New York Times Denies Bari Weiss Claim They Silenced Sen. Tim Scott: ‘Simply Not How Journalism Works’

Candice OrtizAug 17th, 2022, 11:56 am
 

The New York Times denied a claim from a former staff writer that the paper sought approval from Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer for an op-ed by Republican Sen. Tim Scott.

Last week, Mediaite reported on an interview by former Times writer Bari Weiss with Tim Scott on her podcast, Honestly.

During the episode, Weiss brought up an op-ed Scott wrote for the Times about the Justice Act, a police reform bill following the murder of George Floyd.

Weiss told Scott, “I was at the New York Times and you or your staff sent in an op-ed about the bill and why it fell apart. And this is the part I’m not sure if you know. There was a discussion about the piece and whether or not we should run it. And one colleague, a more senior colleague said to a more junior colleague who was pushing for the piece, ‘Do you think the Republicans really care about minority rights?’”

“And the more junior colleagues said, ‘I think Tim Scott cares about minority rights.’ And then, and here’s the pretty shocking part. The more senior colleague said, ‘Let’s check with Senator Schumer before we run it,’” Weiss said.

Now, it is unclear from that description whether the Times wanted to run the full op-ed by Schumer for approval, or simply seek comment from the Democratic senator.

Whatever the case, the Times denied seeking Schumer’s approval for the op-ed in a statement to the National Review:

New York Times Opinion never seeks outside approval or consultation whether to publish guest opinion essays.

This account from Weiss was the first time Scott had heard this story. Last Friday, following the podcast’s release, he took to Twitter to condemn the paper.

“The NYT silenced me because Black men who think for themselves are an existential threat to the Leftwing coalition built on lies,” Scott wrote. “They said they didn’t do it…but we have the receipts.”

That same day, the New York Times PR department replied to Scott on Twitter: “@nytopinion does not seek outside approval or consultation before publishing anything. This is simply not how journalism works. Times Opinion publishes a wide spectrum of diverse voices, and we always welcome hearing from more.”

Despite those denials, the National Review reported speaking to a source who backed up Weiss’s version of events:

A second source with direct knowledge of the matter has backed up Weiss’s story to National Review. The source also quoted a message sent by a senior editor at the time insisting that the Times check with Schumer — even providing the email address of Schumer press representative Justin Goodman.

The source also told to National Review that the original op-ed was solicited by the New York Times from Tim Scott and was not an independently submitted piece.

The second source, who confirmed Weiss’s account of the story to National Review, shared the contents of messages that contradict the Times’ statements and reaffirm Weiss’s account. They are consistent with Weiss’s recollection that a senior editor at the Times opinion page questioned whether Republicans cared about minority rights and directed a staff member to send the Scott op-ed to Schumer’s office, though the junior editor apparently did not do so.

The Times declined to comment on the National Review reporting, instead pointing Mediaite to their statement posted to Twitter.

Listen above via Honestly with Bari Weiss.

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