Defending Olivia Nuzzi

…so many panties in a twist

I fear this might be of interest only in the limited world view of other journalists, but it is an irresistible assignment (self-assigned) to defend Olivia Nuzzi, and her myriad offenses against journalism rectitude. Nuzzi has been among the few original writers covering the Trump years. Her sporadic pieces, mostly in New York magazine, were unexpected, hilarious, and insightful—and invariably the talk of the town. Where most every other liberal journalist was monotoned in his or her censoriousness and horror about Donald Trump, Nuzzi with a distinctive voice almost always managed to come through the backdoor and shed a new cockeyed light on the cockeyed situation. What’s more, she was, to the consternation of her peers, incredibly young. She advanced by her gifts, rather than the dues she paid, or, even, by the men she slept with.