Despite her tasteless tweet following Kobe Bryant’s death, a little sympathy for Felicia Sonmez was at least understandable after the Washington Post suspended her. It seemed kind of excessive.
Yesterday, WaPo managing editor Tracy Grant issued a statement conceding that Sonmez “was not in clear and direct violation of our social media policy”:
New statement regarding Post reporter Felicia Sonmez pic.twitter.com/HBt2s5VW68
— Kristine Coratti Kelly (@kriscoratti) January 28, 2020
Sonmez (and the Washington Post Guild) succeeded in getting WaPo management to admit to having made a mistake, but that wasn’t enough:
I believe that Washington Post readers and employees, including myself, deserve to hear directly from @PostBaron on the newspaper’s handling of this matter. My statement on The Post’s decision tonight: pic.twitter.com/t5ULzUQhYT
— Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) January 29, 2020
Washington Post journalists endeavor to live up to the paper’s mission statement, which states, “The newspaper shall tell ALL the truth so far as it can learn it, concerning the important affairs of America and the world.”
— Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) January 29, 2020
My suspension, and @PostBaron’s Jan. 26 email warning me that my tweets about a matter of public record were “hurting this institution,” have unfortunately sown confusion about the depth of management’s commitment to this goal.
— Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) January 29, 2020
I hope Washington Post newsroom leaders will not only prioritize their employees’ safety in the face of threats of physical harm but also ensure that no journalist will be punished for speaking the truth.
— Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) January 29, 2020
Annnnnd there went any sympathy anyone might’ve had for Sonmez. She comes off like an entitled brat in that statement, painting herself as some kind of victim of a grave injustice.
I'm so sorry, Felicia. This helicopter crash has been really hard on you.
— neontaster (@neontaster) January 29, 2020
Nine people died in a helicopter crash, but this WaPo reporter is the real victim. https://t.co/0bWtzioZyR
— jon gabriel (@exjon) January 29, 2020
You screamed rapist at flaming wreckage that claimed the lives of kids 10 minutes after it happened. But if playing Mariah Carey’s “Hero” on Spotify makes you feel better, hey, have at it https://t.co/8n6TgCPx4z
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) January 29, 2020
We’re on day 3 of this journalist thinking she’s Sally Field holding up a piece of cardboard in a bottling factory and even ESPN is like “hey, cool it for a day or two.”
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) January 29, 2020
I’d be slightly more sympathetic to Felicia’s “commitment” to discussing matters of public record if she hadn’t previously tried to get another journalist fired for speaking favorably about an article she didn’t like. https://t.co/eM3cYIs5AN
— James Hasson (@JamesHasson20) January 29, 2020
genuine awe for the fact that it took the DC/NYC press something like 3 hours to turn Kobe Bryant's death into some meta story about ethics in journalism and online harassment. https://t.co/lyYdneqBhk
— ?'? ? ??????? ???? (@BecketAdams) January 29, 2020
You are sooooo happy that you are the story now. Congratulations. That's exactly what you wanted when you started this. @PostBaron should have seen that and fired you on the spot.
— El Jefe (@ElJefeTulum) January 29, 2020
Hopefully you insured your termination with this combative post directed at your superior @PostBaron because I would’ve bypassed suspension and strait up canned you. PostBaron was
to kind to you— CommunityCorner (@EdenfieldPl) January 29, 2020
You’re a vile human being and an entitled brat. Don’t ever ask again why “enemy of the people” is a thing.
— Mark C, austere BBQ scholar ?? (@UntraceableMC) January 29, 2020
You know what? Felicia Sonmez and the Washington Post deserve each other.
I have less than zero sympathy for the Post. You want your writers to be a bunch of Twitter celebrities? Now choke on it. https://t.co/7q6Q39mRtM
— neontaster (@neontaster) January 29, 2020
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