By Erica C. Barnett

On Friday, January 31, two reporters from the Stranger, Hannah Krieg and Ashley Nerbovig, resigned their positions after the Stranger’s owner, Noisy Creek, the Noisy Union, and the two women reached a separation agreement, resolving an investigation involving allegations that Krieg and Nerbovig were dishonest and engaged in bullying and harassment in their capacity as Stranger employees.

The Noisy Union, a unit of the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild, represents editorial and tech staffers at the Stranger, Everout, and the Portland Mercury, which are all owned by Noisy Creek. Until her departure, Nerbovig was president of the Noisy Union.

The Stranger initially put the two on leave on or around January 16. It was the second time Nerbovig had been placed on leave during her two years at the paper; the first came after she posted a tweet joking about the assassination attempt against Donald Trump, which led to a torrent of right-wing threats against her and other Stranger staffers, leading the paper to shut down its office for five days.

In a joint statement posted on social media Friday afternoon, Noisy Union and Noisy Creek said that while the investigation was unable to substantiate the “original allegations,” all parties agreed it would be a “fair solution” for the two to resign.

After this story was published, Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild Courtney Scott reached out to say, “We feel the employer made a good faith effort to engage with the union and give due process despite having no agreed upon language or legal obligation to do so,” given that Noisy Union members don’t have a contract with Noisy Creek. “We decline to comment further on the details of the investigation or private union meetings.”

Initially, according to sources inside and outside the Stranger, the “original allegations” included the charge that Krieg and Nerbovig had attempted to “lock down” a cover-up story about an inappropriate encounter that occurred last October between the Stranger’s former editor-in-chief, Rich Smith, and now-Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck. After Noisy Creek bought the paper, Smith was replaced by Hannah Murphy Winter and returned to his former job as news editor, where he supervised Nerbovig and Krieg.

The two were accused of failing to disclose Smith’s ethical breach to their editors, then attempting to conceal the fact that they had been aware of it for months by lying to colleagues, management, and their union about both the incident itself and how and when they first found out about it, multiple sources inside and outside the paper confirmed.

Additionally, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of events, the pair bullied and harassed at least one other Stranger employee as part of their efforts to keep the story from getting out.

Nerbovig and Krieg also contacted people outside the Stranger, including individuals close to Rinck, and asked them to deny that the incident between Smith and Rinck ever happened, external and internal sources told PubliCola.

In journalism, having an intimate relationship with someone you cover is a conflict of interest. Separately, newsroom staff who are aware of a conflict of interest, or other serious ethical breach, involving another staffer have an obligation to disclose the conflict, and an additional obligation not to lie about it when asked. Attempting to get others to help conceal the truth is also an ethical breach and a violation of journalists’ obligation to be honest.

These ethical obligations—avoid and disclose conflicts of interest; be honest—apply to all newsroom staff and are a bedrock of ethical journalism that reporters and editors, publications, and the unions that represent journalists have a vested interest in upholding. The Society for Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics, for instance, notes that “Journalists should avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived,” and says that journalists must “be honest” and “ac[t] with integrity” on the job, and “avoid political and other outside activities that may compromise integrity or impartiality, or may damage credibility.”

PubliCola is supported entirely by readers like you.
CLICK BELOW to become a one-time or monthly contributor.

Support PubliCola

Other, publication-specific codes of ethics spell out more specific obligations relating to honesty, conflicts, and the obligation to disclose information that could damage a publication’s integrity.

PubliCola spoke with ten sources with direct knowledge of events described in this story, including sources inside and outside the Stranger and the union. All requested anonymity.

According to internal and external sources, Nerbovig and Krieg didn’t just fail to disclose the ethical breach by Smith when they first learned about it in October—they told their editors, colleagues, and fellow union members and union leaders that they had just learned about it for the first time in January, and that they got the information from another Stranger staffer who they said was repeating a rumor, not solid information.

