Last night’s article from the New York Times acknowledging that the bodycam footage from the Dianna Russini traffic stop didn’t mesh with the publication’s prior characterization of it included a nugget of related news buried near the bottom.
As to the internal investigation of Russini, which The Athletic started in early April, it has not ended. A spokesperson for the Times Company said Tuesday that the publication’s investigation “is still ongoing.”
Three weeks ago, the New York Post reported that executive editor Steven Ginsberg had told the staff at The Athletic that the investigation was “a few more weeks” away from conclusion. Without getting into the time-honored question of what “a few” means, more than three weeks have passed since he reportedly said it.
When the Times published its lengthy article on Russini a week ago today, my first thought was that the Times opted to practice some journalism on the biggest NFL story of the offseason before The Athletic, which the Times owns, finalized its report. My second thought was that The Athletic possibly will tuck the report into the slow time that will be unfolding as the remainder of the current week unfolds — with Thursday, July 2, and Friday, July 3, being the best spots to drop something that will get less notice when it lands, will receive less scrutiny in its immediate wake, and could be largely forgotten by Monday.
Unless Russini opts to tell her story publicly in the near future, the next step will be the completion of the internal investigation. And, to the extent that the investigation was going to include reference to her claim that she leveraged her NFL relationships with a FaceTime call to a head coach in order to get out of a ticket for texting while driving, that part of the report will need to be revised.
