Felicia Sonmez

Last updated

Felicia Sonmez is an American journalist. She began her career as a foreign correspondent in Beijing. In 2010, she joined The Washington Post as a political reporter. She is known for her social media activity, for which she was fired from the Post in June 2022. In 2023, she joined Blue Ridge Public Radio as the station's growth and development reporter.

Contents

Early life and education

Sonmez grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey. [1] Her mother, who raised her along with relatives, was born in Belfast, and her father's side is Turkish. [1] As a teenager, she did homestays in Japan and Costa Rica, imbuing her with a love of travel. [1] She received a B.A. in government from Harvard College in 2005. [2]

Career

After studying for the Foreign Service, Sonmez instead moved to Beijing to teach English where she began working for Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun . [3] She was a foreign correspondent in Beijing for Agence France-Presse and edited the China Real Time Report of The Wall Street Journal . [2] [4]

The Washington Post

In 2010, Sonmez joined The Washington Post as a political reporter. [2] While a national political reporter for the Post in January 2020, Sonmez was placed on administrative leave after tweeting about the sexual assault charge against Kobe Bryant shortly after his death. The Post later concluded that she did not violate its social media policy. [5] [6] [7]

Sonmez again drew attention in July 2021 after having sued The Washington Post, alleging that the paper had discriminated against her by blocking her from covering sexual assault cases after she came forward as a survivor. [8] [9] [10] The lawsuit was subsequently dismissed with prejudice. [11]

Sonmez was then fired from The Washington Post in June 2022 after publicly criticizing a colleague, Dave Weigel, on Twitter. Weigel had retweeted a sexist [12] joke, made by YouTuber Cam Harless. [13] [14] Sonmez criticized Weigel (and the Post) In a tweet of her own, and Weigel apologized and removed his retweet. [15] Three days later, Weigel would be suspended for a month without pay. [13] [16] Sonmez continued to make tweets harshly critical of the Post, at times arguing with her colleagues. [13] She was fired six days after the incident began. [13] [17]

Sonmez's firing spurred debate over social media policies for reporters, after the termination letter accused her of "insubordination, maligning your coworkers online and violating the Post's standards on workplace collegiality and inclusivity". [13] [17] [18] Sonmez sought arbitration through the Post Guild over her firing. [19]

Blue Ridge Public Radio

In 2023, Sonmez joined Blue Ridge Public Radio as the station's Growth and Development reporter. [20]

Personal life

Sonmez lives in Asheville, North Carolina. [1] She previously resided in Washington, D.C. [2]

Her hobbies include road tripping, outdoor recreation, refurbishing furniture, and concertgoing. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roseanne Barr</span> American actress, comedian, writer, and producer (born 1952)

Roseanne Cherrie Barr, also known mononymously as Roseanne, is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom Roseanne. She won an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her work on the show.

<i>The Washington Post</i> American daily newspaper

The Washington Post, locally known as ThePost and, informally, WaPo or WP, is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington metropolitan area and has a national audience. As of 2023, the Post has 135,980 print subscribers and 2.5 million digital subscribers, both of which are the third-largest among U.S. newspapers after The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Baron</span> American journalist (born 1954)

Martin Baron is an American journalist who was editor of The Washington Post from December 31, 2012, until his retirement on February 28, 2021. He was previously editor of The Boston Globe from 2001 to 2012; during that period, the Globe's coverage of the Boston Catholic sexual abuse scandal earned a Pulitzer Prize.

Morning Joe is an American morning news talk show, which airs weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on the cable news channel MSNBC. It features former US Representative (Independent) Joe Scarborough reporting and discussing the news of the day in a panel format with co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist, who regularly co-hosts from Tuesdays to Fridays, along with recurring and special guests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clinton body count conspiracy theory</span> Conspiracy theory

The Clinton body count is a conspiracy theory centered around the belief that former U.S. President Bill Clinton and his wife, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have secretly had their political opponents murdered, often made to look like suicides, totaling as many as 50 or more listed victims. The Congressional Record (1994) stated that the compiler of the original list, Linda Thompson, admitted she had 'no direct evidence' of Clinton killing anyone. Indeed, she says the deaths were probably caused by 'people trying to control the president' but refuses to say who they were."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jemele Hill</span> American sports journalist (born 1975)

