Whereupon We Pontificate About Poor Media Outlet Choices

[McTrollson]

RIP to a real one.

https://x.com/willsommer/status/1801780985148702874

[goofy]

Private equity?

Megan Greenwell (former Deadspin boss) was on Defector’s podcast (hosted by David Roth and Drew Magary) this week and they talked about her upcoming book on private equity, probably releasing next year, sounds like it will be interesting.

[goofy]

John TImmer (@jtimmer.bsky.social)

…Did no editor bother to ask that question?

[goofy]

This guy wants to be governor of Oregon and writes this shitty anecdote-based column, fuck him

[goofy]

@goofy

Bold move for this dipshit exec who cut his teeth invading Brits’ privacy to try disparaging actual journalists, let’s see how it works out for him

Gift link:

Washington Post Publisher and Incoming Editor Are Said to Have Used Stolen...

The publisher and incoming editor of The Washington Post used fraudulently obtained phone and company records in newspaper articles as journalists in London, according to a former colleague, the published account of a private investigator and an analysis of newspaper archives.

Will Lewis, The Post’s publisher, assigned one of the articles in 2004 as business editor of The Sunday Times. Another was written by Robert Winnett, whom Mr. Lewis recently announced as The Post’s next executive editor.

The use of deception, hacking and fraud is at the heart of a long-running British newspaper scandal, one that toppled a major tabloid in 2010 and led to years of lawsuits by celebrities who said that reporters improperly obtained their personal documents and voice mail messages.

Mr. Lewis has maintained that his only involvement in the controversy was helping to root out problematic behavior after the fact, while working for Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation.

But a former Sunday Times reporter said on Friday that Mr. Lewis had personally assigned him to write an article in 2004 using phone records that the reporter understood to have been obtained through hacking.

In his meeting with Post journalists in November, Mr. Lewis defended his article. He told the staff that The Telegraph had spent the money to help protect a source. “I agreed to put money in escrow for legal protections,” Mr. Lewis said, according to The Post.

In an interview with The New York Times this past week, the security consultant described a far less formal arrangement.

“It was not an escrow account,” said the consultant, John Wick. He said that he had collected the money himself, on behalf of the source. “I held it and I released it when and how I thought it was needed.”

Mr. Wick said that he had arranged the deal with Mr. Winnett: £10,000 for a chance to review the information, then another £100,000 for the exclusive right to it.

[MrWookie]

Nate Silver had some apologia for this, too

[McTrollson]

Haha, came in to post that, amazing.

[grue]

@goofy

“It was not an escrow account,” said the consultant, John Wick.

[goofy]

lol, been really great to watch these guys get repeatedly knifed over the past couple weeks

WaPo: Incoming Post editor tied to self-described ‘thief’ who claimed role in his reporting (gift link)

The suspect arrested by London police in 2010 was John Ford, a once-aspiring actor who has since admitted to an extensive career using deception and illegal means to obtain confidential information for Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper. Facing potential prosecution, Ford called a journalist he said he had collaborated with repeatedly — and trusted to come to his rescue.

That journalist, according to draft book chapters Ford later wrote recounting his ordeal, was Robert Winnett, a Sunday Times veteran who is set to become editor of The Washington Post later this year.

Winnett moved quickly to connect Ford with a lawyer, discussed obtaining an untraceable phone for future communications and reassured Ford that the “remarkable omerta” of British journalism would ensure his clandestine efforts would never come to light, according to draft chapters Ford wrote in 2017 and 2018 that were shared with The Post.

In one passage, Ford describes working with Winnett on an array of stories about consumer and business affairs. The collaboration, in his account, was part of a broader arrangement with the Sunday Times in which Ford delivered confidential details about Britain’s rich and powerful by using dishonest means, including changing their bank passwords and adopting false personas in calls to government agencies. A Sunday Times editor later acknowledged some of these practices but said they were deployed to serve the public interest.

Winnett, who went on to become a respected business reporter and editor with a record of scoops, has not publicly spoken about relying on or interacting with Ford, a trained actor with a talent for accents.

But a review by The Post of Winnett’s reporting at the Sunday Times, as well as Ford’s unpublished book chapters and other documents that have since been made public, reveals apparent overlap between Winnett’s stories and individuals or entities that Ford said he was commissioned to target. They include pieces on the fate of the Leeds United Football Club, the finances of former prime minister Blair and the efforts by some of Britain’s wealthiest elites to buy a new vehicle from Mercedes-Benz that cost 250,000 pounds.

[goofy]

The second-in-command Tory is out:

Editor Tapped to Lead Washington Post Won’t Take the Job

non-paywall link

Robert Winnett, the editor selected to run The Washington Post, will not take up that position, after reports raised questions about his ties to unethical news gathering practices in Britain.

Mr. Winnett will stay at The Daily Telegraph, where he is the deputy editor, according to emails sent on Friday to employees of the London-based newspaper and to staff members at The Post.

“I’m pleased to report that Rob Winnett has decided to stay with us,” read a message to Telegraph employees from the newspaper’s top editor, Chris Evans. “As you all know, he’s a talented chap and their loss is our gain.”

Will Lewis, the chief executive of The Post, confirmed the news in an email to employees.

“It is with regret that I share with you that Robert Winnett has withdrawn from the position of editor at The Washington Post,” Mr. Lewis wrote. “Rob has my greatest respect and is an incredibly talented editor and journalist.”

Mr. Winnett chose to withdraw himself from the position running The Post’s newsroom, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. He did not respond to calls and messages seeking comment.

Mr. Winnett earned a reputation as an unassuming newshound whose relentless pursuit of scoops earned him the nickname “Rat Boy.” But on Friday, several Washington Post journalists told The Times that, in light of the recent reports about him, they were relieved that Mr. Winnett would not be leading their newsroom.

“Rat Boy is out!” one journalist said in a text message.

[grue]

“Won’t take the job” is some excellent corpo speak

[goofy]

Hemry, Local Bartender (@bartenderhemry.bsky.social)

[McTrollson]

Future historians are so fucked.

https://x.com/mattsheffield/status/1805645920752844871

[MrWookie]

'Decision will be overturned': Law experts predict immunity ruling will not...

[Jman220]

I mean, of course it will get overturned if a democrat commits any crimes.

Edit: Lol, who am I kidding, we’re never getting a democratic president again.

[MrWookie]

BBBBBBBBut Biden could go full Dark Brandon and jail Trump, right?

[commonWealth]

@Jman220

I mean, of course it will get overturned if a democrat commits any crimes.

Edit: Lol, who am I kidding, we’re never getting a democratic president again.

It’ll definitely get overturned…

IF Biden drops out and…

IF the replacement candidate wins and…

IF Dems pack the court and…

IF no civil war breaks out OR…

IF Dems win the ensuing civil war.

[goofy]

https://x.com/nytopinion/status/1808846899467669604

[goofy]

Don Moynihan (@donmoyn.bsky.social)

[CaffeineNeeded]

https://x.com/capitolhunters/status/1808916246806868217?s=46&t=N0_fcOKIYYmlCS2e4YShsQ