US -- Latest firings at Newsweek raise alarms as to publication’s editorial independence from its owners

Two more editors were fired from Newsweek last week following a series of dismissals throughout the month of February. On February 20, Newsweek published an exposé revealing a number of ongoing scandals within its parent company, Newsweek Media Group. The exposé, while initially a publication led by investigative reporter Celeste Katz, was completed and published by a team of editors and reporters from Newsweek and International Business Times (IBT), Newsweek’s sister publication, after Katz was fired on February 5. Shortly after publication, Newsweek editor Gersh Kuntzman, who was vocally critical of the parent company, was dismissed on February 23. National editor John Seeley was fired several days later.

The exposé included an extensive editors’ note implying Katz, her editor Bob Roe, and executive editor Ken Li were all fired in connection with the story. “As we were reporting this story, Newsweek Media Group fired Newsweek Editor Bob Roe, Executive Editor Ken Li and Senior Politics Reporter Celeste Katz for doing their jobs,” the note said, “As we continued working on the story, we were asked to take part in a review process, which, we ultimately learned, involved egregious breaches of confidentiality and journalism ethics. We believe that subjects of the story were shown parts of the draft, if not the entire piece, prior to publication by a company executive who should not have been involved in the process. At an on-the-record interview with the subjects of this story, a company official asked editors to identify confidential sources.”

“The turmoil at Newsweek reveals its parent company’s utter disrespect for source confidentiality and journalism ethics,” said Margaux Ewen, US Director of Reporters Without Borders (RSF). “Newsweek Media Group’s leadership has ignored a key principle of press freedom: business owners must not interfere in a media outlet’s editorial decisions, much less fire reporters for having the courage to expose misconduct within their own workplace. Rather, the journalists who continued reporting should be heralded for their dedication to media independence despite the real likelihood of losing their jobs.”

Disorder at Newsweek initially began when the Manhattan District Attorney’s office raided the media group’s headquarters on January 18 after conducting a long-running investigation into the company’s finances. While at Newsweek, Katz and two colleagues conducted their own separate investigation into the financial background of the parent company and discovered a controversial relationship between Newsweek Media Group and Olivet University. In exchange for tax breaks and permits for a new campus, Olivet University offered $149,000 of free advertising space in Newsweek to officials in Dutchess County, New York in 2016. Newsweek Media Group and Olivet University have links that date back to 2006, when Newsweek Media Group was known as IBT Media. The media group’s co-founder, Johnathan Davis, is married to Tracy Davis, the current president of Olivet University.

In addition to her reports on the ties with Olivet University, Katz had also written articles detailing the January 18 raid of the media group’s offices, as well as sexual harassment claims against the most recent chief content officer, Dayan Candappa.

The dismissals of Katz, Roe, and Li ultimately led to more than two dozen Newsweek staffers’ resignations over a two week period, including senior writer Matthew Cooper and reporter David Sirota, two editors, and the company’s chief sales officer Ed Hannigan.

The United States ranks 43rd out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2017 World Press Freedom Index, after falling two places between 2016 and 2017.

Editor's note: the original version of this press release misspelled Gersh Kuntzman's name as "Gersch Kuntzman." The story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling.