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The New York Times vs. transgender people

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 work there as of 2023 according to a 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

Former

Contributors

Cisgender

Trans+

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

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)

Britannica (britannica.com)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

WorldCat (worldcat.org)