Top News:
Rachael Bade / Politico:
Sources: Felicia Sonmez criticized WaPo editors during a staff town hall, revealing that she is barred from writing anything about sexual misconduct or #MeToo — DRIVING THE DAY — It was supposed to be an upbeat town hall to rally the newsroom, as Washington Post leaders highlighted …
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, @feliciasonmez, My New Band Is, @feliciasonmez, @anamariecox, @owillis, @zachdcarter, Poynter, @moiradonegan, @bellwak, @mcastimovies, @juliedicaro, @aaschapiro, @jamesgleick, @grace_segers, @bloosemore, @feliciasonmez, @benjamingoggin, @lisagartner, @jayrosen_nyu, @pwcdanica, @soledadobrien, @kemc, @blackamazon, @feliciasonmez, @adamdavidson, @feliciasonmez, @ourobororoboruo, @feliciasonmez, @spj_tweets, @shefalil, @econ_marshall, @sarahkaplan48, @evaholland, @feliciasonmez, @max_fisher, @gmillertsn, @lemieuxlgm, @miriamelder, @mikkipedia, @chenderson, @chick_in_kiev, @feliciasonmez, @feliciasonmez, @hunterw, @feliciasonmez, @ericmgarcia, @emilymiller, @espiers, @feliciasonmez, @wesleylowery, @cmclymer, @mattyglesias, @briannawu, @budrykzack, @coleenchristie, @jenzerb, @khandozo, @jbendery, Free Political Newsletter, @amybwang, @amlwhere, @espiers, @bfishbfish, @atrios, @allisongeroi, New York Times and Washington Post
Discussion:
Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair: “I'm Afraid to Open Twitter”: Next-Level Harassment of Female Journalists Is Putting News Outlets to the Test
Felicia Sonmez / @feliciasonmez: Hours before the 3/16 Washington Post town hall that @politico reported on, I had a session with a therapist I hadn't seen for more than a year (I had changed insurance). I caught him up on the events of the past year, including all the threats, my doxxing and suspension. 1/x
Elizabeth Spiers / My New Band Is: My New Band Is: Someone You Know — [I'm afraid this newsletter is not at all funny …
Felicia Sonmez / @feliciasonmez: I'm not planning on going anywhere. The Washington Post needs to do better. I just want to do my job, @stevenjay @cameronbarr @loriamontgomery @peterwallsten. https://www.politico.com/...
@anamariecox: Felicia Sonmez can't cover #metoo bc she's a survivor? Sooooo... Anyone who pays taxes should be taken off economics stories? Parents can't report on family issues? If you wear clothes, you can't write about fashion? What absurd, self-defeating bigotry. https://www.politico.com/...
Oliver Willis / @owillis: The fact the Washington Post believes being an advocate for assault victims means you can't report on the topic says a lot about modern mainstream journalism and the inability to include empathy https://www.politico.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Zachary D. Carter / @zachdcarter: It is hard to describe what @washingtonpost is doing to @feliciasonmez as anything other than discrimination against a sexual assault survivor. Breathtakingly bad judgement from top editors. https://www.politico.com/...
Tom Jones / Poynter: Unpacking the controversy at The Washington Post
Moira Donegan / @moiradonegan: I'm shocked and frankly kind of disgusted by the wildly sexist way that the Washington Post has treated @feliciasonmez—a reporter who has been banned from covering stories with a sexual abuse component after disclosing her own experience of sexual assault. https://www.politico.com/...
Kim Bellware / @bellwak: .@feliciasonmez is a true pro who is tough, fair and sensitive all at once. This is exactly the kind of reporter you *need* when covering stories about sexual assault. We can't give our readers the absolute best coverage they deserve if she's sidelined like this. https://twitter.com/...
Monica Castillo / @mcastimovies: I can't imagine being taken off a story because surviving sexual assault is seen as a conflict of interest. What WaPo doing to @feliciasonmez is unconscionable. It's re-traumatizing and professionally holding her back. It sets a terrible precedence to punish survivors. https://twitter.com/...
@juliedicaro: Far, far too many outlets leave their reporters twisting in the wind in the face of horrific harassment. Do better. @washingtonpost. https://twitter.com/...
Avi Asher-Schapiro / @aaschapiro: Politico reports that WaPo reporter @feliciasonmez has been *banned* from covering sexual assault/harassment stories for 2.5 years. According to emails from Somnez, it's because she herself was a victim, & she has “implored” her bosses to reverse it.https://www.politico.com/ ...
James Gleick / @jamesgleick: What is the “bias” these WaPo editors are afraid the reporter might have? A bias that sexual assault is bad? A bias in favor of the victims of sexual assault? https://twitter.com/...
Grace Segers / @grace_segers: It seems to me that barring a survivor of sexual assault from writing about that topic not only harms the reporter, but the paper. Empathy makes for better reporting. And it's extremely telling to see who is allowed to tell certain stories, and what is considered to be “bias.” https://twitter.com/...
Bailey Loosemore / @bloosemore: “It is humiliating to again and again have to tell my colleagues and editors that I am not allowed to do my job fully because I was assaulted.” If this rule was place on all female reporters, how many would be left to cover sexual assault? https://twitter.com/...
Felicia Sonmez / @feliciasonmez: I managed to work through Thursday, operating at maybe 30 percent. And then my sick leave began. I planned to stay off Twitter/email and focus on recovering. The Vanity Fair piece was published that day, and a colleague sent around a link. I read it that night. 8/x
Benjamin Goggin / @benjamingoggin: The only way these important stories get told is through impassioned reporters who care about their beat. A blanket ban on stories pertaining to sexual assault seems stifling. https://twitter.com/...
Lisa Gartner / @lisagartner: If you banned every female journalist who had been sexually assaulted from covering assault, you pretty much wouldn't have a workforce, fwiw https://twitter.com/...
