Fired Opinion Writer Still Waiting for Call From Washington Post After Arbitrator Ordered Reinstatement, Back Pay – WTOP News
The arbitrator found the Post lacked sufficient cause and ordered full back pay and benefits after Attiah’s posts following Charlie Kirk’s killing.
- Arbitrator Sarah Miller Espinosa ordered the Washington Post to reinstate Karen Attiah with full back pay Thursday, ruling the newspaper lacked sufficient cause to fire her over social media posts regarding Charlie Kirk.
- Washington Post executives fired Attiah last September after she criticized 'performative mourning' for white men espousing violence, accusing her of 'gross misconduct' inconsistent with the newspaper's collegial atmosphere.
- Espinosa found the punishment 'absolutely disproportional,' noting the Post treated Attiah differently than employees like Thiessen, Dave Weigel, and Felicia Sonmez, who faced no termination despite similar online activity attracting attention.
- Several days after the ruling, Attiah told WTOP she has not received a call from the Washington Post regarding her return, while the newspaper said it respects the arbitration process but declined further comment.
- Attiah expressed hope the case demonstrates the value of fighting back and solidarity, saying she remains willing to resume her role as a columnist covering race, gender, and international rights.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Listen to This Article: Karen Attiah and the Right to Suck
An arbitrator can only fix so much.Narrated by Jared MooreArt by Daniel MedinaText published 08/25/26:Listen to subscriber-only audio in your podcast appShare the free versions of Racket To Go on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts
Jeff Bezos’ Washington Post Forced To Rehire Columnist Fired For Quoting Deceased Bigot Charlie Kirk
Jeff Bezos’ Washington Post simply isn’t what it used to be. During the Trump era Bezos and his lackeys have fired all of the paper’s black columnists, turned the op-ed section into pro-corporatist agitprop, censored cartoonists that criticized Jeff, and generally shifted the paper’s journalistic tone in a more right wing, corporate/autocrat-friendly direction. You know, like the […]
Fired opinion writer still waiting for call from Washington Post after arbitrator ordered reinstatement, back pay – WTOP News
1:46Washington Post ordered to reinstate opinion writer fired after Charlie Kirk posts Several days after an arbitrator ordered the Washington Post to reinstate fired opinion writer Karen Attiah, she told WTOP she’s still hasn’t gotten a phone call about returning to work. “I’m waiting to hear from the Washington Post as of this morning,” Attiah said. “I’m willing to go back to the work that I was doing as a columnist and as a writer particularl…
Karen Attiah Is Still Waiting for the Washington Post to Call
Karen Attiah has not yet heard anything from the Washington Post. On Monday morning, the former columnist for the paper’s opinion section, who was fired last September over social media posts she made following Charlie Kirk’s death, and the Washington Post Guild announced that an independent arbitrator had found the Post had violated its agreement with the union when it fired her and ordered her to be reinstated with back pay. “My God,” Attiah w…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 67% of the sources lean Left
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
