The Olivia Nuzzi-RFK Jr. story is sending shock waves through New York Magazine

Oliver Darcy, who broke the story in his newsletter, Status, reported that the relationship began after Nuzzi’s November 2023 profile of Kennedy was published, citing two sources. Nuzzi continued to report on the presidential race after November; Her most recent article, on Donald Trump, was published on September 9. Nuzzi said in a statement to The New York Times that the relationship was not physical. Nuzzi and Kennedy did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

“Had the magazine been aware of this relationship, it would not have continued to cover the presidential campaign,” New York said in a statement. “An internal review of her published work found no inaccuracies or evidence of bias. She is on leave from the magazine while the magazine conducts a more thorough third-party review. We regret this breach of our readers’ trust.”

New York magazine did not say who conducted the third-party review or what additional information it hoped to learn from it.

While the Nuzzi and RFK Jr. camps are at loggerheads, some in the newsroom are shocked by the story about their colleague, three staffers in New York told Business Insider. Some question whether her career can survive and why she wasn’t fired immediately, as her editors say she violated the magazine’s standards. There is a cohort of colleagues who sympathize with her, still condemning her behavior. The employees asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, but Business Insider verified their identities.

Vox Media is cracking down on staff

It’s hard to read across the newsroom, but staffers and others close to the magazine said they are filled with questions, such as: Have editors Nuzzi let their star reporter get away with too much in the past? How will all this affect the journal’s journalistic reputation? Two insiders said they understood why management was not addressing those questions or others with an ongoing investigation, but said they, as journalists, crave more transparency.

“You have to wonder if it’s still coming out,” an insider said.

Employees are reluctant to talk about the matter; David Haskell, the editor-in-chief of the magazine, is known not to tolerate public criticism of colleagues. Employees also received a letter Tuesday from Brian Leung, general counsel of New York-based parent Vox Media, asking them not to discuss anything with Nuzzi or send any correspondence about the matter , suggesting that the parent company is most important.

The staff will have to wait to ask Haskell anyway. Its regularly scheduled monthly meeting on September 25 was postponed due to a conflict, although insiders said that was not unusual.

The Nuzzi situation is a big test for Haskell – probably the biggest test yet. He joined the magazine in 2007 and became editor-in-chief in 2019, succeeding longtime editor-in-chief Adam Moss. The newsroom unionized in 2018 and won its first contract four years later after a relatively uneventful bargaining process while many other US media outlets went on strike or walked out. Haskell is seen as a watchful protector of the magazine. After the Hamas attack on Israel last October, the magazine strongly condemned comments by a senior writer at the time, Tirhakah Love, claiming that Zionists had collaborated with the Nazis during World War II. Love posted that he was fired a few months later.

Nuzzi is a star, perhaps the magazine’s most prominent, and has supporters in the newsroom. But the 31-year-old has drawn attention to her reporting tactics — she once broke into former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski’s home without permission, for example — and her personal life (in a sexist way, some say ). Haskell is also described as being loyal to the staff, which could complicate the picture.

The story comes at a precarious time for the US news media, which has faced growing public distrust, Trump-era attacks and financial instability.

It also breaks a relatively stable period for New York magazine. The magazine is a prolific award winner and has seen its journalism adapted into TV shows and movies, but it hasn’t been immune to revenue headwinds. Its parent company was acquired in 2019 by Vox Media. Vox made two rounds of layoffs last year amid a broader media slowdown and became 20 percent owned by Hollywood commercial publisher Penske Media. Still, New York expanded its fashion vertical, The Cut, this year, adding staff and launching its first stand-alone print issue, “Fall Fashion,” citing demand from advertisers.

But now, the Nuzzi situation puts the magazine in a completely different light.

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