Internal tensions at the New York Times have reportedly flared after reporter Matthew Rosenberg apparently mocked his colleagues who were “traumatized” by the January 6 Capitol riot and dismissed the “woke” faction of the Times’ newsroom in a Project Veritas undercover video sting.
On Friday, Politico Playbook reported the fallout within the Times from the divulged videos of Rosenberg:
The videos immediately caused tensions to flare among Times staff, according to more than a half-dozen reporters who were granted anonymity to speak candidly. During the Thursday lunch, multiple reporters said they were upset about Rosenberg dissing their own coverage and badmouthing his coworkers.
Baquet, the Times staffers told us, responded by criticizing Rosenberg for being careless and stupid. But he said that Project Veritas is trying to “make our heads explode” and divide the Times, and that they should not play into the group’s hands.
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Those comments reflect the mixed feelings over the current situation among many reporters at the Times. While some reporters told us that management needs to address this issue or even want to see Rosenberg punished, there’s deep concern about fueling Project Veritas’ work.
“I know, I know, I’m supposed to be traumatized. But like all these colleagues who were in the [Capitol] building, and they’re young and are like, ‘Oh my God it was so scary!’ I’m like, ‘Fuck off,’” Rosenberg sneered in the one Project Veritas video reported by Breitbart News’s Jordan Dixon-Hamilton.
The New York Times’ masthead is displayed in front of the midtown headquarters on December 7, 2009, in New York City (Mario Tama/Getty Images).
New York Times reporter Matthew Rosenberg poses for a photo as he sits behind his work desk at the New York Times office in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014 (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini).
In a second undercover video, Rosenberg knocked his paper for hiring poor writers and unclear thinkers. “They’re not the clearest thinkers, some of them [NYT Writers],” Rosenberg said. “You’d be amazed. There’s some people who just can’t write very well.”
“[Adam] Goldman. Goldman’s a terrible writer, no, he’s a really good reporter and editors do a lot of the writing for him – he’s a terrible writer,” Rosenberg said about a specific Times‘ writer. Rosenberg added that Goldman is “just not good at conceptualizing things” and “not good with words.”
Rosenberg then cast light on the elitism and condescension within the paper toward its readers. “So, if our broader culture is in a moment where everybody thinks they, they know best, that’s gonna end up reflecting itself. We’re part of that culture,” he continued. “I don’t think they consciously are aware of these opinions. Like, you know, you inhabit the world you live in.”
“Really woke kind of racial stuff really bugs” Times’ subscribers, Rosenberg admitted before noting the radical left may be the loudest on social media but with outsized influence.
“They’re not the majority, but they’re a very vocal, loud minority that dominates social media, and therefore has this hugely outsized influence. So, here we are,” he said.
According to Playbook, the Times refused to comment about the reported internal divisions at the paper.