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Jennifer Block is an American writer and anti-transgender activist. Block is a central figure in 21st-century media attacks on trans healthcare.

Block is an embedded reporter with anti-trans groups like Genspect, attending their events and laundering their extremist views into mainstream media.

Overview

Block believes that US medical consensus about care for trans and gender diverse youth is a scandal in the making. As similar bigots in media did in the late 1970s, Block keeps rewriting the same FUD propaganda piece and selling it to different outlets. The 1979 backlash eliminated healthcare options for many trans people that took four decades to reverse, and Block is at the forefront of this new backlash against our children.

Block’s work focuses on several anti-transgender positions:

  • disease models of gender diversity, especially “gender dysphoria”
  • psychological gatekeeping as a model of care
  • supporting strict gatekeeping of trans healthcare via centralized government control, developed under nationalized heath systems (so-called “gender clinics”) in the 20th century
  • the “rapid onset gender dysphoria” (ROGD) disease model: “More adolescents with no history of gender dysphoria—predominantly birth registered females—are presenting at gender clinics.”
  • disproportionately amplifying outliers and bad outcomes: Andrew Martinez (suicide) and Chloe Cole (ex-trans movement)
  • not describing a single positive outcome
  • the ex-trans movement, especially “detransitioners“

Background

Jennifer Lori “Jen” Block was born on November 22, 1976 to surgeon Leonard Block (born 1948) and Roberta Block (born 1947). Block has two siblings. Block’s parents divorced, which may explain Block’s animosity toward the medical establishment.

Block earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Boston University in 1998. Block held editorial roles at Ms. magazine, Plenty, Our Bodies, Ourselves, and The OpEd Project.

Block’s articles and commentary have appeared in The BMJ, The Washington Post Magazine, Newsweek, The Cut, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Pacific Standard, The Baffler, and Type Investigations (formerly The Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute).

Block is author of Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care (2007) and Everything Below the Waist: Why Health Care Needs a Feminist Revolution (2019).

“Mommy bloggers” and their fans are especially susceptible to anti-transgender radicalization and social contagion. Block thanks fellow anti-trans extremist Lisa Selin Davis in the acknowledgements for Pushed.

2023 BMJ article

In 2023, Block wrote an article ostensibly focused on evidence for gender-affirming care in adolescents that reproduced many of the same biases and errors made by colleagues.

Supporters

Anti-trans activist Helen Joyce said of Block’s article: “Fantastic article, and so important that it appears in BMJ.” Anti-trans organization Rethink Identity Medicine Ethics also liked the piece.

It was also liked and shared by several of Block’s peers, including Sean CW Korsgaard, Liz Highleyman, Mark Tighe, Sonia Gallego, Michael Marshall (@m_c_marshall), Kevin Bass, Vinay Prassad, Dr. Dina McMillan, Milli Hill, Julia Mason, Moti Gorin, Charlotte Schubert, and Benjamin Ryan.

The staff at The BMJ issued a statement:

The BMJ believes in investigative journalism as a force for change. Over the past decade, our investigative journalism has unearthed research fraud and misconduct, prompted improvements in the transparency of clinical research, led to changes in guidelines and clinical practice, and triggered parliamentary inquiries.

High quality investigative journalism requires time to research, gather evidence, and ask questions. Developing in-depth stories is expensive, and we actively seek external funding to help expand our efforts. Current no-strings funding comes from Arnold Ventures and William McGuire. Past supporters include the European Commission and Open Society Foundations. In 2022, we hope to expand our impact through crowdfunding. If you would like to support us, please contact Head of Journalism Rebecca Coombes.

We retain editorial independence—the freedom of editors to make decisions without interference from any funders—for all content that is produced and published; all decisions are taken strictly within the editorial structures of the journal.

If you have a story for us, please contact [email protected].

Rebecca Coombes, Head of Journalism
Peter Doshi, Senior editor
Madlen Davies, Investigations editor
Jennifer Block, Investigations reporter
Hristio Boytchev, Freelance investigations reporter

Critics

The Association of LGBTQ+ Doctors & Dentists (GLADD), Pride in Surgery Forum, and the British Medical Association all published criticisms of the piece.

British Medical Association deputy council chair Emma Runswick said:

We have recently written to the BMJ, which is editorially independent, to challenge its article “Gender dysphoria in young people is rising—and so is professional disagreement” and express our concern, that alongside criticisms made by LGTBQ+ organisations such as GLADD and neurodivergent doctors, in our view, it lacks equality, diversity and inclusion awareness and patient voice. That the article has been used by transphobic lobby groups around the world is of particular concern to us.

2023 Twitter responses

Block was very unhappy about being called out for bias, posting a number of times on Twitter about this alleged mistreatment, suggesting any criticism is an attack on journalism.

February 27

  • Since my @bmj_latest piece on care for gender dysphoria in minors, some are curious about my background. I’ve been reporting on contested areas of medicine for 20 years. I wrote a book about the gap between evidence and routine practice in maternity care (still quite large!).
  • Politicization gets people no closer to evidence-based maternity care either, and I’d argue it hampered work toward expanding rights and reducing maternal mortality. In states that have advanced birth justice, it’s the result of red/blue folks accepting they have a common goal.
  • I see dismissing any clinician or researcher who has concerns about the best treatment for kids/adolescents in the face of inconclusive evidence as “anti-trans” as an attempt to silence important conversation and debate. I hope my piece is contributing.
  • FWIW, the organizer of the AAP rally I spoke with, who directed me to video footage, is a lifelong coastal democrat. You can’t just smear every person with concerns RE treatments, or the concerns themselves, as “anti-trans.” At least I’m not going to be baited into that tautology

March 3

  • https://twitter.com/writingblock/status/1631768413378084864
  • TLDR: Dear reporters, don’t report on transgender medicine. Don’t be curious about detransition or medical disagreement. Label the above anti-trans. Quote children of all ages rather than research. Cover “trans joy rather than the ‘difficult’ questions.”

March 5 [referring to anti-trans media figure Michael Knowles saying transgenderism must be eliminated.

  • https://twitter.com/writingblock/status/1632464903046066177
  • THIS is anti-trans–and violent and inhumane. Reporting on disagreement and unknowns in medical practice for children with gender dysphoria is not. Both the trans community and journos can condemn such rhetoric and support open exchange of info & dialogue to support Rx decisions

This is in response to an opinion piece by trans journalist Katelyn Burns.

  • [referring to https://nbcuacademy.com/trans-kids-journalism/#.ZAIfHq868m8.twitter]
  • OK, this was a snarky tweet. But it’s a serious issue. A certain corner of journalism is conflating necessary, important reporting on the issue of medical treatment for kids with transphobia. I read this piece as saying “look over here, don’t look over there.” That’s advocacy.
  • Maybe @transscribe is not familiar with my recent piece looking into the evidence base for treatments like puberty blockers and hormones in minors. She can correct me if I’m wrong, but I read her how-to as discouraging such reporting.
  • “A story about trans health care should make clear all the facts… They should include that nearly every major medical association supports the current protocol of gender-affirming care for minors.” Well, as I report, consensus does not equal evidence-based practice.
  • Reviews in Sweden, Finland, and now UK have made clear the uncertainties and potential for harm, and those countries are pulling back on medicalization and focusing instead on mental health and social support. They are not denying anyone’s existence. It’s not political there.
  • For years, these labels of “anti-trans” “transphobe” and accusations of genocide have scared journalists who are obviously not those things from pursuing reasonable questions about benefit v. harm of medical treatment. This is regressive and I hope we’re moving past it.

Author Katelyn Burns replied “but you obscured the biases of the sources your piece depended upon. that’s advocacy.”

Block said:

  • https://twitter.com/writingblock/status/1632446552668266496
  • You haven’t pointed to any such thing. Everyone is ID’d with their relationship to professional orgs. The research methodologists who evaluated the guidelines/evidence base have no history with this issue whatsoever. Just hurling the label of “anti-trans” doesn’t make it so.

References

Runswick, Emma (June 19, 2023). Take Pride in progress. The Doctor https://www.bma.org.uk/news-and-opinion/take-pride-in-progress

Block, Jennifer (February 23, 2023). Gender dysphoria in young people is rising—and so is professional disagreement. BMJ 2023; 380 https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.p382

Block, Jennifer (March 6, 2023). Raft of US state laws restrict access to treatments for gender dysphoria. BMJ 2023; 380 https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.p533

Resources

Jennifer Block (jenniferblock.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

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LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

Benjamin Ryan is an American writer and anti-transgender activist.

