How three NY Times reporters uncovered the CBS CEO story

Brian Stelter of CNN writes about how the reporting of three New York Times reporters — Ellen Gabler, Rachel Abrams and James B. Stewart — uncovered the real reason for the ouster of CBS Corp. CEO Les Moonves.

Stelter writes, “After Farrow’s second story, and after Moonves was forced out, Stewart learned that Moonves and Dauer’s dealings were at the heart of the CBS decision to oust him. But the board members didn’t know the details. It was all still a mystery.

“That’s when an editor connected Stewart with Gabler. Up until then, the two reporters had never met. (The Times has a big newsroom, after all.) So they started working together. Knowing that calls from The Times switchboard sometimes scare off sources, Stewart secured a local 310 area code number. He called Dauer and many of Dauer’s friends, building on Gabler’s many previous calls.

“‘How did you get their phone numbers?’ Dauer asked him

Before long, Stewart had a dialogue going with Dauer. One thing led to another. And at the same time, a third Times reporter was working on a story about the law firms CBS had hired to investigate misconduct. This is where Abrams comes in. One day Abrams walked by Stewart’s desk and shared what she was working on. It was an ah-ha moment. Stewart revealed what he was working on with Gabler. “So that’s what led me to try to help,” Abrams said.

Her sources provided some key pieces of information. The trio discovered that the lawyers involved in the CBS investigation ‘were on a very similar track to us,’ Abrams said.”

Read more here.