Nearly half of New York Times employees say they can't speak freely, internal survey reveals: Report

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NY Times editor shifts on race flap

On reporter who quit over N-word

An internal survey conducted by The New York Times has revealed that roughly half of its employees are hesitant to speak freely in the workplace, the New York Post reported over the weekend.

"In response to the statement, 'There is a free exchange of views in this company; people are not afraid to say what they really think,' only 51% of Times employees responded in the affirmative," the Post reported. 

The 51 percent is reportedly "10% lower than the 'benchmark.'" 

"Although the majority of us feel well-informed, many indicated that differing viewpoints aren’t sought or valued in our work," the Times' assessment of its own data read. "Relatedly, we saw some negative responses on whether there’s a free exchange of views in the company, and scored below the benchmark on this question."

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The survey also recorded a 10% decline in the number of Times employees who believe their colleagues and superiors accept racial or ethnic differences, with more than a quarter of the staff believing the opposite.

"We saw steep declines in answers about leaders and colleagues accepting and embracing differences in race, gender, identity and religion," the assessment read. "Responses from Black and Latino colleagues declined at an even greater rate."

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In recent months, the Gray Lady has suffered from a string of internal clashes that have erupted in the public eye. Last summer, there was an open revolt from Times employees after it ran an op-ed by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., calling for the military to be sent into cities if necessary to quell the violence following George Floyd's death. That spat resulted in the resignation of opinion editor James Bennet. 

In July, Bari Weiss, who worked alongside Bennet on the opinion pages, announced her dramatic exit from the paper, claiming she was bullied by her colleagues for having differing points of view. 

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Times staff have also been clashing over the ouster of veteran science reporter Donald McNeil Jr. after it was revealed that he had previously been reprimanded for using the n-word on an educational trip in 2019.

Last week, the Post published an op-ed from Times columnist Bret Stephens addressing the paper's botched handling of the controversy after his own bosses stopped the piece from running.