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William Sitwell, the editor of Waitrose Food magazine has stepped down from his post, following a Buzzfeed article which revealed an email he sent to a freelance vegan food writer containing the joke suggestion for a series on “killing vegans, one by one.”
Sitwell sent the email to journalist Selene Nelson, in response to a pitch for a series of articles on vegan cookery in Waitrose Food. That email was then collated by Nelson as part of a package for a second pitch, to Buzzfeed, on a series of articles regarding hostility towards vegans in the media and online. Buzzfeed then deemed Sitwell’s email to be a story in its own right. Nelson herself has said on Twitter that she did not “sell” the email as an individual story; she is, though, quoted at length within the resulting article.
I didn't sell it. I pitched BuzzFeed an article exploring the hostility vegans often face, using WS's email as just one example of it. BuzzFeed wanted to run the story themselves as a news piece rather than a thought piece. I didn't get paid for it or have any editorial control.
— Selene Nelson Ⓥ (@Selene_Nelson) October 30, 2018
Sitwell, who yesterday apologised for any offence caused by his comments, had been the magazine’s editor for 20 years. He reiterated his apology this morning via Instagram:
The chief executive of the magazine’s publisher, John Brown Media, Andrew Hirsch, said he respected Sitwell’s decision and thanked him for his work.
Waitrose, the supermarket, said it felt that the editor’s resignation was the “right and proper move.”
More soon.
