MIchelle Rhee’s Stonewall
In a stunningly revealing NY Times story , Michael Winerip details the lengths that Michelle Rhee went to keep from talking to the USA Today reporters who broke the test erasure scandal story that occurred on her DC watch. The reporters - Marisol Bello, Greg Troppo and Jack Gillum were interviewed at length and tell the NY Times reporter of Rhee’s months long refusal to be interviewed. Apparently other DC personnel were wary of being interviewed as well.
It took the USA Today reporters a year to finish their three-part series. So many people were afraid to speak that Ms. Bello had to interview dozens to find one willing to be quoted. She knocked on teachers’ doors at 9:30 at night and hunted parents at PTA meetings. She met people in coffee shops where they would not be recognized, and never called or e-mailed sources at their schools.
The reporters made a dozen attempts to interview Ms. Rhee, directly and through her public