Charles Blow departed The New York Times in February and launched a Substack, describing his final years at the paper as increasingly unpleasant and alienating. He said the role shifted from one he would gladly do for free to one he struggled to justify for pay, and that pieces published under his name lost the full measure of his voice. Blow declined to detail behind-the-scenes causes. He previously joined The Times in 1994, left in 2006, returned in 2008 to write an opinion column for 17 years, frequently criticizing Donald Trump. Blow said he still wants the paper to survive and prosper during a difficult era for traditional media.
My last years at the paper weren't my most pleasant. My job went from being one I would say, earnestly, I would do for free, to one I struggled to justify doing for pay. The zombie thing that came to be published under my name had a dwindling trace of my breath in it. It was no longer fully my voice.
Frankly, my confidence was injured in that space, and confidence is essential for an essayist. The reader can sense hesitation, unease and lack of conviction just as they can recognize the muscularity of thought and the sure-footedness of a well-crafted phrase.
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