Reevaluating Ronan Farrow: Last week, New York Times media columnist Ben Smith published an op-ed denouncing Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Ronan Farrow, who helped break the story of Harvey Weinstein’s predatory behavior. Smith argued that while Farrow’s reporting was not fabricated, he omitted certain details in order to keep his storylines “irresistibly cinematic.” The journalism world responded, with both Farrow and New Yorker editor Michael Luo taking to Twitter to rebut Smith’s claims. Writers from the Washington Post, Slate and Poynter also published pieces on the subject. For those who are still trying to understand the issue, L.A. Times staff writer Christi Carras published an overview of the ongoing media war. 

Alison Roman’s stewed awakening: Prominent cook and cookbook author Alison Roman is under fire for an interview with The New Consumer in which she bashed Chrissy Teigen and Marie Kondo. Although she later apologized, the exchange fueled a much larger debate about the cultural context surrounding food. Writing for Eater, Navneet Alang explores how ethic food is often portrayed as “trendy” or “fashionable” by white cooks like Roman, who craft their careers around making ethnic food more palatable for white audiences. Meanwhile, chefs of color who cook food from their culture do not receive the same level of attention or acclaim.

Delving into diversity data: Last week, The New York Times published their annual diversity report, showcasing the demographic changes among its workforce over the last two years. People of color now make up 32 percent of the staff and 21 percent of leadership at the Times. That’s the good news. However, the bad news is that NiemanLab reporter Sarah Scire revealed that publishing diversity data is still not standard practice. Furthermore, the American Society of News Editors decided to halt its diversity survey this year to reevaluate their methods. The survey will be back, but in the  meantime, journalists will have to turn to other sources for their diversity data.