NY Times Walkouts Protest Copy Desk Mess: ‘Who Do You Think Makes Sure It’s Fit to Print?’

Writers take to the sidewalk over proposed cuts

New York Tmes Walkout

Editorial staff at The New York Times walked out of their Manhattan newsroom on Thursday to protest a looming cut to their copy editing staff.

Standing in front of the iconic Midtown building, staffers held protest signs that read “Invest In Us” and “Who Do You Think Makes Sure It’s Fit to Print?” — the latter a riff on the paper’s slogan.

While it’s unclear how many staffers were protesting, an individual within earshot said the crowd was chanting, “when they say cut back, we say fight back!”

The organization is looking to evolve the copy desk for speed and focus resources to original reporting, the New York Daily News reported this week. Buy outs would trim as much as half the staff, the report said, and force others to reapply for their jobs or shift duties.

A Times spokesperson did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment on the matter.

The turmoil comes at a fragile moment for the media, specifically for the Times as President Trump lashed out on the paper on Wednesday.

He called the paper “failing” in a Twitter tirade, and accused them of running “false story after false story about me. They don’t even call to verify the facts of a story.”

See photos from the scene:

https://twitter.com/prrosado/status/880511364103634945

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