Felicia Sonmez

It’s early but this is the front-runner for the dumbest thing I’ll read today. Congratulations.

 

You calling it the front-runner for the dumbest thing you'll read all day is my front-runner for the dumbest thing I'll read all day. Congratulations.

 

And this is the front-runner for the most useless contribution to a discussion. Care to elaborate?

 

1. I think the Post was wrong to suspend her.

2. I also think — and I truly mean this -- this is an example of a reporter who couldn't resist taking to Twitter to voice a POV when the Post's main frustration seems to be they wanted to instead weigh in on what was happening by doing some fricken reporting. Hesse and Babb and Svrluga were all working on pieces that touched on the sexual assault stuff and how important it was to remember as part of Kobe's legacy. I honestly don't think wanting THAT to be how the Washington Post weighed in on this matter is all that objectionable. Literally anyone can have a take. Do some reporting instead of taking to Twitter. You're not a columnist. Is that policy getting enforced situationally? Certainly. It doesn't change what I think is Baron's point.

 

I totally agree with this. I don't have a problem with them asking her to take the tweets down and I think a follow up conversation laying out why the tweets were ill advised would have made sense. But to Baron's point, her tweets certainly impacted how people viewed WaPo's coverage of the story and became a big story itself. Politics reporters don't have to only tweet about news just like sportswriters don't have to stick to sports but you should exercise discretion and know when it might be best to just stay in your lane.

Two of my other issues with this story are:
1) The very first thing she tweeted about Kobe was a link to that story. It's totally fair to point out that should be remembered as part of his history but it showed a real lack of empathy that that was the first thing she thought to do. I don't think the reaction would have been nearly as extreme if she showed even a morsel of understanding of why people reacted so strongly to his death.

2) Her providing private emails from Baron and her other editor to NYT felt like a very Deadspin writer thing to do. If I was Baron, I wouldn't be pleased that she didn't respond to my email and instead sent it to a reporter at another organization.

 

Instead of taking the W and moving on, she's doubling down by demanding an explanation from Baron.

This reeks of her angling for a future lawsuit against Baron and the paper.

 

All of this strikes me less as an example of a brave voice being silenced and more as an example of someone the Post is weary of, and someone who has been asked several times to stay off Twitter and focus on reporting. But you can guess which way Twitter sees it.

 

Some background on Sonmez:

'I'm Radioactive'

After she was celebrated for destroying one man's life, she was probably quite confused by the reaction to her Kobe tweet.

 

Weary, and wary, too.

 

I’m sorry, but when did it become acceptable to call out your boss like this? This Twitter bravery is crazy!
Plus, after reading The Post writes it should have kept things private, she decides to push the envelope with more public comments?

 

I'm not sure Sonmez was celebrated, exactly. Not in the most common or positive sense of word, although perhaps you mean that it became her claim to fame.

But, seriously, everyone, especially anyone who may have wanted to add their voice to the "Me, Too" movement, just for the sake of doing so, or simply to be supportive of it, should read that link. An incredible read, with much food for thought to be had.