New York Times ACCUSED – This Is Very Illegal!
(LibertySons.org) – The union representing workers at The New York Times (NYT) recently released a report on the company’s employee performance evaluation system. The findings reveal a flawed system that the NYT Guild claims has a racial bias against non-whites. Despite the data, the publication maintains its process is fair.
The Report
Released on August 23, “Racial Disparities in Performance Evaluation at The New York Times” took a look at employee reviews over 2020 and 2021. The guild found high ratings appeared to go mostly to white workers in both years. In 2021, Hispanics were 61% less likely to get the top review score. Blacks scored at 47% lower, and Asians took a 34% hit. In 2020, the organization noted 90% of all high scores went to white reporters. That same year, not a single Black correspondent received top ratings.
The union used information supplied by NYT management. To ensure accuracy, reps had the findings reviewed by performance evaluation experts, academic economists, and statisticians.
The Response
The Times continuously refused to acknowledge partiality in the system, stating the company wants every employee to succeed. Over the years, the process has had some changes. Even with these alterations, the results have stayed consistent, showing the reviews may benefit whites to the detriment of other races. In addition, the results remained the same even when using different methods to analyze the data.
Company leaders looked at the data in previous years and found no bias.
Still, consultants on behalf of the reporters saw flaws. The experts suggested the way the company approaches reviews naturally makes it hard to detect any partiality. Brown University economist Peter Hull suggested a test with intentionally added biases, which would reveal if this accusation stood up against added weight — it did. The analysis methods didn’t detect issues even when purposely obvious.
After seeing the findings in this report, management said the guild did not give them enough time to sift through the conclusions, but committed to ensuring fairness.
The Impact
Despite the issues within the review system, employees said they didn’t even get any benefit from the process. Reporters claimed their daily feedback didn’t match their performance review scores. In addition, when they asked for clarification about their ratings, management failed to provide any information about how to improve. The process made some workers feel discouraged, and it even led to some resignations.
The big issue with such measures is the company uses them when making impactful decisions. Employees who get lower ratings see effects on their pay and opportunities. Plus, The Times uses these scores to figure bonuses, increasing the disparities between white and minority workers.
The Controversy
The accusations of bias are harmful to the Left-leaning publication, and it isn’t the only racially-sensitive issue happening right now. Opinion Editor Bari Weiss recently explained an op-ed by Black Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) ended up on the cutting room floor because another editor questioned whether members of the GOP cared about racial issues. Another employee refused to seek Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) permission to print — an order allegedly from another editor at the NYT.
Before that, reporter Donald McNeil Jr. resigned in 2021 after facing pressure from a separate incident. The journalist used a racial slur while acting as a chaperone to students on a company-sponsored trip, ending his career with the paper.
~Here’s to Our Liberty!
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