Once again, readers of the New York Times have experienced bias, inaccuracy, omissions, and a disregard for accountability in the paper’s coverage of Koch, this time over a demonstration that took place in Southampton, NY on July 8.
The paper had six reporters and columnist Paul Krugman cover fewer than what some news outlets estimated were 50 protesters at a fundraiser for Mitt Romney at the home of David Koch. None of those reporters reached out to us for input before or after the event, and they failed to use our statement to update their stories even after we provided one to the paper. In addition, all seven Times writers ignored the fact that one of the protest organizers spent nearly three years in federal prison for domestic terror actions.
When we raised these issues with the Times’ editors, we did not receive an adequate response. This is disappointing but consistent with the Times’ past dealings with us. Here is the full exchange:
From: Rob Tappan
Sent: Monday, July 09, 2012 3:11 PM
To: Dean Baquet, Managing Editor, The New York Times
Dear Mr. Baquet:
I write to take issue with the Times’ coverage of a protest aimed at a political fundraising event that took place in Southampton yesterday. The paper published five separate articles (here, here, here, here, and here) that included reporting from seven different writers. Koch was never contacted by any of the reporters nor given the opportunity to provide input or reaction to their stories. Given this extensive coverage, why did none of the Times reporters make any effort to contact us or include Koch’s viewpoint? At the very least, they could have included a formal statement from us that was posted prominently on our website.
Incredibly, none of the five separate articles in your paper disclosed that the lead organizer of the protest, Andrew Stepanian, is a convicted terrorist who spent almost three years in federal prison, as the Times reported in 2004. Also, the story by Michael Barbaro and Sarah Weaton is in error about the number of demonstrators that took part, which they reported as 200. Other news outlets reported a much lower number, and even the organizers themselves claimed only 150 people in comments to other news organizations. In addition, the photographs from yesterday’s protest show that nowhere near that many individuals were present.
I request that the online versions of the relevant pieces be updated to include our statement which can be found in full here. In addition, I would be grateful for some explanation as to why we were not contacted for these stories and why our statement was omitted. Thank you and we welcome any corrective measures you might suggest.
Sincerely,
Robert A. Tappan
Director, External Relations
Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC
From: Richard Stevenson
Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2012 7:03 PM
To: Tappan, Rob
Cc: Phil Corbett
Subject: FW: Re: Times coverage of fundraiser and protest
Mr. Tappan,
Thanks for your note, which found its way to me. I’ve spoken with a number of the reporters involved in the stories you cite, one of which I wrote myself, and wanted to respond to your points and take the opportunity to invite a further discussion.
Jim Rutenberg, the author of the story that appeared Sunday about the Hamptons and the fundraisers scheduled there for last Sunday, did in fact reach out to a representative of the Kochs, Christyne Nicholas, who was minimally responsive prior to the event and sent along an after-the-fact fact sheet late on Sunday. Jim has also spoken extensively in the past to Ron Bonjean about opening channels of communication, but like most of our other reporters who have reached out via one channel or another has been told consistently that he would not be granted interviews or given other substantive cooperation.
In my judgment, Jim’s story was the one that came closest to requiring some kind of comment or input from your side. We would have been happy to have it. Perhaps we were just knocking on the wrong door.
The other stories you cite that appeared in the news pages – Paul Krugman’s column falls under the jurisdiction of the editorial page – didn’t seem to me to require a response to any specific development or characterization. But again, if we’d known you had something to say, we would have been happy to hear it.
All of which leads me to encourage you to work with us to open up better lines of communication and to make relevant people available when you are in the news. We’re always happy to speak with people who can provide us with substantive information – that’s our business. If the Kochs or their representatives want to be part of the national conversation as it plays out in our reporting and are willing to provide more than talking points, it would benefit our coverage and our readers.
On your point about the numbers of demonstrators, we had multiple reporters at a variety of locations, who did their best to assess the scale of the protests, which as you know were spread out and in constant motion. They stand by their estimate.
I’d be happy to follow up with a phone conversation if you think that would be valuable.
Best,
Dick Stevenson
Political Editor
The New York Times
From: Rob Tappan,
Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2012 5:05 PM
To: Richard Stevenson
Cc: Dean Baquet; Phil Corbett; Art Brisbane
Subject: RE: Re: Times coverage of fundraiser and protest
Dear Mr. Stevenson:
I appreciate you looking into the matter but allow me to respond to your points. Although Mr. Rutenberg did reach out to Ms. Nicholas to inquire if she would be attending any of the Romney events, he never made a specific inquiry about the event taking place at the Koch residence. Nevertheless, Ms. Nicholas proactively provided him with a statement from us early Sunday evening — a statement that had been readily available on KochFacts.com since Friday.
Mr. Rutenberg and other Times reporters are aware of how to get in touch with our communications office and have done so in the past. We have responded to inquiries and, when warranted, have provided comment for the record. In some instances we have declined to offer input but that’s a far cry from not cooperating and it does not relieve the Times of its obligation to reach out on coverage that involves us. None of the six news-side reporters did so in this case and the Times ought to take responsibility for that failing.
If the head count of demonstrators was more difficult because they were “spread out and in constant motion,” then wouldn’t it be appropriate to inform readers of that fact, especially when the featured photo and video accompanying the article show about two dozen individuals? I’ll point out again that the Times is contradicted even by the event organizers who claimed an inflated figure of 150 people, as well as by other news outlets that put the figure closer to 50 people.
Finally, would you please respond to my question about the lead organizer of the event? Andrew Stepanian is a convicted criminal who spent almost three years in federal prison for domestic terrorist activity and who has described his political actions as “terror tactics.” The Times coverage made no mention of this fact which would have certainly enlightened readers.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Sincerely,
Robert A. Tappan
Director, External Relations
Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC
From: Rob Tappan
Sent: Friday, July 13, 2012 12:25 PM
To: Richard Stevenson
Cc: Dean Baquet; Phil Corbett; Art Brisbane
Subject: RE: Re: Times coverage of fundraiser and protest
Dear Mr. Stevenson:
Just following up…wanted to make sure that you received my e-mail from Wednesday.
Please let me know. Many thanks.
–Rob Tappan
—– Original Message —–
From: Richard Stevenson
Sent: Sunday, July 15, 2012 10:21 PM
To: Rob Tappan
Subject: RE: Re: Times coverage of fundraiser and protest
Mr. Tappan,
Apologies for being slow in getting back to you.
Again, if you would like to be available to engage with our reporters in a timely and substantive way, the door is wide open. From here on, I will encourage our journalists to contact you directly, and I look forward to you making the Kochs available for interviews and otherwise providing your perspective in a timely manner.
As far as the size of the demonstrations, we had several reporters covering a wide geographic area that day, and I have no reason to doubt the accuracy of their estimate.
Andrew Stepanian seems like someone who might be worth looking into. Thanks for pointing out his role.
Best,
Dick Stevenson
