How Two Journalists Covered and Sparked the #MeToo Movement

Erin McLaughlin

em054617@ohio.edu

Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey are investigative journalists for the New York Times. They helped in sparking the #MeToo movement which gave women a voice and a platform to speak up about a difficult subject, sexual assault. 

When Twohey and Kantor began to investigate sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein, a former film producer, many women were afraid to come forward and share their stories with the two journalists. However, both of the journalists knew that stories like this could give other women the courage to come forward about misconduct they have faced, and potentially save women in the future from experiencing the same thing. 

According to an NPR article, the two journalists said that when speaking to sexual assault survivors they began by saying, "We can't change what's happened to you, but if you work with us and we work to tell the truth, we may be able to prevent other people from getting hurt."

I think that this was a critical part of their investigation and their coverage of the #MeToo movement because it allowed survivors the chance to be stronger together. 

While covering this story, the two talked about how important it was to investigate as much as they could to procure evidence. After a lot of time spent gathering information, Twohey and Kantor published an article in the New York Times about Harvey Weinstein and his history of sexual assault. 

The publishing of the story helped in sparking the #MeToo movement. According to the npr article, Twohey and Kantor talked about how many calls and emails they received from people coming forward about their experiences with sexual harassment and sexual assault. 

According to an article in the New York Times, so many women called in that two more articles were published giving a way for women to have their voices be heard. 

                                                        Picture source:  New York Times

These articles, and the #MeToo movement, gave women all around the world strength and comfort in knowing that they are not alone. 

Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor's article received a Pulitzer Prize, but they both talk about how there are still so many stories that need to be reported. 

Twohey and Kantor published a book titled, She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Spark the #MeToo Movement. 

The book details their experience in covering this story and continues the investigation surrounding Weinstein and the many survivors that have come forward since the published article in the New York Times.