In fact, according to multiple individuals who spoke with them directly, the pair were aware of the incident almost immediately after it happened and began openly talking about it with people outside the Stranger shortly after it occurred. It didn’t take long for the story to spread throughout Seattle’s tight-knit local political community; by election night, November 5, it was circulating in the room at Rinck’s victory party.

The Stranger did not launch a formal investigation until January; it is unclear precisely when management became aware of the allegations. According to internal sources, Nerbovig, in her capacity as president of the Noisy Union, called a union meeting to discuss the allegations and drum up support for herself and Krieg after the investigation began last month.

According to Stranger sources, Guild leaders believed the false version of events presented by Nerbovig and Krieg—one in which the two were guileless victims— and began considering a full-throated mobilization on their behalf. The decision to jump straight to a mobilization was unusual, according to union sources, given that the two had not been disciplined and the union had not gathered all the facts about the case yet.

Because they don’t have a contract yet, Stranger employees don’t have access to a formal grievance process, but can file Unfair Labor Practice complaints with the National Labor Relations Board.

Additionally, according to internal sources, the union argued that the investigation should be limited to internal allegations, rather than “external” issues such as whether Krieg and Nerbovig asked people outside the Stranger to back up a false story for them. As a result, the investigation was limited to allegations involving the Stranger and its staff, which appears to be one reason, according to sources, that the joint union-management statement says the “original allegations” were “not substantiated.”

The executive officer of the Newspaper Guild, Courtney Scott, and Noisy Creek management both responded to our questions by referring us to their joint statement. Prior to working for the Guild, Scott was a labor organizer with UNITE Here, which represents workers in the restaurant and hospitality industries, and the Actors’ Guild; they do not have a background in journalism, according to their public bios on LinkedIn as well as members of the newspaper guild.

As late as last week, according to sources with direct knowledge of the situation, the Guild was preparing to mobilize members in favor of Krieg and Nerbovig—at least somewhat convinced that the two women had been manipulated by Smith and were now being unfairly blamed for his actions. (Smith was fired last year; Nerbovig and Krieg, along with other members of the local media, publicly decried the decision, with many accusing Noisy Creek founder Brady Walkinshaw of having it in for him.)

The union scheduled an emergency meeting to interview Krieg, Nerbovig, and two of their colleagues last week, according to internal sources and communications, but then called it off the following day.

One revelation that the union became aware of late in the investigation—and that reportedly helped sway the union from going any further in defense of Krieg and Nerbovig—was evidence that they had engaged in a bullying and harassment campaign against at least one colleague, according to multiple sources inside and outside the Stranger.

This new evidence was compelling enough that it was a key reason the union decided to stop backing Nerbovig and Krieg last week, according to sources familiar with the union’s reasoning.

After the meeting was canceled, the union and management agreed on the joint statement and the two reporters were given the opportunity to resign with severance. (Several sources confirmed that Krieg was initially offered the opportunity to stay at the Stranger in a different role.) Both were asked to sign a mutual non-disparagement agreement that that would prevent each party to the agreement— Noisy Creek and its two former employees—from publicly criticizing the other.

Non-disparagement agreements are less restrictive than nondisclosure agreements, which impose broad confidentiality requirements and significant restrictions on speech.

After resigning, Krieg posted on X that she did not sign the separation agreement.

By Erica C. Barnett

Two reporters from the Stranger—Ashley Nerbovig and Hannah Krieg—have been put on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations that they behaved unethically by failing to disclose and lying about a separate ethical breach by former Stranger editor Rich Smith.

Full disclosure: I worked at the Stranger from 2003 to 2009.

The investigation stems from a story that has been circulating in Seattle political circles since last year: Smith, who was then the Stranger’s news editor and the head of its endorsement board, had a one-time sexual encounter not long before the November election with Alexis Mercedes Rinck, who was then a candidate for Seattle City Council. Rinck was elected in a landslide last November.

In an email to staff yesterday, Rob Crocker, the chief financial officer of the Stranger’s parent company, Noisy Creek, announced that Nerbovig and Krieg had “been placed on paid leave,” and that both “are prohibited from representing themselves as employees of Noisy Creek or any of its properties. Their access to company information and communications is also suspended.”

