The New York Times confirmed that the newspaper investigated and “disciplined” his high-profile public health and Covid-19 reporter after he used racial slurs during a trip with high school students in 2019.
Donald McNeil Jr, a 45-year veteran at the paper and his main reporter on the coronavirus pandemic, was accused by several students of using the word N during an educational trip to Peru endorsed by the Times. The reporter also suggested that he did not believe in the privilege of whites and used stereotypes about black teenagers, according to complaints made to the newspaper, which were reported by the Daily Beast.
Six students or parents complained to the newspaper after the trip, which was part of the Times’ student travel program, for which participation normally costs more than $ 5,000.
On Thursday, the Times confirmed that McNeil used “racist language” during the trip in a statement released to reporters.
“In 2019, Donald McNeil Jr participated in a student journey as an expert,” said the statement. “We later learned of complaints from some of the students on the trip about certain statements that Donald had made during the trip.
“We conducted a thorough investigation and disciplined Donald for statements and language that were inappropriate and inconsistent with our values,” the statement continued. “We found that he used bad judgment when he repeated a racist insult in the context of a conversation about racist language. In addition, we apologize to the students who participated in the trip. “
The newspaper did not provide further details on how McNeil was disciplined.
After the Daily Beast report, New York Times editor Dean Baquet sent an email to the team to inform them that he was “outraged” by the comments and hoped to fire the reporter when he first heard the complaints. But after the investigation, the editor “concluded that his comments were offensive and that he demonstrated an extremely poor judgment, but that it did not seem to me that his intentions were odious or malicious”.
His e-mail continued: “I believe that, in these cases, people should be informed that they were wrong and have another chance. He was formally disciplined. He did not receive permission. “