Bash Demands Answers From Facebook. Yet Another Toxic Work Environment, Sigh. | Winners & Losers in Today’s Green Room

Sarah RumpfOct 11th, 2021, 2:58 pm
 

THE DAILY NEWSLETTER – MONDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2021

CNN's Dana Bash interviews Facebook's Nick Clegg

MEDIA WINNER: Dana Bash

CNN’s Dana Bash took Facebook’s Vice-President for Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, to task over the recent revelations and accusations involving the social media platform.

Bash interviewed Clegg for Sunday’s State of the Union about the allegations of Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen. Haugen recently testified before Congress about her claims that the company constantly puts profits ahead of public safety and facilitated other detrimental impacts on society.

“Did Facebook’s algorithms amplify or spread pro-insurrection voices ahead of January 6?” asked Bash.

Clegg offered a rambling answer about Facebook’s “hundreds of thousands” of algorithms and complaints about “misleading discussions” about how those algorithms operate.

Bash was unimpressed with his word salad and absolutely grilled him. She took a similarly tough stance with Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe, holding his feet to the fire over past comments about the 2000 election.

 

Sharon Waxman speaks at TheWrap's Power Women Summit 2019 at Fairmont Miramar Hotel

Amy Sussman, Getty Images

MEDIA LOSER: TheWrap CEO Sharon Waxman

Former employees say TheWrap founder and CEO Sharon Waxman runs “a toxic environment” at the entertainment and media site, creating a “culture of fear” that is “demoralizing and degrading.”

A report by the Daily Beast collects a series of shocking anecdotes shared by current and former staff, including one employee who described how Waxman had called and cursed him out for taking time off work to take his fiancée to her oncologist for a cancer treatment check-up.

Justin Baragona, one of the report’s authors, tweeted that additional former Wrap employees had come forward with their horror stories since the article was published.

Waxman told the Daily Beast that she “was very sorry to learn that some current and former employees have had experiences at TheWrap that are not consistent with our values or the environment we work to foster.”

We’re highly skeptical of Waxman’s non-apology. No one is talented or unique enough for it to be ok for them to allow an abusive work environment to fester.

 

Read the full Mediaite Green Room Newsletter here.

Tags:
Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law&Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Threads, Twitter, and Bluesky.