“A Disgrace” – Outrage Over New York Times Coverage of Irish Students’ Tragic Berkeley Deaths

UPDATE: The NYT Public Editor has responded to the backlash on Twitter, vowing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the article.

Sincere sympathy to all affected by #Berkeley tragedy. Please know that I am aware of reaction and will look into it today.

— Margaret Sullivan (@Sulliview) June 17, 2015

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The Minister of State for Equality is amongst those who have hit out at The New York Times today for it's distasteful and insensitive coverage of the tragic accident in Berkeley, California, which claimed the lives of six young students. Minister Aodhán Ó'Ríordáin labelled and article, in which the paper referred to the J1 visa programme as "a source of embarrassment" for Ireland, "a disgrace".

.@nytimes Your newspaper's reporting of the #Berkeley tragedy is a disgrace. — Aodhán Ó Ríordáin TD (@AodhanORiordain) June 17, 2015

A piece titled Deaths of Irish Students in Berkeley Balcony Collapse Cast Pall on Program is published in today's edition of the paper. The article drew controversy for lines like "the work-visa program that allowed for the exchanges has in recent years become not just a source of aspiration, but also a source of embarrassment for Ireland." The paper added that the J1 experience for Irish students was "marked by a series of high-profile episodes involving drunken partying and the wrecking of apartments in places like San Francisco and Santa Barbara." The paper made further reference to a year-old column originally published in The Irish Voice, in which comments were made about "the callous destruction unleashed by these loaded Irish students" of a San Francisco home.

Lazy, insensitive stereotyping from @nytimes on #BerkeleyBalconyCollapse today. Journalism at its worst. http://t.co/8bJHLfciOl — Sarah McInerney (@SarahAMcInerney) June 17, 2015

I have a @nytimes digital subscription. Seeing its approach to a genuine tragedy I'll be canceling it. Victims and families deserve better. — Matt Cooper (@cooper_m) June 17, 2015

If you find the @NYTImes article about #Berkeley & “drinking” offensive, contact @Sulliview, their public editor. https://t.co/tV0rDTSVTe — Helen O'Rahilly (@HelenORahilly) June 17, 2015

Adam Nagourney, Mitch Smith and Quentin Hardy of @nytimes what a shameful article to put your names to. Vile. #Berkeley #victimblaming — Jennifer O'Brien (@Jen_OBrien1) June 17, 2015