Observer » Sandra Guzman

Col Allan Denied ‘Editorial Privilege,’ Ordered to Dish on Boss Rupert Murdoch and Racist Cartoon

Kat Stoeffel — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 13:30:32 -0400

A federal judge in Manhattan yesterday denied New York Post editor Col Allan the right to invoke editorial privilege to avoid answering questions about Rupert Murdoch posed by former employee and plaintiff Sandra Guzman, reports Reuters. Ms. Guzman, a former associate editor, is suing the paper and parent company News Corp. for discrimination and harassment on the basis of her gender, race and nation of origin.

During a seven-hour deposition last month, Mr. Allan reportedly refused to answer questions related to a 2009 cartoon that likened President Barack Obama to a chimpanzee, including whether he and Mr. Murdoch disagreed over publishing an apology, which the paper did, and whether Mr. Murdoch believed it was a mistake to do so.

Judge Ronald Ellis said editorial or journalistic privilege usually applies to cases involving reporters and the protection of sources—not editors and the protection of their bosses.

Post Faces Another Lawsuit

Reid Pillifant — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:49:56 -0400

Nine months later, that cartoon likening President Obama to a dead chimpanzee continues to plague the New York Post. Yesterday, another former reporter sued the tabloid for racial discrimination, citing the cartoon as evidence that the paper discriminates against its black reporters.

Austin Fenner, a black reporter who was fired on November 10--the same day former editor Sandra Guzman sued the paper for her dismissal, which she claims was because she criticized the cartoon. Mr. Fenner also made his feelings known--saying it "churned my stomach when I saw it"--in a Richard Prince piece on the paper's racial problems that ran online February.

Mr. Fenner's suit alleges he was cursed at, barred from the newsroom for several months, sent on longer reporting trips and generally forced to work in a "Jim Crow"-like atmosphere. And it claims that "pervasive racism at the Company was made clear to all of its employees" in February, when the paper ran the infamous cartoon. Mr. Fenner also claims that the paper refused an interview offer from Governor Paterson to talk about the cartoon--and anything else they might want to ask about--which the suit says the paper has never done to a white governor.

Surprise! Post Praises Obama’s Speech

Reid Pillifant — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:48:16 -0400

The Post praises President Obama's Veteran's Day address this morning--one day after a lawsuit accused the paper of trying to bury the president.

Washington Bureau Chief Charles Hurt writes this morning that Mr. Obama "properly mourned the dead and wounded at Fort Hood," and later, that he "properly stowed his most soaring oratory for this occasion because it really wasn't about him and his legendary speechifying."

There's even a flattering editorial and another positive article under the headline: "President has stirring words for victims."

The plaudits come after former editor Sandra Guzman filed a wide-ranging lawsuit yesterday against the Post, which accused Mr. Hurt specifically of saying the paper's goal was ""to destroy Barack Obama."

We'll see how long it lasts. Mr. Hurt's column, after all, was titled "Commander sets the right tone for once."

Ex-Editor Sues the Post

Molly Fischer — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:38:40 -0400

Former New York Post editor Sandra Guzman has sued both the paper and News Corp, alleging that she "was terminated on September 29 in retaliation for complaints about allegedly pervasive racism and sexism at the newspaper," according to Reuters.

The 38-page complaint, available at The Huffington Post, catalogues a vast array of racist, sexist, and generally bad behavior by Post staff--far beyond the cartoon originally connected with Guzman's dismissal.

For example:

"On one occasion when Ms. Guzman and three female employees of the Post were sharing drinks at an after-work function. Defendant [editor in chief Col] Allan approached the group of women, pulled out his blackberry and asked them 'What do you think of this?' On his blackberry was a picture of a naked man lewdly and openly displaying his penis."

And:

When she would walk by certain offices at the paper, Guzman alleges, editors would routinely sing songs from West Side Story -- a nod to her Hispanic heritage -- including the tune: "I want to live in America."

And:

"A White male senior editor sexually propositioned a young female Copy Assistant, telling her that 'If you give me a blowjob, I will give you a permanent reporter job.'"

And, for what it's worth:

"Charles Hurt, the Post's Washington D.C. Bureau Chief and a high ranking journalist at the newspaper, [told Guzman] that the Post's 'goal is to destroy Barack Obama. We don't want him to succeed.'"