This went out to employees of the Boston Globe:

A few weeks back, we expressed our desire to make changes to the newsroom ethics policy that would allow for participation as an individual in protests or marches that are tied to identity. As we know, more now than ever, having the ability to stand up for or defend one’s own identity and/or very existence is not a political statement. There are not sides to be taken and the fairness of our journalism should not be called into question as a result of our employees engaging in these kinds of demonstrations.

To that end, the company and the Guild have agreed on language in the section of the Ethics Policy referred to as “Participation in Public Life” that expressly grants permission to participate in these kinds of events no matter your role in the newsroom. Here’s the excerpt that addresses this particular issue:

PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC LIFE

Staff members do not take part in politics, run for office, wear campaign buttons, or display any other sign of political partisanship. While staff members are entitled to register as members of political parties and to vote, they must do nothing to raise questions about their professional neutrality.

We do not, however, deem rallies or marches in support of racial, ethnic, gender or identity equality to be political in nature, and thus staff can participate and make financial contributions to organizations that support similar causes. Reporters should avoid engaging in specific policy prescriptions that are likely to be part of our news coverage.

This change is effective immediately. While some other unrelated aspects of the rest of the ethics policy are not completely revised and are still being worked on between the parties, we are excited to share this progress and thought it was both timely and incredibly important for you all to know about this immediate change. Please do not hesitate to raise any questions to newsroom leadership or to Guild leadership on this change.

Once the rest of the updates to the ethics policy are completed, we will be sure to send a full copy to everyone.

Thank you-
Brian McGrory and Scott Steeves

Brian McGrory is the editor of the Globe. Scott Steeves is the head of its employees’ union.

So, this is interesting. Now, according to the new ethics policy of the Boston Globe, employees are free to march in protests that claim “All Lives Matter,” “White People Are Just As Good As Anybody Else,” “Heterosexuality Is Okay,” and suchlike.

What is “identity equality,” anyway? How can an ethics policy permit reporters to rally for “identity equality” without defining “identity”? Where are the lines? There are many sexual paraphilias — incest, pedophilia, etc. — and those who have them usually say these are immutable parts of their identity. On what grounds would the Globe disallow an employee from giving to and marching with the North American Man-Boy Love Association, which advocates for pedophilia? What if a white copy editor wished to donate money or protest with one of the non-violent white nationalist organizations? On what grounds could the Globe object and still be faithful to this new ethics policy?

We all know perfectly well that the Globe only wishes to approve of its employees participating in identity politics that correspond with socially acceptable progressivism. This dishonest new policy is yet another reason why many people do not trust the media. They are abandoning old-fashioned liberal standards. They’re not even pretending anymore.