Newsweek Unraveling; Dozens Of Journalists Bail As Fraud Probe Heats Up
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Mon, 02/26/2018
Newsweek appears to be in much deeper trouble than previously thought in a wide-ranging fraud probe by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, according to the Wall Street Journal.
A suspicious loan application from Newsweek’s parent company two years ago helped trigger the probe into suspected bank fraud, advertising fraud, and ties between parent company Newsweek Media Group and a California bible college.
The publication’s New York offices were raided on January 18 in connection with the probe, while dozens of employees and three top executives have left the publication amid its rapid unraveling. Editors, meanwhile, went nuclear on a Newsweek executive in a leaked call earlier this month.
During the 90 minute recorded meeting between CCO Jonathan Davis and editors, Davis was repeatedly asked about alleged criminal behavior by parent company Newsweek Media Group.
“So you should be honest with everybody in this room: Are we running a money laundering operation? Are we evading taxes? You need to tell us that because we can’t work here if you’re a liar.” -Daily Beast
As the conference call went on, editors became increasingly angry at Davis’ repeated attempts to deflect serious questions. One editor said that the staff had “barely learned anything,” aside from Davis being “not credible.”
Earlier this month we reported that the magazine had fired editor-in-chief Bob Roe, executive editor Ken Li, and journalist Celeste Katz – who had written several articles covering the active investigation into parent company Newsweek Media Group. Davis blames Katz’s reporting for doing “real damage” to Newsweek’s business relationships, and that it “ruined a business deal abroad.”
The Rest…HERE
