An update on that other big story about The Washington Post: the paper’s media critic, Erik Wemple, has weighed in with a tough piece about the Post’s decision in January 2021 not to report that an upside-down American flag — a symbol of the pro-Trump insurrection — was flying outside Supreme Court Justice Sam Alito’s home. That story was finally broken in The New York Times last month, and it led to other scoops as well, including the revelation that another insurrectionist flag was flying outside a second Alito home. Wemple’s lead:
It’s one thing to get scooped when your competitors bust their humps. Or when they catch a lucky break one way or another. It’s quite another thing to get scooped when the story has sat in your notebook for 3½ years.
Earlier:
- Semafor provides some clarity on The Washington Post’s massive failure (May 27)
- Thinking through what’s next following The Washington Post’s Alito debacle (May 26)
- The Washington Post knew about one of the Alitos’ insurrectionist flags (May 25)
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“When I asked Martin Baron, who served as executive editor at the time, about how things proceeded, he responded, “I don’t know how things proceeded. I never knew about any of those discussions. I only learned about them when The Post inquired about the story. …Had never heard of it.”
In his book “Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and The Washington Post,” Baron says he was left out of the loop on key reporting about alleged Trump-Russia collusion. Was this another such instance? “I’m not weighing in on this,” responded Baron via email. ”
That’s pretty weak tea, Marty.