Newsweek publishes exposé about itself after staff firings

Journalists fought execs in ‘bloody battle’ to publish probe into company finances

Earlier this month, the staff at Newsweek magazine descended into chaos. Two of the magazine’s top editors — editor-in-chief Bob Roe and executive editor Kenneth Li — were abruptly dismissed, along with reporter Celeste Katz. Multiple reporters resigned in protest.

The trio was fired as they were in the midst of pursuing an investigative story into the financial ties of Newsweek’s parent company, the Newsweek Media Group.

Despite the firings, a group of staff journalists continued reporting on the company’s finances. And late Tuesday night, their exposé was published, revealing a deep financial relationship between the parent company and a small Christian school, Olivet University. The investigation’s findings were damning, but it was the colossal editor’s note at the top of the story that was the most stunning.

“As we were reporting this story, Newsweek Media Group fired Newsweek Editor Bob Roe, Executive Editor Ken Li and Senior Politics Reporter Celeste Katz for doing their jobs,” the note read. “Reporters Josh Keefe and Josh Saul were targeted for firing before an editor persuaded the company to reverse its decision.”

Newsweek Media Group could not be immediately reached for comment. It previously declined to discuss personnel matters with the Washington Post.

The team reporting on the story was forced to undergo a review process which “involved egregious breaches of confidentiality and journalism ethics,” according to the editor’s note. According to CNN and the Daily Beast, Newsweek Media Group’s co-founder told editors in a meeting that the reporting into the parent company had damaged business.

“We resisted their efforts to influence the story and, after learning of the review’s ethical failings, the reporters and editors involved in this story felt they would be forced to resign,” the editor’s note stated.

According to CNN and the Daily Beast, company executives attempted to stall and even block the story from publication. Several reporters and editors threatened to quit if the piece wasn’t published.

A “bloody battle” ensued between the journalists and executives, until ultimately the company’s CEO allowed the team to publish their story Tuesday night, CNN reported.

Questions over the company’s finances emerged last month after Manhattan district attorney investigators raided Newsweek’s New York City offices, removing 18 computer servers. The district attorney is also pursuing a fraud probe into the media group’s questionable financial relationship with Olivet University, Newsweek reported Tuesday.

The magazine’s reporters uncovered a 2016 deal in which Olivet, seeking tax breaks and permits to build its new campus in upstate New York, offered county officials free advertising in Newsweek. For three months in 2017, Newsweek ran 10 full-page ads — a value of about $149,000 — promoting Hudson Valley Regional Airport and Dutchess County tourism, all free of charge.

This was all taking place while the magazine’s parent company was in financial turmoil.

“At the same time as Newsweek Media Group was giving away $150k in free advertising as part of negotiations to secure property for Olivet University, I watched reporters in tears as they laid off 2/3 of the people in the newsroom,” Newsweek associate politics editor Jason Le Miere tweeted Tuesday night.