Mike Abrams is an American journalist involved in anti-transgender coverage at the New York Times during the 2020s. He became Director, Journalism Practices and Principles in 2020.
No transgender journalist has appeared on the New York Times masthead since its founding in 1851.
Note: for the American evolutionary psychologist, see Mike Abrams.
Background
Abrams earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Penn State University in 1994. He was editor of the school paper. He worked at The York Daily Record and The Virginian-Pilot before joining the Times as an editor in 2004. He edited in the sports, news, and culture departments before being in charge of standards and training for editors in 2019. He was named Director, Journalism Practices and Principles in 2020.
Abrams is part of The New York Times Corps, a talent-pipeline program for college students to receive career guidance from Times journalists over a multiyear period. Since the Times has not had a trans journalist on their masthead since their founding in 1951, perhaps he can be part of the necessary change.
Anti-trans coverage
In 2023, Abrams told The Daily Beast that “action plans were developed among Times leadership, but that the paper can’t control how people will respond to or share its coverage.” He said:
“I think we’re in a sensitive moment in our country. There are clear threats in a number of states, particularly to transgender individuals. It heads into an already heightened atmosphere. Some of the reaction we’re seeing would have been inevitable. There’s going to be intense opinions of our coverage, particularly when you see people cherry-picking details from those reports for their own means.”
Bolies (2023)
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 (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/
Bellisario College of Communications (January 14, 2021). Respected alumnus brings vital approach to role at The New York Times. https://www.psu.edu/news/bellisario-college-communications/story/respected-alumnus-brings-vital-approach-role-new-york-times/
Kim, Ted; Correa, Carla; Blumenstein, Rebecca (August 30, 2022). Introducing the inaugural members of The New York Times Corps. New York Times Company https://www.nytco.com/press/introducing-the-inaugural-members-of-the-new-york-times-corps/
Resources
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)