Breaking: Woman who reached a settlement with O’Reilly over harassment allegations sued him and Fox News for defamation and breach of contract, saying that statements he and the network made violated the settlement and portrayed her as a liar and extortionist. Story to come.
As Vice built itself from a fringe magazine into a nearly $6 billion global media company, its workplace was degrading and uncomfortable for women, current and former employees say. My story:
I am so humbled by this extraordinary honor and overwhelmed with gratitude. Most importantly, thank you to the brave sources who trusted us with their stories, allowing us to follow the facts on a story that actually changed the world.
Vice Media announced in a memo to staff this morning that Andrew Creighton, the company's president, and Mike Germano, its chief digital officer, are both on leave after sexual harassment allegations were publicly reported against them. Story to come.
This reporting is based on interviews with more than 100 current and former Vice employees, some of whom broke confidentiality agreements to talk on the record.
NEW: Barstool founder Dave Portnoy had to file for bankruptcy in 2004 with $30,000 in gambling debts. Now, the self-described “degenerate gambler” urges his fans to dive into the fast-growing, lightly regulated world of sports betting.
In my investigation, I uncovered four settlements connected to sexual harassment or defamation allegations against Vice employees, including its current president
Breaking: Matt Laurer terminated from NBC in wake of detailed complaint about “inappropriate sexual behavior.” Here’s the memo from NBC News chairman Andy Lack sent out this morning:
BREAKING Andrea Mackris + Rebecca Gomez Diamond, two women who reached sexual harassment settlements w Bill O’Reilly, joined the defamation lawsuit against O’Reilly and Fox News, saying statements made depicted them as liars, political operatives + extortionists. Story to come.
In a statement, Vice co-founders Shane Smith and Suroosh Alvi said: a “boys club” culture at Vice had “fostered inappropriate behavior that permeated throughout the company.”
Update: here's the story on the suit that was just filed against O'Reilly by one of the women who received a settlement after making harassment allegations against him. She is suing for defamation and breach of contract.
Update: Two women who settled with Bill O'Reilly over sexual harassment allegations have joined a defamation lawsuit against O'Reilly and Fox News, saying they have been portrayed as liars, political operatives and extortionists. Here's the story:
Bill Shine was ousted last year amid the sexual harassment scandal at Fox News. He now is expected to be offered the job of White House communications director
@maggieNYT
+
@shearm
I emailed Dave Portnoy a detailed list of questions about my article more than a week before it ran. I made multiple attempts to hear his perspective. He posted an edited video about my reporting.
…
Here is the
@NYTimesPR
response
Statement by Channing Dungey, president, ABC Entertainment: "Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show."
🚨NEW INVESTIGATION Britney Spears’s conservatorship was intended to protect her from financial exploitation. But she said she was forced to work. And the more she did, the more money flowed to her gatekeepers
@LizDDay
,
@RachelAbramsNY
,
@starksamantha
+ me
For many mainland Chinese, Hong Kong has been a refuge that affords a relatively high degree of safety while also serving as a way to stay connected to the mainland. If passed, the contentious extradition bill could change all that. My story with
@caocli
Big congrats to
@edmundlee
, who is joining the NYT as a new corporate media reporter. We've never worked together, but I've competed against him. And he's fierce! Can't wait to work on the same team!
Shine denied any wrongdoing but had been accused in several lawsuits of covering up the behavior of Roger Ailes and dismissing concerns from women who complained. He also had advocated keeping Bill O'Reilly.
A year ago,
@nytmike
and I were getting ready to publish our investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Bill O'Reilly. Last night, I attended the Oscars with rockstar reporters
@jodikantor
,
@mega2e
and
@samdolnick
to see just how much the world has changed.
Almost eight years ago -- as part of the WSJ What They Know investigation -- I wrote about an online data firm named Rapleaf that harvested private information about Facebook users to target political ads.
NEW: Giant chemical companies have figured out how to avoid liability for pumping dangerous substances into the environment. It’s a complex legal game with toxic results. With
@dgelles
.
Ms. Mackris reached a $9 million settlement with Mr. O’Reilly in 2004 after suing him for sexual harassment. Ms. Diamond reached a settlement with Mr. O’Reilly in 2011. Both women had recorded conversations with him, and he paid both settlements.
“You were probably the last guy in the world that they wanted to fire, because you were the guy that the ratings and the revenues were built on," Matt Lauer said to Bill O'Reilly in this September interview.
Before an interview, Gov. Cuomo told senior CNN exec Allison Gollust about subjects he’d like to be asked about on air. She passed along the topics to CNN producers. "Done,” she reported back to the governor.
NEW: Behind the turmoil at CNN: Chris Cuomo and Zucker both were forced out from the network, following ethical lapses, an office romance and a secret sexual assault allegation from Jane Doe.
Portnoy is a self-described “degenerate gambler” with a history of misogynistic and racist behavior. He now is one of sports betting’s loudest cheerleaders thanks to a deal with the national casino company Penn Entertainment.
In an email to staff, Vice Media announces that Mike Germano, the company's chief digital officer, will not be returning to the company following an investigation into his conduct.
In the scramble to make a deal and start the Barstool Sportsbook, Penn looked past Portnoy’s background. So did state regulators who are supposed to investigate whether people tied to gambling operate with good character, honesty and integrity.
I owe so much to the late nights, the early mornings and the endless afternoons practicing journalism at
@UNC
’s
@dailytarheel
. It’s such a thrill to spend the weekend with generations of DTH alums, who are helping to secure the future of this invaluable institution.
#DTH125
Here’s a screen grab of Portnoy’s 2004 bankruptcy document, showing his gambling losses. It was filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court in Massachusetts.
My reporting is based on thousands of pages of court filings, financial documents and communications obtained through open-records requests along with interviews with dozens of current and former Barstool and Penn employees and state regulators.
@jodikantor
,
@mega2e
,
@nytmike
&
@emilysteel
, along with the rest of the Times staff responsible for our sexual harassment coverage in 2017 have been chosen for a special citation by the judges of the 2018 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting
NEW Much remains unknown about the sources of Jeffrey Epstein’s wealth, and his death is unlikely to end the efforts by legions of lawyers, bankers and accountants to answer that question. w
@SteveEder
@MattGoldstein26
@davidenrich
"Sexual harassment isn’t about sex, just like pay discrimination isn’t just about pay. Both are about power. They are clear evidence that too many workplaces value women less," says Lilly Ledbetter in this must read about her
#MeToo
moment on
#EqualPayDay
Some regulators have signaled discomfort. Nevada’s gambling authority said it was investigating Penn’s compliance with gambling regulations, including its due diligence into Barstool and Portnoy
.
@NYMag
on Vice Media. "For almost 25 years, Shane Smith’s plan for Vice was that, by the time the suckers caught on, he’d never be stuck owning the company he co-founded."