The Washington Post is in turmoil this weekend over twin newsroom spats involving several star reporters: Taylor Lorenz over false reporting in an article and Dave Weigel and Felicia Sonmez over a joke; a fourth Post reporter, Jose Del Real, self-immolated himself online after tangling with Sonmez over her response to the joke.<\/p>\n\n
Lorenz reported this week on social media influencers covering the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation trial just concluded in Fairfax, Virginia. Lorenz was called out by two subjects for falsely reporting she reached out them for comment before publication. The Post then engaged in several efforts to clean up Lorenz\u2019s sloppy reporting by first doing a stealth edit (removing the false passage without explanation) and then issuing several corrections. Lorenz took to social media to blame her editors. (Part Two on the Lorenz controversy will be posted later today.)<\/p>\n
While this was playing out Weigel drew criticism for retweeting a politically incorrect joke, \u201cEvery girl is bi. You just have to figure out if it\u2019s polar or sexual.\u201d Weigel deleted his retweet and apologized after being attacked online by fellow Post reporter Felicia Sonmez, who has given the Post heartburn over a Kobe Bryant rape tweet upon his death<\/a> and then suing the Post for discrimination. in a case she lost this year.<\/a>. Over a decade ago Weigel\u2019s private comments about conservatives on the Journolist listserve got him in hot water at the Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sonmez tweeted Friday, \u201cFantastic to work at a news outlet where retweets like this are allowed!\u201d<\/p>\n Fantastic to work at a news outlet where retweets like this are allowed! pic.twitter.com\/zs4dX4qprH<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) June 3, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n\n And, \u201cNot sure whether an environment where employees feel free to retweet sexist jokes is one where all of us can \u201cdo our best work.\u201d<\/p>\n Not sure whether an environment where employees feel free to retweet sexist jokes is one where all of us can \u201cdo our best work.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) June 3, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n\n And more on Saturday, \u201cImagining a world where news organizations evenly enforce their social media policies, rather than allowing certain reporters to feel entitled to tweet racist\/sexist things without fear of repercussions, thus turning their colleagues into targets of online hate when they object.\u201d<\/p>\n Imagining a world where news organizations evenly enforce their social media policies, rather than allowing certain reporters to feel entitled to tweet racist\/sexist things without fear of repercussions, thus turning their colleagues into targets of online hate when they object.<\/p>\n \u2014 Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) June 4, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n\n Weigel deleted his retweet Friday afternoon and has not commented further on the issue, \u201cI just removed a retweet of an offensive joke. I apologize and did not mean to cause any harm.\u201d<\/p>\n I just removed a retweet of an offensive joke. I apologize and did not mean to cause any harm.<\/p>\n \u2014 David Weigel (@daveweigel) June 3, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n\n Weigel continued tweeting about the news Friday but has not tweeted over the weekend.<\/p>\n CNN\u2019s Oliver D\u2019Arcy reported on Post management\u2019s response, \u201cWaPo chief spox @kriscoratti issues statement on @daveweigel\u2019s retweet of a sexist joke, which he has since apologized for: \u201cEditors have made clear to the staff that the tweet was reprehensible and demeaning language or actions like that will not be tolerated.\u201d And, \u201cIn Slack, a conversation took place about the retweet. @MateaGold wrote to staffers in the Slack channel, \u201cI just want to assure all of you that The Post is committed to maintaining a respectful workplace for everyone. We do not tolerate demeaning language or actions.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n WaPo chief spox @kriscoratti<\/a> issues statement on @daveweigel<\/a>‘s retweet of a sexist joke, which he has since apologized for: \u201cEditors have made clear to the staff that the tweet was reprehensible and demeaning language or actions like that will not be tolerated.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) June 3, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n\n In Slack, a conversation took place about the retweet. @MateaGold<\/a> wrote to staffers in the Slack channel, “I just want to assure all of you that The Post is committed to maintaining a respectful workplace for everyone. We do not tolerate demeaning language or actions.”<\/p>\n \u2014 Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) June 3, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n\n Over the weekend, Post reporter Jose Del Real criticized Sonmez, but ended up deleting his Twitter account after a backlash. Sonmez, piled on Del Real on Sunday, \u201cWhen women stand up for themselves, some people respond with even more vitriol. Last night, a Post colleague publicly attacked me for calling out another colleague\u2019s sexist tweet. He first hid any replies objecting to his attacks, and now seems to have deleted his account. 1\/2 Objecting to sexism is not \u201cclout chasing.\u201d It\u2019s not \u201charassment.\u201d And it\u2019s certainly not \u201ccruelty.\u201d Does the Washington Post agree? @SallyBuzbee @mateagold Here is a personal thread I wrote last night about why speaking out matters to me and other women. 2\/2\u201d<\/p>\n When women stand up for themselves, some people respond with even more vitriol.<\/p>\n Last night, a Post colleague publicly attacked me for calling out another colleague\u2019s sexist tweet. He first hid any replies objecting to his attacks, and now seems to have deleted his account. 1\/2 pic.twitter.com\/e7ksvS9hFc<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) June 5, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n\n Objecting to sexism is not \u201cclout chasing.\u201d It\u2019s not \u201charassment.\u201d And it\u2019s certainly not \u201ccruelty.\u201d <\/p>\n Does the Washington Post agree? @SallyBuzbee<\/a> @mateagold<\/a> <\/p>\n Here is a personal thread I wrote last night about why speaking out matters to me and other women. 2\/2 https:\/\/t.co\/nmVqaD7nOk<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) June 5, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n\n The Daily Beast reported Sunday<\/a> that Post Executive Editor Sally Buzbee addressed the controversy (excerpt):<\/p>\n \u201cWe expect the staff to treat each other with respect and kindness both in the newsroom and online,\u201d she wrote in the all-newsroom email obtained by The Daily Beast. \u201cWe are a collegial and creative newsroom doing an astonishing amount of important and groundbreaking journalism.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the great strengths of our newsroom is our collaborative spirit. The Washington Post is committed to an inclusive and respectful environment free of harassment, discrimination or bias of any sort,\u201d Buzbee added. \u201cWhen issues arise, please raise them with leadership or human resources and we will address them promptly and firmly.\u201d<\/p>\n Last year the Post promoted a Black woman, Karen Attiah<\/a>, who tweeted a racist threat to white women that said, \u201cwhite women are lucky that we are just calling them \u2018Karen\u2019s.\u2019 And not calling for revenge.\u201d<\/p>\n The post Washington Post in Turmoil Part One: Reporters in Online Fight After Male Reporter Retweets Politically Incorrect Joke<\/a> appeared first on The Gateway Pundit<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Washington Post is in turmoil this weekend over twin newsroom spats involving several star reporters: Taylor Lorenz<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n