‘There Was No Sympathy’: New York Times Staff Frustration Spreads After Sports Bureau Closes

What was supposed to be a routine corporate meeting the The New York Times It turned into a contentious questioning Thursday, as employees pressed management for answers about the newspaper’s recent decision to dissolution Sports department. The move left the newsroom frustrated and anxious, with many angered by the company’s plan to subcontract certain sports coverage through The Athletic, the subscription-based sports website. times acquired last year. “There’s a real concern in the newsroom that if this was left standing, they could do it with any department, and nothing they said in the meeting made us feel otherwise,” times employee tells me.

during the meeting, Terry Ann Glenn, The Director of Newsroom Operations for the Sports Bureau gave an emotional speech about how the staff in the department learned their oath had been cut. The sports staff was called to a Monday morning meeting, and the news alert that the sports office was closing went out to the executive editor Joe was He had spoken the words out loud in the room, according to a source familiar with the meeting. Glenn noted that staff were getting text messages from family and friends about the news, while they themselves were still being briefed on the situation. Kahn admitted that the “choreography” was not perfect and called it a difficult case.

“It was a bad reaction. Just apologise,” one said times employee says. “There was no empathy, and there was also no honesty,” says another, noting that the Sports Bureau had been “begging for information” for months. “We are all completely stunned. It feels like they made the wrong decision every single moment.”

Sports reporter Jenny Frentas Khan asked on Thursday when the captains decided to cut off the Sports Bureau. Khan did not directly answer the question, according to several reasons times staff, and said staff was told as soon as management became aware. When asked if the company intends to cut any other divisions and primarily replace them with third parties in the future, Kahn said the newspaper is investing in the newsroom, citing the “Culinary” and “Okay” sectors.

times Staff also raised concerns about the difference in standards between The Athletic and The Athletic times. When brought up during a meeting Thursday, Deputy Wirecutter and Sports Publisher Cliff Levy former times A masthead member who is used to overseeing the Criteria times Newsroom, he said he knew more about the standards in times more than almost anyone else and has claimed that the “basic” standards and journalistic values ​​of athletes are the same as those of times, According to two employees. times The staff is particularly annoyed Shams Al-Shaaraniyyah who works for both The Athletic and gambling company FanDuel, and last month Affected betting odds With a tweet, several employees told me. (Spokesperson times previously said The Wall Street Journal that Charania “doesn’t pick games or encourage people to gamble. He simply reports on the news (having first reported it for The Athletic) about injuries, trades and transactions.”) magazine he have mentioned The two newsrooms maintain a different set of standards and editorial processes.

times CEO Meredith Cobbett Levian He officially closed the meeting and ended the live broadcast after about a 25-minute question-and-answer segment, but said some members of the leadership — including Kahn, Levy, managing editor Caroline Ryan and sports publisher David Birpich– He will stay and answer questions for those in the office. “We realize this decision has been disappointing to some colleagues. But we would like to stress that there are no plans for layoffs and everyone affected in the current Sports Office has been offered roles in other offices in the country. times newsroom,” times official speaker Danielle Rhodes He said in a statement to Vanity FairAdding that the company has added more than 1,000 journalistic jobs in recent years, even as other companies have had to lay off their staff.

Thursday’s meeting was packed with people wearing union T-shirts and posters that said, “Sports Subcontracting Is Not Fair Play.” Syndicate He said She intends to challenge timesPlan to outsource union jobs to non-union workers at Athletic.