Where Things Went Wrong for Dianna Russini

"Dianna Russini Was an NFL 'Insider.' Was She Also Out of Bounds?" So reads the headline of a deep dive in the New York Times, the parent company of the Athletic, who counted Russini as its star NFL reporter—until the New York Post in early April published images of her in a Sedona, Arizona, hot tub with New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel. The Athletic opened an investigation after the photos surfaced, and Russini resigned. In the deeply reported piece published Wednesday, Katherine Rosman and Ken Belson trace how Russini built her brand in a male-dominated scoop culture where the lines between relationships and reporting can blur—and how that culture may have collided with Times standards on conflicts of interest and transparency.

The piece, which is worth a read in full, opens with two juicy tidbits: To make the point "Russini was not just any reporter," a source is quoted as saying her annual salary neared $800,000, which would make her one of the Times Company's top-paid journalists. Rosman and Belson also share an anecdote about how Russini got out of a texting-and-driving ticket in January by FaceTiming an NFL head coach whom the cop who pulled her over professed to like. She shared the story weeks later on the "Stugotz and Company" podcast. Rosman and Belson write:

• Russini "might have considered calling a coach to get out of a ticket not only appropriate, but a funny story to tell on a podcast. For The Athletic, under the ownership of the Times, it was out of bounds. Danielle Rhoades Ha, a Times Company spokeswoman, described it as 'unacceptable conduct,' adding that Athletic editors had been unaware of it because Ms. Russini neither sought nor received permission to appear on the podcast, as required by company guidelines."
• They also detail that when a reporter texted Russini regarding the article, she referenced "intense scrutiny and personal attacks" and the "significant impact on my life, both professionally and personally" before asking her text not be quoted. "The interaction demonstrated a different approach to journalism from the way that it is conducted in traditional newsrooms," Rosman and Belson write, a reference to how an off-the-record exchange needs to be agreed upon from the outset.

Read the full story for much more, including why the Athletic initially supported her then eased off that support.