Ryan opposes US medical consensus on healthcare for trans and gender diverse youth. Ryan frequently supports other anti-trans colleagues like Dan Savage, Jesse Singal, Jon Kay, and Jennifer Block as objective experts covering trans issues.

Ryan also supports sexologist and anti-transgender activist Kenneth Zucker, believing Singal’s version of why Zucker was fired in 2015. In 2023, Ryan began pitching a piece seeking “physicians who might have misgivings about the gender-affirming care model, or who otherwise have theories about why we have seen such a recent surge in trans-identifying young people.”

Background

Benjamin R. “Ben” Ryan was born in June 1978 to Sara “Sally” Stubbs Ryan (1944–1999), an educator, and John A. Ryan, Jr. (born ~1943) a general surgeon. Ryan has two siblings. Ryan attended The Bush School, an elite private school in Seattle, graduating in 1997, then earned a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University in 2001. Ryan volunteered with the Northwest AIDS Foundation and New York’s Gay Health Advocacy Project prior to beginning a journalism career.

Ryan has written for The New York Observer, New York Post, Gay.com, HIV Plus, Gilt City, Smart + Strong, NBC News, Thomson Reuters Foundation, The Guardian, The New York Times, Washington Post, The Nation, The Atlantic, New York, The Marshall project, PBS, The Village Voice, Money, Men’s Journal, City & State, Out, and The Advocate. Ryan’s work focuses on HIV, viral hepatitis, mpox, COVID-19, and cancer. Ryan wrote for Jesse Singal at New York.

Ryan has been a guest on Sirius Satellite Radio, NPR, iHeart Radio’s Daily Dive, Dan Savage’s Savage Love podcast, Owen Jones’ podcast, and NBC News Now.

2023 pitch attacking gender affirming care

On April 14, 2023, Harvard lawyer Alejandra Caraballo revealed that Ryan was working on a story attacking gender-affirming care for youth, writing:

“The New York Times and Benjamin Ryan are writing another transphobic hit piece looking for providers who “have misgivings about gender affirming care.” Providers and advocates should ignore any outreach or requests for comment from Ryan as he is another Jesse Singal.”

Caraballo (2023

Caraballo included the text of Ryan’s inquiry:

From: Benjamin Ryan
Date: Thu, Apr 6, 2023
Subject: New York Times article on how pediatricians are responding to rising rates of trans youth

I am writing an article for the New York Times about how pediatricians, family practitioners, psychologists and other front-line physicians who care for broad populations of children and adolescents are responding to the rising numbers of trans-identifying youths. What has it been like for these health care providers to care for such young people of late?

For one, I am interested in covering this subject from the perspective of a newly fractured legal landscape, in which various states have banned the treatment of gender dysphoria in minors with puberty blockers and hormones. What is it like for health care providers to care for trans-identifying kids in these states?

I am also interested in hearing from physicians who might have misgivings about the gender-affirming care treatment model, or who otherwise have theories about why we have seen such a recent surge in trans-identifying young people.

I would greatly appreciate your help in finding physicians for me to speak with. (Note that this article is not focusing on gender-care specialists.) I know this is a highly sensitive topic. So while I would prefer to get sources on the record, I am more than happy to accommodate anyone’s requests for anonymity.

Thanks very much for your help and your time.

All the best,

Ben Ryan

Benjamin Ryan
benryan.net
(917) [redacted]
Follow me on Twitter:
twitter.com/benryanwriter

Caraballo (2023) [emphasis mine]

Because the New York Times handles all transphobic content in-house now, Ryan published a different piece for NBC News instead on June 23, 2023. Ryan’s published piece has no mention of physicians who might have misgivings about the gender-affirming care treatment model.

Ryan told Jesse Singal:

“I sent that email and other versions of it to over 200 doctors and press reps at medical institutions. I asked people to send it to others and to email it to listservs. I knew very well that it would probably end up on Twitter and that Alejandra would post it. So I am fine with it being out there.”

Author and journalism professor Steven Thrasher minced no words in condemning Ryan:

https://twitter.com/thrasherxy/status/1646875700245192704

2021 deleted tweets

In 2021, Ryan posted then deleted a series of tweets complaining about people criticizing Jesse Singal’s biased coverage.

March 23

  • https://twitter.com/benryanwriter/status/1374595992746606596
  • That is a truly dreadful thing of him to say. But where are the faults in his actual article about Singal?

March 24

  • https://twitter.com/benryanwriter/status/1374786380728041472
  • Notice how in all your own tweets, you have yet to challenge any of the facts that @jonkay said about Singal. You have just attempted to discredit Kay and the website he writes for.
  • https://twitter.com/benryanwriter/status/1374791116290146311
  • If you cannot make any substantive criticisms about ajonkay’s specific arguments supporting the thesis that Signal has been unfairly tarred and feathered, then we’re done here.
  • https://twitter.com/benryanwriter/status/1374797128762032131
  • Please show where Signal defended Kenneth Zucker’s practices and describe how that means that Singal believes that conversion therapy is a-okay.

2023 deleted tweets

March

  • A bombshell article by @WritingBlock challenges claims by activists that the science supporting the treatment of gender dysphoria in minors is “settled” and that the use of puberty blockers and hormones in transgender kids is “evidence based.” http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/february/transgender.pdf
  • Many argue that giving puberty blockers and hormones to trans minors is uncontroversial & backed by high-quality science. Block’s reporting disputes this. Swedish health authorities, for example, say the risks “currently outweigh the possible benefits”. 2/ http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/february/transgender.pdf
  • [March 2, deleted] The Dutch protocol came about some 15 years ago. And the rise of the use of puberty blockers for this purpose is quite recent. That said, a very small number of children actually currently receive them. But the trend is heading upward quickly. Or it was before these bans.
  • [deleted]
  • The prescription of hormones to trans-identifying minors is often framed as a choice of life on meds vs death by suicide. But researchers have not actually shown that hormonal treatment for gender dysphoria impacts death by suicide. 5/ http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/february/transgender.pdf
  • @HRC said in a press release today that “ALL gender-affirming care is age appropriate and medically necessary.” But in the UK, health experts found there’s “scarce & inconclusive evidence to support clinical decision-making” for kids with dysphoria. 6/ http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/february/transgender.pdf
  • Mark Helfand of Oregon Health & Science University criticized @WPATH’s recommendations for treating #transgender minors, including a lack of grading system to assess the quality of scientific evidence backing the guidelines. #trans 7/ http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/february/transgender.pdf
  • At an October meeting of the AAP, @WritingBlock reports, @DrScottHadland of Harvard Med said, “Ten thousand pediatricians stand in solidarity for trans and gender diverse kids & their families to receive evidence-based, lifesaving, individualized care.” 8/ http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/february/transgender.pdf
  • Gordon Guyatt (@GuyattGH) of McMaster University found “serious problems” with the Endocrine Society’s guidelines for treating #trans kids, such as making strong recommendations based on weak evidence–meaning they should not be called “evidence based”. 9/ http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/february/transgender.pdf
  • In contrast to @DrScottHadland, @GuyattGH said, “When there’s been a rigorous systematic review of the evidence” about treating #trans kids “and the bottom line is ‘we don’t know,’ anybody who then claims they *do* know is not being evidence based.” 10/ http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/february/transgender.pdf
  • While myriad medical organizations in the US back prescribing puberty blockers & hormones to trans-identifying minors, standards abroad are very different. Sweden did systematic reviews in ’15 and ’22, found evidence was “insufficient and inconclusive.”11/ http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/february/transgender.pdf
  • The Endocrine Society ( @TheEndoSociety) commissioned 2 systematic reviews for its clinical practice guideline for treating #trans adolescents with sex steroids and found the quality of the evidence regarding health risks was “low” or “very low”. 12/ http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/february/transgender.pdf
  • In sum, @WritingBlock’s reporting suggests that @WPATH and @TheEndoSociety’s guidelines for treating #trans adolescents are not truly “evidence based”, nor uncontroversial, nor do they balance the known and potential risks v benefits of such treatment. 13/ http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/february/transgender.pdf
  • @MattWalshBlog, who doesn’t so much debate the science behind care for trans minors as douse the field with gasoline & set it on fire, has made the topic so combustible in Tennessee, he teed up the politicization of #HIV prevention there, I reported: 14/
  • @WritingBlock reviews the history of gender medicine in @BMJ_Latest. Note that her article was peer reviewed. 15/ http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/february/transgender.pdf

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  • Kindly do not come to this thread disrespectfully. I will not tolerate malicious statements toward anyone and the misgendering of transgender people.
  • Also, for anyone coming to this thread who thinks they know who I am, what I think or believe or what I’m about, do take note that I do not share my personal opinions about many issues on Twitter. I invite you to read my reporting on LGBTQ issues: http://benryan.net/lgbtq.html
  • Context: https://ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/SexualOrientation/IESOGI/Other/Rebekah_Murphy_20191214_JamesCantor-fact-checking_AAP-Policy.pdf
  • She said two academic experts reviewed it.

