Ali Watkins, the New York Times D.C.-based journalist who was caught having intimate relationships with her sources, will not be fired by the paper after an investigation but will instead be transferred to New York City:
Times reassigns Ali Watkins. Dean Baquet: “We hold our journalists and their work to the highest standards. We are giving Ali an opportunity to show that she can live up to them. I believe she can.” https://t.co/GaTNcSAsUh
— Jim Windolf (@jimwindolf) July 3, 2018
In New York, she’ll be “closely supervised and have a senior mentor”:
Ali Watkins being reassigned to NYT HQ in NYC, where she'll be "closely supervised & have a senior mentor." https://t.co/oVk6xJHo9l
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) July 3, 2018
So after nuking Watkins in that long, long piece, she’s just reassigned?
So the DOJ goes after @AliWatkins and the Times… airs out her romantic life in a 3,000-word expose, and then reassigns her? SMDH https://t.co/KxQcte2aEg
— Noah Shachtman (@NoahShachtman) July 3, 2018
Watkins told the Times:
“I respect and understand the Times’ review and agree that I should have handled aspects of my past relationships and disclosures differently. I sincerely regret putting The Times in a difficult position and am very grateful for the support I’ve received from my editors and colleagues here. I also appreciate the review’s conclusion that my reporting has been fact-based and accurate.”
Which Iowahawk correctly noted is the first successful use of the “Costanza defense” in history:
Congratulations to Ali Watkins for the first successful use of the Constanza "was I not supposed to do that?" defense
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) July 3, 2018
In case you don’t get the reference:
— Dave Sterling (@dimoko) July 3, 2018
So, how did she keep her job?
https://twitter.com/AlexBerezow/status/1014165476862197760
Of note, NYT Executive Editor Dean Baquet blamed the competition for not doing a better job editing her:
Dean Baquet went there https://t.co/MP2C0XnjAa pic.twitter.com/aN9uuslR34
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) July 3, 2018
Buzzfeed, HuffPo and Politico: He means you!
Dean Baquet chastises editors at Buzzfeed, HuffPo and Politico: "I believe (Ali Watkins) was not well served by some editors elsewhere who failed to respond appropriately to her disclosures about her relationships.” https://t.co/AKLbSq8LC1
— Dustin Volz (@dnvolz) July 3, 2018
Baquet is also mad at the government, of course:
Dean Baquet, @nytimes executive editor, on the case of Ali Watkins, our reporter caught up in a leak inquiry: “We abhor the actions of the government.”
He announced that Watkins would be transferred to NY.https://t.co/wwcyBxsYN4
Read his memo: pic.twitter.com/uPAJ4vXmQv— Clifford Levy (@cliffordlevy) July 3, 2018
***
Related:
'Pick-and-choose ethics': NY Times says reporter Ali Watkins had 'multiple' relationships with sources she covered https://t.co/7dWABXWYXJ
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) June 25, 2018
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