New York Times Is in a Spat with Its Union over Allegations of the Paper’s ‘Racial Targeting’

The New York Times and the union that represents its staff, NewsGuild, are at odds in the aftermath of the newspaper’s reporting on Hamas’s October 7 campaign of rape and murder. The report produced a firestorm within that paper of record and among its staff, some of whom accused it of being too pro-Israel in its coverage.

Mike Roe reports for the Wrap:

Management at the New York Times on Saturday denied allegations from the union representing Times journalists that accused the paper of racial targeting in its internal investigation over who leaked information about an unreleased episode of “The Daily” podcast, reported on by The Intercept earlier this week. The paper has been seeking information on who leaked information about the episode, which reportedly covered Hamas’ use of sexual violence in its Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.

The NewsGuild of New York had fired back at the internal investigation Friday and said that staff had been “targeted for their national origin, ethnicity and race,” asserting that some who’d raised questions about the paper’s reporting were singled out for “particularly hostile questioning.” The paper’s management denied those charges.

“The NewsGuild’s claim that we targeted people based on their associations or ethnicity is preposterous,” New York Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha said in a statement to TheWrap on Saturday. “While we aren’t going to comment on internal matters, as we’ve said before, the work of our newsroom requires trust and collaboration, and we expect all of our colleagues to adhere to these values.”

The New York Times is well within its rights to expect its staff not to leak its internal communications to the world — especially on matters of dispute. However, it’s difficult to pity the paper too much, given its willingness to work with a photographer who was cozy with Hamas, and given an editorial line that allows for the unskeptical repetition of the Hamas-compromised Gazan health ministry’s casualty figures.

Sometimes two sides deserve each other. The NYT and the NewsGuild appear to be one such couple.