Due to controversial social media posts, top New York Times editor – Jonathan Weisman – was demoted. He will still be an editor even though he will no longer cover Congressional correspondents and will not be active on social media.
What We Know:
- The tweet was posted on July 31st. It was interpreted that the tweet, as shown below, “seemingly questioned the ability of congressional members Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Lloyd Doggett, and John Lewis to accurately represent the regions that their constituents are in.”
- This post stirred up a lot of responses including getting the attention of Roxane Gay, a Times contributing writer/author. “Any time you think you’re unqualified for a job remember that this guy, telling a black woman she isn’t black because he looked at a picture and can’t see, has one of the most prestigious jobs in America. Shoot your shot.”
- “Jonathan Weisman met with [New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet] today and apologized for his recent serious lapses in judgment. As a consequence of his actions, he has been demoted and will no longer be overseeing the team that covers Congress or be active on social media. We don’t typically discuss personnel matters but we’re doing so in this instance with Jonathan’s knowledge,” a New York Times representative said.
- Gay responded to Weisman’s demotion Tuesday by tweeting: “He didn’t lose his job and that’s fine because I am not a cruel person. But it is also frustrating that a lot of his behavior will go unchecked. Will he truly understand what he did wrong here or will he chalk it up to the so-called Twitter mob?”
- Weisman said, “I accept Dean’s [Dean Baquet, New York Times executive editor] judgment, I think he’s right to do what he’s doing. I embarrassed the newspaper, and he had to act”.
Weisman seems to be apologetic and understanding of the consequences. Hopefully, after all of this, we can learn to coexist and be mindful of how our words can affect one another.
