This archive report was first published on 8 July 2019.
On July 3, 2019, the New York Times published a job advert for its Nairobi, Kenya, office that sparked widespread criticism for its reductive language and tired stereotypes about Africa.
The advert, which was posted by International Editor Michael Slackman, described the ideal candidate's role and responsibilities in a way that many felt was demeaning to Africans.
Slackman later took to social media to respond to the backlash, acknowledging that the advert was his doing and apologizing for the mistake.
"That job posting was my doing and I want to explain what happened," he wrote. "We are currently looking for three correspondents to cover Africa and I saw this as an opportunity to find the best there is."
Slackman also attempted to justify the wordings in the controversial job advert, explaining that he had taken a shortcut by reusing an old job description and had not given it a thorough review.
"But I plead guilty to taking a short cut: Rather than write a new job description, a posting from about 18 months went out. I gave it a cursory look, and approved it," he said.
Slackman has since invited journalists who are interested in covering Africa for the NYT to send him a note on how they would approach the job, and has asked readers to judge their correspondents on the quality of their work, not the job posting.
