New York Times and Hollywood Reporter clash over smear websites
The New York Times and The Hollywood Reporter (THR) are in a bit of a standoff over who deserves credit for an investigative piece about reputation-smearing websites in Hollywood.
THR says The Times published Debra Kamin's article on the topic without mentioning THR's earlier, similar reporting by Gary Baum.
Kamin's story dives into how anonymous sites have assailed reputations, echoing ground already covered by THR.
Hollywood Reporter accuses Times over credit
THR's editor in chief called out The Times for not giving credit, highlighting Baum's deep research that uncovered key details now featured in Kamin's article.
The Times pushed back, saying Kamin worked independently: she interviewed more than 60 people and pored over court documents herself.
At the heart of it all are lawsuits involving big names like Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, plus allegations against lawyer Bryan Freedman (who denies any involvement).
This whole episode shines a light on how tricky it can be to give proper credit in journalism today.