The Olivia Nuzzi-Robert Kennedy Jr. story is still buzzing around, even if DC media is doing way too much to minimize Nuzzi’s actions. To recap, Nuzzi profiled Kennedy late last year, then she apparently began a digital affair with him around New Year’s. According to Kennedy-sources, Nuzzi barraged him with nude photos and at various points during the year, he blocked her. Other sources say that their affair was partially in person, and that it was much more mutual than Kennedy is making it out to be. Semafor’s editor recently wrote an astounding piece about how everyone in DC sleeps with their sources and it’s no biggie. Interestingly, there seems to be a flat admission that Kennedy was Nuzzi’s “source” as she wrote anti-Biden hit pieces and repeatedly claimed that Kennedy’s candidacy was legitimate. Anyway, apparently Nuzzi still hasn’t been fired and her bosses are telling staffers to keep quiet.
Staff at the New York Magazine have been warned by Vox Media bosses not to speak about Olivia Nuzzi’s secret relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Business Insider reports. A letter sent Tuesday from the parent group Vox Media told them not to engage in the discourse surrounding Nuzzi, while the New York magazine’s editor David Haskell is believed to be against public criticism from colleagues.
Some employees are also said to be confused over why Nuzzi had not been fired. The magazine’s editors put her on leave last week over reports, which were broken by the Status newsletter writer Oliver Darcy, that a relationship between the two had started after she wrote a profile piece of the then-presidential candidate.
A statement from the magazine said: “Had the magazine been aware of this relationship, she would not have continued to cover the presidential campaign.” It also said that the secret was a “violation of our readers’ trust.” Other employees are said to have some sympathy for the magazine’s star reporter while still condemning her behavior.
I find it notable that Nuzzi hasn’t been fired and that Vox Media seems to be circling the wagons. It’s also notable that so many men in media are minimizing or shrugging off Nuzzi’s actions, including lying to her editor about the affair. Some women in media are also minimizing it, to be fair, but most female journalists are appalled by what she’s done. As much as I hoped that Nuzzi would be fired and blacklisted, I really don’t think that’s going to happen. She’ll probably be suspended throughout the rest of the election cycle, and then New York Magazine will bring her back. Either that or they will fire her but she’ll land on her feet immediately and become a right-wing media darling.
Photos courtesy of Instagram, screencaps courtesy of HBO and NY Magazine.
Times have changed. Years ago a journalist was actually a journalist and reported on stories with integrity. Well now we have “journalists “ who aren’t really journalists. They have no integrity and some have no morals but they still stay on the payroll because these are the times we live in. Nobody has to be accountable. They are just put on double secret probation and then they are washed clean and return.
From an employment contract/law perspective they will have to be going through a process that may take a few weeks, especially if they’ve retain external counsel/investigators.
They may be working out a settlement for a “mutually agreed to part ways” type of deal behind the scenes.
Again though, that’s not a firing. In fact, it’s more of a “You got caught, here’s your money. Now, go forth and sin no more — or don’t get caught anymore.”
This is clearly a case of New York Mag rubbing it’s hands together in glee because her so-called *relationship* with RFK Jr. is boosting readership. People are hungry for salacious stories and the media are hungry for clicks — it’s a gross, symbiotic relationship.
Cynical me agrees. Adding: Suspecting a hidden agenda of eventually restoring her position for future clicks.
Maybe as a star reporter her biggest asset might be between her legs. So many men are defending her. I wonder why. She alledgely had a relationship with Keith Olberman. She has allegedly done the rounds in DC and NY. No judgement on who she sleeps with unless that person compromises your reporting.
They’re probably still working out the severance package for Nuzzi.
I bet they are working out her package. It was gross how many claimed we should ignore this since she wrote the (false) articles about Biden’s dementia and Parkinson’s. Honestly the beltway media have all behaved horribly over this and Kamala not doing interviews with them. And let’s not forget news anchors like Jake Tapper repeating lies about Congresswoman Tliab.
I hope Amy Bee is right and they’re working on a severance package. Either there is journalistic ethics in the US or there isn’t. I guess we’re about to find out.
Well….WHY hasn’t she?
Reporters, Journalists, press used to have a clear line in the stand. Period.
Personal Involvement is verboten, no?
Woodward and Bernstein, she aint. LOL
All of these media outlets are owned by broligarchs who want to control the narrative and thereby control the population. She would have been fired 10 years ago but this a new day and it is disgusting just like Nuzzi’s racist ass.
I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating in this context. Traditional political media in this country, both print and broadcast, is a toxic cesspool of privilege and entitlement. Yet, this group creates the narrative of our national elections. They pushed the Hillary emails story as some kind of campaign defining scandal. We now know that is completely false and that HRC had no classified info on her server. Meanwhile, Trump absconded from the WH with many pages of highly classified material and attempts to hold him accountable have been seriously thwarted by a Trump appointed judge. The mainstream media has never reckoned with these two facts because it disrupts their narrative about who is and isn’t corrupt.
These are the people that the public relies on for accurate information in order to make an informed choice when voting. It’s really not any wonder why our current situation is so desperate and depressing. We are relying on corrupt individuals to help us ascertain who is corrupt and who is trustworthy. We live in the upside down.
these are the journos who not only pushed the Hillary Clinton email stories that Russian hackers leaked but now suddenly claim to be taking a “principled” approach withholding every bit of info from the leak of Trump info
Obviously, I shit-talk the BM here on the regular. But DC journalism is looking not so hot either. I do not by any means think all the women journalists are sleeping with their sources but whew there’s a lot of unethical journalist out there. Sucks .