deadspin.com/cincinnati-enquirer-pulls-story-about-arrest-of-reds-ow-1617631324Why'd The Cincy Enquirer Pull A Story About Arrest Of Reds Owner's Son?
8/07/14 1:28pm
On Monday, the Cincinnati Enquirer published a story about Robert and Deanna Castellini being arrested on domestic violence charges. A day later, the story was pulled from the paper's website. Robert Castellini, as the original article's headline points out, happens to be the son of Cincinnati Reds owner Bob Castellini, and his lawyer happens to be the Hamilton County GOP chairman. These connections are reason enough to raise an eyebrow at the story being pulled down.
CityBeat, Cincinnati's alt-weekly, has been all over this story. They pointed out the mysterious disappearance of the story to the Enquirer's editor, Carolyn Washburn, and received the following explanation:
An editor determined — and I agreed — that it did not meet our news standards for publication," Washburn wrote to CityBeat in an email Wednesday evening. "The Mr. Castellini in question is not a public figure, has nothing to do with the Reds, etc. We don't report every domestic charge in the community. But while that was being discussed, someone posted it. We quickly took it down but not before it began to get traction.
That explanation feels a little flimsy, seeing as how the Enquirer regularly posts stories about the arrests of people who are not public figures.
We reached out to the reporter who wrote the now-disappeared story about the Castellinis, but have yet to hear back.
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citybeat.com/cincinnati/blog-5841-did_the_enquirer_take_down_a_castellini_arrest_story.htmlWhile such indecency by individuals who are likely afflicted by mental health and substance abuse problems is obviously of intense public interest (if anyone poops anywhere near CityBeat, we goddam sure want to know about it), this stellar roundup of arrests nearly took a backseat to the drama that unfolded in Indian Hill the night before — Robert S. Castellini, the 46-year-old son of Reds owner Bob Castellini, and his wife Deanna were arrested and charged with domestic violence for fighting in front of their children.
Crime reporter Kimball Perry was all over the story, as he has a long history of detailing the crayest of the cray in Hamilton County courtrooms, reporting on Monday that both Robert and Deanna went in front of a judge that morning and how court documents described "visible scratch marks around the neck of Ms. Castellini” and Robert having "visible scratches around his neck and shoulder.
Despite such drama and intrigue —
three Castellinis work in the Reds front office and Robert’s lawyer is Hamilton County GOP chairman Alex Triantafilou — The Enquirer appears to have pulled the story from its website as of Tuesday afternoon.
Domestic violence is a first-degree misdemeanor in Ohio and carries a six-month max sentence. Both Robert and Deanna were reportedly released on Monday after signing a piece of paper saying they’ll show up to later hearings.
CityBeat emailed Perry and Enquirer Editor Carolyn Washburn asking why the article was taken down and whether the Castellinis contacted them about the story. This story will be updated if they respond.
[UPDATE 6:57 P.M.: Washburn says no one contacted The Enquirer about the story. "An editor determined — and I agreed — that
it did not meet our news standards for publication," Washburn wrote to CityBeat in an email Wednesday evening. "The Mr. Castellini in question is not a public figure,
has nothing to do with the Reds, etc. We don't report every domestic charge in the community. But while that was being discussed, someone posted it. We quickly took it down but not before it began to get traction."]
If a powerful local business leader wields influence over Washburn’s news-gathering operation, it wouldn’t surprise anyone familiar with her time in Idaho. Washburn was embroiled in business reporting controversies during her time as executive editor of the Gannett-owned Idaho Statesman from 1999-2005, where she just so happened to work under her current boss at The Enquirer, Publisher Margaret Buchanan. The Statesman was criticized for catering to the state’s largest employer, Micron Technologies, though Washburn didn’t see any issue with its coverage or potential conflicts of interest.
