New York magazine editor-in-chief David Haskell said in an email to staff that reporter Olivia Nuzzi's relationship with RFK, Jr. lasted about 9 months, and that they learned about it before she came clean. In other words, Nuzi did not tell them about it. they found out differently.
“Among other things, Haskell told employees that the relationship lasted about 9 months, ended several weeks ago, and that management only learned about it this week; He also confirmed that they found out about it before Nuzzi came clean,” reports The Wrap.
According to Haskell, NY Mag “learned about the private nature of Olivia's relationship a few days ago. He told us it started in December 2023 (after we published his November profile) and it ended at the end of August; he says it was never physical and that he avoided her as an object and source during that period
New York The paper has already argued that Nuzzi's relationships did not influence or bias its reporting, but it does report to RFK Jr.'s political rival, President Joe Biden, as well as former President Donald Trump.who many thought might choose RFK, Jr. as his running mate.
In addition, Puck News (via the Daily Beast) reported Friday night that while Kennedy's spokesperson claimed there was only one meeting, there were actually multiple meetings; During their 'sexting' affair… The magazine also reported that while Kennedy's spokesman said they had only met in person once, there had actually been multiple encounters.”
Nuzzi is on leave while a more thorough review is conducted.
Some in the political class suggest that focusing on Nuzzi's lack of ethics disclosure is sexist.
As someone who has covered conservative and liberal women who have been subject to professional sexism for over a decade, it's important to note that holding yourself up to professional standards is not sexism. Nor is it partisanship to expect professional ethical standards to be followed.
Consider how sexism manifests itself in both negative and benevolent ways; “Sexism is a form of prejudice that specifically puts women below men. Ambivalent sexism theory and research, which includes both overtly negative attitudes (hostile sexism) and attitudes that seem subjectively positive but are actually harmful (benevolent sexism), have made significant contributions to understanding how sexism operates and the consequences which it has for women. It is now clear that sexism takes many forms, some of which can be disguised as defensiveness and flattery. However, all forms of sexism have a negative impact on how women are perceived and treated by others, as well as by women themselves.”
Defending someone who decided to lie to readers and her employer for nine months because she is a woman is an example of “defensive” sexism. It's changing the rules as a charity, but it hurts other women.
Hiding behind accusations of sexism makes it harder for women to make legitimate claims of sexism and infantilizes (some) women. That is, women who club and support patriarchal norms are given a great deal of freedom that is not given to women of color and other women, particularly women who identify as feminists. This freedom is then weaponized against women who don't play the game to suggest they can't handle their jobs.
The problem with Nuzzi's actions is not that he had a non-physical relationship; The question is, did he have that affair? with the source he reported on and before he reported on his opponent and potential candidate.
The question is also not that Nuzi had an affair with a married man. it's all on RFK, Jr who has a long history of cheating on his wives. This does not apply to their personal morality or decisions regarding their personal relationships (she was engaged to Politico's Ryan Lisa at the time of the RFK, Jr. case).
It's about trusting a report that helped shape and define an entire presidential race. Nuzzi's posts about Biden were scathing indictments of his cognitive abilities and personal character, as well as his appearance, which he, ironically, slyly. compared her to overstuffed (usually) women. – was used to suggest he was not trustworthy. He wrote:
“His face then had an unusual valley quality that injection enthusiasts call 'low confidence.'” If only by millimeters, his cosmetically altered proportions knocked the overall harmony of his face into the realm of the unbelievable. Her thin skin, long a metaphorical problem and now a literal one, stretched taut over cheeks that seemed to vary in volume by the month. Under artificial light and under the sun, he got an unnatural glow. He looked, well, puffy… I tried to make eye contact, but it looked like his eyes, though open, weren't open. His face had a waxy quality…”
This is what unbiased political coverage is all about. It reads like a burnt middle school book. Nuzzi told the Young Turks that the criticism of his work was a result of Democrats not wanting to hear what he presented as the “truth” about President Biden.
While writing scathing rants about Biden, Nuzzi also spoke on the panel about how RFK, Jr. should be included in the debate. He also advocated for RFK, Jr. to get Secret Service protection, asking DHS why he didn't have it and suggesting in his usual gossipy ways that the Democrat running the agency was biased against Kennedy.
This is called advocacy on behalf of a candidate with whom he had an undisclosed, romantic relationship. Examples:
These tweets also show a stunning lack of understanding of politics for a political reporter (X's feeds are politically meaningless and the numbers are not considered credible by anyone with even a cursory knowledge of the platform under Musk), or more of a bias in that how is he chose to present the information as helpful to the man with whom she had an undisclosed affair.
His bias was evident at the time.
We are only now understanding the cause of the bias, and that cause is important. It calls into question how much legitimacy should be given to his anonymous sources, news-based reports and profiles based on personal data. Is her attitude in the face of Biden from a neutral position as the romantic partner of a political rival?
As I've been writing for over a decade, sexism and racism go hand in hand. They are both launched by the same people for the same purpose. protecting the white, rich, male patriarch. So it was no surprise to see the chattering class also defend Nuzi's tweets calling Obama a “Kenyan anti-colonialist” and the White House “intruder” as “jokes”.
Nuzzi has written for a conservative blog and has repeatedly expressed admiration for conservative media and politicians, which only adds to the idea that these tweets were no joke. For example, he expressed admiration for Ann Coulter, who racially attacked Republican Nikki Haley during the primaries. Racism is not a joke. His tweets are not the kind of sarcastic tweets mocking the Right for their racism against Obama.
It's not like no one can tell a joke anymore until the cancellation culture kicks in. it's that jokes should be funny, and if they're ironic, they should mention how ridiculous the thing they're making fun of is. His Obama tweets didn't. Have we all had a bad tweet that failed to make a point? Yes! But Nuzzi has many racist tweets followed by the then-conservative hashtag “#tcot”.
The concerns raised were not related to Nuzzi's appearance or gender. No one has suggested that because she is a woman she is unable to do her job or that her sex life has any bearing on her qualifications. No one has suggested that his engagement to Lisa means he's unqualified or that he used her to get ahead and wouldn't have a career without her (these are things the Right regularly says about Harris right now). If those were the stories, sexism would be at play. But they are not stories.
It's about a journalist who for nine months misled his employer and jeopardized their trust, as well as misleading readers and giving people yet another reason to distrust journalists at a time of deep crisis of confidence in the news business.
It is very unlikely that Nuzi will lose his career. in fact, this will be another footnote in a long career. Expect him to run a Donald Trump or RFK, Jr. town hall in the future.
If Nuzzi's career had been based on speaking out for women and other minorities, it would already be over. Lucky for her, the boys on the bus will always protect the girl who plays the same game they do.
Confusing consensual relationships with sexism is harmful to other women who see sexism as a barrier. This is an example of sexism wielding a weapon against other female journalists, carving for Nuzzi.
Accountability is not sexism, and changing the rules for one woman with white-knight charity hurts other female professionals. Women are not children. They do not need to protect themselves from the consequences of their own actions.
Absolutely protect all women from real sexism, sexual harassment and violence. they need all the allies they can get. But this is not sexism.
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Sarah received President Barack Obama and then Vice President Joe Biden in 2016. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton also repeatedly interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi and exclusively covered her first House appearance since then-President Donald Trump's first impeachment.
Sarah is a two-time award-winning video producer for Telly and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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