Ronan Farrow, the author of Harvey Weinstein sexual assault exposé, broke his silence late Monday night about NBC News’ handling of his story.
Mr. Farrow accused the network of promoting “number of false or misleading statements” in their latest response to the controversy.
On Monday, NBC News chairman Andy Lack sent a detailed report to all employees associated with the news network that outlined an internal investigation into the Weinstein reporting process.
“We’ve watched with disappointment as unfounded intimations and accusations have traveled through media circles,” Mr. Lack wrote in an email published by NBC’s “Today” show, “At NBC News, one of our primary goals is to produce outstanding investigative journalism that stands up to intense scrutiny and has a meaningful impact on society.”
Mr. Farrow denied the report’s conclusions on three specific fronts.
NBC claimed the original story only had two on-the-record sources, actress Rose McGowan and a writer for The New Yorker, Ken Auletta.
The report details that Ms. McGowan never specifically named Mr. Weinstein in her interview, and actually rescinded her consent after a follow-up interview was requested.
It also accuses Mr. Farrow of misleading Mr. Aluetta in their interview and suggesting he had more on-the-record accusations than he did.
“Their list of sources is incomplete and omits women who were either identified in the NBC story or offered to be,” Mr. Farrow wrote.
He also pushed back on NBC News’ claim that Mr. Farrow left on his own accord. According to his record of events, the network first brought up moving the story to a different publication.
“I took them up on it only after it became clear that I was being blocked from further reporting,” he wrote.
Mr. Farrow published his exposé with The New Yorker in November and won a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service because of the story.
NBC News argues the original version of the story did not meet its reporting standards and even had three long-time network journalists review it. All three agreed that it wasn’t ready to go on air.
Mr. Farrow contends that his story was cleared twice by the legal department and only derailed because executives stopped him from getting a comment from Mr. Weinstein.
The Pulitzer-prize winning journalist said he refrained from weighing in on the situation in order to keep “the focus on the women and their allegations.”
NBC News faced a whirlwind of controversy after Rich McHugh, a former producer that worked with Mr. Farrow on the story, accused them of trying to kill the report.
“I loved my time at NBC,” Mr. Farrow wrote. “It’s a place filled with talented, dedicated journalists, many of whom have reached out to me in frustration. They are owed an honest accounting of what happened.”
— Ronan Farrow (@RonanFarrow) September 4, 2018
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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