Ben Montgomery, a former Pulitzer Prize finalist and a reporter who worked at one of Axios’ local news outlets, was fired by Axios this week. That much we know is true.
But why? How did it all go down?
Did the office of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis get him fired? Did Montgomery cross a line? Did Axios back a governor who is openly hostile to the media instead of one of its own reporters? Is there more to this whole story?
We don’t have all the details, but we’ll share what we know. And it leads to even more questions, some of them troubling.
Montgomery worked for Axios Tampa Bay, mostly contributing to its daily newsletter about the latest news in Tampa-St. Petersburg and surrounding communities. Like many reporters who cover politics in Florida, he received an email about a roundtable discussion hosted by DeSantis regarding, to quote the press release, “divisive concepts such as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the impact that these concepts have had on Florida higher education institutions and the students that attend them.”
It included a statement from DeSantis that said, “We will expose the scams they are trying to push onto students across the country.”
Montgomery replied to the release by writing, “This is propaganda, not a press release.”
We know about Montgomery’s reply because Florida Department of Education communications director Alex Lanfranconi sent out a tweet with a screengrab of Montgomery’s response. Then Fox News.com’s Lindsay Kornick wrote a story about it.
DeSantis press secretary Bryan Griffin, a frequent critic of the media, criticized Montgomery, tweeting, “This is modern journalism.” Deputy press secretary Jeremy Redfern tweeted, “Is this a journalism?”
Then Montgomery was fired.
Was he really fired for a seven-word response that merely expressed his opinion that the governor’s office is dishing out propaganda? Or was there more to it? In a written statement, Axios editor-in-chief Sara Kehaulani Goo said, “This reporter is no longer with Axios. Out of respect for our employees, we do not discuss conditions of departure.”
I spoke with Montgomery on Wednesday afternoon. For starters, yes, he did send a reply that called the email of the roundtable discussion “propaganda.” He said he did so out of “frustration” because it was not a true press release to announce an upcoming event. It was, as he wrote, “propaganda.” It had, he said, “no substance.”
But, he added, he sent the email just to them. He didn’t make it public. “It’s not like I tweeted it,” Montgomery said.
After sending his email, Montgomery said, he didn’t think anything more of it. That was Monday afternoon. Then, later that night after Lanfranconi’s tweet went out, Montgomery said he missed a call and then got a text while playing pinball and celebrating his girlfriend’s birthday. The call and text were from Axios Local executive editor Jamie Stockwell.
Montgomery said he figured it was about the email, and that he might “get a talking to,” or that she needed his help formulating a response to FoxNews.com because they were working on a story. Montgomery said he called her back and Stockwell asked if he had, indeed, sent the email. Montgomery confirmed that he did.
“And then she started into what sounded like reading a script,” Montgomery said. “And she said some version of: ‘What you have done and what it has become have irreparably damaged your reputation as a journalist in the Tampa Bay area and for that we have to terminate you (for) cause.’”
Montgomery said he vehemently objected but said Stockwell would not discuss the matter further.
When pressed if there had been any other incidents that also might have led to his firing, Montgomery said he wondered the same thing. He said he complained to bosses back in December about a heavy workload and he and a colleague having to write newsletters in advance of taking time off. He admitted he “blew the (expletive) up.” But he didn’t believe that could have had an impact on his termination.
I also asked Montgomery if Axios wanted him to apologize or do anything in order to keep his job, but he said, “There were no questions, there was no discussion. When she called, the first thing she did was fire me.”
After speaking with Montgomery, I reached out to Stockwell, but got no response. Montgomery said he has heard from Axios co-founder Mike Allen, who thanked Montgomery for his work. Allen did not respond to an email asking for comment on Montgomery’s dismissal.
“It just seems like a violation of a principle at a time when it’s crucial that news organizations stand up for their employees and allow them to do their jobs,” Montgomery said.