March 4

  • When @JesseSingal, @WritingBlock and I or others report about the science of treating gender dysphoria in minors, we are constantly subjected to overtures of violence, commands that we should kill ourselves, or in my own case, expressions of regret that cancer didn’t kill me. 1/
  • Meanwhile, press freedoms are also being threatened from the right as Florida Republicans in particular seek to clamp down on reporters’ abilities to freely do their jobs and to seek the truth about contentious and important questions. 2/

References

Singal, Jesse (April 25, 2023). On Alejandra Caraballo vs. Benjamin Ryan vs. Steven Thrasher. Singal-Minded https://jessesingal.substack.com/p/on-alejandra-caraballo-vs-benjamin

Ryan, Benjamin (June 23, 2023). The LGBTQ population is growing, but medical schools haven’t caught up. NBC News https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/lgbtq-health-care-curriculum-medical-school-training-rcna89599

Ryan, Benjamin (February 2, 2023). How Tennessee axed millions in HIV funds amid scrutiny from far-right provocateurs. NBC News https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/tennessee-axed-millions-hiv-funds-scrutiny-far-right-provocateurs-rcna67769

Ryan, Benjamin (March 16, 20223). Transgender woman, 79, can claim Maine nursing home discriminated against her. NBC News https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/transgender-woman-79-can-claim-maine-nursing-home-discriminated-rcna20314

Ryan, Benjamin (July 3, 2023). Trump vs DeSantis – where do they stand on LGBTQ+ rights? Openly http://www.openlynews.com/i/?id=954c4808-5e45-450d-b21a-4e00c0450e71

Ryan, Benjamin; Anarte, Enrique; Greenhalgh, Hugo (July 3, 2023). Trans U.S. seniors fear bleak future in residential care. Openly https://www.openlynews.com/i/?id=4ad6f631-853c-42b1-ad75-993aac2652a3

Resources

Benjamin Ryan (benryan.net)

X/Twitter (x.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

Patrick Healy is an American journalist involved in anti-transgender coverage at the New York Times. Healy served as Deputy Editor of the Opinion section during its anti-transgender coverage crisis of the 2020s.

No transgender journalist has appeared on the New York Times masthead since its founding in 1851. As of 2023 there were no trans journalists on staff, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. At the same time, Healy helped beef up anti-trans staff, including bringing in David French.

Background

Patrick Durham Healy was born on August 31, 1971 to Carol Ann Higginbotham Healy (1936–2023) and Gerald T. Healy, Jr. (1934–2021). Healy has an older sibling and grew up gay in a conservative Catholic household. Healy earned a bachelor’s degree from New York University in 1990, and a second bachelor’s degree from Tufts University in 1993.

After reporting in local New Hampshire papers, Healy wrote for the transphobic Chronicle of Higher Education from 1994 to 2000. From 2000 to 2004, Healy wrote for the Boston Globe, then joined the New York Times in 2005.

After about ten years as a political correspondent, Healy held editor roles in the Culture, Politics, and Opinion sections. Healy reports to anti-trans ringleader Kathleen Kingsbury as well as to Charlotte Greensit.

Healy has made television appearances as guest host of The New York Times Close Up with Sam Roberts on NY1 News and as an analyst on CNN.

Healy married physician assistant Raymond Alejandro “Ray” Delgado on October 1, 2022.

References

Reilly, Patrick (February 15, 2023). New York Times accused of ‘editorial bias’ in coverage of transgender issues. New York Post https://nypost.com/2023/02/15/new-york-times-blasted-for-editorial-bias-in-transgender-coverage/

Bolies, Corbin (March 7, 2023). The New York Times’ Trans Coverage Debacle Was Years in the Making. The Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-the-new-york-times-trans-coverage-debacle-was-years-in-the-making

Kingsbury, Kathleen (April 29, 2021). Patrick Healy Named Deputy Editor of Opinion. New York Times Company https://www.nytco.com/press/patrick-healy-named-deputy-editor-of-opinion/

Kingsbury, Kathleen; Healy, Patrick (January 3, 2023). David French Joins The Times as an Opinion Columnist. New York Times https://www.nytco.com/press/david-french-joins-the-times-as-an-opinion-columnist/

Staff report (April 8, 2005). The Mayor Gets Sound Advice,
But Will He Pay Attention to It? The Quotidian / New York Civic http://www.nycivic.org/QLIST/050408.html [archive]

Staff report (January 4, 2023). GLAAD responds to New York Times hiring anti-LGBTQ attorney as opinion columnist. GLAAD https://glaad.org/releases/glaad-responds-new-york-times-hiring-anti-lgbtq-attorney-opinion-columnist/

Scocca, Tom (January 24, 2005). Off the Record. New York Observer https://observer.com/2005/01/off-the-record-75/

Bolies, Corbin; Cartwright, Lachlan (February 16, 2023). New York Times blasts staffers who condemned paper’s trans coverage. The Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-york-times-blast-staffers-who-condemned-papers-trans-coverage

Eckert, AJ. What the New York Times gets wrong about puberty blockers for transgender youth. Science-Based Medicine https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/what-the-new-york-times-gets-wrong-about-puberty-blockers-for-transgender-youth/

USPATH and WPATH respond to NY Times article “They Paused Puberty, But Is There a Cost? published on November 14, 2022 (PDF). https://www.wpath.org/media/cms/Documents/Public%20Policies/2022/USPATHWPATH%20Statement%20re%20Nov%2014%202022%20NYT%20Article%20Nov%2022%202022.pdf

Urquhart, Evan (November 17, 2022). The NYT’s big piece on puberty blockers mucked up the most important point about them. Slate https://slate.com/technology/2022/11/puberty-blockers-side-effects-controversy.html

Oladipo, Gloria (February 18, 2023). Nearly 1,000 contributors protest New York Times’ coverage of trans people. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/17/new-york-times-contributors-open-letter-protest-anti-trans-coverage

Migdon, Brooke (February 15, 2023). NYT contributors blast paper’s coverage of transgender people. The Hill. https://thehill.com/homenews/media/3859501-nyt-contributors-blast-papers-coverage-of-transgender-people/

Yurcaba, Jo (February 16, 2023). N.Y. Times contributors and LGBTQ advocates send open letters criticizing paper’s trans coverage. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/ny-contributors-lgbtq-advocates-send-open-letters-criticizing-papers-t-rcna70800

Paul, Larisha (February 15, 2023). Gabrielle Union, Tommy Dorfman, more accuse NYT of ‘Harmful’ coverage of trans people. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/new-york-times-coverage-of-trans-people-open-letter-1234680299/

Kalish, Lil. These New York Times contributors say the paper’s coverage of gender issues is hurting trans people. BuzzFeed News. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/lilkalish/trans-writers-open-letter-nyt-biased-coverage

Hays, Gabriel (February 15, 2023). Celebs rip into New York Times for ‘irresponsible’ transgender coverage: Demand end to ‘both sides’ focus. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/media/celebs-rip-new-york-times-irresponsible-transgender-coverage-demand-end-both-sides-focus

Dunlap, David W. (June 19, 2017). How The Times gave ‘gay’ its own voice (again). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.

Klein, Charlotte (February 15, 2023). Nearly 200 New York Times contributors are denouncing the paper’s anti-trans coverage. Vanity Fair. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/new-york-times-trans-coverage

Davies, Rachel (February 16, 2023). The NYT knew what it was doing with its ‘Defense of J.K. Rowling’. The Mary Sue. https://www.themarysue.com/the-nyt-knew-what-it-was-doing-with-its-defense-of-j-k-rowling/

Warrington, James (February 16, 2023). How the New York Times was engulfed by a trans culture war. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/02/15/new-york-times-accused-writers-anti-trans-bigotry/

Healy, Patrick; Rivera, Adrian J. (February 9, 2023). Opinion: These 12 Transgender Americans Would Love You to Mind Your Own Business. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/02/09/opinion/transgender-americans-focus-group.html

Obituary (March 20, 2021). Gerald T. Healy (1934–1921). Boston Globe https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/bostonglobe/name/gerald-healy-obituary?id=6923933

Staff report (April 3, 2023). Carol Higginbotham Healy. The Coastal Mariner https://www.wickedlocal.com/obituaries/pneo0460196

Healy, Patrick (July 7, 2006) For Gay Rights Movement, a Key Setback. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/07/nyregion/07gays.html

Healy, Patrick (December 22, 2023). I Know My Mother Loved Me. The Church Could Have Helped Her Accept Me. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/22/opinion/same-sex-blessing-catholic-church.html

Mastrangelo, Dominick (February 16, 2023). NYT editors: Paper ‘will not tolerate’ its journalists protesting coverage of transgender people. The Hill. https://thehill.com/homenews/3862101-nyt-editors-paper-will-not-tolerate-its-journalists-protesting-coverage-of-transgender-people/amp/

Resources

SourceWatch (sourcewatch.org)

Twitter (twitter.com)

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Muck Rack (muckrack.com)

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Charlie Stadtlander is an American executive involved in anti-transgender coverage at the New York Times. He was Director External Communications, Newsroom in 2023.

