New York Times Says it won’t have Freelancer Natasha Lennard report on Occupy Wall Street

by Sydney Smith October 28, 2011 05:00 PM EST

Tags: Conflict of Interest, Natasha Lennard, New York City, New York Times, Occupy Wall Street Protests, U.S.

The New York Times told POLITICO it likely won’t have Natasha Lennard covering the Occupy Wall Street Protests after her appearance at an Occupy Wall Street discussion panel was published online, POLITICO reported. Lennard has freelanced for the Times.

As POLITICO explained, Lennard, described as a “former POLITICO/occasional On Media blogger,” got a lot of attention for her Occupy Wall Street reporting “when she was arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge in the course of covering the protests for the Times – an experience she blogged about on the Times’ City Room blog.”

Lennard’s Oct. 14 panel participation was published by the Big Government website. While Lennard claims her panel appearance was “independent” from both the Times and Occupy Wall Street. However, Big Government’s analysis of her panel discussion claimed Lennard is “a passionate Occupy supporter” and suggested she may be involved with the group.