Editors, reporters and support staff at The New York Times have had enough of the abuse — not from President Donald J. Trump, who has heaped plenty on the “failing” Times, though not because the paper hasn’t deserved it for all the fake news it has published about him and his administration.
No, they are angry and demoralized because of the paper’s managing hierarchy, which has continually downsized staff for the past few years, via buyouts and layoffs — with more planned in the immediate future.
Now they are ready to walk out.
In recent days The National Sentinel opined that the paper’s continual publishing of fake Trump news has not been profitable, as Times management announced a new round of buyouts and other staff reductions:
The Times has been undergoing a major restructuring beginning this year, with a staggering 109 copy editors having already been terminated, while just 50 new jobs are likely to be created as the paper shifts its focus to digital.
And indeed it hasn’t: Zero Hedge reported that the Times' print advertising revenue “declined by 18% while digital ad revenue increased by nearly 19% and accounted for more than 38% of the company’s total ad revenue.” (RELATED: James Comey Confirms That NYT Story On Russian Collusion Conspiracy Was Totally #FAKENEWS)
It appears as though the rise in digital ad revenue is not enough to make up for the loss in print ads.
In any event, the reporters, copy editors and other staffers at the paper have had enough of the lack of transparency and ‘low morale’ they plan on walking out in solidarity, according to a letter delivered to management.
MarketWatch noted further that copy editors say they were compared to dogs that urinate on fire hydrants:
After a pair of letters sent to Executive Editor Dean Baquet and Managing Editor Joseph Kahn by Times reporters and copy editors, the News Guild of New York said the New York Times editorial staff will leave the newsroom on Thursday as a demonstration of solidarity as management threatens jobs.
In the copy editors’ letter to Baquet and Kahn, they say they feel betrayed and disrespected in the newsroom, and ask that management reconsider staffing cuts that are expected as the paper plans to restructure.
“Cutting us down to 50 to 55 editors from more than 100, and expecting the same level of quality in the report, is dumbfoundingly unrealistic,” the letter reads. “You often speak about the importance of engaging readers, of valuing, investing and giving a voice to readers. Dean and Joe: We are your readers, and you have turned your backs on us.”
“Editors — and yes, that especially means copy editors — save reporters and the Times every day from countless errors, large and small,” the letter continued. “Requiring them to dance for their supper sends a clear message to them, and to us, that the respect we have shown the Times will not be reciprocated.”
According to SimilarWeb, the Times’ online edition is currently the No. 2-most visited news destination, logging more than 367 million total visits in May. So it isn’t as if the Times isn’t getting traffic. Just not the right kind of traffic; Zero Hedge reported in February that the Times — along with the Washington Post and The Guardian — may actually be “buying clicks” from China, in order to boost Internet rankings and, thus, the amount of money they can charge online advertisers. In two months’ time, the website noted, China traffic to the Times and the other sites went from a “trickle” to “half of all traffic.”
As for the walk-out, there may be some readers who are disappointed in the paper’s management and are sympathetic to reporters’ and copy editors’ plight. But a majority of the country (that voted for Trump) is not sympathetic, and have largely tuned out the Times and its like-minded Left-wing media colleagues because they’re tired of 24/7 Trump hate.
Maybe the disgruntled Times staffers should begin to factor in that likelihood as a big part of why the “failing New York Times” — is failing.
J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for NaturalNews.com and NewsTarget.com, as well as editor of The National Sentinel.
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