No transgender journalist has appeared on the New York Times masthead since its founding in 1851.

References

Reilly, Patrick (February 15, 2023). New York Times accused of ‘editorial bias’ in coverage of transgender issues. New York Post https://nypost.com/2023/02/15/new-york-times-blasted-for-editorial-bias-in-transgender-coverage/

Bolies, Corbin (March 7, 2023). The New York Times’ Trans Coverage Debacle Was Years in the Making. The Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-the-new-york-times-trans-coverage-debacle-was-years-in-the-making

Bolies, Corbin; Cartwright, Lachlan (February 16, 2023). New York Times blasts staffers who condemned paper’s trans coverage. The Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-york-times-blast-staffers-who-condemned-papers-trans-coverage

Eckert, AJ. What the New York Times gets wrong about puberty blockers for transgender youth. Science-Based Medicine https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/what-the-new-york-times-gets-wrong-about-puberty-blockers-for-transgender-youth/

USPATH and WPATH respond to NY Times article “They Paused Puberty, But Is There a Cost? published on November 14, 2022 (PDF). https://www.wpath.org/media/cms/Documents/Public%20Policies/2022/USPATHWPATH%20Statement%20re%20Nov%2014%202022%20NYT%20Article%20Nov%2022%202022.pdf

Urquhart, Evan (November 17, 2022). The NYT’s big piece on puberty blockers mucked up the most important point about them. Slate https://slate.com/technology/2022/11/puberty-blockers-side-effects-controversy.html

Oladipo, Gloria (February 18, 2023). Nearly 1,000 contributors protest New York Times’ coverage of trans people. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/17/new-york-times-contributors-open-letter-protest-anti-trans-coverage

Migdon, Brooke (February 15, 2023). NYT contributors blast paper’s coverage of transgender people. The Hill. https://thehill.com/homenews/media/3859501-nyt-contributors-blast-papers-coverage-of-transgender-people/

Yurcaba, Jo (February 16, 2023). N.Y. Times contributors and LGBTQ advocates send open letters criticizing paper’s trans coverage. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/ny-contributors-lgbtq-advocates-send-open-letters-criticizing-papers-t-rcna70800

Paul, Larisha (February 15, 2023). Gabrielle Union, Tommy Dorfman, more accuse NYT of ‘Harmful’ coverage of trans people. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/new-york-times-coverage-of-trans-people-open-letter-1234680299/

Kalish, Lil. These New York Times contributors say the paper’s coverage of gender issues is hurting trans people. BuzzFeed News. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/lilkalish/trans-writers-open-letter-nyt-biased-coverage

Hays, Gabriel (February 15, 2023). Celebs rip into New York Times for ‘irresponsible’ transgender coverage: Demand end to ‘both sides’ focus. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/media/celebs-rip-new-york-times-irresponsible-transgender-coverage-demand-end-both-sides-focus

Dunlap, David W. (June 19, 2017). How The Times gave ‘gay’ its own voice (again). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.

Klein, Charlotte (February 15, 2023). Nearly 200 New York Times contributors are denouncing the paper’s anti-trans coverage. Vanity Fair. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/new-york-times-trans-coverage

Davies, Rachel (February 16, 2023). The NYT knew what it was doing with its ‘Defense of J.K. Rowling’. The Mary Sue. https://www.themarysue.com/the-nyt-knew-what-it-was-doing-with-its-defense-of-j-k-rowling/

Warrington, James (February 16, 2023). How the New York Times was engulfed by a trans culture war. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/02/15/new-york-times-accused-writers-anti-trans-bigotry/

Mastrangelo, Dominick (February 16, 2023). NYT editors: Paper ‘will not tolerate’ its journalists protesting coverage of transgender people. The Hill. https://thehill.com/homenews/3862101-nyt-editors-paper-will-not-tolerate-its-journalists-protesting-coverage-of-transgender-people/amp/

Philip B. Corbett is an American executive involved in anti-transgender coverage at the New York Times. He was Associate Managing Editor for Standards and recipient of protest letters sent to the Times in 2023.

No transgender journalist has appeared on the New York Times masthead since its founding in 1851.

References

Reilly, Patrick (February 15, 2023). New York Times accused of ‘editorial bias’ in coverage of transgender issues. New York Post https://nypost.com/2023/02/15/new-york-times-blasted-for-editorial-bias-in-transgender-coverage/

Bolies, Corbin (March 7, 2023). The New York Times’ Trans Coverage Debacle Was Years in the Making. The Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-the-new-york-times-trans-coverage-debacle-was-years-in-the-making

Bolies, Corbin; Cartwright, Lachlan (February 16, 2023). New York Times blasts staffers who condemned paper’s trans coverage. The Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-york-times-blast-staffers-who-condemned-papers-trans-coverage

Eckert, AJ. What the New York Times gets wrong about puberty blockers for transgender youth. Science-Based Medicine https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/what-the-new-york-times-gets-wrong-about-puberty-blockers-for-transgender-youth/

USPATH and WPATH respond to NY Times article “They Paused Puberty, But Is There a Cost? published on November 14, 2022 (PDF). https://www.wpath.org/media/cms/Documents/Public%20Policies/2022/USPATHWPATH%20Statement%20re%20Nov%2014%202022%20NYT%20Article%20Nov%2022%202022.pdf

Urquhart, Evan (November 17, 2022). The NYT’s big piece on puberty blockers mucked up the most important point about them. Slate https://slate.com/technology/2022/11/puberty-blockers-side-effects-controversy.html

Oladipo, Gloria (February 18, 2023). Nearly 1,000 contributors protest New York Times’ coverage of trans people. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/17/new-york-times-contributors-open-letter-protest-anti-trans-coverage

Migdon, Brooke (February 15, 2023). NYT contributors blast paper’s coverage of transgender people. The Hill. https://thehill.com/homenews/media/3859501-nyt-contributors-blast-papers-coverage-of-transgender-people/

Yurcaba, Jo (February 16, 2023). N.Y. Times contributors and LGBTQ advocates send open letters criticizing paper’s trans coverage. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/ny-contributors-lgbtq-advocates-send-open-letters-criticizing-papers-t-rcna70800

Paul, Larisha (February 15, 2023). Gabrielle Union, Tommy Dorfman, more accuse NYT of ‘Harmful’ coverage of trans people. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/new-york-times-coverage-of-trans-people-open-letter-1234680299/

Kalish, Lil. These New York Times contributors say the paper’s coverage of gender issues is hurting trans people. BuzzFeed News. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/lilkalish/trans-writers-open-letter-nyt-biased-coverage

Hays, Gabriel (February 15, 2023). Celebs rip into New York Times for ‘irresponsible’ transgender coverage: Demand end to ‘both sides’ focus. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/media/celebs-rip-new-york-times-irresponsible-transgender-coverage-demand-end-both-sides-focus

Dunlap, David W. (June 19, 2017). How The Times gave ‘gay’ its own voice (again). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.

Klein, Charlotte (February 15, 2023). Nearly 200 New York Times contributors are denouncing the paper’s anti-trans coverage. Vanity Fair. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/new-york-times-trans-coverage

Davies, Rachel (February 16, 2023). The NYT knew what it was doing with its ‘Defense of J.K. Rowling’. The Mary Sue. https://www.themarysue.com/the-nyt-knew-what-it-was-doing-with-its-defense-of-j-k-rowling/

Warrington, James (February 16, 2023). How the New York Times was engulfed by a trans culture war. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/02/15/new-york-times-accused-writers-anti-trans-bigotry/

Mastrangelo, Dominick (February 16, 2023). NYT editors: Paper ‘will not tolerate’ its journalists protesting coverage of transgender people. The Hill. https://thehill.com/homenews/3862101-nyt-editors-paper-will-not-tolerate-its-journalists-protesting-coverage-of-transgender-people/amp/

David Rubin is an American marketing executive. He was responsible for communications at the New York Times during its sharp increase in anti-transgender coverage.

