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Donald McNeil Jr. worked for 45 years at the New York Times, going all the way back to his days as a copy boy in 1976 after graduating with top honors at Cal-Berkeley. He s good at what he does as a science and health reporter, which includes extensive coverage of epidemics and pandemics, having most recently won a John Chancellor Award in 2020 and a 2002 first place for international reporting (beating 150,000 other entries) from the National Association of Black Journalists.
Yet, today, he s out of a job based on a lie.
The decision to oust McNeil came after it was reported in the Daily Beast that he had used a racial slur during a trip to Peru sponsored by the Times. In today s world, this sounds like a slam-dunk reason for dismissal regardless of resume or time served. But the story isn t that simple.
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