Ronan Farrow Disputes Contents Of NBC Memo Justifying Pass On Weinstein Story

at Build Studio on April 26, 2018 in New York City.
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 26: Ronan Farrow attends the Build Series to discuss his new book 'War on Peace: The End of Diplomacy and the Decline of American Influence' at Build Studio on April 26, 2018 in New York City. ... NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 26: Ronan Farrow attends the Build Series to discuss his new book 'War on Peace: The End of Diplomacy and the Decline of American Influence' at Build Studio on April 26, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Daniel Zuchnik/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Ronan Farrow is disputing NBC News’ claims that his story on the alleged sexual misconduct and abuse by Harvey Weinstein — which won him a Pulitzer when it published in The New Yorker — was “not ready for air” when Farrow and NBC decided to part ways.

NBC News chairman Andrew Lack outlined NBC’s decision to pass on Farrow’s Weinstein story in a memo to employees on Monday. The network’s handling of the investigation was brought back into the spotlight last week after former NBC News investigative reporter Rich McHugh — who worked on the piece with Farrow — released a statement alleging NBC purposely killed the story.

According to the memo, after eight months of working on the Weinstein piece, Farrow still did not have a “single victim or witness willing to go on the record,” which is what prompted the dispute between Farrow and the network.

“We regret the deterioration of NBC’s relationship with Ronan, and genuinely wish we had found a path to move forward together,” the memo said. “That is why, in August of 2017, when Farrow objected to his editors’ conclusion we convened an independent group of the most experienced investigative journalists in our organization to review his material with fresh eyes. We asked them — tell us what, if anything, we can broadcast. But their conclusion was unequivocal — this story is not ready for air. …  It was Farrow’s decision, in the midst of this process, to pursue the story elsewhere.”

While Farrow reportedly plans to share his side of the story in more detail in the near future, he responded to the memo in a tweet on Monday, claiming Lack’s memo “contains numerous false or misleading statements.”

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