Critics panned the glowing article about the disgraced Theranos founder
The New York Times faced internal strife over its fawning profile of convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes earlier this month, according to a new report.
Holmes, the disgraced Steve Jobs-inspired founder of the now-defunct biomedical company Theranos, reported to prison Tuesday to begin her 11-year prison sentence. She was the subject of a sympathetic May 7 piece authored by writer Amy Chozick that was widely panned by critics.
A report from Vanity Fair, however, alleges criticism also came within the Times as the profile was raised at an “all-hands” meeting on Tuesday. Business editor Ellen Pollock defended the article she edited and said she didn’t “give a f—” about the criticism.
Times staffers panned the Holmes piece, drawing attention to Chozick’s admission in the story that Pollock told the writer that she was being “rolled” by the fraudster, something Chozick rejected.
“Why tell readers that a New York Times editor thought a reporter was too credulous, and then use the story to prove it?” one told Vanity Fair while another said, “You have to ask, on our side, what the hell happened here?”
While the profile reportedly received approval from Times executive editor Joe Kahn following its publication, Pollock acknowledged that it was not well-received from John Carreyrou, a Times reporter who was the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist that broke the story about Holmes’ scheme for The Wall Street Journal, as well as Times business reporter Erin Griffith, who had covered Holmes’ trial.
Remarkably, the most explosive newsroom drama occurred months before the Holmes profile was even published, according to Vanity Fair.
In March, the Times had reportedly delayed its announcement about hiring Carreyrou “a few days” since Chozick was set to sit down with Holmes for the first time and there was concern that going public with his arrival could “spook” her from doing the interview.
“Business investigations editor David Enrich—who recruited Carreyrou to come to the Times—had a strong negative reaction to Pollock’s decision to delay the announcement, which led to some shouting in the newsroom between the two editors, the source said. As Pollock later told me, ‘My default decibel level when speaking to David Enrich is shouting,’” Vanity Fair’s Charlotte Klein wrote.
Another Times reporter called the profile “disappointing,” telling Vanity Fair it “undercuts” both Carreyrou and Griffith following their extensive reporting on Holmes.
“And then we serve up a thing like that, and The New York Times becomes known as a softball place for criminal millionaires to land their puff pieces. It sucks to see,” the reporter said.
The Times did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
