‘Send in the troops’ read the incendiary headline in the New York Times above an op-ed calling for the army to go in to stop Black Lives Matter protests. Holly Baxter wonders where the line is when dealing with opinions in newspapers

The paper attracted criticism over the piece by the senator for Arkansas (Getty)

Over the weekend, a very New York controversy played out in the journosphere. The New York Times (or, as we call it in the US, The Times, with the British publication of that name being known to Americans as The Times of London) had published an opinion piece on Friday written by a Republican senator which was titled: “Send in the troops”. It was, as many have pointed out since, a clearly incendiary headline.

“The nation must restore order. The military stands ready,” wrote Tom Cotton, the senator for Arkansas, in the column below the headline. Referring to the Black Lives Matter protests following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, Cotton said that demonstrators had “plunged many American cities into anarchy”.

The reaction was swift and fierce. Across the Twittersphere, many called for the head of the opinion desk to explain how an op-ed which seemed so contrary to the liberal values of The Times had gotten through. Those who worked on the opinion desk themselves, including many prominent columnists, jumped in to share their views. In one particularly controversial thread, staff editor and regular Times contributor Bari Weiss wrote: “The civil war inside The New York Times between the (mostly young) wokes and the (mostly 40+) liberals is the same one raging inside other publications and companies across the country. The dynamic is always the same,” before continuing to say that there was a split between those who prize oldschool liberalism and those who prize progressive “safetyism”. “Here’s one way to think about what’s at stake,” she added. “The New York Times motto is ‘all the news that’s fit to print’. One group emphasises the word ‘all’. The other, the word ‘fit’.” Many others challenged Weiss’s version of events.

New Yorkers feel a real sense of ownership over the beloved behemoth with its long liberal history. When they aren’t happy, they will let the editors know loud and clear

When I’m not wearing my “ruminating about New York in a column” hat but am instead doing my day job at the helm of The Independent’s New York opinion desk, I have to make tough decisions every day. I believe that an opinion desk can only run if it features a diversity of voices, but I also believe there’s a line people have to know not to cross. One example of a line I decided we wouldn’t cross as a desk is publishing content that calls for banning abortion. Obviously there are many other lines we adhere to as well, including making sure our content isn’t racist, homophobic or ableist. The “civil war” Weiss described in her own newsroom doesn’t tally with my own experiences at The Independent, but it’s undeniable that working on an opinion desk will mean working alongside people who have strong views and who enjoy the rough-and-tumble of debating them. Disagreements are inevitable and good for the job so long as they are respectful, diplomatic and constructive.

The head of The New York Times’s opinion department, James Bennet, resigned as the controversy over Tom Cotton’s op-ed rumbled on. Another staffer who had been responsible for helping edit the piece was moved to a different role within the organisation. The Times released a statement addressing these moves and the reaction to the comment piece, saying in part that “the tone of the essay in places is needlessly harsh and falls short of the thoughtful approach that advances useful debate”. In a city where people proudly sport The New York Times tote bags that you get free with a subscription — in fact, you can even buy bags that represent your own favourite department, such as a “Daily” tote bag that marks you out as a fan of the news team’s regular podcast — it was all anyone could talk about for days. New Yorkers feel a real sense of ownership over the beloved behemoth with its long liberal history. When they aren’t happy, they will let the editors know loud and clear that they need to correct course.

Another hat I wear every so often in NYC is guest lecturer for the journalism course at the New School, a postgraduate college in Manhattan. On Monday night, I discussed the controversy with 30 wannabe hacks during a Zoom class about pitches and editorial decisions. Everyone had a different view on whether that invisible line had been crossed by Tom Cotton, and most had an interesting new angle to offer up on why they thought that way; many had been at the George Floyd protests themselves, which, despite what Trump may have you think, have been largely peaceful. What keeps me going is knowing that these soon-to-be graduates are so engaged and, crucially, so different. I can’t wait to see how they, in turn, change New York as they begin refashioning its media landscape through their work.