Waxman: NY Times killed Weinstein story in 2004

Sharon Waxman, the founder of entertainment news site The Wrap, writes that when she covered the entertainment industry for The New York Times, the newspaper killed a story about sexual misconduct by movie producer Harvey Weinstein.

Waxman writes, “The story I reported never ran.

“After intense pressure from Weinstein, which included having Matt Damon and Russell Crowe call me directly to vouch for Lombardo and unknown discussions well above my head at the Times, the story was gutted.

“I was told at the time that Weinstein had visited the newsroom in person to make his displeasure known. I knew he was a major advertiser in the Times, and that he was a powerful person overall.

“But I had the facts, and this was the Times. Right?

“Wrong. The story was stripped of any reference to sexual favors or coercion and buried on the inside of the Culture section, an obscure story about Miramax firing an Italian executive. Who cared?”

Read more here. Weinstein was fired from Weinstein Co. after the Times reported last week about his sexual harassment.