NYT Opinion Editor Resigns After Furor Over Op-Ed, NYT Reports

(Bloomberg) -- The New York Times says its editorial page editor James Bennet has resigned following public furor over the paper’s decision to publish an op-ed by Republican Senator Tom Cotton under the headline “Send in the Troops.”

Bennet’s deputy, James Dao, will resign from the paper’s masthead and be reassigned to the newsroom.

“Last week we saw a significant breakdown in our editing processes, not the first we’ve experienced in recent years,” A.G. Sulzberger, the Times publisher, said in a message to staff, the paper reported.

The paper concluded that the op-ed didn’t meet its standards after a review on Thursday. Earlier, Bennet defended publishing the piece on Twitter, saying that the “Times Opinions owes it to our readers to show them counter-arguments.”

In the op-ed, the Arkansas senator denounced “nihilist criminals” and “leftwing radicals” for exploiting George Floyd’s death. Among other issues, Times staffers said the article could put minority journalists’ lives in danger.

On Sunday, Senator Cotton said on Fox News that he’s disappointed at the New York Times’ reversal of decision, saying his column “exceeded” the paper’s editorial standard.

President Donald Trump also weighed in on Bennet’s departure.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.