100+ Politico Staffers Send Letter to Publisher Railing Against Publishing Ben Shapiro
The signees called out their top editor’s response to internal critics, and reiterated that a firebrand like Shapiro does nothing to advance Politico’s editorial values.
The Washington Post/Getty
More than 100 Politico staffers signed onto a letter sent to publisher Robert Allbritton, expressing disgust with allowing right-wing firebrand Ben Shapiro to guest-author one day’s edition of the Playbook, and with the outlet’s subsequent handling of the fallout.
Earlier this month, the Beltway news outlet handed over the keys to its signature news product to Shapiro, a talk-radio host and pundit who has long been one of the most controversial voices in right-wing media, thanks in part to his incendiary comments about the LGBT community, Muslims, Black Americans, and Jews who support Democratic politicians.
The guest appearance—part of a series of guest appearances by political media figures including Chris Hayes and Chuck Todd—sparked immediate backlash and criticism from many in the media industry, including within Politico’s own newsroom, where employees expressed outrage on Slack and during an all-staff editorial meeting following the guest column’s publication.