Montgomery is hardly alone in thinking that DeSantis’ approach to education is troubling. And while one could understand why Axios doesn’t want its reporters getting into spitting matches with the governor’s office, is this really a fireable offense? Unless there is more to this story, which there very well could be, this feels more like a, “Hey, knock it off, don’t do this again and take off the rest of the week” kind of punishment.
What’s disturbing, in part, is that DeSantis has waged a battle against the media in Florida and as soon as one of its reporters gets into a mild dustup with the governor’s office, Axios fires him?
Full disclosure: Montgomery and I used to work at the same newspaper — the Tampa Bay Times — but we worked in different departments and didn’t know each other beyond the occasional hello in the hallway. He was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting in 2010 while working at the Times.
Again, this all comes with the caveat that maybe there was more to this than one snippy response to an email. But if the email response was the reason, or even a big part of the reason, Axios comes out of this looking like it doesn’t have the backs of its reporters, and, even worse, that it sided with a politician who goes out of his way to denigrate the press.
Lastly …
The Washington Post’s Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff and Sonia Rao pointed out, “Axios allowed reporters in 2020 to join racial justice demonstrations after the killing of George Floyd by police, but restricted its journalists from protesting for or against abortion rights two years later.”
Montgomery told me he was peeved about the firing and the message it sends. But he said he was not sad. He wished his Axios local colleagues well, and said he hopes to work on a book project.
What’s woke?
A few weeks ago in this newsletter, I mentioned the reaction I got to an item about Hall of Fame football coach Tony Dungy tweeting and then deleting a post about the long-debunked story that schools were putting litter boxes in bathrooms for kids who identified as cats. I received plenty of backlash, including several emailers who called me “woke” for criticizing Dungy. In each case, I asked the readers to define “woke,” and in each case, I never heard from them again.
The same thing happened again Wednesday — a reader struggled to come up with a definition for “woke” after using the word to criticize Meta.
That brings me to something else that happened this week during conservative author Bethany Mandel’s appearance on “Rising” — an online program from The Hill. Mandel spent much of her appearance promoting her new book, “Stolen Youth: How Radicals Are Erasing Innocence and Indoctrinating a Generation,” which she co-wrote with Karol Markowicz.
After using the word “woke,” Mandel was asked by the show’s host, Briahna Joy Gray, to define it.
Almost immediately, Mandel went into a tailspin. She said, “So, I mean, woke is, sort of, the idea that, um …” After a long pause, Mandel said, “This is going to be one of those moments that goes viral.”
She was absolutely right about that. One tweet about it was viewed more than 27 million times as of Wednesday night.
Mandel then continued, “Woke is something that’s very hard to define, and we’ve spent an entire chapter defining it. It is sort of the understanding that we need to totally reimagine and redo society in order to create hierarchies of oppression. Sorry, I, it’s hard to explain in a 15-second sound bite.”
But as many pointed out, if you’re going to use the word and make it a part of your arguments, 15 seconds is plenty of time to come up with some sort of definition.
On Wednesday, the day after her meltdown did go viral, she offered this explanation on Twitter: “Just before we went on air, Briahna Joy Gray was on a hot mic. I heard her demeaning parenting in general in colorful and nasty terms, stating parents only have kids in order to perpetuate their own narcissism. (Co-host) Robby (Soave) responded, ‘There are some good ones and some bad ones.’ As a mom of six, including a newborn, this threw me off just a bit. Not an excuse, just a reality. I’m human!”
So, wait, is she blaming Gray for not being able to define a word she uses all the time? For the record, Mandel then gave her definition of “woke,” which you can read here if you’re interested.
The Washington Post’s Philip Bump has a good column about the word “woke” and concludes it by writing about Mandel’s book:
In her book with Markowicz, the pair actually cite The Hill’s own definition of the term.
“The Hill defined ‘woke’ as someone who is ‘aware of social issues such as racial prejudice and discrimination.’,” the two write. “The reality, we know, is much more complex — and much more ominous.”
