(Credit: NYTimes)
The New York Times disciplined the editor who OK’ed the anti-Semitic cartoon published in the international edition last week, the newspaper reported in a news story. The newspaper “will also update its bias training to include a focus on anti-Semitism, according to a note sent to employees by A. G. Sulzberger, the newspaper’s publisher,” the Times said.
According to the Times news report on the fallout over the cartoon, Sulzberger’s memo said the cartoon was “downloaded and published by a single production editor working without adequate oversight.”
In addition, the New York Times Editorial Board published an editorial April 30 calling the cartoon “appalling” as well as “obviously bigoted.” The editorial noted that just days after the cartoon was published there was a shooting at a San Diego synagogue.
New York Times publisher A. G. Sulzberger issued an internal memo saying there would be “disciplinary steps” for the editor who OK’ed the anti-Semitic cartoon. The Times published Sulzberger’s memo, which read in part:
“Today, I wanted to share with you the steps we’ve taken so far to meet that commitment:
- “We are changing our production processes to ensure adequate oversight and address issues with the international Opinion pages that enabled this mistake.
- “We have stopped running all syndicated cartoons, which are created by those with no direct ties to The Times and thus give us limited editorial control.
- “We have canceled our contract with CartoonArts International, the syndicate that provided the cartoon and defended its release.
- “We are taking disciplinary steps with the production editor who selected the cartoon for publication.
- “We are updating our unconscious bias training to ensure it includes a direct focus on anti-Semitism.”
iMediaEthics wrote to the New York Times to ask for more details about the disciplinary steps and bias training; a Times spokesperson declined to comment beyond the memo.
