The Olivia Nuzzi-RFK Jr. story is still spinning out — and New York mag staffers have questions

• The Olivia Nuzzi-RFK Jr. scandal has sent shockwaves through New York magazine.
• NY mag put Nuzzi on leave after her relationship with RFK Jr. surfaced.
• Parent company Vox Media is taking a hand in the matter, issuing a warning letter to staff.

As news of the Olivia Nuzzi-RFK Jr. scandal tore through media and government circles over the past week, with increasingly titillating details emerging, those inside the New York magazine fold began to wonder about their own fallout.

Last week, the magazine announced it had put Nuzzi, its high-profile Washington correspondent, on leave after her editors learned she'd had a relationship with the former presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., while reporting on the presidential race. In a note to readers, New York called it a "violation of the magazine's standards around conflicts of interest and disclosures."

Oliver Darcy, who broke the story in his newsletter, Status, reported that the alleged relationship started after Nuzzi's November 2023 profile on Kennedy had been published, citing two sources. Nuzzi continued to report on the presidential race after November; her most recent article, on Donald Trump, was published on September 9. Nuzzi said in a statement to The New York Times that the relationship wasn't physical. Nuzzi and Kennedy didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

"Had the magazine been aware of this relationship, she would not have continued to cover the presidential campaign," New York's statement read. "An internal review of her published work has found no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias. She is currently on leave from the magazine, and the magazine is conducting a more thorough third-party review. We regret this violation of our readers' trust."

New York mag didn't say who was conducting the third-party review or what additional information it hoped to learn from it.

While the Nuzzi and RFK Jr. camps spin, some inside the newsroom are shocked by the story that's unfolded about their colleague, three New York employees told Business Insider. Some are wondering if her career can survive and why she wasn't fired immediately, since her editors say she violated magazine standards. There's a cohort of colleagues who have sympathy for her while still condemning her behavior. The employees asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution, but BI verified their identities.

Vox Media clamps down on staff

It's hard to get a read on the whole newsroom, but the employees and others close to the magazine said they were full of questions, like: Did Nuzzi's editors let their star reporter get away with too much in the past? How will all this impact the magazine's journalistic reputation? Two insiders said they understood why leadership wasn't addressing these questions or others with an investigation ongoing, but said as journalists, they itched for more transparency.

"You have to wonder if more is coming out," one insider said.

Employees are reluctant to speak out on the matter; David Haskell, the magazine's editor in chief, is known not to tolerate public criticism of colleagues. Employees also got a letter on Tuesday from New York parent Vox Media's general counsel Brian Leung instructing them not to discuss anything with Nuzzi or send any correspondence about the matter, suggesting that it's the parent company that's calling the shots.

Staff will have to wait to question Haskell, anyway. His regularly scheduled monthly all-hands meeting on September 25 was postponed due to a conflict, though insiders said that wasn't unusual.

The Nuzzi situation is a big test for Haskell — likely his biggest so far. He joined the magazine in 2007 and rose to editor in chief in 2019, succeeding longtime EIC Adam Moss. The newsroom unionized in 2018 and reached its first contract four years later relatively uneventfully, while other US media outlets went on strikes or walked out. Haskell is seen as a careful protector of the magazine. After Hamas' attack on Israel last October, the magazine sharply condemned comments by then-senior-writer Tirhakah Love claiming Zionists collaborated with Nazis during World War II. Love posted that he was laid off a few months later.

Nuzzi is a star, maybe the magazine's most prominent, and has supporters in the newsroom. But the 31-year-old has drawn attention over her reporting tactics — she once entered former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski's house without permission, for example — and over her personal life (in a sexist way, some say). Haskell is also described as loyal to staff, which could complicate the picture.

The story comes at a precarious time for the US news media, which has faced growing public mistrust, attacks in the Trump era, and financial instability.

It also ruptures a relatively steady period for New York mag. The magazine is a prolific award winner and has seen its journalism adapted to TV shows and movies, but hasn't been immune to revenue headwinds. Its parent company was acquired in 2019 by Vox Media. Vox conducted two rounds of layoffs last year amid a wider media slowdown and became 20% owned by Hollywood trade publisher Penske Media. Still, New York expanded its fashion vertical, The Cut, this year, adding staff and releasing its first stand-alone print issue, "Fall Fashion," citing advertiser demand.

But now, the Nuzzi situation is putting the magazine under a whole different kind of light.