Flashback: New York Times Buried Kenosha Article Until After Election, Says Ex-Reporter

A former New York Times reporter assigned to cover the riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin during the summer of 2020 soon found out that the narrative promoted by the mainstream media over the “protests” wasn't true.

But the Times didn't want Nellie Bowles' reporting published until after the presidential election.

Bowles explained the prevailing narrative in the Times' newsroom in her Substack newsletter:

Until quite recently, the mainstream liberal argument was that burning down businesses for racial justice was both good and healthy. Burnings allowed for the expression of righteous rage, and the businesses all had insurance to rebuild.

But That Façade Soon Shattered

The part of Kenosha that people burned in the riots was the poor, multi-racial commercial district, full of small, underinsured cell phone shops and car lots. It was very sad to see and to hear from people who had suffered. Beyond the financial loss, small storefronts are quite meaningful to their owners and communities, which continuously baffles the Zoom-class.

Something odd happened with that story after I filed it. It didn't run. It sat and sat.

Now it could be that the piece was just bad. I've sent in bad ones before, and I'll do it again. A few weeks after I filed, an editor told me: The Times wouldn't be able to run my Kenosha insurance debacle piece until after the 2020 election, so sorry.

After providing a mountain of reasons, Bowles concluded that The New York Times decided that reporting on suffering in communities of color wasn't a priority.

At least in the way that she wanted.

The Times' top brass may have also have feared a mutiny from its more woke and entitled staffers. The Philadelphia Inquirer's top editor lost his job after publishing an article that summer with the headline “Buildings Matter, Too.”

In her piece, Bowles also reflected on how “mostly peaceful” protesters broke one man's jaw. His offense? Attempting to put out a fire started by rioters at a local business.

You can subscribe to Weiss' newsletter “Common Sense” here.

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