James Bennet, editorial page editor for the New York Times has resigned from his post following internal and external backlashes received from a published column under his supervision.
On Wednesday, May 27, Republican Senator Tom Cotton published a column in the New York Times Opinion Section titled ‘Send in the Troops’, which later caused a huge uproar on social media. It generated lots of negative reactions against The Times for using their platform in projecting irresponsible measures that should be taken against protesters seeking justice for murdered George Floyd.
Bennet responded to criticisms pertaining to the column that the ‘go ahead’ given on his part in publishing the article represented the magazine’s commitment to ideological diversity. The New York Times later discredited the intent given by Bennet saying the column did not meet its standard and should not have been published.
“Last week we saw a significant breakdown in our editing processes, not the first we’ve experienced in recent years. James and I agreed that it would take a new team to lead the department through a period of considerable change,” disclosed A.G. Sulzberger, publisher of the Times.
He added in his announcement of Bennet’s resignation, “James is a journalist of enormous talent and integrity who believes deeply in the mission of The Times. He oversaw a significant transformation of the Opinion department, which broadened the range of voices we publish and pushed us into new formats like video, graphics and audio. I’m grateful for his many contributions.”
“The journalism of Times Opinion has never mattered more than in this time of crisis at home and around the world, and I’ve been honored to be part of it. I’m so proud of the work my colleagues and I have done to focus attention on injustice and threats to freedom and to enrich debate about the right path forward by bringing new voices and ideas to Times readers,” said Bennet.
Bennet has been at the editorial page since 2016 and was at the front of being considered to replace Dean Baquet as executive editor of The Times.
Senator Tom Cotton has however responded to The Times’ description of his column as not up to their standard stating, “My op-ed doesn’t meet the New York Times standards. It far exceed their standards which are normally full of left-wing, sophomoric drivel.”
Bennet is said to be replaced by Katie Kingsbury temporarily.