Jemele Juanita Hill is an American sports journalist. She worked for the Raleigh News & Observer, the Detroit Free Press, and the Orlando Sentinel. She joined ESPN in 2006 and worked in various roles until 2013, when she succeeded Jalen Rose as host of ESPN2's Numbers Never Lie. The show was rebranded to His & Hers which she co-hosted with Michael Smith. Hill and Smith co-hosted SC6, the 6 p.m. (ET) edition of ESPN's flagship SportsCenter from 2017 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Weigel</span> American journalist and blogger (born 1981)

David Weigel is an American journalist. He works for Semafor. Weigel previously covered politics for The Washington Post,Slate, and Bloomberg Politics and is a contributing editor for Reason magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Britt McHenry</span> American sports reporter

Brittany May "Britt" McHenry is a television personality. She is the host of a show on WTTG Fox 5 in Washington, D.C. McHenry was formerly an ESPN correspondent and a commentator on Fox Nation.

MSNBC is a news and political commentary organization that has been the focus of several controversies. It has been accused by academics, media figures, political figures, and watchdog groups of having various biases in their news coverage as well as more general views of a liberal bias. Most of these controversies took place during the 2015–2024 era.

Liz Sly is a British journalist based in Beirut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Cernovich</span> American right-wing commentator, lawyer, and conspiracy theorist

Michael Cernovich is an American right-wing social media personality, political commentator, and conspiracy theorist. Though he initially called himself alt-right, he dissociated from the movement after Richard Spencer became its public face. Cernovich describes himself as part of the new right and some have described him as part of the alt-lite.

Jayda Kaleigh Fransen is a British politician and activist who was convicted of religiously aggravated harassment in 2018. Formerly involved with the English Defence League (EDL), she left due to its association with drink-fuelled violence. She then joined the far-right fascist political organisation Britain First. With Paul Golding as leader, Fransen was deputy leader from 2014 to 2019. She became acting leader for six months from December 2016 to June 2017, while Golding was imprisoned in December 2016.

Donald Trump's use of social media attracted attention worldwide since he joined Twitter in May 2009. Over nearly twelve years, Trump tweeted around 57,000 times, including about 8,000 times during the 2016 election campaign and over 25,000 times during his presidency. The White House said the tweets should be considered official statements. When Twitter banned Trump from the platform in January 2021 during the final days of his term, his handle @realDonaldTrump had over 88.9 million followers. On November 19, 2022, Twitter's new owner, Elon Musk, reinstated his account, although Trump had stated he would not use it in favor of his own social media platform, Truth Social. The first tweet since 2021 was made in August 2023 about his mugshot from Fulton County Jail, but the account remained inactive until he tweeted again in August 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaitlan Collins</span> American journalist (born 1992)

Kaitlan Collins is an American journalist who is a news anchor on CNN. She is the former co-anchor of CNN This Morning. She has hosted The Source at 9 p.m. since July 2023. She also served as the network's Chief White House Correspondent from January 2021 until November 2022. Previously, she was the White House correspondent for the website The Daily Caller.

X, formerly Twitter, may suspend accounts, temporarily or permanently, from their social networking service. Suspensions of high-profile accounts often attract media attention, and X's use of suspensions has been controversial.

<i>Ginny & Georgia</i> 2021 American comedy-drama television series

Ginny & Georgia is an American comedy-drama television series created by Sarah Lampert that was released on Netflix on February 24, 2021. In April 2021, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on January 5, 2023. In May 2023, the series was renewed for third and fourth seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taylor Lorenz</span> American technology reporter

Taylor Lorenz is an American journalist. She is a podcaster for Vox Media, hosting a show called Power User, and founded the Substack publication "User Mag". She was previously a columnist for The Washington Post, a technology reporter for The New York Times, The Daily Beast, and Business Insider, and social media editor for the Daily Mail. She is particularly known for covering Internet culture. In 2023, she published a book called Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet.

