Recent internal strife at the New York Times has been framed through the lens of cancel culture. But we would have cast the controversies in much simpler terms prior to the Great Awokening. Insofar as the impetus behind the fracas is indeed an illiberal embrace of cancel culture, the real problem with the New York Times is simply that its management has fostered a toxic, hostile work environment.

The latest drama at the New York Times came after some staffer (presumably) leaked word of a 2019 incident involving (now former) star science reporter Donald McNeil. McNeil said the N-word while leading a company trip for privileged high school students, in the context of asking how this slur had been used by someone else.