By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK, Sept 23 (Reuters) – Florida’s state-run public pension fund and a conservative think tank sued the New York Times on Wednesday, seeking materials to determine whether the company’s board is letting the newspaper promote biased editorial coverage against Israel.
According to a petition filed in a New York state court in Manhattan, a series of factual errors in Times reporting on various subjects supports a reasonable inference that the board has allowed journalistic standards to be “weaponized within the company to serve the personal agendas of unchecked editors.”
The State Board of Administration of Florida, which oversees the Florida Retirement System Trust Fund, and the National Center for Public Policy Research said they are not second-guessing the newspaper’s editorial judgment, but want assurances the board is taking necessary safeguards to ensure the Times follows its editorial standards and avoids “biased and unreliable” reporting.
A Times spokesperson had no immediate comment.
Both petitioners are shareholders, and the Florida pension fund had about $235.7 billion of assets under management as of August 31.
The petition escalates a growing battle nationwide over journalistic independence, including US President Donald Trump’s decision last week to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. Those outlets sued Trump, saying the ban was unconstitutional and violated their First Amendment rights.
WHISTLEBLOWER CLAIMS
Wednesday’s petition is based in part on claims by an unnamed former Times newsroom employee who worked there for a decade, and expressed concern about anti-Israel bias as early as 2019, four years before the war in Gaza began.
According to the petition, the Times brushed off the whistleblower’s repeated complaints about a widespread culture of anti-Israel bias, including when a human resources representative suggested she “go find a place whose values align with yours.”
Three trustees including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, both Republicans, oversee the SBA, which serves more than 1.2 million members and beneficiaries.
Uthmeier’s office and the National Jewish Advocacy Center, which represent the SBA, and the National Center for Public Policy Research, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“The question is not whether The New York Times has the right to publish controversial journalism. Of course it does,” Steve Milloy, executive director of the think tank’s Free Enterprise Project, said in a statement. “The question is whether the company is actually following the safeguards it tells its readers and investors are essential to producing accurate and trustworthy journalism.”
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New YorkEditing by Nick Zieminski and Bill Berkrot)
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