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Shitty Media Men

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Shitty Media Men was a crowdsourced Google spreadsheet created during October 2017 that collected allegations and rumors of sexual misconduct against approximately 70 men[1] in the media industry, particularly in New York City. Moira Donegan,[2] a former assistant editor at The New Republic, initially began the spreadsheet online anonymously.

Initial creation

In October 2017, Moira Donegan posted the spreadsheet, which allowed anonymous contributions to supplement existing "whisper networks" about allegations of sexual harassment and violence in the media industry.[2] The list—in the form of a shared Google spreadsheet—was active for around 12 hours, during which time it quickly went viral within media circles.[3] Upon learning that BuzzFeed intended to publish an article about it, Donegan took it down.[2]

Reactions

On October 16, 2017, social media personality Mike Cernovich tweeted that he was willing to pay $10,000 for a copy of the list. Cernovich later said that a source sent him the list but "…was insistent on not accepting anything." On October 21, Cernovich promised to publish the listed names, but after identifying two journalists he consulted his lawyer and held back the rest.[4]

On October 25, 2017—after obtaining a copy of the list—Politico contacted several publications with writers on the list. The New York Times explained that since there had been no internal complaints connected to people on the list, there were no investigations. New York magazine's publisher, New York Media, said that in the case of its employees on the list, "We have reviewed whether any type of action is appropriate and have acted accordingly. It is New York Media's policy not to disclose publicly any findings or actions taken as a result of this process so as to preserve the confidential and sensitive nature of these matters." As for BuzzFeed writers on the list, one staffer said the names weren't a total surprise to many, and that the reputations of those men preceded them.[4]

The list also contained the names of multiple employees at The New Republic and The New Yorker who had multiple accusations levied against them as indicated by their entries in the list being highlighted in red. As Vox pointed out "…none of the men who appear on the Shitty Media Men list, even those who were accused of multiple counts of rape, have faced criminal charges."[5][6]

Impact and fallout

On October 27, 2017, The Atlantic terminated the employment of prominent editor Leon Wieseltier, who was among those named in the list, due to allegations of sexual harassment.[7][8]

In November 2017, BuzzFeed began an investigation of employees from their staff named on the list, including its White House correspondent, Adrian Carrasquillo. In December 2017, following a new complaint of inappropriate comments sent to a coworker, Carrasquillo was fired by BuzzFeed for violating their code of conduct.[9]

On December 6, 2017, Lorin Stein, the editor of The Paris Review, resigned amid an internal investigation into his behavior toward female employees and writers. He had informed board members that his name was on the list of anonymous allegations of harassment and misconduct by men in publishing and media. He also resigned as editor at large of Farrar, Straus and Giroux.[10]

Purported Harper's article

In January 2018, while the list was still being discussed in the media, it was rumored that Harper's planned to publish the name of the list's creator in an article written by Katie Roiphe, which elicited concern of doxing and the general safety of the list's creator. The rumors prompted Moira Donegan to preemptively come forward as the list's creator.[11][12]

Lawsuit

On October 10, 2018, Stephen Elliott, a writer based in New Orleans,[13] and founder of the literary site the Rumpus,[14] filed a federal lawsuit in the Eastern District of New York against "Moira Donegan and Jane Does (1-30)" seeking $1.5 million in damages.[15][16][17] Donegan is represented by Robbie Kaplan,[18] a co-founder of the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund. Elliott is represented by Andrew Miltenberg,[19] a sexual assault defense attorney.[20][21][22][23][24] Elliott's lawsuit seeks to make public the identities of those who contributed to the crowd-sourced Google spreadsheet.[14][25][26][27][28]

Google reportedly told The Daily Beast that it would "oppose any attempt by Mr. Elliott to obtain information about this document from us."[29]

