Here's my story on how the media fell short on covering Epstein, with case studies on Vanity Fair, ABC & the NYT. It's a story of society ties, fears of legal threats, and working class victims.
In this story, Maria and Annie Farmer confirmed to me for the first time that they spoke of their experiences on the record to Vanity Fair. Their account was cut from the story.
You also hear the voice of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who was interviewed 4+ years ago by ABC NEWS. The network tells NPR it will broadcast the fruits of its investigation in coming months.
Miami Herald's @juliekbrown deserves admiration for breaking the larger story wide open.
And Daily Beast's @kbriquelet has reported on this for years, along with colleagues at the high minded tabloid.
Yet much of press covered Epstein episodically and salaciously.
As both reporters told me, the Epstein scandal is fundamentally about power - its deployment and misuses as in #metoo, which changed how newsrooms handled accusers. Though not always.
Jeffrey Epstein served up tips for then NYT reporter Landon Thomas and charmed him into feeling they had something of a friendship. Epstein donated $30K at Thomas's request. His dinner party drew Stephanopoulos Couric & Rose. Epstein had confidence he could keep the press at bay.
Maria and Annie Farmer on being dropped from VF piece in 2003: "It was terribly painful. We hoped the story would put people on notice and they would be stopped from abusing other young girls and young women. That didn't happen. In the end, the story that ran erased our voices."
Virginia Roberts Giuffre on ABC sitting on her interview for four years: "I was defeated, once again, by the very people I spoke out against and once again, my voice was silenced. I could not believe that a formidable network like ABC had backed down and given in."
The magazine and the network cite journalistic standards and, in VF's case, legal concerns, for their decisions. All newsrooms must take such concerns seriously. And numerous editors note changes in the landscape wrought by #metoo on how credibility of allegations is assessed.
Taken together, these episodes may help explain how stories did not get more circulation and credence.
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Wash Post publisher & CEO Will Lewis has been named today in court for alleged role in covering up Murdoch UK tabloid scandals while an executive there, by atty for Prince Harry - this per @BInvestigates
Lewis’s name also cropped up in lawsuits filed by former British politicians against Murdoch tabloids who alleged they were hacked for corporate advantage not simply tabloid fodder
The Baltimore Sun's new owner, David D. Smith, met with staffers today for more than two hours. Many left on edge.
He claimed he had read the paper just four times. He grew up here; his family's local TV empire - Sinclair - is based in Baltimore Co.
Other highlights:
Smith said he paid nine figures, a seemingly staggering sum. (Bezos paid $250M for the WashPost.)
Unclear if the undisclosed figure includes the licensing fees required by Alden Global Capital, the hedge fund that sold the Sun. Smith will rely on Alden's CMS and other services.
Smith announced the Sun was profitable and that he'd make it more profitable. He mocked Bezos, saying he didn't intend to lose $50M a year on the paper.
A thread on my new investigation in collaboration with crackerjack team at Floodlight News - cannot say enough good things about @mirandacgreen@marioarizabaez
It's on the manipulation of news media on behalf of giant Florida & Alabama power cos: 🧵
"Invisibility is more powerful than celebrity," reads a plaque at Matrix LLC.
Behind the scenes, Matrix maintained a complex web of connections to sites boosting Alabama Power and Florida Power & Light - which took on their political adversaries, critics & journalists.
"Mostly everything was all made up," one former Alabama energy regulator told us. "You get to thinking, 'Why are they attacking me?' I'm just telling the truth and trying to do what's right for the people."
NEWS: Shortly after the 2020 election, a Fox News producer begged colleagues not to let Jeanine Pirro back on the air. She was spouting election fraud conspiracies pulled from the web.
More in my NPR exclusive on Dominion’s $1.6B defamation suit agst Fox: npr.org/2022/09/06/112…
Pirro’s show didn’t appear on Nov 7, 2020, in favor of a Biden address. Still, she returned to air repeatedly carrying water for Trump’s lies about the election.
Unlike Lou Dobbs, who was unceremoniously shown the door, Pirro was elevated this yr to co host of the Five
Pirro is at the heart of legal clashes between Fox and Dominion in the defamation suit.
"I don't know how anything could be more newsworthy than the president of the United States making the allegation” of election fraud, Fox’s outside atty, Dan Webb, tells me.
News: Union members at multiple Tribune newspapers say they're told Alden Global Capital intends to seek voluntary buyouts company-wide.
Note: Alden just loaded Tribune w $278MM in debt for its $630+ acquisition of newspaper chain. Imagine layoffs ensue if buyout goals not met.
$60MM of that debt carries a 13% rate - it was borrowed from Media News - Alden Global's other newspaper division.
h/t to @benyt for initial tweet about NYDNews & memo
Alden's purchase of Tribune went through on Sunday, per SEC filings. Notice of intended buyouts sent on third day of ownership. At the least, includes guild-represented units. Will see how non-guild employees handled.
NEWS ON TRIBUNE SALE: medical device billionaire Hansjorg Wyss drops out of bidding for TribPub after reviewing finances of Chicago Tribune; hotel magnate Stewart Bainum Jr “more committed than ever” to make bid for whole chain exceeding offer from hedge fund Alden Global/MORE
Wyss and his foundation hopes to transform ChiTrib into national model like WaPo under Baron & Bezos; realized it would have taken too much $ and wrong mission - CTrib needs to serve region & city. Wyss pulled out Fri eve.
This from 2 people with direct knowledge to NPR. / more
Trib Pub owns CTrib, NYDaily News, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, Ft Lauderdale Allentown Morning Call & others in Va and elsewhere
Local figures emerged w interest in each - tho Chicago consistently toughest to crack until Wyss entered picture several weeks ago / more