Russini resigned from her role at The Athletic after photos of her and Vrabel began circulating
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NEED TO KNOW
- The Athletic released its report on former reporter Dianna Russini and Patriots coach Mike Vrabel on Thursday, Sept. 3
- The outlet found that Russini and Vrabel’s relationship “was in clear violation of The Athletic’s standards”
- “Regardless of whether the relationship was romantic, it was a breach and should have been disclosed,” the report said
The Athletic’s internal investigation into former reporter Dianna Russini’s relationship with Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel — and whether or not it violated newsroom standards — is complete.
On Thursday, Sept. 3, the outlet released its’ findings in a report from their editorial director for standards and editorial quality, Mike Semel, who said he reviewed 903 stories on the website with Russini’s byline, as well as dozens of videos and hundreds of podcast episodes for the investigation.
Semel also interviewed 14 members of the Athletic’s staff who had worked alongside Russini — who resigned from the outlet in April shortly after photos of her at a resort with the head coach were released — while looking into her relationship with Vrabel.
“Russini’s relationship with Vrabel was in clear violation of The Athletic’s standards. Regardless of whether the relationship was romantic, it was a breach and should have been disclosed,” Semel wrote in his report.
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The outlet highlighted a specific standard of conduct in The Athletic’s internal employee intranet, which is also shared publicly for readers. “When reporting and writing stories we do not have an agenda and it is important that our readers understand that. If our readers question our adherence to that basic tenet of journalism, our credibility will be at stake. To maintain the highest form of authority we should avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest and reveal those sources or affiliations that may put into question our ability to be credible,” the editorial guidelines read.
Semel’s report found that the “photographs published by Page Six on April 7 and April 23 and by TMZ on April 23 indicate a relationship that puts The Athletic’s credibility in jeopardy and gives the appearance of a conflict of interest.”
Semel said the Athletic “neither completed an investigation nor reached any conclusion about the nature of the full relationship between Vrabel and Russini, but the totality of the public photographs are enough to conclude a violation of company policy.”
He added that Russini “told a story to explain the photos that did not align with facts, raising issues of trust.”
The Athletic’s investigation found that “Russini should have disclosed to The Athletic the nature of her relationship with Vrabel to allow editors to assess the kinds of stories on which she should have been working, if any,” adding, “she did not.”
However, the outlet also found that Russini’s relationship with Vrabel did not show bias or signs that the coach was giving Russini scoops that other reporters didn’t have access to via other sourcing. “Russini’s work was seldom reliant on Vrabel as a source or subject,” Semel’s report said. “In interviews with editors and reporters with whom she worked most closely, it was clear Russini was sourced up around the NFL, not just with Vrabel or the Patriots.”
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Semel said he did not find a “clear link to conclude that Russini used her platform to help promote Vrabel or help his teams during her time at The Athletic.”
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He added that he did find “examples of Russini writing glowingly of Vrabel that in hindsight are awkward or even uncomfortable” in his report, but that “almost all media were fawning in writing about Vrabel’s return” at the time of Russini’s “awkward” praise of the head coach.
Concluding his report, Semel said The Athletic determined that Russini failed to “disclose to her editors a clear conflict of interest,” adding, “The Athletic’s standards on these issues are robust, but are subject to employee honor, candor and transparency.”
Russini has not been working since her resignation from The Athletic in April. Vrabel is now back on the field with the Patriots ahead of their season opener on Sept. 9.
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