Washington Post reprimands biz editor for tweet

The Washington Post reprimanded its business editor for a tweet last week that questioned the reporting of another publication, reports Benjamin Mullin and Alexandra Bruell of The Wall Street Journal.

Mullin and Bruell report, “Lori Montgomery, who is the Post’s business editor, tweeted last week that the column, which referenced allegations that Mr. Roethlisberger had raped women and exhibited bad behavior, was ‘easily disproven’ and ‘completely FoS.’

“Ms. Montgomery’s initial tweet drew public criticism from some Washington Post employees. She later tweeted that she regretted her initial post and said she didn’t intend to question the validity of accusations against Mr. Roethlisberger. Mr. Roethlisberger has denied allegations of sexual assault.

“Ms. Montgomery was given a verbal warning this past weekend, the Post spokeswoman said. The Post is planning to revise its social-media policy as soon as it fills a vacant standards-editor position, she said. Ms. Buzbee’s remarks about reprimanding Ms. Montgomery came during calls this week with groups of Post employees, people familiar with the discussions said.”

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Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.