At the New York Times, Glenn Thrush Scandal is a Sex-Reckoning Test Case

About three dozen detailed interviews will determine if the star White House reporter will keep his job.

Glenn Thrush
New York Times reporter Glenn Thrush works in the Brady Briefing Room after being excluded from a press gaggle by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, on February 24, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

The New York Times has kept a running list of influential men who have either resigned or been fired from their jobs as a result of accusations relating to sexual misconduct. However, one of their own, Glenn Thrush, is not on that list. Instead, you can find him on a list of 24 people facing “suspensions and other fallout.” Thrush was suspended on Nov. 20 after Vox published an article that revealed multiple accounts of “unwanted groping and kissing,” “wet kisses out of nowhere,” and “hazy sexual encounters that played out under the influence of alcohol.” Laura McGann, the site’s editorial director, wrote a half reported, half first-person account of the accusations against the White House correspondent. Thrush apologized and said he is seeking outpatient treatment for an alcohol problem and The Times opened an investigation into his behavior. Vanity Fair interviewed Times staffers, who have mixed opinions on what should happen. There are those who think The Times should set an example, others, who still feel deeply uncomfortable with his conduct, don’t think he should lose his job over the Vox report, because it did not make any allegations regarding sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexually-motivated quid pro quo or predation (the staffers said if those things came up during the investigation, of course, he should be fired). But even if he returns, there is doubt he will ever be back reporting at the White House.

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