Name: Angelina Musso
Social Justice Group: 2019-2020, Women’s Image & the Media
Date of Fieldwork: December 19, 2019
Name of Organization: The New York Times
Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles: Jodi Kantor, Reporter/Journalist
Type of Fieldwork: Interview
What I did:
We met with Jodi Kantor in the New York Times cafeteria. She talked about the publication of her book, She Said, while also answering questions that our group asked her. Afterwards, we got a tour of the newsroom.
What I learned:
Our group and I learned how Jodi Kantor and her partner, Megan Twohey, wrote an article that took down Harvey Weinstein due to the sex crimes that he had committed. She spoke about how hard the process was because some women didn’t want to acknowledge what had happened to them that involved Harvey Weinstein. However, when they did speak up, many women spoke out about what Weinstein had done to them. There is now even a term called the ‘Weinstein effect’ where many powerful men are caught sexually harassing women.
What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:
I learned that in order to allow others to feel safe and not alone, one must tell the truth about their sexual assault. It creates a ripple effect that makes those people feel like they have others to talk to. I also learned that integrity and truthfulness goes together in the article that Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey wrote. Weinstein had threatened them and tried to pay them, but these amazing women still put out that article, uncaring of his thoughts on it.
