Uncategorized
New York Times hires reporter from 2019 scandal
Former editor of The Daily Northwestern, who received backlash for his reporting of protests on campus, has been hired as a staff reporter for the New York Times.
The NYT announced Monday that Troy Closson, who was a member of NYT‘s 2020 fellowship program, had been promoted to staff and will cover criminal justice as a full-time reporter.
Closson graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in 2020, where he served as editor-in-chief of the student-run Daily Northwestern.
The Daily Northwestern received national attention in 2019 for an editorial apologizing to student protestors for publishing images of activists on campus.
The activists were protesting former attorney general Jeff Sessions’s visit to campus.
Daily Northwestern reporters tweeted images of students attending the disruptive protests and later used a campus directory to call some of those demonstrators for interviews.
The editors apologized to the protestors who felt harmed by the paper’s coverage of the demonstrations and took down the photos. The editors admitted that its reporters had committed an “invasion of privacy” by contacting the protesters for comment and said that the paper’s staff had since been educated as to “the correct way to reach out to students for stories.”
“We recognize that we contributed to the harm students experienced, and we wanted to apologize for and address the mistakes that we made that night,” The Daily’s editorial board wrote. “Some protesters found photos posted to reporters’ Twitter accounts retraumatizing and invasive. Those photos have since been taken down.”
The Washington Free Beacon reported that days after the incident, a Free Beacon reporter attempted to interview Closson about his involvement in the scandal. Closson avoided the press by allegedly “hiding in his office.” However, the Free Beacon reporter spotted Closson inside the paper’s office several times throughout the day.
The Daily Northwestern scandal received national attention from professional journalists across around the country.
Dozens of professional journalists argued that The Daily’s apology itself was the true mistake.
“There’s a lot to comment on in this Daily Northwestern editorial,” Chicago Tribune reporter Gregory Pratt tweeted. “But apologizing for contacting people to ask if they’re willing to be interviewed? Regretting that you photographed protesters protesting in public?”
“I don’t doubt the sincerity of these student journalists,” Los Angeles Times reporter Matt Pearce tweeted. “But I worry that if journalists keep ceding ground on when it is acceptable to do basic reporting, we eventually play into the hands of powerful interests who would love to criminalize journalism.”
Follow Annaliese Levy on Twitter @AnnalieseLevy
In a recent development, the Tate brothers, Andrew and Tristan, along with two associates, find themselves at the center of a high-profile case involving human trafficking allegations.
The charges leveled against them indicate the formation of an organized criminal group in 2021 with the intent to carry out human trafficking operations not only in Romania but also in the United States and the United Kingdom, according to the BBC.
The investigation, which led to their arrest in December last year, has culminated in an indictment filed with the Bucharest court. According to the indictment, the Tate brothers are accused of luring their victims with false promises of love and marriage. Seven individuals have been identified as alleged victims, who were later coerced and subjected to a harrowing ordeal.
Prosecutors contend that the victims were taken to locations in Ilfov county, Romania, where they faced constant surveillance, intimidation, and control. The defendants allegedly forced the victims into debt and coerced them into participating in pornographic activities, with the explicit material subsequently shared on social media platforms. Shockingly, one of the defendants is accused of raping a woman on two occasions in March 2022, further amplifying the gravity of the charges.
While the trial is not expected to commence immediately, as a Romanian judge is granted 60 days to inspect the case files, it is anticipated to be a protracted legal battle. The complexity of the case and the severity of the charges will undoubtedly result in a lengthy trial process, with several years potentially passing before a verdict is reached.
Representatives for the Tate brothers released a statement acknowledging the unsurprising nature of the news but maintaining their belief in their innocence.
As reported by the BBC, the Tate brothers media team stared, “While this news is undoubtedly predictable, we embrace the opportunity it presents to demonstrate their innocence and vindicate their reputation.”
They expressed their eagerness to present a comprehensive body of evidence meticulously collected over time, which they believe will substantiate their claims of innocence and restore their tarnished reputation.
However, it should be noted that additional charges, such as money laundering and trafficking of minors, are still under investigation. If evidence is uncovered to support these allegations, a separate indictment could be filed, further complicating the legal proceedings for the defendants.
Andrew Tate, who gained notoriety through his participation in the reality television show Big Brother, has a controversial past, having been removed from the show in 2016 following a video that appeared to depict him assaulting a woman.
Despite subsequent bans on social media platforms due to his contentious statements, he has managed to amass a following, particularly among young men, by promoting an ostentatious and hyper-masculine lifestyle.
As the case unfolds, public attention will undoubtedly be drawn to the trial, with many eagerly awaiting the outcome and hoping for justice to be served for the alleged victims. The complex web of charges and the high-profile nature of the defendants ensure that this trial will be closely monitored and scrutinized by the media and the public alike.
Follow Alexander Carter on Twitter @AlexCarterDC for more!
-
Nation5 days agoGroup backed by the Islamic Republic of Iran hacked into PA Water Facility
-
education5 days agoCalls for Hofstra University President’s Resignation Over Statements on Israel-Hamas Conflict
-
Media4 days agoRobert De Niro anti-Trump speech mysteriously replaced in teleprompter at Awards Show
-
Nation5 days agoElizabeth Warren Acknowledges Unintended Consequences of Obamacare