No transgender journalist has appeared on the New York Times masthead since its founding in 1851.

Background

Rubin earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale in 1993 and an MBA from Wharton in 1999.

He joined Unilever in 1999, rising to vice president for its US hair brands. He joined Pinterest in 2014 but left 18 months later.

Rubin joined the Times in 2016. He is responsible for communications, enterprise-wide brand strategy, creative, and media, as well as audience definition, strategy and targets.

References

Reilly, Patrick (February 15, 2023). New York Times accused of ‘editorial bias’ in coverage of transgender issues. New York Post https://nypost.com/2023/02/15/new-york-times-blasted-for-editorial-bias-in-transgender-coverage/

Bolies, Corbin (March 7, 2023). The New York Times’ Trans Coverage Debacle Was Years in the Making. The Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-the-new-york-times-trans-coverage-debacle-was-years-in-the-making

Bolies, Corbin; Cartwright, Lachlan (February 16, 2023). New York Times blasts staffers who condemned paper’s trans coverage. The Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-york-times-blast-staffers-who-condemned-papers-trans-coverage

Eckert, AJ. What the New York Times gets wrong about puberty blockers for transgender youth. Science-Based Medicine https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/what-the-new-york-times-gets-wrong-about-puberty-blockers-for-transgender-youth/

USPATH and WPATH respond to NY Times article “They Paused Puberty, But Is There a Cost? published on November 14, 2022 (PDF). https://www.wpath.org/media/cms/Documents/Public%20Policies/2022/USPATHWPATH%20Statement%20re%20Nov%2014%202022%20NYT%20Article%20Nov%2022%202022.pdf

Urquhart, Evan (November 17, 2022). The NYT’s big piece on puberty blockers mucked up the most important point about them. Slate https://slate.com/technology/2022/11/puberty-blockers-side-effects-controversy.html

Oladipo, Gloria (February 18, 2023). Nearly 1,000 contributors protest New York Times’ coverage of trans people. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/17/new-york-times-contributors-open-letter-protest-anti-trans-coverage

Migdon, Brooke (February 15, 2023). NYT contributors blast paper’s coverage of transgender people. The Hill. https://thehill.com/homenews/media/3859501-nyt-contributors-blast-papers-coverage-of-transgender-people/

Yurcaba, Jo (February 16, 2023). N.Y. Times contributors and LGBTQ advocates send open letters criticizing paper’s trans coverage. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/ny-contributors-lgbtq-advocates-send-open-letters-criticizing-papers-t-rcna70800

Paul, Larisha (February 15, 2023). Gabrielle Union, Tommy Dorfman, more accuse NYT of ‘Harmful’ coverage of trans people. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/new-york-times-coverage-of-trans-people-open-letter-1234680299/

Kalish, Lil. These New York Times contributors say the paper’s coverage of gender issues is hurting trans people. BuzzFeed News. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/lilkalish/trans-writers-open-letter-nyt-biased-coverage

Hays, Gabriel (February 15, 2023). Celebs rip into New York Times for ‘irresponsible’ transgender coverage: Demand end to ‘both sides’ focus. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/media/celebs-rip-new-york-times-irresponsible-transgender-coverage-demand-end-both-sides-focus

Dunlap, David W. (June 19, 2017). How The Times gave ‘gay’ its own voice (again). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.

Klein, Charlotte (February 15, 2023). Nearly 200 New York Times contributors are denouncing the paper’s anti-trans coverage. Vanity Fair. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/new-york-times-trans-coverage

Davies, Rachel (February 16, 2023). The NYT knew what it was doing with its ‘Defense of J.K. Rowling’. The Mary Sue. https://www.themarysue.com/the-nyt-knew-what-it-was-doing-with-its-defense-of-j-k-rowling/

Warrington, James (February 16, 2023). How the New York Times was engulfed by a trans culture war. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/02/15/new-york-times-accused-writers-anti-trans-bigotry/

Mastrangelo, Dominick (February 16, 2023). NYT editors: Paper ‘will not tolerate’ its journalists protesting coverage of transgender people. The Hill. https://thehill.com/homenews/3862101-nyt-editors-paper-will-not-tolerate-its-journalists-protesting-coverage-of-transgender-people/amp/

O’Reilly, Laura (December 16, 2015) Pinterest’s head of brand is leaving after 18 months in the role. Insider https://www.businessinsider.com/pinterest-head-of-brand-david-rubin-is-leaving-2015-12

Resources

The New York Times Company (nytco.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

Twitter (twitter.com)

Pinterest (pinterest.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

Diane Brayton is an American lawyer who served as general counsel for the New York Times during its sharp uptick in anti-transgender coverage. Under Brayton’s watch, the New York Times remained a hostile workplace environment for trans people and their allies. As evidence of their trans-exclusionary hiring practices, no transgender journalist has appeared on the New York Times masthead since its founding in 1851.

Background

Diane Marie Brayton was born February 16, 1969 in Kearney, Nebraska. Brayton earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska in 1991 and a J.D. degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1996. From 1996 to 1997, Brayton was a clerk for the Honorable W. Eugene Davis of the United States Court of Appeals, for the Fifth Circuit.

Brayton was an associate at the law firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in New York, Moscow and London from 1997 to 2002 and vice president and counsel in the legal department of Credit Suisse First Boston from 2002 to 2004. Brayton joined the New York Times in 2004 and became Executive Vice President, General Counsel in January 2017.

References

Reilly, Patrick (February 15, 2023). New York Times accused of ‘editorial bias’ in coverage of transgender issues. New York Post https://nypost.com/2023/02/15/new-york-times-blasted-for-editorial-bias-in-transgender-coverage/

Bolies, Corbin; Cartwright, Lachlan (February 16, 2023). New York Times blasts staffers who condemned paper’s trans coverage. The Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-york-times-blast-staffers-who-condemned-papers-trans-coverage

Bolies, Corbin (March 7, 2023). The New York Times’ Trans Coverage Debacle Was Years in the Making. The Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-the-new-york-times-trans-coverage-debacle-was-years-in-the-making

Eckert, AJ. What the New York Times gets wrong about puberty blockers for transgender youth. Science-Based Medicine https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/what-the-new-york-times-gets-wrong-about-puberty-blockers-for-transgender-youth/

USPATH and WPATH respond to NY Times article “They Paused Puberty, But Is There a Cost? published on November 14, 2022 (PDF). https://www.wpath.org/media/cms/Documents/Public%20Policies/2022/USPATHWPATH%20Statement%20re%20Nov%2014%202022%20NYT%20Article%20Nov%2022%202022.pdf

Urquhart, Evan (November 17, 2022). The NYT’s big piece on puberty blockers mucked up the most important point about them. Slate https://slate.com/technology/2022/11/puberty-blockers-side-effects-controversy.html

Oladipo, Gloria (February 18, 2023). Nearly 1,000 contributors protest New York Times’ coverage of trans people. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/17/new-york-times-contributors-open-letter-protest-anti-trans-coverage

Migdon, Brooke (February 15, 2023). NYT contributors blast paper’s coverage of transgender people. The Hill. https://thehill.com/homenews/media/3859501-nyt-contributors-blast-papers-coverage-of-transgender-people/

Yurcaba, Jo (February 16, 2023). N.Y. Times contributors and LGBTQ advocates send open letters criticizing paper’s trans coverage. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/ny-contributors-lgbtq-advocates-send-open-letters-criticizing-papers-t-rcna70800

Paul, Larisha (February 15, 2023). Gabrielle Union, Tommy Dorfman, more accuse NYT of ‘Harmful’ coverage of trans people. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/new-york-times-coverage-of-trans-people-open-letter-1234680299/

Kalish, Lil. These New York Times contributors say the paper’s coverage of gender issues is hurting trans people. BuzzFeed News. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/lilkalish/trans-writers-open-letter-nyt-biased-coverage

Hays, Gabriel (February 15, 2023). Celebs rip into New York Times for ‘irresponsible’ transgender coverage: Demand end to ‘both sides’ focus. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/media/celebs-rip-new-york-times-irresponsible-transgender-coverage-demand-end-both-sides-focus

Dunlap, David W. (June 19, 2017). How The Times gave ‘gay’ its own voice (again). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.

