Several New York Times staff have previously worked for the Chinese Communist Party’s state-run media outlet China Daily, including the publication’s current Director of Cinematography who admitted “working for the Communist Party of China.”
The news comes as the New York Times breathlessly backs big corporates opposed to Georgia’s new voting laws. The New York Times, however, seems less concerned with employing genocidal Chinese Communist Party apparatchiks.
Jonah Kessel – the current Director of Cinematography at The New York Times – served as the Creative Director of China Daily from July 2009 to November 2010 before departing work as a China-based photographer and cinematographer whose clients included People’s Republic of China Ministry of Information.
Kessel describes himself as “redesigning” China Daily – a gig he was “psyched” for and boasted about how publications such as The Economist hyped his redesign.
While working for China Daily, Kessel tweeted several times about he was “working for” and “getting paid” by the Chinese Communist Party.
“Sometimes working for the PRC has its benefits :),” he tweeted in July 2010.
And in November 2009 he tweeted “you know you work for the PRC when the first word that comes to your mind when asked to describe your work place is ‘harmonious.’
Kessel also praised China’s “National Day” holiday, which commemorates the Chinese Communist Party takeover of the country, as “VERY COOL.”
And even after departing China Daily, Kessel admits to still “working for the Communist Party of China” while serving as the Creative Director for his personal cinematography business.
Diarmuid McDermott, a current Staff Editor and Designer at The New York Times, previously held the same positions at China Daily.
From 2012 to 2020, he worked on the state-run outlet’s “Asia Weekly” publication, a role which he describes on his resume as involving “Copy editing; Rewriting raw copy; Designing layout and graphics; Sourcing news stories and pictures; Developing and maintaining a web presence across multiple platforms; Outputting pages for printers across the region.”
His personal website also promotes his work for China Daily.
Another New York Times reporter, Alex Marshall, served as a China Daily editor from 2003 to 2004 according to his LinkedIn profile. Marshall, who covers culture, has described himself as a “China apologist” and praised speeches by Xi Jinping on Twitter.
Marshall has also tweeted about how it’s “nice to see Communist ideals invoked” by the government.
The New York Times is one of several Western news organizations that takes part in a “Marxist journalism school” in collaboration with the Chinese Communist Party.
The New York Times has previously expressed sympathy for Adolf Hitler, as well as being owned by a pro-slavery family. The paper has never apologized for these historical positions.