The sternly worded email nods to the fact that Stranger reporters are now represented by the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild, which is reportedly defending them against the allegations.”In the interests of fairness to Hannah, Ashley, and all other members of Noisy Creek, we need to undertake an internal investigation, which we hope to resolve quickly,” Crocker wrote. “We have contacted the Noisy Union and will be coordinating with them,.”

Hannah Murphy Winter, who replaced Smith as editor of the Stranger last July, told PubliCola, “I can’t speak to the nature of the investigation until it’s been completed,” but noted that “the allegations are serious.”

Smith was fired late last October for reasons unrelated to the incident with Rinck. “We weren’t aware of Rich’s alleged conduct at the time he was let go,” Murphy Winter said.

According to sources, the investigation that’s happening now concerns whether Nerbovig and Krieg  knew about the incident and lied about it to their editors. The investigation is also looking into allegations that they told their editors they just learned about the incident recently and attempted to convince people associated with Rinck to support their cover story. The Stranger has rarely put reporters on leave; the last time they did so was after a barrage of right-wing threats in response to a joke Nerbovig made on X about the first Trump assassination attempt.

There’s no evidence that anyone in Rinck’s circle agreed to lie on the reporters’ behalf, and the investigation, which Murphy Winter said would be “quick,” is reportedly intended to determine whether the allegations against the two reporters are true.

Smith and Rinck declined to comment. PubliCola sent questions to Nerbovig and Krieg and received a response from Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild representative Courtney Scott, which read: “Due to the ongoing investigation regarding Hannah Krieg and Ashley Nerbovig we have advised them not to respond to these questions. The Noisy Creek Union and The Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild are cooperating with The Stranger’s management team in the investigation and have no other comments at this time.”

It’s obviously unethical for a reporter or editor to have intimate contact or a romantic relationship with a candidate or elected official the paper covers, because it creates a conflict of interest that calls the publication’s integrity into question. Any news staffer in that situation would be obligated, at the very least, to immediately tell their supervisor and stop covering that person or participating in editorial decisions that involve them, including not just endorsements but daily coverage and story assignments. Lying or concocting a false story to protect a colleague who committed an ethical breach is also an unambiguous ethical violation. The obligation to avoid dishonesty is spelled out in many publications’ code of conduct.

PubliCola is supported entirely by readers like you.
CLICK BELOW to become a one-time or monthly contributor.

Support PubliCola

Murphy Winter replaced Smith as editor of the Stranger after Noisy Creek—a new venture started by former Grist CEO and 2016 Congressional candidate Brady Walkinshaw—bought the paper last July. At that time, Smith returned to his former position as news editor, and was fired from that position three months later.

While Murphy Winter couldn’t confirm any details about the investigation, she did note that the Stranger has “an employee code of conduct that we expect our employees to adhere to,” and that lying about or covering up an inappropriate relationship or incident “would very clearly fall into the terms of that code.”

There may be knee-jerk condemnations of Rinck for fooling around with the news editor of a publication that gave her their endorsement. But by all accounts, the Stranger had already endorsed Rinck, a progressive, before the incident took place—and her opponent was appointed council incumbent Tanya Woo, whom the Stranger called “[o]ne of the dimmer bulbs in the council’s already flickering chandelier, [who] evinces zero capacity for discussing complex legislation, no will to put forth any major legislation of her own, and otherwise displays total fealty to the corporate class.” (Thesaurus much?)

That said, the incident reflects poor judgment on both sides. For Rinck, who was running for office, it was clearly a lapse in judgment, of the sort that male politicians tend to get away with unscathed. For Smith, it appears to have been an ongoing ethical violation, since he did not disclose the incident to his bosses after it happened.

Smith did, however, reportedly tell Nerbovig and Krieg several months ago. The two reportedly did not disclose what they knew to management until earlier this month, when they said they had just learned about the incident for the first time last week. Apparently, in one version, I was the source of the supposed rumor: Someone who overheard me blabbing about it while out drinking with a group of journalists told them what I said. This did not happen.