The top editor of the Washington Post sent a long memo to his staff after a demand that he speak out by a reporter suspended for a tweet about rape allegations, which she published following the death of retired NBA superstar Kobe Bryant.
Marty Baron intervened in the dispute after facing backlash from his newsroom in support of the reporter, Felicia Sonmez, a sexual assault survivor, who received death threats in response to her tweet.
The paper suspended Sonmez for tweeting, without comment, a news story about rape allegations against Bryant. Hours earlier, he was killed along with his daughter and seven others in a helicopter crash. Sonmez was put on leave for one day until the newspaper determined that she had not violated their social media policies. She then demanded Baron speak out.
In his memo, the authenticity of which the newspaper confirmed to the Washington Examiner, Baron, 65, said that “social media activity can elicit a strong and often deeply offensive reaction,” an apparent nod to the abuse Sonmez, 37, had faced on Twitter.
He added: “Sadly, far too often it is threatening, especially for women and journalists of color. Your safety should never be in jeopardy, and we will always do everything possible to make sure it never is.”
Baron said the newspaper was reviewing its social media policy, which was written in 2011. He did not name Sonmez in his three-page note.
Before her reinstatement, the Washington Post Guild defended Sonmez in a letter addressed to Baron and managing editor Tracy Grant criticizing the suspension. The letter supporting Sonmez was signed by more than 300 Washington Post employees.
“This case also reflects fundamental flaws in The Post’s arbitrary and over-broad social media policy. We have repeatedly seen colleagues — including members of management — share contentious opinions on social media platforms without sanction. But here a valued colleague is being censured for making a statement of fact,” the statement said. “Felicia did nothing more than what The Post’s own news stories have done when she shared an article about the past allegation against Bryant.”
I believe that Washington Post readers and employees, including myself, deserve to hear directly from @PostBaron on the newspaper’s handling of this matter. My statement on The Post’s decision tonight: pic.twitter.com/t5ULzUQhYT
— Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) January 29, 2020
Before the memo, Sonmez called on Baron to address “the paper’s handling of this matter.” She argued that her suspension and Baron’s email to her warning that her tweets were “hurting this institution” have “sown confusion about the depth of management’s commitment” to living up to the paper’s mission statement.