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: If you have experience with it, you cannot report on it. That reasoning does not have a lot of intuitive appeal. https://www.politico.com/...
Del. Danica Roem / @pwcdanica: “One said Sonmez has become something of an advocate for sexual assault victims, making management uncomfortable with her writing on this topic.” That is astonishingly asinine. They're telling survivors who speak up they couldn't possibly be professional enough to do their jobs. https://twitter.com/...
Soledad O'Brien / @soledadobrien: Listen, as long as your pov is that of white and male, you should be just fine. https://twitter.com/...
Kathleen McLaughlin / @kemc: Felicia is banned from writing about sexual assault and harassment because she spoke out on her own assault. Think about the chilling message that sends to survivors about going public. https://twitter.com/...
@blackamazon: so we've found that : - Black reporters can't cover police violence because they're biased - Asian reporters can't cover The Lost 8 because they're biased - women can't cover #metoo for being survivors But white men can cover anything I would like to fight https://twitter.com/...
Felicia Sonmez / @feliciasonmez: Want to clarify that I fully support the decisions of other colleagues who ultimately left for elsewhere because the Post was not doing right by them. No one should be forced to choose between their job and their own well-being/fair treatment. No one. https://twitter.com/...
Adam Davidson / @adamdavidson: Stunningly poor management at the Washington Post. I support Felicia Sonmez. As do so many others. https://twitter.com/...
Felicia Sonmez / @feliciasonmez: At one point, he asked me whether I feel supported by the Post's current management, now that the editor who oversaw my suspension had retired. And I just burst into tears. 2/x
@ourobororoboruo: I am awed by @feliciasonmez's courage and resolve to be so candid and vocal about these fucked yo things happening at @washingtonpost. Please read this. https://twitter.com/...
Felicia Sonmez / @feliciasonmez: I faced no ban my first three months on the job. I wrote #MeToo-related stories with no problem. It was only once the Kavanaugh story broke in Sept. 2018 that the editors enacted one. It was lifted several months later, then reinstated in late 2019 when I was being attacked.. 4/x
@spj_tweets: “But what female journalists described to me goes beyond legitimate scrutiny of a headline or story framing and into their sex lives, their families, and other topics unrelated to their work...” https://www.vanityfair.com/...
Shefali Luthra / @shefalil: barring Felicia from covering sexual assault is such a poor choice, both from a management perspective and an editorial one https://twitter.com/...
Marshall Steinbaum / @econ_marshall: Reminds me of the time I was banned by a “progressive” think tank for writing about the history of libertarianism as it relates to white supremacy because my scholarship on that question was too successful and therefore discomfiting. https://twitter.com/...
Sarah Kaplan / @sarahkaplan48: Having survived sexual assault, or racism, or other forms of discrimination is no more a “bias” than being white, male & privileged. Speaking out about these experiences is courageous and honest — two things news orgs should value. Felicia deserves better. All workers do. https://twitter.com/...
Eva Holland / @evaholland: In which three male editors agree that a female reporter should be banned from any reporting related to sexual assault or MeToo - because she's been assaulted herself. So the ideal here is, what, reporters who are *open-minded* about rape? 🙃https://www.politico.com/ ...
Felicia Sonmez / @feliciasonmez: It was the directness of his question that I think really caught me off guard. I've tried to keep my head down and just do my job the best I can, despite having to take myself off sexual assault-related stories at least once every week or two, sometimes even more often. 3/x
Max Fisher / @max_fisher: In addition to being morally wrong and a disservice to readers, the Washington Post deciding to formally discriminate against sexually assault survivors is a warning to all other survivors that they better shut up and stay quiet if they want to advance https://www.politico.com/...
Scott Lemieux / @lemieuxlgm: The idea that Sonmez shouldn't be permitted to work on stories involving sexual misconduct is literally Trumpian logic. There's not an iota of difference between this policy and saying that Mexcian-American judges shouldn't hear immigration cases. https://twitter.com/...
Miriam Elder / @miriamelder: “once you become a target, there's an extent to which you're looked at as drama” — this point really stood out in this great @charlottetklein story https://www.vanityfair.com/...
Mikki Halpin / @mikkipedia: I'm horrified to learn that after suspending her for talking about her assault, the Washington Post continues to punish Felicia Sonmez for being a survivor by prohibiting her from covering any stories that involve sexual assault. Wtf. https://twitter.com/...
Christina Henderson / @chenderson: Strange that WaPo editors or HR can't see how banning a reporter who has been public about their sexual assault from covering any stories related to sexual assault could have a chilling effect. https://www.politico.com/...
Felicia Sonmez / @feliciasonmez: I was stunned to see that the same editor who has silenced me from defending myself online, said nothing when I had to leave my home amid threats and continues to bar me from fully doing my job was being quoted as an authority on protecting female journalists. 9/x
Felicia Sonmez / @feliciasonmez: ... forced me to acknowledge to myself that I do not feel supported by my employer. Then, the town hall happened. My editor asked me that evening to write on the Violence Against Women Act the next day. I had to tell her I couldn't. 6/x
Hunter Walker / @hunterw: What is happening to @feliciasonmez is not right. This situation is a stark reminder of how many companies love to espouse rhetoric about taking care of employees well being without really walking the walk. https://www.politico.com/...
Felicia Sonmez / @feliciasonmez: ... online after the publication of a story about the man who assaulted me. The ban has been in place ever since, for more than a year now. I've pleaded with the editors to lift it, to no avail. So I've just kept trying to do my job. But that question from my therapist ... 5/x
Eric Michael Garcia / @ericmgarcia: I don't think the leadership realize how much blackballing @feliciasonmez makes them look terrible. There is no evidence whatsoever that being a survivor of sexual assault impedes her abilities as a journalist (she always has been one). https://twitter.com/...
