NY Times fires Wirecutter section editor Marquis

The New York Times has fired an editor for Wirecutter, its popular product recommendation service, who was accused of leaving profane voice mails for a gun rights advocacy group, reports Jeremy Barr of The Washington Post.

Barr reports, “The editor, Erin Marquis, had joined Wirecutter in July as lead editor for a section of the reviews site.

“On Dec. 2, two days after a high school student shot and killed four classmates in Michigan, Marquis posted a message on Twitter criticizing a group called Great Lakes Gun Rights for urging supporters to oppose gun control legislation proposed in the aftermath of the shooting.

“‘Just got a news release from the Great Lakes Gun Rights organization about protecting gun rights from democrats in Michigan and I am literally shaking with rage,’ wrote Marquis, who has since deleted her Twitter account following online criticism that she had violated journalism standards by promoting a political viewpoint. ‘I hope there is a God and they meet that God someday.’ She also tweeted out a phone number and email address for the group, which is the Michigan state affiliate of the National Association for Gun Rights.”

Read more here.

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.