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Twitter dropped the other shoe to the taped phone call of a Washington Post reporter. Dave Portnoy was able to call to confront her after seeing an email. This email was sent to pizzerias that were going to participate in an event Portnoy was going to hold. They’d have to defend themselves for partnering with what the reporter called a “misogynistic racist”. It’s a press tactic to get people to respond.
Portnoy used his own tactics
Why did reporter Emily Heil do this? She contacted pizzerias that were going to participate in his “One Bite Pizza Festival” to suggest working with the pizza rater might not be the best idea. She wanted them to defend their decision because she said Portnoy had a “history of misogynistic comments and other problematic behavior.”
Readers added context in the Twitter post. “A phone call between Emily Heil and Dave Portney was shared prior to publication, in which the WaPo journalist admits to intentionally misleading advertisers into speaking negatively of the One Bite Pizza Festival. They agreed to an interview the next day but Wapo cancelled.”
It's surreal we live in a country where activist reporters can openly get caught lying and admitting they are creating a false narrative to generate engagement and controversy AND still publish the article https://t.co/kUtVMsFI9M pic.twitter.com/R9wk8B9d3V
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) September 22, 2023
Slimy tactics
“It’s surreal we live in a country where activist reporters can openly get caught lying and admitting they are creating a false narrative to generate engagement and controversy AND still publish the article.” Portnoy expected her response so he recorded her call that managed 43 million views.
“We have this Pizzafest happening on Saturday, and you’re reaching out to our advertisers. You’re basically sending an email that says, to the effect, ‘Dave’s a misogynistic racist. Do you want to defend yourselves advertising at this event?’ Right?” He read her email back to her. “We are planning to write about the festival and how some of the sponsors and participants have drawn criticism by seeming to associate themselves with Dave Portnoy, who has a history of misogynistic comments and other problematic behavior.”
New York Times reporter trying to play nice to my face. I know they’re nothing but bad news pic.twitter.com/JcERlGvpFE
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) September 23, 2023
People were shocked
“You know, sometimes you have to say something like this is like, you know, it’s sort of a reporting tactic. When you want someone to respond, you kind of have to indicate that there might be something negative and then you get them to engage. That’s all I was trying to do.” The reporter tried to get people to pull out of the event. It didn’t work.
“None of the pizzerias or sponsors contacted by The Post indicated that they were pulling their support. Some said they lent their name and reputation to the event in exchange for publicity or access to the young, social media-savvy audience that Portnoy attracts. And some support Portnoy, whom they see as a champion of small business. His pizza reviews, they say, can increase revenue up to 50 percent. They point out that his Barstool Fund has raised tens of millions of dollars to help restaurants and other small businesses during the pandemic.”
He helped small business out during a time when you couldn’t do this. The Barstool CEO ran into a New York Times reporter. Comments during the video he took weren’t nice. “New York Times reporter trying to play nice to my face. I know they’re nothing but bad news.”