Klein, Charlotte (February 15, 2023). Nearly 200 New York Times contributors are denouncing the paper’s anti-trans coverage. Vanity Fair. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/new-york-times-trans-coverage

Davies, Rachel (February 16, 2023). The NYT knew what it was doing with its ‘Defense of J.K. Rowling’. The Mary Sue. https://www.themarysue.com/the-nyt-knew-what-it-was-doing-with-its-defense-of-j-k-rowling/

Warrington, James (February 16, 2023). How the New York Times was engulfed by a trans culture war. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/02/15/new-york-times-accused-writers-anti-trans-bigotry/

Mastrangelo, Dominick (February 16, 2023). NYT editors: Paper ‘will not tolerate’ its journalists protesting coverage of transgender people. The Hill. https://thehill.com/homenews/3862101-nyt-editors-paper-will-not-tolerate-its-journalists-protesting-coverage-of-transgender-people/amp/

Resources

The New York Times Company (nytco.com)

Twitter (twitter.com)

A.G. Sulzberger is an American journalist responsible for the surge of anti-transgender coverage in the New York Times from 2018 onward.

No transgender journalist has appeared on the New York Times masthead since its founding in 1851.

Background

Sulzberger’s family has controlled the New York Times since 1896.

Arthur Gregg Sulzberger was born August 5, 1980 in Washington, DC. After attending private school in New York, he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Brown University in 2003. He worked at the Providence Journal from 2004 to 2006, The Oregonian from 2006 to 2009, and The New York Times starting in 2009. He was soon named an associate editor and began publishing internal reports on long-term business strategy. In 2016 he was named deputy publisher. He beat out his cousins Sam Dolnick and David Perpich to succeed his father as publisher in 2018, then was named chair of The New York Times Company in 2021.

Sulzberger’s anti-transgender policy and strategy

In 2023, hundreds of Times staffers signed a letter expressing concern about anti-trans coverage under Sulzberger’s leadership.

GLAAD also presented a letter with notable signatories that had three requests:

  1. STOP: Stop printing biased anti-trans stories.
  2. LISTEN: So many trans people are wary of the Times, and do not trust the Times. Hold a meeting with transgender community members and leaders, and listen throughout that meeting.
  3. HIRE: Genuinely invest in hiring trans writers and editors, full time on your staff.

Via Daily Beast:

Nozlee Samadzadeh, a computer programmer with the Times, posted a screenshot of an email she wrote to Times publisher A. G. Sulzberger that said she has lost trust in management over its defense that those who criticized the Times’ trans coverage engaged in “advocacy.”

“To dismiss yesterday’s letter from Times contributors… is disrespectful to the very journalists whose work we’ve chosen to publish,” she wrote. “And on the very next day to publish Pamela Paul’s piece on JK Rowling, someone whose platform is big enough not to need our ‘defense’ and who has caused very real harm to the trans community, is difficult not to interpret as a provocation.”

In May 2023, Sulzberger responded to these criticisms in the Columbia Journalism Review:

More recently, we’ve heard similar arguments about journalism putting lives at risk emerging from our coverage of the debates inside the medical community over care for transgender children. Critics have accused our work of “‘both sides’ fearmongering and bad-faith ‘just asking questions’ coverage” and have suggested that even acknowledging a broader range of views on this topic has legitimized—wittingly or not—a repressive legal effort to undermine the rights and the safety of a group that faces significant prejudice. “The pretense of objectivity—the newsroom ideal that all ‘sides’ of an issue should be heard—often harms marginalized people more than it helps them,” wrote one critic of our coverage. “If you say ‘I want to live,’ and I say ‘No,’ what happens next isn’t a debate; it’s murder.”

The Times has covered the surge of discrimination, threats, and violence faced by trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people, including the rapidly growing number of legislative efforts attacking their rights. We’ve also covered the many ways in which people challenging gender norms are gaining recognition and breaking barriers in the United States and around the world. Yet our critics overlook these articles—and there are hundreds of them—to instead focus on a small number of pieces that explore particularly sensitive questions that society is actively working through, but which some would prefer for the Times to treat as settled.

References

Bolies, Corbin (March 7, 2023). The New York Times’ Trans Coverage Debacle Was Years in the Making. The Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-the-new-york-times-trans-coverage-debacle-was-years-in-the-making

Bolies, Corbin; Cartwright, Lachlan (February 16, 2023). New York Times blasts staffers who condemned paper’s trans coverage. The Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-york-times-blast-staffers-who-condemned-papers-trans-coverage

Reilly, Patrick (February 15, 2023). New York Times accused of ‘editorial bias’ in coverage of transgender issues. New York Post https://nypost.com/2023/02/15/new-york-times-blasted-for-editorial-bias-in-transgender-coverage/

Eckert, AJ. What the New York Times gets wrong about puberty blockers for transgender youth. Science-Based Medicine https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/what-the-new-york-times-gets-wrong-about-puberty-blockers-for-transgender-youth/

Sulzberger AG (May 15, 2023). Journalism’s Essential Value. Columbia Journalism Review https://www.cjr.org/special_report/ag-sulzberger-new-york-times-journalisms-essential-value-objectivity-independence.php

USPATH and WPATH respond to NY Times article “They Paused Puberty, But Is There a Cost? published on November 14, 2022 (PDF). https://www.wpath.org/media/cms/Documents/Public%20Policies/2022/USPATHWPATH%20Statement%20re%20Nov%2014%202022%20NYT%20Article%20Nov%2022%202022.pdf

Urquhart, Evan (November 17, 2022). The NYT’s big piece on puberty blockers mucked up the most important point about them. Slate https://slate.com/technology/2022/11/puberty-blockers-side-effects-controversy.html

Oladipo, Gloria (February 18, 2023). Nearly 1,000 contributors protest New York Times’ coverage of trans people. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/17/new-york-times-contributors-open-letter-protest-anti-trans-coverage

Migdon, Brooke (February 15, 2023). NYT contributors blast paper’s coverage of transgender people. The Hill. https://thehill.com/homenews/media/3859501-nyt-contributors-blast-papers-coverage-of-transgender-people/

Yurcaba, Jo (February 16, 2023). N.Y. Times contributors and LGBTQ advocates send open letters criticizing paper’s trans coverage. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/ny-contributors-lgbtq-advocates-send-open-letters-criticizing-papers-t-rcna70800

Paul, Larisha (February 15, 2023). Gabrielle Union, Tommy Dorfman, more accuse NYT of ‘Harmful’ coverage of trans people. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/new-york-times-coverage-of-trans-people-open-letter-1234680299/

Kalish, Lil. These New York Times contributors say the paper’s coverage of gender issues is hurting trans people. BuzzFeed News. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/lilkalish/trans-writers-open-letter-nyt-biased-coverage

Hays, Gabriel (February 15, 2023). Celebs rip into New York Times for ‘irresponsible’ transgender coverage: Demand end to ‘both sides’ focus. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/media/celebs-rip-new-york-times-irresponsible-transgender-coverage-demand-end-both-sides-focus

Dunlap, David W. (June 19, 2017). How The Times gave ‘gay’ its own voice (again). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.

Klein, Charlotte (February 15, 2023). Nearly 200 New York Times contributors are denouncing the paper’s anti-trans coverage. Vanity Fair. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/new-york-times-trans-coverage

Davies, Rachel (February 16, 2023). The NYT knew what it was doing with its ‘Defense of J.K. Rowling’. The Mary Sue. https://www.themarysue.com/the-nyt-knew-what-it-was-doing-with-its-defense-of-j-k-rowling/

Warrington, James (February 16, 2023). How the New York Times was engulfed by a trans culture war. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/02/15/new-york-times-accused-writers-anti-trans-bigotry/

Mastrangelo, Dominick (February 16, 2023). NYT editors: Paper ‘will not tolerate’ its journalists protesting coverage of transgender people. The Hill. https://thehill.com/homenews/3862101-nyt-editors-paper-will-not-tolerate-its-journalists-protesting-coverage-of-transgender-people/amp/

Smith, Ben (October 18, 2022). Inside the identity crisis at The New York Times. Semafor https://www.semafor.com/article/10/18/2022/inside-the-identity-crisis-at-the-new-york-times

Remnick, David (December 22, 2017). A conversation with A.G. Sulzberger, the new leader of the New York Times. New York https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/a-conversation-with-a-g-sulzberger-the-new-leader-of-the-new-york-times

Ember, Sydney (December 14, 2017). A.G. Sulzberger, 37, to Take Over as New York Times Publisher. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/14/business/media/a-g-sulzberger-new-york-times-publisher.html

Barron, James (October 20, 2016). A.G. Sulzberger: leading change at The New York Times as journalism evolves. The New York Times. http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2018/02/ag_sulzberger_new_york_times_p.html

Rogoway, Mike (February 9, 2018). A.G. Sulzberger, New York Times’ publisher and former Oregonian reporter, talks journalism in the digital age. The Oregonian.

