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NEWS: Major public radio stations in Los Angeles, DC, Chicago, Seattle, Dallas, Pittsburgh etc send joint protest to NYT in fallout over collapse of "Caliphate" series.
They cite "troubling" actions of "The Daily" host Michael Barbaro & presence of producer Andy Mills. /con't
They cite "troubling" actions of "The Daily" host Michael Barbaro & presence of producer Andy Mills. /con't
2/ "The Daily" runs on public radio stations around the country as a news program, distributed by American Public Media.
Station officials: "We feel Barbaro's actions are in direct conflict with our ethical guidelines and they call his general credibility into question."/ con't
Station officials: "We feel Barbaro's actions are in direct conflict with our ethical guidelines and they call his general credibility into question."/ con't
The Daily & the limited run Caliphate, had been very bright spots for the NYT as it looked to expand revenue beyond its phenomenally successful digital pay subscription business. Baquet said NYT's leaders had failed to pay sufficient attention to rigors of journalism in audio.
As reported by NPR, Barbaro had interviewed exec editor Dean Baquet about severe reporting lapses in Caliphate. Barbaro did not disclose in interview that the team that created Caliphate came from the Daily, including his fiancée, the executive producer of Caliphate. / con't
The letter also noted Barbaro pressured other journalists (at least 5 by my count) to pull back public criticism and to temper their language: "We... place tremendous value on the fact that our journalism is free from journalism of any kind.... This is our ethical compass."
In addition, the letter noted that Caliphate host Rukmini Callimachi had been reassigned, while producer Andy Mills, her on-air sidekick and reporting partner, co-hosted the very next episode of the Daily after the heart of the series was retracted. /con't
The letter noted that women have come forward from Mills' time at WNYC and also during his stint at the NYT and complained of degrading and entitled behavior toward female colleagues.
Story to follow, with reax from NYT when available.
Story to follow, with reax from NYT when available.
Here's my original story on the NYT's retraction of the core of Caliphate https://www.npr.org/2020/12/18/944594193/new-york-times-retracts-hit-podcast-series-caliphate-on-isis-executioner
And here's my story on the controversy Barbaro stirred by his multiple roles in attempting to address the paper's journalistic failures https://www.npr.org/2020/12/24/949906978/star-hosts-ties-cloud-n-y-times-effort-to-restore-trust-after-podcast-scandal
Tweak: The list currently includes Lehigh Valley, PA tho not the dominant public radio station in Pittsburgh
