It’s always a great day to be an American, but Thursday was especially remarkable because writers for a certain “Gray Lady” are on strike. That means there’s a whole lot less “fake news” out there for a brief moment in time.
On Wednesday, The New York Times’ Maggie Astor tweeted, “Barring a breakthrough, @nytimes staff will walk out from midnight to 11:59pm Thursday, Dec. 8. We’re asking readers to stand with us on the digital picket line and not visit any NYT platforms tomorrow. Read local news. Make something from a cookbook. Break your Wordle streak.”
Indeed, Astor shared photos of herself masked to the brim while standing amongst picketers on Thursday morning.
We know what we're worth pic.twitter.com/9mdBbYYz31
— Maggie Astor (@MaggieAstor) December 8, 2022
Wendy Lu, an editor for the paper, also tweeted, “It shouldn’t have come to this, but here we are: Today, I am one of more than 1,100 @NYTimesGuild workers who are walking out to demand a fair & complete contract. After 20+ months of negotiations, enough is enough. As the makers of @nytimes, we deserve better.”
It shouldn’t have come to this, but here we are: Today, I am one of more than 1,100 @NYTimesGuild workers who are walking out to demand a fair & complete contract. After 20+ months of negotiations, enough is enough. As the makers of @nytimes, we deserve better ✊🏼 pic.twitter.com/PU67mE7ojD
— Wendy Lu (@wendyluwrites) December 8, 2022
Indeed, The NYTimes Guild advised its audience, “If you see someone’s name on a story on Thursday or Friday, it does not necessarily mean they crossed the picket line to write it. Newspapers often have reporters write portions of stories ahead of time when possible.”
If you see someone's name on a story on Thursday or Friday, it does not necessarily mean they crossed the picket line to write it. Newspapers often have reporters write portions of stories ahead of time when possible.
— NYTimesGuild (@NYTimesGuild) December 8, 2022
Curiously enough, emails shared by Christina Pushaw, the old press secretary for Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL), suggest that Astor is in fact working on Thursday.
Wouldn’t that make her a “scab” — a worker who continues to work in spite of a strike —as represented by “Scabby” the rat?
Scabby has arrived pic.twitter.com/lcdyzVpqAP
— Ana Ley (@La__Ley) December 8, 2022
Regardless, it seems we’re going to have a full day without puff pieces about schlubs such as Sam Bankman-Fried, the crypto creep accused of stealing millions from investors.
It doesn’t look as if head honchos and their underlings at the paper will come to an agreement anytime soon.
The strike comes just months after The Times Union accused the paper’s management of systemic racism. As previously argued by this author, perhaps the outlet needs to live up to its own standards and institute reparations by taking money from white folks and redistributing it to the impacted parties.
Or not. Who really cares, but ideally this strike goes on as long as possible.
If writers at The Times need to go the rest of their lives without writing another word for the paper, that can only help America.
In the words of Andy Bernard from the hit TV show “The Office,” it’s “addition by subtraction.”
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.