Wemple, Erik (December 14, 2017). A.G. Sulzberger to assume publisher role at New York Times on Jan. 1. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2017/12/14/a-g-sulzberger-to-assume-publisher-role-at-new-york-times-on-jan-1/

Benton, Joshua (May 15, 2014). The leaked New York Times innovation report is one of the key documents of this media age. NiemanLab. https://www.niemanlab.org/2014/05/the-leaked-new-york-times-innovation-report-is-one-of-the-key-documents-of-this-media-age/

Snyder, Gabriel (February 12, 2017). The New York Times claws its way into the future. Wired. https://www.wired.com/2017/02/new-york-times-digital-journalism/

Levitz, Eric (October 19, 2016). A.G. Sulzberger Vanquishes His Cousins, Becomes Deputy Publisher of the New York Times. New York. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/10/a-g-sulzberger-becomes-deputy-publisher-of-new-york-times.html

Benton, Joshua. This is The New York Times’ digital path forward. NiemanLab. https://www.niemanlab.org/2017/01/this-is-the-new-york-times-digital-path-forward/

Sulzberger, A. G. (October 7, 2015). Our Path Forward (PDF). The New York Times Company. https://nytco-assets.nytimes.com/m/Our-Path-Forward.pdf

Sulzberger, A. G. (January 1, 2018). A Note from Our New Publisher. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/01/01/opinion/Arthur-Gregg-Sulzberger-The-New-York-Times.html

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Meredith Kopit Levien is an American media executive who was CEO of The New York Times Company during its sharp increase in anti-transgender coverage. Under Kopit Levien’s watch, the New York Times parent company continued its trans-exclusionary hiring practices for journalists and maintained its hostile workplace environment for trans-supportive employees.

No transgender journalist or executive has appeared on the New York Times masthead since its founding in 1851. In 2023 the San Francisco Chronicle cited a Times employee who said the organization has no trans reporters.

Background

Meredith Andrea Kopit was born February 28, 1971 to Carole Toby Kopit (born 1941) and Marvin Kopit (1940–2012). Levien grew up in Richmond, Virginia. Kopit Levien earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Virginia in 1993.

Kopit Levien worked in a series of digital advertising roles at i33/AppNet, Atlantic Media, and Forbes Media, where Levien diluted the brand with “Brandvoice” that allowed brands to self-promote as Forbes contributors. The controversial practice was very lucrative, and Kopit Levien became chief revenue officer in 2012.

In 2013 Kopit Levien joined the New York Times Company as head of advertising. Kopit Levien implemented “paid posts” there as well, which earned a promotion to chief revenue officer in 2015. Kopit Levien revamped the ad department and ran a brand campaign. In 2017 Kopit Levien was named COO. In 2020 Kopit Levien became CEO and joined the Board.

Kopit Levien is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute and serves on the board of directors of Instacart.

Kopit Levien was married to sports executive Jason Miles Levien (born May 17, 1971). They have one child named Justice, born in 2010.

References

Reilly, Patrick (February 15, 2023). New York Times accused of ‘editorial bias’ in coverage of transgender issues. New York Post https://nypost.com/2023/02/15/new-york-times-blasted-for-editorial-bias-in-transgender-coverage/

Bolies, Corbin (March 7, 2023). The New York Times’ Trans Coverage Debacle Was Years in the Making. The Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-the-new-york-times-trans-coverage-debacle-was-years-in-the-making

Bolies, Corbin; Cartwright, Lachlan (February 16, 2023). New York Times blasts staffers who condemned paper’s trans coverage. The Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-york-times-blast-staffers-who-condemned-papers-trans-coverage

Eckert, AJ. What the New York Times gets wrong about puberty blockers for transgender youth. Science-Based Medicine https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/what-the-new-york-times-gets-wrong-about-puberty-blockers-for-transgender-youth/

USPATH and WPATH respond to NY Times article “They Paused Puberty, But Is There a Cost? published on November 14, 2022 (PDF). https://www.wpath.org/media/cms/Documents/Public%20Policies/2022/USPATHWPATH%20Statement%20re%20Nov%2014%202022%20NYT%20Article%20Nov%2022%202022.pdf

Urquhart, Evan (November 17, 2022). The NYT’s big piece on puberty blockers mucked up the most important point about them. Slate https://slate.com/technology/2022/11/puberty-blockers-side-effects-controversy.html

Oladipo, Gloria (February 18, 2023). Nearly 1,000 contributors protest New York Times’ coverage of trans people. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/17/new-york-times-contributors-open-letter-protest-anti-trans-coverage

Migdon, Brooke (February 15, 2023). NYT contributors blast paper’s coverage of transgender people. The Hill. https://thehill.com/homenews/media/3859501-nyt-contributors-blast-papers-coverage-of-transgender-people/

Yurcaba, Jo (February 16, 2023). N.Y. Times contributors and LGBTQ advocates send open letters criticizing paper’s trans coverage. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/ny-contributors-lgbtq-advocates-send-open-letters-criticizing-papers-t-rcna70800

Paul, Larisha (February 15, 2023). Gabrielle Union, Tommy Dorfman, more accuse NYT of ‘Harmful’ coverage of trans people. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/new-york-times-coverage-of-trans-people-open-letter-1234680299/

Kalish, Lil. These New York Times contributors say the paper’s coverage of gender issues is hurting trans people. BuzzFeed News. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/lilkalish/trans-writers-open-letter-nyt-biased-coverage

Hays, Gabriel (February 15, 2023). Celebs rip into New York Times for ‘irresponsible’ transgender coverage: Demand end to ‘both sides’ focus. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/media/celebs-rip-new-york-times-irresponsible-transgender-coverage-demand-end-both-sides-focus

Dunlap, David W. (June 19, 2017). How The Times gave ‘gay’ its own voice (again). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.

Klein, Charlotte (February 15, 2023). Nearly 200 New York Times contributors are denouncing the paper’s anti-trans coverage. Vanity Fair. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/new-york-times-trans-coverage

Davies, Rachel (February 16, 2023). The NYT knew what it was doing with its ‘Defense of J.K. Rowling’. The Mary Sue. https://www.themarysue.com/the-nyt-knew-what-it-was-doing-with-its-defense-of-j-k-rowling/

Warrington, James (February 16, 2023). How the New York Times was engulfed by a trans culture war. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/02/15/new-york-times-accused-writers-anti-trans-bigotry/

Mastrangelo, Dominick (February 16, 2023). NYT editors: Paper ‘will not tolerate’ its journalists protesting coverage of transgender people. The Hill. https://thehill.com/homenews/3862101-nyt-editors-paper-will-not-tolerate-its-journalists-protesting-coverage-of-transgender-people/amp/

Veazey, Kyle (February 16, 2013). Jason Levien followed roundabout path to Grizzlies’ front office. The Commercial Appeal [archive] https://www.commercialappeal.com/sports/grizzlies/jason-levien-followed-roundabout-path-to-grizzlies-front-office-ep-362544418-329050301.html

-https://archive.ph/TZc26

Pompeo, Joe (September 29, 2014). Going native at the Times. Capital New York. [archive] http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/media/2014/09/8553419/going-native-emtimesem

Brown, Abram (March 11, 2023). The News Business Is in Crisis—but Not The New York Times Co. The Information https://www.theinformation.com/articles/the-news-business-is-in-crisis-but-not-the-new-york-times-co

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Joseph Kahn is an American journalist responsible for the surge of anti-transgender coverage in the New York Times from 2022 onward.

No transgender journalist has appeared on the New York Times masthead since its founding in 1851. In 2023 the San Francisco Chronicle cited a Times employee who said the organization has no trans reporters.

Note: for the trans-supportive filmmaker, see Joseph Kahn.

Background

Joseph F. “Joe” Kahn (born August 19, 1964) is one of three children born to executive Leo Kahn and Dorothy Davidson Kahn. Leo Kahn made a fortune in wholesale and retail food sales, first as founder of Purity Supreme and later as a co-founder of office supply retailer Staples. Dorothy Kahn died in 1975; Leo Kahn then married Emily Perkins Gantt Kahn in 1976.

Kahn was a legacy admission at Harvard University, earning a bachelor’s degree in history in 1987 and a master’s degree in East Asian studies in 1990.

