Moira Donegan has come forward as the creator of the “Shitty Media Men” spreadsheet, after rumors spread on Twitter that her name would be revealed in an upcoming Harper’s Magazine essay by Katie Roiphe. In her essay, Donegan explains why she started the list, addresses its critics, and describes the aftermath of the spreadsheet going viral: “In the weeks after the spreadsheet was exposed, my life changed dramatically. I lost friends: some who thought I had been overzealous, others who thought I had not been zealous enough. I lost my job, too. The fear of being exposed, and of the harassment that will inevitably follow, has dominated my life since. I’ve learned that protecting women is a position that comes with few protections itself.”
The New York Times has hired New York magazine’s Jada Yuan as their “52 Places Traveler.” Yuan will travel to fifty-two locations chosen by the paper “to inspire travelers for the coming year.”
Penguin Random House has bought Rodale Books.
Alex Kantrowitz wonders where Twitter’s long-promised advertising transparency center is. The project was announced last October as executives from the social media site testified in Congress about “Russia’s suspected manipulation” of the platform during the 2016 presidential campaign.
One year later, BuzzFeed editor in chief Ben Smith is still proud of the website’s decision to publish the Trump-Russia Dossier. “We never bought the notion, made by the traditionalists, that a main threat to journalism is that journalists might be too transparent with their audience,” he writes. “Keeping the reporting process wrapped in mystery only helps those who oppose the free press.”
Washington Post reporter Joel Achenbach has been suspended for “inappropriate workplace conduct.”