The Washington Post said it regrets suspending a reporter after she tweeted about rape allegations against Kobe Bryant immediately following his death.
“After conducting an internal review, we have determined that, while we consider Felicia’s tweets ill-timed, she was not in clear and direct violation of our social media policy,” managing editor Tracy Grant said in a Tuesday statement to the Washington Examiner. “Reporters on social media represent the Washington Post, and our policy states, ‘We must be ever mindful of preserving the reputation of the Washington Post for journalistic excellence, fairness, and independence.’ We consistently urge restraint, which is particularly important when there are tragic deaths. We regret having spoken publicly about a personal matter.”
The paper suspended reporter Felicia Sonmez for tweeting out a story about rape allegations against Bryant. The NBA legend died Sunday in a helicopter accident.
The paper was criticized by its writer’s union, along with one of its own media critics online. Its critics pointed out that Sonmez did not violate the company’s policy with her tweet.
Sonmez said she received threats over the tweet and feared for her own safety. She also tweeted out a screenshot of her inbox without the names redacted that some speculated was the cause of the suspension. She later said it was the original tweet that caused the paper to suspend her.
