Members of the media reacted Friday to former Fox News editor Ken LaCorte’s op-ed criticizing a New Yorker report that claimed Fox News knowingly killed a story about Stormy Daniels and then-candidate Donald Trump prior to the 2016 presidential debate.

New Yorker reporter Jane Mayer alleged in her report this week that Fox opted not to publish the story in 2016 because higher-ups at Fox News were trying to protect then-presidential candidate Donald Trump from the scandal. She claimed that Diana Falzone, a FoxNews.com reporter, confirmed the affair occurred with Daniels’ manager and ex-husband.

However LaCorte’s op-ed, which appeared in Mediaite, points to a different reason the story was not published: a lack of corroborating evidence. (RELATED: CNN’s Stelter Says Dems Are ‘Dehumanized’ On Fox News After DNC Blacklists Network)

“It lacked: any mention of payments, a hush money contract or any corroborating evidence beyond the two secondhand accounts,” he wrote. “The story wasn’t close to being publishable, and my decision to hold it was a no-brainer. I didn’t do it to help Trump and never said nor implied otherwise.”

“I sent Mayer an email with some explanation and an offer to talk, and she responded: ‘sorry, but I didn’t know fact-checkers called, I was hoping to call you first. we just added this to the story today. I’ll call in a bit. up to my eyeballs right this moment.’ She never did,” LaCorte continued.

As he points out, “The Washington Post, Guardian, Newsweek, The Hill, Esquire, Vanity Fair, and at least 70 others,” pushed Mayer’s piece without reaching out to him.

LaCorte’s piece sent shock waves on social media with people pushing back on Mayer’s piece.

Jane Mayer has always struck me as a fairly sinister figure in the world of journalism: someone who employs the trappings of the form (“research,” “quotes” etc.) to abuse its norms for deeply partisan purposes. This confirms it to me. https://t.co/gGNF273dag — Esoteric Jeff (@EsotericCD) March 8, 2019

This is an excellent explanation of why smart people don’t trust a *word* @JaneMayerNYer writes. “I Stopped the Stormy Daniels Story at Fox News. Here’s Why.” https://t.co/4fw3dVXBQJ — Mollie (@MZHemingway) March 8, 2019

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