Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators

by Ronan Farrow

Pretty soon I was in Griffin’s office with him and another member of his team. “What the fuck?” he asked, exasperated. I looked at the proposed script in front of me. “Phil, I’m not gonna edit sound bites to change their meaning.” “Why not?!” he said, like this was the craziest thing he’d ever heard. “It’s not ethical?” I offered, less as a statement and more as a kind of reminder, hoping Griffin’s question had been rhetorical and he’d finish the thought. Instead, he leaned back in his chair and directed a “Lord give me strength” look at his colleague. She tried a gentler tone. “We all know you care a lot about the”—she hesitated here, seeming to genuinely struggle to find a nice way to put it—“ journalism with a capital J, but this is not some sensitive political story.”