References

  1. ^ Rosenfeld, Jordana (January 12, 2018). "What Moira Donegan Did for Young Women Writers". The Nation. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Donegan, Moira (January 10, 2018). "I Started the Media Men List My name is Moira Donegan". The Cut. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  3. ^ Warren, James (January 12, 2018). "A word of caution: Documents like that media men list are like 'Wikipedia wrapped in razor blades'". Poynter. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Calderone, Michael; Schwartz, Jason (October 25, 2017). "Blogger amends vow to publish list of 'Shitty Media Men'". Politico. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  5. ^ Constance, Grady (January 11, 2018). "The "Shitty Media Men" list, explained". Vox. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  6. ^ Shafrir, Doree (October 12, 2017). "What To Do With "Shitty Media Men"?". BuzzFeed. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  7. ^ LaFrance, Adrienne (October 24, 2017). "The 'Harvey Effect' Takes Down Leon Wieseltier's Magazine". The Atlantic.
  8. ^ Cottle, Michelle (October 27, 2017). "Reckoning With a Powerful Man's Bad Behavior". The Atlantic.
  9. ^ Tani, Maxwell (December 27, 2017). "BuzzFeed has fired its White House correspondent after allegations of inappropriate comments to a colleague". Business Insider. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  10. ^ Alter, Alexandra; Ember, Sydney (December 6, 2017). "Paris Review Editor Resigns Amid Inquiry Into His Conduct With Women". The New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  11. ^ Peiser, Jaclyn (January 10, 2018). "'Media Men' List Creator Outs Herself, Fearing She Would Be Named". The New York Times. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  12. ^ Chang, Clio (January 9, 2018). "I Can't Believe This Needs Saying but Doxxing the Woman Behind the Shitty Media Men List Is Wrong". Splinter. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  13. ^ "Creator of notorious 'Media Men' list of anonymous sexual accusations is sued by writer who says it nearly ruined him". chron.com. October 12, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  14. ^ a b "The "Shitty Media Men" list lawsuit is freaking out women in media". vice.com. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  15. ^ "Opinion - What Do You Do When You Are Anonymously Accused of Rape?". nytimes.com. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  16. ^ "The attorney spearheading the "Shitty Media Men" lawsuit is a top defender of accused campus rapists". motherjones.com. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  17. ^ "'Sh*tty Media Men' List Creator Moira Donegan Sued for $1.5 Million". The Daily Beast. October 12, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  18. ^ Spencer, Ruth. "Robbie Kaplan Sees Right Through Stephen Elliot's Lawsuit". thecut.com. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  19. ^ Paiella, Gabriella. "Stephen Elliott's Lawyer Doesn't Want to Bring Up Soviet Russia, But…". thecut.com. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  20. ^ Canon, Gabrielle (October 14, 2018). "Shitty Media Men list: lawyer wants to expose women who contributed". the Guardian. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  21. ^ "Elliott et al v. Donegan". law360.com. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  22. ^ "Creator of notorious 'Media Men' list of anonymous sexual accusations is sued by writer who says it nearly ruined him". Washington Post. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  23. ^ Spencer, Ruth. "Stephen Elliott Sues Moira Donegan, Creator of Shitty Media Men List". thecut.com. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  24. ^ "Sexual Assault". New York Magazine. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  25. ^ "Stephen Elliott's complaint against Moira Donegan and Jane Does (1-30) - Damages - Intentional Infliction Of Emotional Distress". Scribd. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  26. ^ "Elliott v. Donegan et al (1:18-cv-05680), New York Eastern District Court". www.pacermonitor.com. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  27. ^ "Lawyers on opposite sides of #MeToo litigation face off in suit over crowdsourced accusation list". abajournal.com. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  28. ^ "Writer sues creator of crowdsourced spreadsheet that accused him of abuse, seeks to out contributors". abajournal.com. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  29. ^ Schaub, Michael. "Writer Stephen Elliott sues Media Men List creator Moira Donegan; supporters raise more than $100,000 for her defense -". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
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