New York Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet said the publication changed a controversial front page headline in the wake of President Trump’s speech on last weekend’s mass shootings.
“It was written on deadline and when it was passed along for approval we all saw it was a bad headline and changed it pretty quickly,” Baquet told the Daily Beast Tuesday. “I understand the concern people have. Headlines matter. But I hope they read the coverage, which I will argue was strong.”
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A representative for the publication said the headline in question “TRUMP URGES UNITY VS. RACISM” was “clearly flawed” but that it had been changed for every edition but the first.
The headline change followed criticism of the Times by a handful of liberal pundits and Democratic presidential candidates.
Lives literally depend on you doing better, NYT. Please do. https://t.co/L4CpCb8zLi
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) August 6, 2019
Unbelievable. https://t.co/rLgaacttDS
— Beto O’Rourke (@BetoORourke) August 6, 2019
I canceled my subscription. I know a lot of folks will tell me I’m wrong. I will miss it. But I can’t keep rewarding such awful news judgment. “Trump Urges Unity Against Racism” is almost as bad as their full-page Comey letter coverage just before 2016 election. Nobody learns. https://t.co/FNUyXN9TmB
— Joan Walsh (@joanwalsh) August 6, 2019
The New York Times changed its headline for the second edition, but this is the one that landed on our doorstep & is displayed in storefronts throughout our majority-black zip code. What a betrayal, pretending this president is not the racist we know him to be. pic.twitter.com/qEaj0HJqK2
— Connie Schultz (@ConnieSchultz) August 6, 2019
The Times replaced the original headline with “ASSAILING HATE BUT NOT GUNS.”
The headline followed President Trump’s response to mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.
In a speech after the shootings, the president condemned white supremacy, calling it a “sinister” ideology.
Trump urged lawmakers to pass gun background checks in tweets before his speech but did not talk about potential solutions during the speech.