Alexi Jo McCammond is a political journalist. She has served as a reporter for the political website Axios and an opinions editor for The Washington Post. She has also been an NBC and MSNBC contributor and a contributor for PBS's Washington Week.

Simon Denyer is a British journalist, author, and wildlife conservationist. He served as a foreign correspondent and bureau chief for the Washington Post and for Reuters, including in Beijing, New Delhi, Washington, Islamabad, Nairobi, New York and London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">December 2022 Twitter suspensions</span> Suspension of journalists from Twitter

On December 15, 2022, Twitter suspended the accounts of ten journalists who have covered the company and its owner, Elon Musk. They included reporters Keith Olbermann, Steven L. Herman, and Donie O'Sullivan, as well as journalists from The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and The Intercept. Musk cited an incident between "a crazy stalker" and a car with his child as a justification for the suspensions. Posters on behalf of the owners of the accounts said that the suspensions were permanent. On December 16, 2022, Musk stated that account access would only be restricted for seven days and on December 17, 2022, some accounts were reportedly restored with Musk citing Twitter community polls as the reason for the reversal.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Adams, Erin (December 1, 2023). "Meet Felicia Sonmez, BPR's Growth & Development Reporter". WCQS . Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Felicia Sonmez". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  3. ↑ Jaffe, Harry (May 23, 2011). "Meet the Young Voices Behind the Washington Post's The Fix". Washingtonian . Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  4. ↑ Chang, Andrea (May 15, 2018). "L.A. Times suspends Beijing bureau chief while it investigates sexual misconduct allegation". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved June 14, 2022. Sonmez, a former Wall Street Journal editor
  5. ↑ Abrams, Rachel; Tracy, Marc (January 28, 2020). "Washington Post Says Reporter's Kobe Bryant Tweets Did Not Break Rules". The New York Times . Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  6. ↑ Allsop, Jon (January 29, 2020). "Felicia Sonmez and the tyranny of the social-media policy". Columbia Journalism Review . Archived from the original on May 3, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  7. ↑ Darcy, Oliver (January 28, 2020). "Washington Post reinstates reporter who it suspended over Kobe Bryant tweets, saying she hadn't violated the newspaper's social media policy". CNN Business . Archived from the original on December 4, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  8. ↑ Robertson, Katie (July 22, 2021). "A Washington Post reporter sues the paper and its top editors, claiming discrimination". The New York Times . Archived from the original on June 9, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Reporter Says 'Washington Post' Discriminated Against Her As A Sexual Assault Victim". NPR . Associated Press. July 22, 2021. Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  10. ↑ Chang, Clio (November 15, 2021). "Inside Felicia Sonmez's Lawsuit Against the Washington Post". Intelligencer . Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  11. ↑ Robertson, Katie (March 25, 2022). "D.C. judge dismisses a discrimination case against The Washington Post". The New York Times . Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  12. ↑ Characterizations:
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Robertson, Katie (June 9, 2022). "Reporter Felicia Sonmez Is Fired by The Washington Post". The New York Times . Archived from the original on June 9, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  14. ↑ Schwartzman, Paul; Barr, Jeremy (June 9, 2022). "Felicia Sonmez terminated by The Washington Post after Twitter dispute". The Washington Post . Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  15. ↑ Spangler, Todd (June 6, 2022). "Washington Post Suspends Reporter Who Retweeted Sexist Joke for One Month". Variety. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  16. ↑ Darcy, Oliver (June 6, 2022). "The Washington Post suspends reporter David Weigel over sexist retweet". CNN Business . Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  17. 1 2 "Washington Post fires reporter Felicia Sonmez amid social media controversy". The Guardian . Associated Press. June 10, 2022. Archived from the original on June 11, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  18. ↑ "The Washington Post fires reporter Felicia Sonmez after a week of feuding publicly with her colleagues". CNN. June 10, 2022.
  19. ↑ Beaujon, Andrew (August 19, 2022). "The Washington Post Suspended a Media Reporter for Reporting on the Washington Post". Washingtontian . Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  20. ↑ Adams, Erin (October 10, 2023). "BPR announces new Afternoon Host/Reporter and Growth and Development Reporter". Blue Ridge Public Radio . Archived from the original on October 18, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.