New York Magazine has announced that its esteemed Washington correspondent, Olivia Nuzzi, is currently on leave. This follows her admission of breaching the publication’s ethical standards by engaging in a personal relationship with a former subject of her reporting.
The initial revelation was made by the newsletter Status, which first reported the story, along with coverage from The New York Times. Both sources refer to unnamed sources that identify Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the individual involved with Nuzzi. However, Nuzzi has yet to confirm Kennedy’s involvement, and he stated that he has met her only once.
David Haskell, editor in chief of New York Magazine, informed staff members that Nuzzi indicated the relationship began last December, “[…] after we published her profile of Kennedy in November.” Reportedly, the relationship concluded in August, according to Haskell’s note.
This situation presents significant ramifications for both Nuzzi and the magazine, especially as she recently featured in a cover story with an interview featuring Donald Trump entitled “Peering into Donald Trump’s Ear, and Soul.” Haskell mentioned that the online editions of both the Trump story and another article by Nuzzi regarding Biden this summer would include a note addressing the situation.
In its late Thursday note, New York Magazine stated that had they known about Nuzzi’s relationship, she would not have been allowed to cover the presidential campaign.
The magazine also conducted a preliminary internal review of Nuzzi’s prior work, finding no inaccuracies or evidence of bias. Nevertheless, she is on leave while a more detailed third-party investigation is undertaken.
“We regret this violation of our readers’ trust,” the magazine expressed, with a spokesperson refusing to provide additional comments. Kennedy’s representative, who is married to actress Cheryl Hines, did not respond to inquiries from The Associated Press.
Nuzzi provided a statement to Status, indicating that “in early 2024, the nature of some communication” between herself and a former reporting subject became personal. She emphasized, “At no point did I directly report on this subject or use them as a source.” She admitted the relationship was not physical but acknowledged that it should have been disclosed to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest. Nuzzi expressed her regret for not doing so promptly and apologized to those she has disappointed, particularly her colleagues at New York.
Haskell mentioned that the New York editorial team only learned about the personal nature of Nuzzi’s relationship a few days prior to the announcement and that the relationship ended in August.
In her November piece about Kennedy’s campaign, titled “The Mind-Bending Politics of RFK Jr.’s Spoiler Campaign,” Nuzzi described a dramatic car ride and brief hike with Kennedy and his dogs as part of her interview with him.
His name was also mentioned in a March 2024 article in The New York Times, where Nuzzi, along with colleagues Frank Bruni and Joe Klein, discussed the ongoing presidential campaign, remarking that “it’s not a two-man race, but a three-man race,” pointing out Kennedy’s competitive polling at that time.
According to Status, a Kennedy representative commented, “Mr. Kennedy only met Olivia Nuzzi once in her life during an interview she initiated, which resulted in a hit piece.”
In a Politico Playbook newsletter released on Friday afternoon, Ryan Lizza, who is Nuzzi’s ex-fiancé, noted that due to his connection to this story, he would not participate in any coverage of Kennedy in Playbook or elsewhere at Politico.
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David Bauder reports on media matters for the AP. You can follow him at http://x.com/dbauder.