Emily Miller / @emilymiller: I'm really upset. The @washingtonpost editors are soulless and cruel to punish @feliciasonmez for speaking publicly about being sexually assaulted at work. I've known Felicia professionally for years. She's a fantastic reporter and a sweet person. She needs a lawyer. Now. https://twitter.com/...
Elizabeth Spiers / @espiers: I wrote about about @feliciasonmez's and the WaPo and how, for many of us, sexual assault is not an extraordinary experience, and newsrooms run by men, who are less likely to experience it, need to understand that. (TW: I talk about my own assault here.) https://mynewbandis.substack.com/ ...
Felicia Sonmez / @feliciasonmez: My symptoms worsened — a whole lot of vacant staring, which I've been doing a fair amount of this weekend. Things got a bit better by Monday, and I went back to work. But then I had to take myself off the Greitens story that night. My trauma response kicked into overdrive. 7/x
Wesley / @wesleylowery: Funny that none of this was included or surfaced in the 100+ articles written in the past month about how the departing editor of this publication “saved journalism” https://www.politico.com/...
@cmclymer: I fully support @feliciasonmez. If every woman in journalism who was raped, sexually assaulted, and sexually harassed were barred from covering these topics due to concerns over “bias”, no woman would ever cover these topics. It's incredibly insulting, @washingtonpost. https://twitter.com/...
Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias: This really seems like @feliciasonmez is getting a raw deal https://www.politico.com/...
Brianna Wu / @briannawu: We all support you Felicia. @washingtonpost is lucky to have you. https://twitter.com/...
Zack Budryk / @budrykzack: The only way it makes sense to bar someone from reporting on subjects they've been personally affected by is if you confuse empathy with a conflict of interest https://twitter.com/...
Coleen Christie / @coleenchristie: It's a complex issue because Twitter is a source of so much information for journalists. We can't just drop it. My company has said there is no need to engage but for some, too often women and racialized women, that doesn't solve the problem. https://twitter.com/...
Jennifer Barnett / @jenzerb: I wonder how many reporters would be left if they were all banned from reporting after being sexually assaulted. Must women hide abuse? Should reporters who have been threatened and harassed be banned from covering stories about harassment? Should all women stop working? https://twitter.com/...
Kristen Hanley Cardozo / @khandozo: It's always a tell what people in power view as bias and what they see as neutral. https://twitter.com/...
Jennifer Bendery / @jbendery: How is this anything other than victim shaming? WaPo won't let its stellar reporter @feliciasonmez, who also happens to be an incredibly nice person, cover anything about sexual assault bc she's a victim of sexual assault (+ not afraid to talk about it). https://www.politico.com/...
Justin Robert Young / Free Political Newsletter: COVID lab leak is an unproven rumor we should all be actively spreading
Amy B Wang / @amybwang: One of the many reasons I admire @feliciasonmez is her courage to speak out about all types of injustices when it would be far easier to remain silent. This punishment was and continues to be appalling —> https://twitter.com/...
Ann Marie Lipinski / @amlwhere: How does a newsroom enforce a policy prohibiting a victim of sexual abuse from covering sexual abuse? I assure you there are many silent victims already assigned to these stories. Will you now require reporters to share any history of abuse? https://www.politico.com/...
Elizabeth Spiers / @espiers: It would be nice if there were more women in management here, then maybe they'd understand why criticizing Felicia for being “something of an advocate for sexual assault victims” (and considering it a conflict) sounds appalling. https://twitter.com/...
Rebecca Fishbein / @bfishbfish: Man, Marty Baron couldn't be gone faster. https://www.politico.com/...
@atrios: nothing stops comfortable white reporters from doing stories on the most important issue of our time (well, 2 years ago maybe): the SALT deduction https://twitter.com/...
Allison / @allisongeroi: Barring @feliciasonmez from reporting on any story that involves sexual misconduct is heinous. Are all reporters assigned based on whether they have been assaulted, or is the Post just taking job responsibilities away from women who speak publicly about their lives? https://twitter.com/...
Marc Tracy / New York Times:
Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss joins Stewart Bainum in Tribune bid, with plans to own Chicago Tribune; source: each plans to put up $100M towards the $650M bid — The philanthropist Hansjörg Wyss has teamed with the Maryland hotel executive Stewart Bainum in a bid …
Discussion:
@ssdance, Robert Feder, @dabeard, @brianstelter, @marcatracy, Poynter, @jimfriedlich, @jmartnyt, Financial Times, @capitolwatch, @missryley, @davidaxelrod, @pklinkne, @jonathanalter, @degarciaknight, @tysonbrody, @cathylewistalks, @pattmlatimes, @philgrogers, @juliea712, @sulliview, @highkin, @sammy_roth, @margotroosevelt, @nytimesbusiness, @nahmias, @cabridges, @jimfriedlich, @raju, @jeffjarvis, @jayrosen_nyu, @heidistevens13, @phil_rosenthal, @phillipstribune, @jmetr22b, @chrismegerian, @charliemagne, @marcatracy, @royalpratt, @samthielman, @crepeau, @mattyglesias, @briancassella, @royalpratt and @maryschmich
Discussion:
@ssdance: An octogenarian Swiss billionaire who makes his home in Wyoming has joined Stewart Bainum in a bid for Tribune Publishing, the newspaper chain that until recently seemed destined to end up in the hands of a New York hedge fund. Via @marcatracy: https://www.nytimes.com/...
David Beard / @dabeard: The Swiss billionaire bidding to save the @chicagotribune from a newsroom-cutting hedge fund says he was inspired by an op-ed plea by two Tribune reporters. He says he wants more Americans to have access to fact-based news—not misinformation. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: “An octogenarian Swiss billionaire who makes his home in Wyoming and has donated hundreds of millions to environmental causes is a surprise new player in the bidding for Tribune Publishing...” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Marc Tracy / @marcatracy: NEW: Meet Hansjörg Wyss, a Switzerland-born billionaire. He has offered at least $100 million toward a bid for Tribune Publishing instead of Alden Global Capital. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Rick Edmonds / Poynter: A Swiss billionaire has joined an effort to outbid hedge fund Alden for Tribune Publishing
Jim Friedlich / @jimfriedlich: “I have an opportunity to do 500 times more than what I'm doing now,” Hansjorg Wyss tells @marcatracy @nytimes explaining his philanthropic interest in #localnews, joining Stewart Bainum's bid for @tribunepub, a commitment to local news as civic duty & public trust @lenfestinst https://twitter.com/...