Which, of course, is entirely the point. “Woke” simply describes anything that is inherently alarming to the right — and so it’s a very good way to sell books and win votes in presidential primaries.
Can I get a Vibe check?
For this item, my Poynter colleague Amaris Castillo offers her thoughts on a podcast she loves.
I have a new auditory obsession that drops in during my Wednesday morning commutes to Poynter. It’s “Vibe Check,” a newish news and culture podcast hosted by award-winning poet and author Saeed Jones and award-winning journalists Sam Sanders and Zach Stafford.
The real-life friends deliver thoughtful and razor-sharp conversations about everything from drag bans to performative wellness and Rihanna’s Super Bowl LVII halftime show. When SiriusXM’s Stitcher announced the podcast in August, it promised the three culture experts would bring their group chat to life and dissect “news, entertainment, and everything in between through a Black, queer lens.” Jones, Sanders and Stafford have more than delivered that promise.
Listening to “Vibe Check” feels like I’m in their circle, even though I actually don’t know any of them. The hosts begin each episode with a temperature check — to see what their current vibe is. Then they dive into current events, with each host sharing their thoughts, often citing research or pointing to an article or book that their listeners can consume if they want to learn more. In our news-saturated climate (trust me, I know), “Vibe Check” helps make complicated stories accessible.
The show is also so much fun as Jones, Sanders and Stafford exchange conversation with ease and poke fun at one another as close friends do. They make me chuckle, think, shake and nod my head. The end of each episode is also a treat: Each host gives out a recommendation to keep our vibes right. Thank you, “Vibe Check,” for keeping my vibe right on a weekly basis.
Benjamin Hall tells his story
Fox News reporter Benjamin Hall appears during a segment of “Fox and Friends” in New York on March 10. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
The Associated Press’ David Bauder has a good story about Fox News reporter Benjamin Hall, who was badly injured and nearly died when he was caught in a bombing while covering the war in Ukraine. Two of his colleagues — photographer Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian “fixer” Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova — were killed in the blast. It happened a year ago this week.
Hall lost his right leg below the knee and most of his left foot. He lost sight in his left eye and had his left thumb blown off. He also suffered injuries to his skull and had burns over much of his body. He said thoughts of his daughter helped him survive.
“Was it a miracle?” Hall said to Bauder. “I believe so. I was saved that day. It’s the title of my book. I was in the middle seat of a small car — it’s the death seat — somehow I came out of it, and I’m still alive. Whether it was my daughter or whether it was an angel, I don’t have an answer for that.”
Hall has written a book, “Saved: A War Reporter’s Mission to Make It Home,” and Fox News will air a two-hour documentary on Sunday at 9 p.m. Eastern.
About what’s next, Hall said, “I’ve spent my whole career talking about war and horror and the depths of it. I think I’d like to tell some more positive and optimistic stories now.”
Media tidbits
- People’s Kyler Alvord with “How ‘Face the Nation’ Host Margaret Brennan Became the Star of Sunday Mornings: ‘I Didn’t Ever Imagine It.’”
- The Wall Street Journal’s Alexandra Bruell with “BuzzFeed Encourages Reporters to Write More Stories in Attempt to Turn Profit.”
- A few days old but still quite relevant: The Wall Street Journal’s Joe Flint, Sarah Krouse, Alexander Gladstone and Lindsey Adler with “The Way Americans Watch Local Sports Is About to Change.”
- Robyn Tomlin, former president and executive editor of Raleigh’s The News & Observer, is the new chief news officer for McClatchy. The News & Observer’s Brooke Cain has more.
Hot type
I love college basketball, I love the NCAA Tournament and I love beer, which means I really love this piece in The Athletic from Brian Hamilton and Eamonn Brennan: “NCAA Tournament Beer Guide: A local brew for every team. Please read responsibly.”
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