An Open Letter to New York University: Why is Fox News propagandist Maria Bartiromo still sitting on the NYU Board of Trustees?
Bartiromo was the first to put the unhinged Dominion voting machines “Big Lie” conspiracy theory on the air
Dear New York University communications team,
Why is Fox News propagandist Maria Bartiromo still sitting on the New York University Board of Trustees?
Today, HuffPo reported: “Maria Bartiromo Amplifies A Whopper About Barack Obama. The Fox Business host floated another conspiracy theory littering the presidential race,” falsely suggesting that the former president is in charge.
Yesterday, Amb. Adam Ereli, former U.S. Ambassador to Bahrain and Deputy State Dept. Spokesman, posted on X (formerly Twitter), asking about Bartiromo’s seat on the NYU Board of Trustees. He wrote:
“Does @nyuniversity have an answer? And please don’t say that you want a broad spectrum of perspectives represented on the board. That just won’t cut it.”
Mr. Ereli was responding to a post on X by S.V. Dáte, White House Correspondent for HuffPost. Mr. Dáte wrote:
“Per @brianstelter’s research she [Bartiromo] was the first to put the unhinged Dominion voting machines conspiracy theory on the air, which found up costing Fox three quarters of a billion dollars.”
Mr. Dáte was referring to this research by Brian Stelter, writing for Politico earlier this month:
“…the hosts of Fox & Friends Weekend were told to stay away from election fraud claims. But the show that followed, Maria Bartiromo’s Sunday Morning Futures, defied the guidance. Bartiromo, all gassed up on rage and righteousness, heaped shame onto the network and spurred a $787.5 million settlement payment. That’s because Bartiromo became the first Fox host to utter the name ‘Dominion.’”
In 2021, Margaret Sullivan, who will become the Executive Director for the Craig Newmark Center for Journalism Ethics and Security at Columbia University on January 1, 2024, wrote for the Washington Post:
“…Maria Bartiromo, whose Trump sycophancy during the campaign may well have been unparalleled. She was among those (including Lou Dobbs and Jeanine Pirro) recently forced under threat of a lawsuit to air a video that debunked repeated false claims on her show that corrupt voting software had given millions of Trump votes to Biden.”
Calls for NYU to address Bartiromo’s seat on the New York University Board of Trustees are not new.
In 2021, Jonathan Haidt, Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at NYU Stern School of Business, emailed a statement to me, responding to public outcry on social media, calling for ouster of Bartiromo from the New York University Board of Trustees.
Haidt wrote that NYU leadership “will have time to make a thoughtful decision based on due process and input from many sources, including its own moral principles.”
Has NYU had enough time to make a thoughtful decision? What are NYU’s “own moral principles” as they relate to Maria Bartiromo sitting on the NYU Board of Trustees?
Journalism experts have also weighed in on Bartiromo’s board seat at NYU:
Jeff Jarvis, Director of the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism and The Leonard Tow Professor of Journalism Innovation at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, posted on Twitter in 2021:
“We must shun the Foxists, Murdochians, Trumpists who are slaying our democracy. Start by ousting Maria Bartiromo from NYU’s Board of Trustees.”
Jay Rosen, journalism faculty member at NYU, responded to my post on Twitter in 2021 about Bartiromo sitting on the NYU board. I wrote: “I attended the Stern School of Business at NYU many years ago, and I feel nauseated.”
Professor Rosen responded: “That’s about how I feel, Nancy, as both an alum (Steinhardt, 1986) and a faculty member.”
The NYU student newspaper Washington Square News reported on Bartiromo’s board role in 2021. Rick Perlstein, a journalist and historian whose work has often focused on the American right’s relationship to the media, told WSN: “‘As long as this person is officially associated with the governance of NYU, NYU is officially associated with Big Lie fascist propaganda.’”
I first reached out to NYU press contacts in July 2021, emailing these questions:
Is there any plan to remove Bartiromo from the NYU Board of Trustees?
In light of significant criticism levied at Bartiromo from journalism experts, what is the position of NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute about Bartiromo’s seat on the board?
Does NYU Chairman of the Board William R. Berkley [now emeritus], founder of the W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB), have any personal, professional or financial ties to Fox News, Ms. Bartiromo, or to her husband, New York investment professional Jonathan Steinberg?
No one from NYU responded to my questions, nor did the University issue any statement about Bartiromo’s status on its Board of Trustees. Others have asked NYU to respond.
Mark Jacob, former editor at the Chicago Tribune & Sun Times, now newletter author stopthepresses.news, posted on X in February: “I’m writing to the New York University board of trustees at nyu.trustees@nyu.edu and asking them why Maria Bartiromo, Fox News host and pro-coup propagandist, is still a member of the NYU board. I urge you to do the same.”
NYU’s Governance bylaws include a provision for removal of a Trustee. Why the Board allows Ms. Bartiromo to continue serving on the Board of Trustees is unknown but begs an explanation.
In 2021, Craig Newmark posted on Twitter, asking about Bartiromo sitting on the NYU board of trustees: “What might be the next step to enforce journalism and related ethics?”
Mr. Newmark’s question remains unanswered: What is NYU doing to enforce journalism and related ethics regarding Maria Bartiromo sitting on the NYU Board of Trustees?
Does New York University have any answers?
Thank you for your consideration of this matter.
Sincerely,
Nancy Levine Stearns
No one from New York University has responded to my previous inquiries. I also sent this open letter via email to NYU press contacts and current Board Chair Evan Chesler. I will update this open letter if I receive a response.
My father graduated from NYU in 1949. I attended NYU Stern School of Business. NYU alumni who want to voice their concerns about Maria Bartiromo sitting on the NYU Board of Trustees should contact Brian Perillo, VP of Alumni Relations at bperillo@nyu.edu or 212–998–6843.