Jonathan Martin / @jmartnyt: Mr. Wyss, 85, said he was partly inspired to join Mr. Bainum by a New York Times opinion essay last year in which two Chi Tribune reporters, David Jackson and Gary Marx, warned that an Alden purchase would lead to “a ghost version of The Chicago Tribune https://www.nytimes.com/...
Daniela Altimari / @capitolwatch: With all due respect, Professor Rosen has this is exactly backwards. We are all still newspapers - and pretty damn fine ones at that - but what some Tribune papers lack is a newsroom. https://twitter.com/...
Sarah Ryley / @missryley: If this deal goes through for the whole lot I'm going to start cheering in the street and nobody's going to know why unless another journalist happens to be standing near me https://twitter.com/...
David Axelrod / @davidaxelrod: I don't know Hansjorg Wyss. But to me, as a Chicagoan & proud veteran of the @chicagotribune newsroom, his intervention to try & save the Trib from the clutches of hedge fund scavengers is an unexpected ray of hope and good news for our town & journalism. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Philip Klinkner / @pklinkne: Quite a few decent newspapers began as semi-philanthropy projects by wealthy individuals. https://twitter.com/...
Jonathan Alter / @jonathanalter: This is (potentially) terrific news! Alden Capital represents the worst of private equity and ruins every newspaper it touches. Let's wish Wyss well. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Dawn Garcia / @degarciaknight: One of the @chicagotribune reporters whose op-ed inspired Wyss was @garyjmarx, @JSKstanford fellowship alum. He & @poolcar4 warned an Alden purchase would lead to “a ghost version of The Chicago Tribune — a newspaper that can no longer carry out its essential watchdog mission.” https://twitter.com/...
Tyson Brody / @tysonbrody: Oh wait someone is finally trying out “why doesn't democracy alliance just buy a newspaper” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Cathy Lewis / @cathylewistalks: Tribune Publishing owns the deeply under-resourced @virginianpilot and @Daily_Press. I'm encouraged by investors willing to fight for local journalism. https://twitter.com/...
Patt Morrison / @pattmlatimes: Soon to be another true-life journalism dramatic film. Wow. https://twitter.com/...
Phil Rogers / @philgrogers: Who said the calvary wasn't coming? This is exciting. https://twitter.com/...
Julie Anderson / @juliea712: The @nytimes is reporting that a Swiss billionaire who lives in Wyoming has joined in the bidding for @tribpub, owner of my papers @sunsentinel and @orlandosentinel. He joins the hotel exec Stewart Bainum to rival Alden Capital's bid. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Sammy Roth / @sammy_roth: This lede, wow. “An octogenarian Swiss billionaire who makes his home in Wyoming and has donated hundreds of millions to environmental causes is a surprise new player in the bidding for Tribune Publishing.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Margot Roosevelt / @margotroosevelt: << Medical entrepreneur @DrPatSoonShiong, who owns the LA Times with his wife, Michele B. Chan, has enough Tribune shares to squash the Alden deal by himself>>—and put Tribune in philanthropic hands. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@nytimesbusiness: The Swiss billionaire philanthropist Hansjörg Wyss has joined the bidding for Tribune Publishing. “I don't want to see another newspaper that has a chance to increase the amount of truth being told to the American people going down the drain,” he said. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Laura Nahmias / @nahmias: Mr. Wyss, who has given away some of his fortune to help preserve wildlife habitats in Wyoming, Montana and Maine, said he was motivated to join the Tribune bid by his belief in the need for a robust press. “I have an opportunity to do 500 times more than what I'm doing now.” https://twitter.com/...
C. A. Bridges / @cabridges: The Trib papers are competitors to my own company so I'm probably not supposed to wish them well. But honestly I want them bought by anyone committed to honest, in-depth, reality-based journalism. We all benefit when that happens. https://twitter.com/...
Jim Friedlich / @jimfriedlich: A hopeful development in the sale of @chicagotribune @baltimoresun to long-term, civic minded investors dedicated to independent journalism more so than pure profit.@lenfestinst https://twitter.com/...
Raju Narisetti / @raju: Octogenarian Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, who makes his home in Wyoming and has donated hundreds of millions to environmental causes, teams with the Maryland hotel executive Stewart Bainum to keep Tribune newspapers from Alden Capital https://www.nytimes.com/...? via @nytimes
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: Wowzer. Could change the equation for Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, Hartford Courant, and other newsrooms formerly known as newspapers. https://twitter.com/...
Heidi Stevens / @heidistevens13: Mr. Wyss, who has given away some of his fortune to help preserve wildlife habitats, said he was motivated to join the Tribune bid by his belief in the need for a robust press. “I have an opportunity to do 500 times more than what I'm doing now.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Phil Rosenthal / @phil_rosenthal: “Maybe I'm naïve,” Mr. Wyss said, “but the combination of giving enough money to a professional staff to do the right things and putting quite a bit of money into digital will eventually make (the Chicago Tribune) a very profitable newspaper.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Michael Phillips / @phillipstribune: He's a billionaire environmentalist. And a potential dream owner for Tribune Publishing. Let's go, Hansjorg Wyss! https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jason Meisner / @jmetr22b: “Mr. Wyss, 85, said he was partly inspired to join Mr. Bainum by a New York Times opinion essay last year in which Chicago Tribune reporters David Jackson and Gary Marx warned that an Alden purchase would lead to ‘ghost version of The Chicago Tribune.’” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Chris Megerian / @chrismegerian: There have been a lot of twists and turns here! https://twitter.com/...
