In a piece for Nieman Lab, a deputy editor on The New York Times' newsroom development and support team describes the reaction she often gets when colleagues learn she wrote a book called Saying No to New. People are surprised, she says, because she advocates for new things in her role. The article is built around that apparent contradiction.
The piece promises four steps to follow before rolling out something new, though the excerpt stops short of listing them. What is clear is that the author sees her job as helping the newsroom adopt changes thoughtfully, not rejecting innovation outright.
Because there is only one source, there is no independent account to compare against. The article's significance lies in how it frames a familiar tension: newsrooms must embrace change, but doing so responsibly requires a deliberate process before jumping in.