The New York Times is an American media organization. With some notable exceptions, their coverage of transgender issues has been neutral to negative. The Science, Opinion, and Books sections have been particularly biased on trans issues.
No transgender journalist has appeared on the New York Times masthead since its founding in 1851. Due to the hostile work environment, no transgender reporters worked there according to a 2023 San Francisco Chronicle report.
Assessments
It is considered a paper of record for the United States, along with The Washington Post.
Ad Fontes Media (adfontesmedia.com)
- New York Times
- Reliability: 47.50 out of 64 (32+ is “generally good”)
- Bias: -4.01 (9.5% left-leaning bias)
NewsGuard (as of January 2020)
- Approximate score: 100
- Standards failed: None
Anti-transgender coverage crisis
Decades of anti-transgender coverage culminated in a newsroom revolt in 2023:
According to Times sources, there used to be open Slack channels where staff could discuss any issues they had with coverage, and they freely voiced objections at all-hands meetings with the masthead editors. But now, with the advent of virtual meetings, management doesn’t pick the uncomfortable questions during Q&A.
And, that employee said, there are still no out trans reporters on staff at the paper.
Ho (2023)
Key people
Current
- A.G. Sulzberger, Publisher
- Joseph Kahn, Executive Editor
- Kathleen Kingsbury, Opinion Editor
- Meredith Kopit Levien, Chief Executive Officer
- Diane Brayton, General Counsel And Secretary
- Jacqueline M. Welch, Chief Human Resources Officer
- David Rubin, Chief Marketing And Communications Officer
- Danielle Rhoades Ha, SVP, External Communication
- Cynara Charles-Pierre, SVP, Culture and Communications
- Philip B. Corbett, Associate Managing Editor, Standards
- Charlotte Greensit, Associate Managing Editor
- Charlie Stadtlander, Director External Communications, Newsroom
- Patrick Healy, Deputy Opinion Editor
- Carolyn Ryan, Managing Editor and highest-ranking LGBTQ employee in the newsroom
- Marc Lacey, Managing Editor
- Sam Dolnick, Deputy Managing Editor
- Steve Duenes, Deputy Managing Editor
- Clifford Levy, Deputy Managing Editor
- Monica Drake, Assistant Managing Editor
- Matthew Ericson, Assistant Managing Editor
- Hannah Poferl, Assistant Managing Editor
- Sam Sifton, Assistant Managing Editor
- Karron Skog, Assistant Managing Editor
- Michael Slackman, Assistant Managing Editor
- Jake Silverstein, Editor Times Sunday Magazine
- Mike Abrams, Director of Journalism Practice and Principles
- Lisa Tobin, Executive Producer of NYT Audio
Former
- Dean Baquet, Executive Editor
- James Bennet, Opinion Editor
- Choire Sicha, Style Editor
Contributors
Cisgender
- Maggie Astor
- Katie J.M. Baker
- Michael Barbaro
- Emily Bazelon
- Joseph Bernstein
- Jane Brody
- David Brooks
- Benedict Carey
- James Dao
- David Dobbs
- Ross Douthat
- David Enrich
- David French
- Azeen Ghorayshi
- Michelle Goldberg
- Erica Goode
- Claire Gutierrez
- Virginia Hughes
- Ezra Klein
- Christina Jewett
- Ernesto Londoño
- John McDermott
- Austin Mitchell
- Adam Nagourney
- Nicholas Nehamas
- Kirsten Noyes
- Pamela Paul
- Jeremy W. Peters
- Lydia Polgreen
- Michael Powell
- Michael Roston
- Amy Sohn
- Annie-Rose Strasser
- Lara Takenaga
- Derrick Bryson Taylor
- Megan Twohey
- Bari Weiss
- Jia Lynn Yang
Trans+
- Priya Arora
- Jennifer Finney Boylan
- Donna Cartwright
- Billie Sweeney
- S. Leigh Thompson, a trans DEI consultant from Go Beyond Diversity hired by the Times
References
Wilkins, Riki (2024). Bad Ink: How The New York Times Sold Out Transgender Teens. Riverdale Avenue Books, ISBN 9781626016828
Urquhart, Evan (January 8, 2025). Bias at NYT: Trans Former Employee Speaks Out. Assigned Media https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/former-editor-nyt-biased-on-trans-hiring
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
Ho, Soliel (August 31, 2023). Inside the New York Times’ trans coverage: ‘I wonder if people at the top fully believe in trans people’s humanity.’ San Francisco Chronicle https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/article/new-york-times-trans-18214925.php
Resources
New York Times (nytimes.com)
- Twitter: nytimes
- YouTube: TheNewYorkTimes
Britannica (britannica.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
WorldCat (worldcat.org)