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The New York Times removes some mentions of union work from staff bios

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1 month ago

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Some staffers at The New York Times say the company removed some mentions of their union work from their public-facing staff biographies.

It comes after the Times asked its reporters to tell the audience a little more about themselves — and then snatched the metaphorical mic away when reporters used the opportunity to detail their union work, according to reports.

“The new format, which we call enhanced bios, was designed to bolster trust with readers by letting them know who we are and how we work,” read a January press release from two managing editors at the Times. “Research has shown that the more readers know about our reporters, the more likely they are to understand the rigors of our journalistic process and trust the results.”

One reporter told The Washington Post that he intentionally included his membership with the Times Guild, which “advocates for members and works to ensure that The Times is a fair and equitable place to work.”

After publication, his and other bios were edited last week to remove the “fair and equitable” language, the Post reported. Times Guild leaders called it “petty and absurd,” according to the Post.

A spokesperson for the Times told Business Insider that of about 700 biographies, only five included the “fair and equitable” language that the Times later removed, adding that similar edits were also made to descriptions of other, non-union-related organizations.

A spokesperson for the Times Guild did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI on Sunday.

The Times Guild secured a contract last summer that raised the staff base salary to $65,000. The win came months after a daylong walkout, the first at the publication since the 1970s.

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