Charlie J. Johnson / @charliemagne: “He made that bid because he wants The Baltimore Sun. I said, 'Yeah, that's fine. And I have to make The Tribune even better than what it is now.'” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Marc Tracy / @marcatracy: If he and Stewart Bainum succeed — far, far from certain — then Wyss would *keep* The Chicago Tribune, Bainum's nonprofit would get The Sun, and they would search for benefactors for other papers.
Gregory Pratt / @royalpratt: The philanthropist Hansjörg Wyss wants to own @chicagotribune, inspired by @poolcar4 and @garyjmarx's commentary in the New York Times last year https://twitter.com/...
Megan Crepeau / @crepeau: “The combination of giving enough money to a professional staff to do the right things and putting quite a bit of money into digital will eventually make it a very profitable newspaper.” What a concept! https://twitter.com/...
Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias: I actually did meet this guy once. Seemed nice. https://twitter.com/...
Brian Cassella / @briancassella: “Mr. Wyss said he would be a civic-minded custodian of The Chicago Tribune. “I don't want to see another newspaper that has a chance to increase the amount of truth being told to the American people going down the drain,” he said.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
New York Times:
Indian digital news pubs, which pursue aggressive journalism in a compliant media landscape, fear Modi's government is empowering trolls with its new media laws — Online portals have practiced aggressive journalism in a mostly compliant media landscape. But trolls and the government could now be empowered to stop them.
Discussion:
@nilanjanaroy, @mujmash, @rafat, @deepbagchee, @milanv, @celiadugger, @pbhushan1, @seemay, @sushantsin, @tunkuv and @svaradarajan
Discussion:
Nilanjana Roy / @nilanjanaroy: What's the word for “government that cracks down on all forms of independent media and ruthlessly suppresses criticism”? (Hint: not a democracy.) https://twitter.com/...
Mujib Mashal / @mujmash: As India's PM Modi cultivated & cowed much of the mainstream media, these scrappy online outlets remained untamed — a thorn on his side. The outlets say new, restrictive gov rules are intended to rein them in, or burden them into silence. With @HariNYT. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@rafat: How Indian digital media startups focused on critical coverage of Modi and govt are being threatened and silenced, the new rules are very problematic. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Deep Bagchee / @deepbagchee: It's been a silver lining in Indian journalism - online startups like @thewire_in and @ThePrintIndia led by eminent journalists like @svaradarajan & @ShekharGupta. They've produced great journalism but now face curbs https://www.nytimes.com/...
Milan Vaishnav / @milanv: “Online portals [in India] have practiced aggressive journalism in a mostly compliant media landscape. But trolls and the government could now be empowered to stop them.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Celia W. Dugger / @celiadugger: Modi takes new steps to crush the free press, this time digital media, the upstarts say. Important reporting by @MujMash @HariNYT https://www.nytimes.com/...
Prashant Bhushan / @pbhushan1: “Modi has cultivated & cowed large parts of the country's news media in recent years as part of a broader campaign against dissent. One group remains untamed: A relatively new generation of scrappy, online news outlets. Now Modi is working to rein them in” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Seema Chishti / @seemay: Why the government wants to hit independent media outlets. Read. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Sushant Singh / @sushantsin: .@svaradarajan calls the new rules “a weaponization of the reader complaints.” He sees them as yet another effort by the government to keep him quiet. Over the past couple of years, he said, his journalists have been slapped with nearly a dozen police complaints and defamation... https://twitter.com/...
BBC:
Brazilian court orders President Bolsonaro to pay $3,500 in damages to a reporter, after Bolsonaro suggested last year that she offered sex for information — A Brazilian court has ordered President Jair Bolsonaro to pay compensation to a journalist after he made degrading comments about her.
Discussion:
Rio de Janeiro / France 24: Bolsonaro ordered to pay compensation to journalist
Luke Roney / Newser: President Ordered to Pay Damages to Journalist
Lionel Barber / @lionelbarber: 👀 Big win for press freedom and women in Brazil - and a big defeat for Bolsonaro and his sex slur against one of the country's top investigative journalists. Congratulations to Folha de S. Paolo for going to court, defending @camposmello and victory ! https://twitter.com/...
Todd Spangler / Variety:
News Corp will acquire the consumer arm of educational publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for $349M in cash and will combine it with HarperCollins Publishers — The Rupert Murdoch-controlled company said it expects the deal to close in the second quarter of calendar 2021 …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, @blackamazon, @markdistef, Business Wire, @jeffreyt1, @thelincoln, @pkafka, @jasonhirschhorn, @dabeard and Reuters
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal: Sources: News Corp nears a deal to purchase the consumer arm of educational publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to bolster its HarperCollins Publishers division
Mark Di Stefano / @markdistef: News Corp announces $349 million deal to buy book publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt — which means ladies and gentlemen, Rupert Murdoch now owns the publishing rights to George Orwell https://www.sec.gov/...
Jeffrey Trachtenberg / @jeffreyt1: News Corp nears deal to buy publisher behind authors including George Orwell and J.R.R. Tolkien https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ
Lincoln Michel / @thelincoln: Wow, another publishing merger already? https://www.wsj.com/...
Jason Hirschhorn / @jasonhirschhorn: Oh great. Let's riff on how they'll change the history books... News Corp Nears Deal to Buy Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's Consumer-Publishing Arm - WSJ https://www.wsj.com/...
Kevin Roose / New York Times:
Bidders for the NFT of Kevin Roose's NYT column, which sold for ~$560K, share their motivations, including fun, self-promotion, and a signal of support for NFTs — Bidders say they had many different motivations, including fun, self-promotion and a signal of support for the NFT market.
