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New York Times opinion editor resigns over article calling for military response to US unrest

James Bennet says he shouldn’t have published piece and it was not edited carefully enough

Katie Kingsbury, a deputy editorial page editor, will be the acting editorial page editor through the November electio. Photograph: Angela Weiss/AFP

Mon Jun 8 2020 - 07:27

The New York Times editorial page editor resigned from his job on Sunday, days after the newspaper’s opinion section, which he oversaw, published a much-criticised opinion piece by a US senator calling for a military response to civic unrest in American cities.

“Last week we saw a significant breakdown in our editing processes, not the first we’ve experienced in recent years,” said AG Sulzberger, the publisher, in a note to the staff on Sunday announcing James Bennet’s departure. In a brief interview, Mr Sulzberger added: “Both of us concluded that James would not be able to lead the team through the next leg of change that is required.” At an all-staff virtual meeting on Friday, Mr Bennet (54) apologised for the op-ed, saying that it should not have been published and that it had not been edited carefully enough. An editors’ note posted late Friday noted factual inaccuracies and a “needlessly harsh” tone. “The essay fell short of our standards and should not have been published,” the note said.

The op-ed by Republican Senator Tom Cotton had Send In the Troops as its headline. “One thing above all else will restore order to our streets: an overwhelming show of force to disperse, detain and ultimately deter lawbreakers,” he wrote. The piece, published on Wednesday, drew anger from readers and Times journalists. Mr Bennet declined to comment.

Mr Bennet’s swift fall from one of the most powerful positions in American journalism comes as hundreds of thousands of people have marched in recent weeks in protest of racism in law enforcement and society. The protests were set in motion when George Floyd, an African-American man in Minneapolis, died last month after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by a white police officer’s knee.

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Mr Bennet is the brother of Michael Bennet, a US senator from Colorado, and he recused himself from presidential campaign coverage during his brother's unsuccessful run for this year's Democratic nomination. Katie Kingsbury, a deputy editorial page editor, will be the acting editorial page editor through the November election, Mr Sulzberger said in his memo to the staff.–New York Times

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