Chaos roiled the Newsweek offices Monday with the firings of the editor-in-chief, his number two and three reporters — possibly in retaliation for their unfavorable coverage of the company.
Johnathan Davis, the co-founder/CEO of Newsweek Media Group, ordered the firing of top editor Bob Roe, his deputy Ken Li and reporters Celeste Katz and Josh Saul, as well as Josh Keefe, a reporter for the International Business Times, a sister company, a source said.
Katz, Saul and Keefe had been writing about an ongoing investigation of the company by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, the source said.
In addition to that investigation, Newsweek had to place Chief Content Officer Dayan Candappa on leave following allegations that he repeatedly sexually harassed a woman while a top official at Reuters. The reporters had written stories on that scandal as well.
The company hired a law firm to investigate Candappa’s conduct.
Roe and Li had been closely involved in the editing of those stories, the source said.
“This whole entire staff feels it’s clearly retaliatory,” the source said.
A second source said Roe and Li told the staff last week that they would protect Katz and Saul, and promised to quit if the reporters were fired.
Staffers had specifically asked Roe and Li if Katz and Saul were in danger of losing their jobs because of the coverage.
Editors had tapped Katz to handle the stories because they wanted them covered.
On Monday, editors told staffers not to work until the company briefs them on what is happening.
In addition, staffers at the International Business Times were not paid Monday as expected.
At this moment the entire staff is angry, frustrated and confused,” the source said.
On Jan. 31, Etienne Uzac and Marion Kim resigned from their roles as chairman and finance director at Newsweek Media Group.
On Jan. 18, sources told the Daily News that the DA’s Major Economic Crimes bureau has been investigating Uzac.
The District Attorney’s investigators raided the offices Jan. 18, and took pictures of the company’s computer equipment in the server room.
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