Discussion:
@marclacey, @ron_fournier, @flitteronfraud, @kaibrach, @jacknicas, @smdiehl, @neilcybart, @mlcalderone and @kevinroose
Discussion:
Marc Lacey / @marclacey: “And as soon as I can figure out how to do the transaction without completely screwing up my taxes, I'll be sending roughly 300 Ether — worth about $497,000, at the current market price — to the Neediest Cases Fund.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ron Fournier / @ron_fournier: This is about when the digital world passed me by. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Emily Flitter / @flitteronfraud: Bored Rich People Spend Money https://twitter.com/...
Kai Brach / @kaibrach: $400 to offset a single NFT auction. What are we doing!?!? Also, offsets can't magically remove carbon out of the atmosphere. https://twitter.com/...
Jack Nicas / @jacknicas: An anonymous music executive from Dubai paid a half-million dollars for a nonfungible token that is “just a cryptographic signature linked to an image of a column,” and then Kevin paid $400 to capture the carbon dioxide from the transaction. The new digital economy is weird. https://twitter.com/...
Stephen Diehl / @smdiehl: “I'm selling an environmentally destructive NFT to some wealthy Saudis, so I'm offsetting it with a $400 carbon credit.” I have a lot of respect for the New York Times, but this is not a good look. https://twitter.com/...
Neil Cybart / @neilcybart: The NYT (@kevinroose) auctioned an opinion column as a NFT to see what would happen. Publicity in the form of a follow-up column was offered too. Winning bid: $560,000. The NYT talked with the bidders to assess motive. There weren't any surprises. A 🧵 https://www.nytimes.com/...
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
A look at Colour Entertainment, a 20-year-old nonprofit dedicated to helping executives of color in the entertainment industry climb the corporate ladder — Colour Entertainment founders speak publicly about the 20-year-old organization for the first time — Executives of color …
Discussion:
Vladimir Duthiers / @vladduthierscbs: “No one could be cheering harder for this wave of opportunity to lead to lasting change in Hollywood than Colour Entertainment, a 20-year-old nonprofit dedicated to maximizing potential of executives of color..” Fascinating profile by @Variety_Cynthia https://variety.com/...
Cynthia Littleton / @variety_cynthia: I'm grateful to board members of the nonprofit Colour Entertainment for letting me tell the story of this remarkable organization that has been around for 20 years but never sought media attention. But a few months ago they felt the time was finally right, for so many reasons. https://twitter.com/...
Ben Smith / New York Times:
Inside Harper's, which has struggled in the digital era but is nonetheless America's most interesting magazine and offers one of media's oddest workplaces — The publication of the “Harper's letter” attracted huge attention. Most people had stopped reading the magazine, which is stranger and better than you might expect.
Discussion:
@jim_edwards, @annehelen, @nytimes, @rupertmyers, @clarajeffery, @sopandeb and @thomaschattwill
Discussion:
Jim Edwards / @jim_edwards: “The situation, widely viewed internally as insane, makes complete sense to those familiar with the recent history of the magazine.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Anne Helen Petersen / @annehelen: “....she was making $37k a year w/no immediate prospect of a raise. And, she thought, she was likely to remain the only Black editorial staffer at a place that relied on people who didn't need the money” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@nytimes: Harper's — weary from descending into obscurity as its publisher, John MacArthur, bucked the digital tide — has become an unexpectedly excellent magazine that stands out amid a homogenized media landscape, our media columnist @benyt writes. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Rupert Myers / @rupertmyers: “Among prestige publications at the present moment, race, gender and sexuality are the big three..I'm not saying that's wrong — I am saying that Harper's tends to represent a different view. It's a reminder that class still matters.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Clara Jeffery / @clarajeffery: 1/ While the end of @benyt's piece on Harper's scratches the surface of the insane, persistent dysfunction and inequity that powers that place for decades, the top feels crafted by the unnamed spokesperson (GM) and Rick. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Aaron Sankin / The Markup:
How Digital Advertising Alliance's AdChoices tool, which launched in 2010 to let users opt out of personalized ads, is undermined by its cookie-based approach — Let's just say it leaves a lot to be desired — Last year, while reporting a story about how the digital advertising industry burrowed …
James Finn / VTDigger:
A Vermont reporter's resignation, allegedly due to pressure from board members over her coverage, signals need for ethics standards for nonprofit outlets — CHARLOTTE — Since a widely respected reporter quit her job at Charlotte's local nonprofit newspaper two weeks ago …
Discussion:
Corey Hutchins / @coreyhutchins: “nothing new about a newspaper publisher exerting pressure on a reporter to protect friends, family members and advertisers. What is new, as nonprofit newsrooms proliferate in small communities, is the volunteer board member seeking to influence coverage” https://vtdigger.org/...
@niemanlab: A resignation at the Charlotte News — and the rise of nonprofit newsrooms, generally — raises new sets of ethical questions. https://vtdigger.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Mikey O'Connell / Hollywood Reporter:
CBS says Sharon Osbourne has decided to exit The Talk, after it found her behavior while defending Piers Morgan in the March 10 show not aligned with its values — After the longtime panelist offered a controversial defense of friend Piers Morgan, past colleagues came out with more accusations of racist language and behavior.
Discussion:
Daily Mail, Metro.co.uk, Decider, Variety, Deadline, @skylarjordan, @deadline, @wnct9, Rolling Stone and @jawnmurray
Discussion:
Piers Morgan / Daily Mail: Writing for the first time about his dramatic exit from GMB after saying he didn't believe Meghan's ‘truth’ …
Cydney Yeates / Metro.co.uk: Piers Morgan respects Jason Manford as comedian calls Meghan Markle comments ‘out of order’
Michael Haskoor / Decider: Sharon Osbourne Parts Ways With ‘The Talk’ After Controversial Comments
Naman Ramachandran / Variety: Piers Morgan Stokes Meghan Markle, Sharon Osbourne Controversies
Dominic Patten / Deadline: Sharon Osbourne Exits ‘The Talk’ After Allegations Of Misconduct & Racist Remarks; Show Returns April 12
Skylar Baker-Jordan / @skylarjordan: The fallout from that Meghan and Harry interview continues. There's a conversation to be had about a certain kind of British gadfly exemplified by Morgan and Osbourne, whose sense of privilege and entitlement made them feel invincible, and what it means that they no longer are https://twitter.com/...
