Katherine Kallergis, Sheridan Wall and Ellen Cranley of The Real Deal write about how they broke the story about the sexual assault allegations against real estate moguls Tal and Oren Alexander.
Kallergie, Wall and Cranley write, ” Later that morning, the reporters went over the story again with our attorney. Then around 4:30 p.m., Amir called Katherine to deliver the news: He and Stuart had decided to post the story to the website the following day. It was unusual for us to publish a big story on a Saturday, when people were less likely to pay attention to the news and more attuned to newsletters and features. But they had decided to make a concession.
“It was not the only one. Amir and Stuart also decided they would play it straight and post as part of our daily flow of news with no extra promotion. That meant it wouldn’t blast out as a breaking news notification to our subscribers. They were eager for people to read, but not to sensationalize any of the allegations in the article.
“Amir instructed Katherine to call Oren one last time and tell him he had until the following morning to offer an on-the-record response.
“’Call Oren and let him know,’ Amir said. ‘We won’t send out a breaking news alert.’
“Over the course of the week, Katherine’s calls with Oren had gotten shorter and shorter. When she reached him, a little before 5 p.m. on Friday, June 7, he sounded resigned and distant.”
Read more here.
