In the past 48 hours, the story has shifted slightly as more and more staffers are defending the Post’s workplace and showing frustration with Sonmez — not for calling out Weigel’s inappropriate retweet, but for continuing the conversation about it.
On Wednesday, I spoke to several well-established and respected journalists at the Post, both male and female, who wanted to make it clear: The Washington Post is a good place to work and not the toxic newsroom that this latest controversy might suggest. The Post staffers asked to speak on background and not have their names used, mostly because those who have publicly spoken up for the Post and questioned or challenged Sonmez have come under heavy criticism and been portrayed as insensitive.
“I think a lot of people at the Post are frustrated with the way all of this is unfolding,” one Post reporter told me. “Obviously, a lot of people strongly feel that this doesn’t represent the culture at the Post.”
This source continued, “It’s frustrating to have this person make these assertions broadly about the Post and imply and amplify this idea that there’s this great division and that the Post has this toxic work environment when that is not the case.”
And yet another said it goes well beyond newsroom bickering.
“This is affecting sourcing relationships,” they said, adding that sources have told them that they are hesitant to talk to the Post right now because of all the “drama.”
Another staffer, a woman, said they had talked to several female staffers who said they felt Sonmez had “taken it too far,” but they didn’t want to speak out because they didn’t want to “undermine” Sonmez.
“It’s just an unwinnable situation for everyone involved,” the staffer said.
Another unnamed staffer told Vanity Fair’s Charlotte Klein, “I think Felicia initially was right — that was a gross Dave Weigel tweet, and we were all grateful she called attention to it. (The problem was in) continuing to make it an issue and go after more and more colleagues.”
Of all the staffers I talked to Wednesday, not one defended Weigel’s retweet, although one did say they wish Sonmez had taken her complaints to editors and stayed off Twitter. It has been reported that Sonmez first complained about Weigel’s retweet on an internal Slack channel and that National editor Matea Gold, in the same Slack channel, wrote that “The Post is committed to maintaining a respectful workplace for everyone” and “we do not tolerate demeaning language or actions.” But Sonmez went to Twitter just minutes after her Slack message.
Over the weekend, Post staffer Jose A. Del Real accused Sonmez on Twitter of “repeated and targeted public harassment of a colleague” and suggested she was “rallying the internet to attack (Weigel) for a mistake.”
Buzbee stepped in on Sunday, sending out a brief memo to staff saying they were expected to “treat each other with respect and kindness both in the newsroom and online.”
One staffer told me Weigel has had a “questionable history” on social media, so his monthlong suspension might have been for an accumulation of poor decisions. It is also believed Weigel has been suspended once before for his social media use. Post officials would not discuss him or this matter.
Buzbee sent out another memo to staff on Tuesday — this one much longer and much more sternly worded, writing in part, “We do not tolerate colleagues attacking colleagues either face to face or online. Respect for others is critical to any civil society, including our newsroom. The newsroom social media policy points specifically to the need for collegiality.”
Buzbee added, “We know it takes bravery to call out problems. And we pledge to openly and honestly address problems brought to us.” She also said the Post will update its social media policy.
Meanwhile, Sonmez continued tweeting, including lengthy threads about the Post’s social media policy. Sonmez tweeted, “In early 2020, @stevenjay and @loriamontgomery, then the Post’s National and deputy National editors, commissioned an internal report on social media use in response to newsroom-wide outrage over my suspension. Two years later, nothing has changed.”
Washington Post media writer Jeremy Barr wrote, “The union that represents Post employees, the Washington Post Guild, has repeatedly lobbied for The Post to update the company’s social media policies, which the guild has described as ‘outdated’ and not sufficiently equitable, and repeated that call on Tuesday.”
As Sonmez continued tweeting, Post staffer Lisa Rein tweeted at Sonmez on Tuesday night to “Please stop.” Sonmez replied, “Please stop … requesting that tweets from a colleague falsely accusing me of ‘bullying’ and ‘clout chasing’ be taken down?”
Sonmez then added, “Do you have any idea of the torrent of abuse I’m facing right now?” Sonmez then included screenshots of some of the nasty attacks she has been receiving online.
The social media melee picked up throughout the week with many high-profile staffers defending the Post.
White House bureau chief Ashley Parker tweeted, “The Post is not perfect. No institution is. But I’m proud to work here. I love coming to work (almost) every single day, and knowing that my colleagues are collegial, collaborative and fun humans — not to mention talented journalists — who are always striving to do better.”
Reporter Amber Phillips tweeted, “Working at The Washington Post, I'm in awe almost every day how such talented journalists, from all backgrounds, can also be so collegial and thoughtful and caring. I love working here, and I love helping improve it.”
Investigative political reporter Josh Dawsey tweeted, “no institution is perfect, including the post. but the place is filled with many terrific people who are smart and collegial. i'm proud to work here.”
Those are just a few examples, but there were enough that some wondered if it was a coordinated effort to defend the Post.
But a staffer told me on Wednesday, “That was ridiculed by a lot of people as being some kind of contrived messaging operation, but I have no reason to believe it was anything other than an organic expression of how people feel about this newsroom.”
Meanwhile, some Post staffers and others in the journalism world took to Twitter to stand by Sonmez, who tweeted, “I often hear from colleagues who want to say something but are afraid to speak out. Knowing how the Post punished me for my own trauma — and how a colleague publicly accused me of ‘bullying’ for flagging a sexist tweet — I don’t blame them for being afraid of retaliation.”
Sonmez was referring to her history with the Post.
“Look,” one staffer told me Wednesday, “there’s no question she was treated (crappy) in the past by the Post. What they did to her was wrong. … But that and what’s happening now are two different situations, in my opinion.”
Another Post staffer said, “That wasn’t right, and most everybody I know at the Post was in her corner on that. They handled that poorly.”
And some are questioning whether Post leadership is handling this situation as well as it can.
“It’s a real s— show,” one staffer said.
The Post is not commenting beyond a statement from Post communications chief Kris Coratti Kelly, who said, “While we have not commented publicly, this is being addressed directly with the individuals involved.”
When reached Wednesday evening, Sonmez declined to comment.
What can Buzbee do now?
“It’s a really good question,” one staffer said. “I don’t think there’s any really good options here. There’s obviously a lot of hard feelings involving the person who is spearheading this. I don’t know how this goes away. But I just want it known that the Post is a good place to work, and I think most of my colleagues feel that way.”
Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected].
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