The Controversial History of Dave Weigel and the Rocky Relationship Between Felicia Samnez and the Washington Post

After Jesse issues a very deep and personal apology about an egregious error, the hosts discuss the endlessly swirling media shitstorm surrounding Felicia Sonmez. To discuss this episode with other premium subscribers, click here.

Show notes/Links:

JournoList: https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/06/the-washington-posts-dave-weigel-resigns-following-strange-semi-scandal

Emily Yoffe on Jonathan Kaiman: https://reason.com/2019/08/23/im-radioactive/

Anna Merlan on Emily Yoffe on Jonathan Kaiman: https://jezebel.com/emily-yoffe-is-back-on-her-b******t-heres-what-an-alleg-1837679900

Anna Merlan: “'Is the UVA Rape Story a Gigantic Hoax?' Asks Idiot”: https://jezebel.com/is-the-uva-rape-story-a-gigantic-hoax-asks-idiot-1665233387

Kobe Bryant thing: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomspiggle/2020/02/04/what-felicia-sonmezs-recent-tweets-about-kobe-bryant-tell-us-about-the-free-speech-rights-of-employees/?sh=270e72ca73af

Letter of support signed by Weigel and many others: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ErQ7bN352jQZ0Ka8kCzAW8CWr2zEnUIvms5BG2Kdt1E/edit

Sonmez statement:

Policy reversal: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/washington-post-reverses-prohibition-on-reporter-from-writing-about-sexual-assault/2021/03/29/c0ee3be0-90c5-11eb-9668-89be11273c09_story.html

Lawsuit: https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/22/media/washington-post-lawsuit-felicia-sonmez/index.html

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/11/inside-felicia-sonmezs-war-against-the-washington-post.html

Result: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21523815-sonmezvwprlg032522

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/25/media/washington-post-felicia-sonmez-suit-dismissed/index.html

Initial Sonmez complaint about Weigel:

Jose A. Del Rel criticizes her approach:

Weigel apologizes:

Coverage of firing: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/09/felicia-sonmez-fired-by-the-washington-post-00038622

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/09/business/media/felicia-sonmez-washington-post.html

“And then you have Felicia, who is essentially pouring gasoline on every fire and inviting people to watch.”: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/06/inside-the-washington-posts-social-media-meltdown

Image source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/how-the-new-washington-post-building-ushers-in-a-new-era-of-journalism/2015/12/10/656c248a-9ea9-11e5-9ad2-568d814bbf3b_video.html

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.blockedandreported.org/subscribe