James Bennet (journalist)
James Bennet | |
---|---|
The Washington Monthly (1989–1991) (2021–present) | |
Spouse |
Sarah Jessup (m. 2001) |
Children | 2 |
Relatives | Douglas J. Bennet (father) Michael Bennet (brother) |
James Douglas Bennet (born March 28, 1966) is an American journalist. He is a senior editor for The Economist, and writes the Lexington column for the magazine. He was editor-in-chief of The Atlantic from 2006–2016 and was the editorial page editor at The New York Times from May 2016[1] until his forced resignation in June 2020.[2] He is the younger brother of U.S. Senator Michael Bennet.[3]
Early life and education
James Bennet was born in
Bennet's elder brother is Michael Bennet, who has served as U.S. senator from Colorado since 2009.[3] James Bennet was opinion editor at The New York Times when Michael Bennet ran for president in 2020; James Bennet agreed to recuse himself from all coverage of the 2020 presidential race.[3]
Career
Bennet began his career in journalism as an intern for
Bennet was due to become the Times's Beijing correspondent in late 2006. He resigned from the paper in March of that year to accept an offer to become the 14th editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.[5][6] Bennet was selected by the magazine's publisher, David G. Bradley, following an exhaustive selection process. Bradley conferred with 80 journalists around the United States.[5]
Bennet as editor attracted attention in April 2008 when the magazine featured a cover story on Britney Spears, a change from The Atlantic's tradition in higher culture. The issue did poorly in newsstand sales.[8]
During his tenure, The Atlantic dramatically increased web traffic, and in 2010, the magazine had its first profitable year in a decade.[9]
The New York Times
In March 2016, The New York Times announced Bennet's appointment as Editorial Page editor,[1] effective May 2, 2016.[10] Bennet immediately added op-ed columnist Bret Stephens to the Times' editorial page, whose first column cast doubt on the long term consequences of climate change, resulting in reports of subscription cancellations.[11]
In June 2017, the editorial page published a piece that linked political incitement to the
Cotton op-ed and resignation
On June 3, 2020, amid nationwide protests and riots against racism and police brutality in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, The New York Times published a number of op-eds about the protests. Some op-eds called for more protests, one called for the abolition of the police,[18] and one by Senator Tom Cotton, titled "Send in the Troops",[19] called for the deployment of federal troops into major American cities if there was violent rioting.[20][19] Bennet stated that the Times had invited Cotton to write an op-ed after he tweeted about using troops to stop rioting.[18][21] Fellow editorial writer Michelle Goldberg called the piece "fascist."[22] Dozens of Times reporters tweeted, "Running this puts Black @NYTimes staff in danger." Bennet initially defended the publication of the op-ed.[23][24][25][26]
On June 4, 2020, The New York Times published a story titled, "New York Times Says Senator’s Op-Ed Did Not Meet Standards."[27] Bennet stated that the Times story on the op-ed falsely reported that Cotton's op-ed "called to send the military to suppress protests against police violence", as Cotton had distinguished between peaceful protestors and rioters and looters.[18] The Times announced Bennet's resignation on June 7, 2020.[28][2]
In December 2023, Bennet wrote a 16,000 word essay in
The Economist
On January 26, 2021, The Economist hired Bennet as a "visiting senior editor" for one year.[30] In July 2022, as a senior editor at the magazine, he became the first American to be writer of The Economist's Lexington column, named for the site of the first battle of the American Revolution.[31]
Personal life
In 2001, he married Sarah Jessup in a civil ceremony.[32] The couple have two sons.[33]
References
- ^ from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
- ^ from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
- ^ from the original on May 11, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
- ^ a b c David S. Hirschman (March 19, 2008). "So What Do You Do James Bennet, Editor of The Atlantic?". Mediabistro.com. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
- ^ New York Times. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
- ^ a b "James Bennet Index". The Atlantic Monthly. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
- ^ Clark Hoyt (December 13, 2008). "Separating the Terror and the Terrorists". The New York Times. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
- ^ Michael Learmonth, "Where Does Hillary Draw More Eyeballs Than Britney? At TheAtlantic.com", Business Insider, Aug 2008, accessed October 10, 2009
- ^ Peters, Jeremy W. (December 12, 2010). "Web Focus Helps Revitalize The Atlantic". The New York Times. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
- ^ Wemple, Erik (March 14, 2016). "James Bennet leaves the Atlantic for the New York Times". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 17, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
- ^ Sheth, Shonam (April 29, 2017). "People are furiously canceling their New York Times subscriptions after an op-ed disputing climate change was published". Business Insider.
- ^ Hawkins, Derek (June 28, 2017). "Sarah Palin sues New York Times for defamation over editorial on mass shooting". The Washington Post.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
- ^ Tracy, Marc (August 6, 2019). "Sarah Palin's Defamation Suit Against New York Times Is Reinstated". The New York Times. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
- ^ Folkenflik, David (February 8, 2022). "Former 'New York Times' editor testifies on Sarah Palin editorial: 'This is my fault'". NPR.org. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
- ^ Peters, Jeremy W. (February 15, 2022). "Sarah Palin's Libel Claim Against The Times Is Rejected by a Jury". The New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Bennet, James. "When the New York Times lost its way". 1843. The Economist. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
- ^ from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
- ^ Barone, Michael, A bad year for the brothers Bennet, Washington Examiner, June 8, 2020
- ^ Cartwright, Lachlan; Tani, Maxwell; Grove, Lloyd (June 5, 2020). "New York Times executives take turns apologizing to quell staff revolt". The Daily Beast. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^ Darcy, Oliver (June 4, 2020). "New York Times staffers revolt over publication of Tom Cotton op-ed". CNN. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^ Izadi, Elahe; Farhi, Paul; Ellison, Sarah (June 3, 2020). "New York Times staffers denounce newspaper for Tom Cotton editorial urging military incursion into U.S. cities". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ "James Bennet resigns as editorial page editor of The New York Times; Katie Kingsbury named acting editorial page editor". The New York Times Company. June 7, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
- ^ "'Are We Truly So Precious?': James Bennet's Damning NYT Portrayal". Politico. December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
- ^ Mastrangelo, Dominick (January 26, 2021). "The Economist hires former NYT editor who resigned following Cotton editorial". TheHill.
- ^ "Bennet becomes first American to write Economist's Lexington column". Talking Biz News. July 11, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
- ^ New York Times: "WEDDINGS; Sarah Jessup, James Bennet" August 5, 2001
- ^ "James Bennet". The New York Times. Retrieved September 5, 2018.