Deadline Hollywood / @deadline: CBS just put out a statement saying #SharonOsbourne has decided herself to depart the show. Unveiling that #TheTalk will be back on April 12 MORE from the network: https://deadline.com/...
@wnct9: Sharon Osbourne is out at “The Talk” on the heels of her angry, on-air defense of friend Piers Morgan during which she demanded that fellow host Sheryl Underwood, who is Black, explain the allegations of racism against him. https://www.wnct.com/...
Daniel Kreps / Rolling Stone: Sharon Osbourne Leaves ‘The Talk’ After Heated On-Air Discussion, Internal Investigation
Jawn Murray / @jawnmurray: Conversation Over! #SharonOsbourne is OUT at “The Talk!” This follows weeks of controversy after her support of #PiersMorgan on Twitter caused her to implode during a live TV segment where she cursed at & disrespected co-host Sheryl Underwood. #TheTalk https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
Hemal Jhaveri / Medium:
Hemal Jhaveri, a columnist and inclusion editor, says USA Today fired her after she tweeted in error on Boulder shooting that it is “always an angry white man” — I am no longer employed at USA TODAY, a company that was my work home for almost eight years.
Discussion:
@mattnegrin, Beck of the Pack, CNN, Defector, @hemjhaveri, @gregjkrieg, @laurahazardowen, @nachristakis, @aravosis, @kerrymflynn, @ryangrim, Awful Announcing, @japersrink, @kainazamaria, @alanisnking, @alanisnking, @christianjbdev, @thehat2, @juliedicaro, @sarahspain, @zacharyfaria, @kottke, @cdcarter13, @wattylerrising, @jeremylittau, @palafo, @mhodler, @ijjacobs2, @karenkho, @karenkho, @nkalamb, @nkalamb, @nkalamb, @katefresephoto, @genepark, @laurenthehough, @danjfriedman, @vermontgmg, @c_stroop, @alibreland, @daveweigel, @juliacarriew and @sopandeb
Discussion:
@mattnegrin: Newsrooms refuse to call Republicans' voter suppression bills “voter suppression” for roughly the same reason @USATODAY fired @hemjhaveri — they don't view identifying the vast-reaching tentacles of white supremacy as an objective pursuit; they see it as a threat https://twitter.com/...
Kevin Beck / Beck of the Pack: A powerful example of the immorality, groupthink, and self-defeating motives of Wokish media snipers
Kerry Flynn / CNN: USA Today editor accuses company of being ‘subservient to white authority’ after she was fired for a tweet
Hemal Jhaveri / @hemjhaveri: Hi friends. Some news. I am no longer working at For The Win and USA TODAY. Here's what happened. https://hemjhaveri.medium.com/ ...
Greg Krieg / @gregjkrieg: what happens when people who spend 87% of their waking hours whinging about “cancel culture” see a tweet they don't like: https://hemjhaveri.medium.com/ ...
Laura Hazard Owen / @laurahazardowen: 4/20/20: “Gannett newsrooms, whiter than the communities they serve, pledge broad change by 2025” https://www.niemanlab.org/... 3/26/21: “By the end of the day, USA TODAY had relieved me of my position as a Race and Inclusion editor.” https://hemjhaveri.medium.com/ ...
Nicholas A. Christakis / @nachristakis: Based on facts reported here, I don't think a reporter @hemjhaveri should be fired over one factually incorrect tweet with potentially racial overtones. We should stop moving immediately to the sanction of people losing their jobs for mis-steps. https://www.cnn.com/...
@aravosis: Read this article from CNN, and let me know what you think. I think USA Today was left with no choice, and the editor is naïve to think what she did while on the job was equal to making a mistake in high school. /7 https://www.cnn.com/...
@kerrymflynn: “I had always hoped that when that moment inevitably came, USA TODAY would stand by me and my track record of speaking the truth about systemic racism. That, obviously, did not happen.” - @hemjhaveri wrote about being fired Here's my writeup: https://www.cnn.com/...
Ryan Grim / @ryangrim: .@hemjhaveri made a mistake. People make mistakes. Not every mistake should be a firing just cuz a mob is demanding it. Half the media would need to be fired last week if this was the standard https://hemjhaveri.medium.com/ ...
Sean Keeley / Awful Announcing: USA Today race & inclusion editor says she was fired over tweet about Boulder shooting
@japersrink: Just seeing this, and I'm despondent about it. Fortunately Hemal is so talented that this will only be a temporary setback, but this is pretty shocking (or at least should be). https://twitter.com/...
@kainazamaria: “So many newsrooms claim to value diverse voices, yet when it comes to backing them up, or looking deeper into how white supremacy permeates their own newsrooms, they quickly retreat.” - @hemjhaveri https://hemjhaveri.medium.com/ ...
Alanis King / @alanisnking: This a particularly awful concern for those who come from underrepresented backgrounds and speak out against oppressive power structures, as Hemal writes: https://hemjhaveri.medium.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Alanis King / @alanisnking: The fear of a large, mobilized group of bad-faith Twitter users successfully pressuring a newsroom to fire a writer for a small mistake or act that angers them is common. The people firing often don't acknowledge that those groups hop from person to person with insincere outrage. https://twitter.com/...
@christianjbdev: I don't normally think people should lose their jobs over a tweet, but jeez, if you're a ‘race and inclusion editor’, and you fire off a tweet claiming 'it's always angry white men' before all the facts are known, then maybe you're not great at your job. https://hemjhaveri.medium.com/ ...
