Journos Love Working at WaPo, Allegedly

Jeff Bezos is the kindest, bravest, warmest...

As we head into week two of Felicia Sonmez vs. the Washington Post, it’s starting to get really, really fun.

Nobody at WaPo cares what you or I say about them. But when a fellow traveler at CNN starts digging into their business, they sit up and take notice:

Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy

New: @SallyBuzbee sends stern memo to WaPo staff, reiterating newsroom's values against "racist or sexist behavior" and saying that "we do not tolerate colleagues attacking colleagues either face to face or online."

This threat might have a bit more oomph if WaPo hadn’t just caved to a crybully and suspended Dave Weigel for retweeting a dumb joke.

Then the oddest thing happened. A bunch of WaPo hacks had almost exactly the same response, all at once:

Ashley Parker @AshleyRParker

The Post is not perfect. No institution is. But I’m proud to work here. I love coming to work (almost) every single day, and knowing that my colleagues are collegial, collaborative and fun humans — not to mention talented journalists — who are always striving to do better.

Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy

New: @SallyBuzbee sends stern memo to WaPo staff, reiterating newsroom's values against "racist or sexist behavior" and saying that "we do not tolerate colleagues attacking colleagues either face to face or online." https://t.co/E2bpiFCCyS

Amy Gardner @AmyEGardner

The Washington Post newsroom is filled with collegial, collaborative and respectful journalists who do critically important work every day. I'm immensely proud to work here.

Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy

New: @SallyBuzbee sends stern memo to WaPo staff, reiterating newsroom's values against "racist or sexist behavior" and saying that "we do not tolerate colleagues attacking colleagues either face to face or online." https://t.co/E2bpiFCCyS

Amber Phillips @byamberphillips

Working at The Washington Post, I'm in awe almost every day how such talented journalists, from all backgrounds, can also be so collegial and thoughtful and caring. I love working here, and I love helping improve it.

Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy

New: @SallyBuzbee sends stern memo to WaPo staff, reiterating newsroom's values against "racist or sexist behavior" and saying that "we do not tolerate colleagues attacking colleagues either face to face or online." https://t.co/E2bpiFCCyS

Matt Viser @mviser

The Washington Post is a place of shared bylines and collaborative projects. It’s a newsroom of different perspectives and varied opinions. It isn’t perfect, but it is filled with great people doing great journalism. And I’m proud to work here.

Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy

New: @SallyBuzbee sends stern memo to WaPo staff, reiterating newsroom's values against "racist or sexist behavior" and saying that "we do not tolerate colleagues attacking colleagues either face to face or online." https://t.co/E2bpiFCCyS

Yes, this all seems collegial and collaborative and, most of all, fun!

There are at least a dozen more like that, using most of the same key phrases (“collegial,” “I love working here,” etc.) and all pumped out within minutes of each other. These people were obviously instructed what to say and how to say it. And they did what they were told, just like good little journos.

One theory is that this fiasco has something to do with Sonmez’s lawsuit against WaPo. She sued her employer after the last time she made a humungous stink on Twitter, back in early 2020:

That was a few minutes after Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash. Her bosses thought it was too soon, they told her to stop, she wouldn’t comply, they suspended her, and she sued them. The suit was tossed out of court a few months ago.

So her current madness might have a method to it. She might be trying to force WaPo to fire her so she can use it in an appeal. Is she willing to destroy her career, and the careers of any of her co-workers who “attack” her by disagreeing with her, for a big settlement that’ll probably never come? It still doesn’t really make sense to me, but then, I’m not a journo.

Or maybe she’s genuinely outraged, and she assumes WaPo can’t touch her. But there’s one flaw in that plan too:

Dan McLaughlin @baseballcrank

Toxic people like Felicia Sonmez assume that it would cost the Washington Post too much to fire them. They should consider that they work for a man who paid $38 billion to make his ex-wife go away.

For what it’s worth, despite Ms. Sonmez’s bizarre behavior, I agree with her that men are a problem in the workplace. Women shouldn’t be subjected to this sort of abuse. They should have a safe space to work, with all the tools and ingredients necessary to make me a nice dinner.