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The New York Times announced that James Bennet “will not discuss, assign or edit any editorials, Op-Eds, columns or other opinion pieces focused on candidates or major issues in the campaign.”
James Bennet has been named as a contender to succeed Dean Baquet as the Time’s executive editor. In his stead, Kathleen Kingsbury and James Dao will share responsibilities for political coverage in Bennet’s recussal. The arrangement is expected to last as long as the senator remains in the race.
The Times reported that James Bennet said on Thursday that he would not be involved with his older brother’s campaign in any form, adding: “my guess is that’s probably the last thing he wants anyway.”
A longtime journalist at the Times, Bennet left the paper in 2006 to take over as the editor of The Atlantic before returning in 2016 to head the Times’ Opinion pages, where he “has introduced video, graphics and audio teams and expanded coverage of subjects like gender and online privacy.”
Kingsbury said that Bennet will not participate in any interviews that the Times conducts with candidates, and he will not participate in discussions around who the newspaper endorses. Kingsbury and Dao said they plan to decide “on a case-by-case basis” when Bennet should step back from editorial board discussions about subjects that may overlap presidential politics.
“It becomes a little more difficult if we have a piece about ‘Medicare for all’ — does that fall into the no-go zone?”. Kingsbury said in The Times. “I personally think ‘Medicare for all,’ and the question of universal health care, you won’t write that piece without discussing the viewpoints of the 2020 field, so he shouldn’t participate.”
Michael Bennet, a three-term senator, announced his candidacy on Thursday, May 2 on CBS’ “This Morning,” making him the 21st Democrat to seek the party’s nomination.
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