@thehat2: When someone they hate is being fired, it's accountability, and “cancel culture is fake.” When someone they like is being fired, it's Gamergate-style tactics that need to be called out because it wasn't talked about enough by the entire mainstream press for the last 6.5 years. https://twitter.com/...
@juliedicaro: Outlets want ‘diverse voices,’ then get upset when those voices draw the ire of the very well-organized right wing outrage machine. https://twitter.com/...
Sarah Spain / @sarahspain: THIS IS INFURIATING!!!! How is this real, @hemjhaveri? We will never, ever make progress if we have to both-sides even the issues that are very clearly wrong v. right. True DEI requires getting uncomfortable, challenging the status quo & actually doing the work, which you were. https://twitter.com/...
Zachary Faria / @zacharyfaria: It doesn't make sense for USA Today to fire Hemal Jhaveri considering she's just pushing the same politics that they want in their sports coverage My latest: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/ ...
@kottke: “Like many places, USA TODAY values ‘equality and inclusion,’ but only as long as it knows its rightful place, which is subservient to white authority.” https://hemjhaveri.medium.com/ ...
C.D. Carter / @cdcarter13: love to see major publications pathetically cave to feigned far-right outage https://twitter.com/...
Jane Ball / @wattylerrising: I really want someone to @ Chait about this until he's forced to reconsider where the most dangerous illiberalism is. He's said nothing about this, nothing about Collin College, nothing about the anti-trans healthcare laws. https://twitter.com/...
Jeremy Littau / @jeremylittau: Read this: “This is not about bias, or keeping personal opinions off of Twitter. It's about challenging whiteness and being punished for it. As a columnist and Race and Inclusion editor ... it was my job to push for anti-racism and inclusion in our stories and with our staff.” https://twitter.com/...
Patrick LaForge / @palafo: An editor is out over a tweet at @USATODAY newsroom. “This is not about bias, or keeping personal opinions off of Twitter. It's about challenging whiteness and being punished for it.” https://hemjhaveri.medium.com/ ...
Matt Hodler / @mhodler: The firing of Hemal Jhaveri is a huge blow to sport media. @USATODAY really dropped the ball in failing to back her up. Her work is invaluable and I look forward to reading and assigning her work in the future. https://twitter.com/...
I.J. Jacobs / @ijjacobs2: @daveweigel I may be in the rare group that thinks Alexis McCammond's treatment regarding her tweets was unfair, but Hemal Jhaveri's is. If you have a job title devoted to diversity and inclusion you shouldn't be making assumptions and sweeping claims about people of a certain race.
Karen K. Ho / @karenkho: I single out non-white women because the odds are already low for their hiring, promotion, and retention in the media industry; along with their greater awareness of how race and gender intersect on their beats and in their careers.
Karen K. Ho / @karenkho: I worry about the situation between Hemal Jhaveri and USA Today happening to myself or my other non-white female journalist-friends all the time
Nathan Kalman-Lamb / @nkalamb: Dan Dakich was allowed to use sexist language. Greg McDermott was allowed to say that players belong on “the plantation.” Meyers Leonard was allowed to use an anti-Semitic slur. But Hemal Jhaveri—not a white man—was just relieved of her job for critiquing white supremacy. https://twitter.com/...
Nathan Kalman-Lamb / @nkalamb: Every single member of management at @Gannett/@USATODAY should feel nothing but shame for their complicity in bowing to a completely bad faith alt-right mob by firing the most important critical voice at @usatodaysports and one of the only redeeming people in this toxic industry.
Nathan Kalman-Lamb / @nkalamb: I pledge that I will never work with @USATODAY unless they return Hemal Jhaveri to her previous position. Further, I hope that everyone in this industry understands that if they step into that evidently morally bankrupt post, they are complicit in this injustice.
Kate Frese / @katefresephoto: I know most of my followers are sports fans. I encourage you to read this. Just because inclusivity columns, committees, etc exist, does not mean that they uphold the values they project. Keep learning. Keep questioning. Keep working on your own biases. https://twitter.com/...
Gene Park / @genepark: USA Today fired Hemal for a wrong tweet, but defended @susanpage after this https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Lauren Hough / @laurenthehough: Good job @USATODAY. You helped some Nazis take down a woman of color. Just, excellent work, bros. https://twitter.com/...
Daniel Friedman / @danjfriedman: Hemal made a mistake and tweeted out something she shouldn't have, which she owned up to. Cancel culture is becoming a major, major problem no matter what side of the political aisle you're on. She should not have been fired. I stand with her. https://twitter.com/...
Garrett M. Graff / @vermontgmg: USA TODAY should be ashamed of its treatment of @hemjhaveri. It's astounding that media orgs are *STILL* getting played by bad-faith alt-right trolls. How hard is it to stand by talented staff in the face of obvious racist or sexist attacks? https://hemjhaveri.medium.com/ ...
Chrissy Stroop / @c_stroop: “There is always the threat that tweets which challenge white supremacy will be weaponized by bad faith actors.” Shame on @USATODAY for caving to the demands of white supremacists! @hemjhaveri deserves better https://hemjhaveri.medium.com/ ...
Ali Breland / @alibreland: we're now 6 years out from gamergate and management at some media organizations are still falling for gamergate-esque harassment campaigns https://twitter.com/...
Dave Weigel / @daveweigel: The pile-on here and the pile-on that got Lauren Wolfe laid off were basically the same: Lots of call-the-manager tweets at somebody's employer, urging them to fire somebody for a bad tweet. But DON'T call it cancel culture https://twitter.com/...
Julia Carrie Wong / @juliacarriew: This is utterly disgraceful behavior by @USATODAY. Journalists make mistakes. Publications must stand up to the bad faith rightwing machine that weaponizes those mistakes to target journalists with harassment campaigns. All solidarity to @hemjhaveri https://hemjhaveri.medium.com/ ...
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