In 1989, the Chinese government ordered Kahn to leave the country for working as a reporter while using a tourist visa. Kahn worked at The Dallas Morning News, then the Wall Street Journal before joining the Times in 1998. Kahn was Beijing bureau chief at the Times from July 2003 until December 2007, during which time Kahn and colleague Jim Yardley won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. Kahn then served as Deputy Foreign Editor before serving as Managing Editor from 2016 until 2022. That year Kahn was named Executive Editor.

2023 response to over 1,000 trans-supportive colleagues

On February 15, 2023, over 1,000 New York Times contributors signed an open letter objecting to the Times’ increasingly hostile coverage of transgender issues.

On the same day, GLAAD delivered a second letter and organized a protest in front of Times headquarters.

The next day, Kahn and Opinion Editor Katie Kingsbury warned their colleagues they were violating company policy. Their warning conflates the two letters and dismisses the ethical concerns of their colleagues as “advocacy.”

Colleagues,

Yesterday, the New York Times received a letter delivered by GLAAD, an advocacy group, criticizing coverage in The Times of transgender issues. 

It is not unusual for outside groups to critique our coverage or to rally supporters to seek to influence our journalism. In this case, however, members of our staff and contributors to The Times joined the effort. Their protest letter included direct attacks on several of our colleagues, singling them out by name. 

Participation in such a campaign is against the letter and spirit of our ethics policy. That policy prohibits our journalists from aligning themselves with advocacy groups and joining protest actions on matters of public policy. We also have a clear policy prohibiting Times journalists from attacking one another’s journalism publicly or signaling their support for such attacks. 

Our coverage of transgender issues, including specific pieces singled out for attack, is important, deeply reported, and sensitively written. The journalists who produced those stories nonetheless have endured months of attacks, harassment and threats. The letter also ignores The Times’ strong commitment to covering all aspects of transgender issues, including the life experience of transgender people and the prejudice and violence against them in our society. A full list of our coverage can be viewed here, and any review shows that the allegations this group is making are demonstrably false. 

We realize these are difficult issues that profoundly affect many colleagues personally, including some colleagues who are themselves transgender. We have welcomed and will continue to invite discussion, criticism and robust debate about our coverage. Even when we don’t agree, constructive criticism from colleagues who care, delivered respectfully and through the right channels, strengthens our report. 

We do not welcome, and will not tolerate, participation by Times journalists in protests organized by advocacy groups or attacks on colleagues on social media and other public forums. 

We live in an era when journalists regularly come under fire for doing solid and essential work. We are committed to protecting and supporting them. Their work distinguishes this institution, and makes us proud. 

Joe & Katie

During an all-hands meeting, Kahn asked Carolyn Ryan to speak to the newsroom. Via Vanity Fair:

“I want to talk to you briefly about journalistic independence,” Carolyn Ryan said during an all-hands meeting for the New York Times newsroom earlier this month. The Times managing editor, sporting a pinstripe pantsuit, spoke from a stage where she was seated between fellow managing editor Marc Lacey and executive editor Joe Kahn. â€œWe don’t do our work in an effort to please organizations, governments, presidents, activist groups, ideological groups,” she said in a recording of the meeting obtained by Vanity Fair, noting this has been “a bedrock principle of ours for generations” that “many of us feel in our bones” but “can really get obscured in the modern media landscape, which these days has populated with so many more partisan players.” 

Ryan praised the paper’s coverage of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision; Astead Herndon’s podcast The Run-Up; Michael Powell’s report on whether the ACLU was losing its way; and Megan Twohey’s “thoughtful, careful, well-reported story looking at medical treatment for teens who are transitioning and the lack of scientific research around some of the puberty blockers.” She assured the newsroom that they’ll be hearing more about journalistic independence throughout the year. “And sometimes that will be an annoying note on deadlines saying, you know, we can’t use that language because it really
reflects an activist-group way of looking at an issue and we don’t want to do that,” she said, noting being as “panoramic as possible” is not only “good journalism” but “key to how we think about attracting new, more readers and satisfying a need that’s really out there.”

“Great,” said Kahn.

References

Klein, Charlotte (February 27, 2023). Inside the New York Times blowup over transgender coverage. Vanity Fair https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/new-york-times-trans-coverage-debate

Klein, Charlotte (February 15, 2023). Nearly 200 New York Times contributors are denouncing the paper’s anti-trans coverage. Vanity Fair. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/new-york-times-trans-coverage

Mastrangelo, Dominick (February 16, 2023). NYT editors: Paper ‘will not tolerate’ its journalists protesting coverage of transgender people. The Hill. https://thehill.com/homenews/3862101-nyt-editors-paper-will-not-tolerate-its-journalists-protesting-coverage-of-transgender-people/amp/

Migdon, Brooke (February 15, 2023). NYT contributors blast paper’s coverage of transgender people. The Hill. https://thehill.com/homenews/media/3859501-nyt-contributors-blast-papers-coverage-of-transgender-people/

Reilly, Patrick (February 15, 2023). New York Times accused of ‘editorial bias’ in coverage of transgender issues. New York Post https://nypost.com/2023/02/15/new-york-times-blasted-for-editorial-bias-in-transgender-coverage/

Bolies, Corbin (March 7, 2023). The New York Times’ Trans Coverage Debacle Was Years in the Making. The Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-the-new-york-times-trans-coverage-debacle-was-years-in-the-making

Bolies, Corbin; Cartwright, Lachlan (February 16, 2023). New York Times blasts staffers who condemned paper’s trans coverage. The Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-york-times-blast-staffers-who-condemned-papers-trans-coverage

Eckert, AJ. What the New York Times gets wrong about puberty blockers for transgender youth. Science-Based Medicine https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/what-the-new-york-times-gets-wrong-about-puberty-blockers-for-transgender-youth/

USPATH and WPATH respond to NY Times article “They Paused Puberty, But Is There a Cost? published on November 14, 2022 (PDF). https://www.wpath.org/media/cms/Documents/Public%20Policies/2022/USPATHWPATH%20Statement%20re%20Nov%2014%202022%20NYT%20Article%20Nov%2022%202022.pdf

Urquhart, Evan (November 17, 2022). The NYT’s big piece on puberty blockers mucked up the most important point about them. Slate https://slate.com/technology/2022/11/puberty-blockers-side-effects-controversy.html

Oladipo, Gloria (February 18, 2023). Nearly 1,000 contributors protest New York Times’ coverage of trans people. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/17/new-york-times-contributors-open-letter-protest-anti-trans-coverage

Yurcaba, Jo (February 16, 2023). N.Y. Times contributors and LGBTQ advocates send open letters criticizing paper’s trans coverage. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/ny-contributors-lgbtq-advocates-send-open-letters-criticizing-papers-t-rcna70800

Paul, Larisha (February 15, 2023). Gabrielle Union, Tommy Dorfman, more accuse NYT of ‘Harmful’ coverage of trans people. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/new-york-times-coverage-of-trans-people-open-letter-1234680299/

Kalish, Lil. These New York Times contributors say the paper’s coverage of gender issues is hurting trans people. BuzzFeed News. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/lilkalish/trans-writers-open-letter-nyt-biased-coverage

Hays, Gabriel (February 15, 2023). Celebs rip into New York Times for ‘irresponsible’ transgender coverage: Demand end to ‘both sides’ focus. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/media/celebs-rip-new-york-times-irresponsible-transgender-coverage-demand-end-both-sides-focus

Dunlap, David W. (June 19, 2017). How The Times gave ‘gay’ its own voice (again). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.

Davies, Rachel (February 16, 2023). The NYT knew what it was doing with its ‘Defense of J.K. Rowling’. The Mary Sue. https://www.themarysue.com/the-nyt-knew-what-it-was-doing-with-its-defense-of-j-k-rowling/

Warrington, James (February 16, 2023). How the New York Times was engulfed by a trans culture war. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/02/15/new-york-times-accused-writers-anti-trans-bigotry/

Martin, Douglas (May 12, 2011). “Leo Kahn, Trailblazer in Big-Box Retailing, Dies at 94”. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/13/business/13kahn.html

Ember, Sydney (September 16, 2016). “New York Times Reinstates Managing Editor Role and Appoints Joseph Kahn”. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/17/business/media/new-york-times-reinstates-managing-editor-role-appoints-joseph-kahn.html

Grynbaum, Michael M.; Windolf, Jim (April 19, 2022). Joe Kahn Is Named Next Executive Editor of The New York Times. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/19/business/media/joe-kahn-dean-baquet-new-york-times.html

Resources

NYT Contributors’ Letter (nytletter.com)