New York magazine says that its highly regarded Washington correspondent, Olivia Nuzzi, is on leave after disclosing that she had a personal relationship with a former reporting subject, violating the publication’s standards.
The newsletter Status, which broke the story, and The New York Times both cite unnamed sources in identifying Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the other person involved with Nuzzi. New York magazine and Nuzzi have not confirmed Kennedy’s involvement, and Kennedy said in a statement that he had only met her once.
It’s an explosive development for the magazine and Nuzzi, whose piece featuring an interview with Donald Trump, “Peering into Donald Trump’s Ear, and Soul,” was featured on its most recent cover.
In a note to readers published late Thursday, New York said that if it had been aware of the relationship, Nuzzi would not have been permitted to cover the presidential campaign.
New York said an internal review of her work has found no inaccuracies or evidence of bias, but that Nuzzi is on leave while a more thorough third-party review is undertaken.
“We regret this violation of our readers’ trust,” the magazine said, and a spokeswoman had no further comment. A spokesperson for Kennedy, who is married to the actress Cheryl Hines, did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press.
Nuzzi said in a statement to Status that in early 2024, the nature of some communication between herself and a former reporting subject turned personal.
“During that time, I did not directly report on the subject nor use them as a source,” she said. “The relationship was never physical but should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of a conflict. I deeply regret not doing so immediately and apologize to those I’ve disappointed, especially my colleagues at New York.”
It was not immediately clear how and when Nuzzi's bosses at the magazine became aware of the relationship.
Nuzzi wrote a story about Kennedy’s campaign that was published last November, “The Mind-Bending Politics of RFK Jr.’s Spoiler Campaign,” where she described a harrowing car ride and brief hike with Kennedy and his dogs while interviewing him.
His name came up in a March 2024 piece in The New York Times where Nuzzi, Frank Bruni and Joe Klein discussed the state of the campaign at the time. “We’re forgetting or purposefully ignoring something rather important about this election: It’s not a two-man race. It’s a three-man race,” Nuzzi said, noting that at the time Kennedy was “polling competitively.”
Status quoted a representative for Kennedy saying, “Mr. Kennedy only met Olivia Nuzzi once in her life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece.”
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David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder.
David Bauder, The Associated Press
