A rare look into the newsroom

Earlier this week, we had the rare look into the newsroom of The New York Times.

Former editor and writer for The New York Times, Bari Weiss, left the “paper of record” last week and published an open resignation letter on her website.

See her letter here for the complete exposé.

This should not have come as a surprise because we have known all along that “the paper of record” was biased in its reporting.

But papers like NYT base their authority on the appearance of neutrality, authenticity, and authority. They claim to convey “all the news that is fit to print,” never defining the term “fit”.

More to the point, their authority comes from the claim to be conveying to readers an impartial, critically-minded, clear-headed, and rational approach to what is going on in the world. It is precisely this perception that readers rely upon as they turn to NYT to give them the news.

For a paper to keep that perception alive, it should not itself become the story. A fair and neutral source is like a transparent window: you look through it. If you are noticing the window, and not the objects outside, it is time to clean or change the window.

It is precisely this that Weiss’ departure points to: the bias and toxic culture of the Times is the story. The window is not transparent and readers are invited to see how murky is the glass through which they are looking.

If the widow is murky, how will you ever know whether what you see through it is really outside, or a product of the murkiness of the window itself?

Weiss’ resignation letter, therefore, serves a far greater purpose. It is not just the departure of one employee from a company, but an invitation to consider that the “paper of record” may not be a clear window after all.

What the Times does next will be fascinating to see.