The New York Times has fired and is investigating Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf for allegedly using the paper’s funds to pay non-US journalists over the daily limit, a regulation that has caused conflict in the NYT’s foreign bureaus, Semafor reported Monday.
It’s the second time in five years that the paper has fired a Baghdad bureau chief, which has caused pushback from staff across the Middle East.
According to the report, Arraf was placed on leave earlier this year amid an investigation into her use of the NYT’s funds for the Baghdad bureau. Decisions being examined in the investigation include payment of non-US journalists over the paper’s $150-a-day limit, a payment cap that has prompted complaints in foreign bureaus. Arraf, a respected veteran of Mideast reporting, privately denied that her spending as the Baghdad bureau chief was improper, according to Semafor.
The New York Times did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Arraf joined the NYT in 2020, after working for CNN’s Iraq bureau beginning in 1998. The veteran Middle East correspondent clashed with NYT management over the paper’s ordered cost-cutting, including firing some non-US staff employed by the bureau. According to Semafor, Arraf pushed back against the cuts, going as far to suggest that the paper may have violated local Iraqi law.
The NYT and Arraf are still negotiating the terms of her departure. According to reporting, several staff members who worked for the paper’s foreign bureaus have complained about the decision to place Arraf on leave.
This comes as almost every major US outlet has scaled back its presence in Iraq over the last few years. Baghdad was once one of the most coveted postings in foreign reporting, but since media attention has veered away from the country—so have the outlets that dictate its coverage.
The NYT, which once boasted over a 100-person Baghdad office, has now not had a bureau chief in place for a majority of 2023.
The move to cut costs from on-the-ground coverage from foreign bureaus is not surprising, as it tends to be expensive while only catering to a limited audience. Additionally, foreign conflict priority has shifted over the last few years with media attention being drawn to the war in Ukraine.
However, the removal of resources from Middle East reporting has left Iraqi and other Arab journalists who cover the region feeling left behind.
The NYT’s Baghdad outpost has seen leadership difficulties as of late, with Arraf’s predecessor, Margaret Coker, leaving the paper after an investigation concluded that she worked with the Iraqi government to bar Times journalist Rukmini Callimachi from entry.
