Ex-Rolling Stone editor Noah Shachtman joins New York Times after controversy
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The New York Times is currently doing business with the former editor-in-chief of Rolling Stone, who was dragged into the disgraced ABC News producer James Gordon Meek scandal.
Noah Shachtman, who served as the magazine’s editor-in-chief from 2021 to 2024 after becoming editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast, joins the Times’ opinion section as a contributing writer. According to Semafor, he will “write columns and longer investigative pieces focusing on power, politics and popular culture.”
But questions remain about Shactman’s involvement in Rolling Stone’s exclusive report on the bombshell FBI raid on Meek’s home.
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Noah Shachtman, former editor-in-chief of Rolling Stone, is joining the New York Times as a contributing writer. (Variety via Preston Rescigno/Getty Images)
In September 2023, Meek was sentenced to six years in prison for possessing and transporting child pornography. But Rolling Stone’s initials report About the FBI raid carried out in October 2022, it was claimed that the raid covered Meek’s work as a national security investigative producer for ABC News and emphasized the confidential information allegedly found on his laptop.
“Meek appears to be on the wrong side of the national security apparatus,” Rolling Stone reported at the time.
Meek abruptly resigned from ABC News following the raid.
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NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik shortly after Meek’s arrest in February 2023 He wrote something like a bomb Meek’s own story accuses Rolling Stone of whitewashing child pornography revelations made by Shachtman himself.
“This should have been a coup,” Folkenflik wrote at the time. “Instead, acrimony in the newsroom over how this story was edited led to accusations that the magazine’s brash leader had punched someone he knew while overseeing a story. The enraged reporter accepted a position at the sister publication two months later. He wrote the story. And his complaints led a senior lawyer for the magazine’s parent company to investigate what had happened.” he wrote at the time.
This image provided by the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office shows James Gordon Meek in his booking photo on January 31, 2023, in Alexandria, Virginia. (Alexandria Sheriff’s Office via AP)
Folkenflik explained that Tatiana Siegel, the reporter who broke the news of the Meek raid and was mentioned in the Rolling Stone report, initially wrote that Meek was part of a federal child pornography investigation, but that detail was deleted by Shachtman, who once considered Meek a peer with whom he was friendly.
“Shachtman stepped in to edit Siegel’s story. It was rare for him to do so for his work,” Folkenflik wrote. “When Siegel detailed the seriousness of the allegations against Meek, Shachtman warned him not to turn over a story that included the words ‘child pornography.'”
Folkenflik then continued, “The testimonies given by associates, colleagues, and friends of two prominent figures — Siegel and Shachtman — differ here. Shachtman and he agreed, Siegel told others, that the article would reflect that the FBI’s interest was motivated by concerns about possible criminal behavior outside Meek’s scope of work; that is, it had nothing to do with national security or journalism.” Folkenflik continued later. “Shachtman later told others that he did not believe he was sufficiently knowledgeable about sourcing. Rolling Stone’s parent company, Penske Media, states that Shachtman had the authority to make such choices in Rolling Stone’s reporting.”
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Former ABC News producer James Gordan Meek was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to possessing and transporting child pornography. (Michael Le Brecht/ABC via Getty Images)
After Shachtman assured Siegel that he would take care of publishing the story so he could care for his sick mother, “Shachtman modified Siegel’s draft to remove any suggestion that the investigation was unrelated to Meek’s reporting,” according to Folkenflik. Shachtman also instructed his employees to use a generic photo of “something FBI-like” instead of Meek’s photo.
Folkenflik “left the finding that federal agents allegedly found ‘classified information’ on Meek’s devices.” he wrote. “The article left many readers with the distinct impression that the investigation was tied to Meek’s reporting, which could lead to a conflict between the government and the press… Colleagues and friends say Siegel said he was unaware of changes to his story until it was published online. Associates describe Siegel as outraged by what he saw as Shachtman’s interference with the independence of his reporting.”
Siegel left Rolling Stone two months later for a position at sister publication Variety. He is currently a major writer at The California Post. The Rolling Stone article was updated in July 2023 to find Meek pleading guilty to possession of child pornography.
A spokesperson for The New York Times told Fox News Digital: “Noah is a talented and experienced reporter and editor. We look forward to his contributions to our Opinion report,” but did not answer questions about Shachtman’s involvement in the Rolling Stone report.
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