The New York Times Guild raised eyebrows on Friday for recommending “sensitivity reads” as part of the paper’s publication process.
The group of unionized journalists revealed they have met with Times leadership earlier in the month, stressing that the paper needs “a top-to-bottom resetting of priorities to improve the working conditions of our colleagues of color.”
The guild urged its employer to diversify its workforce to 24 percent Black employees and over 50 percent people of color by 2025 as an apparent reflection of the New York City population. They also called for a minimum of job applicants to be people of color and that staff of color should be added to the Standards team as well as investing in mentorship programs.
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However, one particular request sparked some confusion on social media.
“Get it right from the beginning: sensitivity reads should happen at the beginning of the publication process, with compensation for those who do them,” the Times Guild wrote.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., whose op-ed calling for the military to quell nationwide riots sparked a major backlash among Times employees, chided the guild’s suggestion.
“‘Sensitivity reads’ for op-eds? And extra compensation for censoring?” Cotton asked.
He added, “New @nytimes motto: All the news that’s fit to print and assessed for sensitivity by well-compensated woke censors.”
Others piled on the Times employees who made such a proposal.
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“What if we just fire everyone who demands a sensitivity read because it is childish bulls—,” Ben Shapiro suggested.
“Imagine swashbuckling journalists of a previous era begging their management for an additional layer of nit-pick editing (‘sensitivity reads’),” journalist Michael Tracey tweeted.
The Times did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
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In June, a piece written by the Arkansas senator called to “send the troops” to cities that failed to quell riots over the death of George Floyd in Minnesota, if the police response wasn’t enough. However, an unprecedented revolt among Times journalists claimed Cotton’s op-ed put the lives of black colleagues in “danger.”
That resulted in the resignation of Times editorial page editor James Bennet.
Earlier this month, Times opinion editor Bari Weiss wrote a scathing resignation letter to publisher A.G. Sulzberger, revealing she was constantly bullied by her colleagues and suggested that Twitter has become the paper’s “ultimate editor.”
