Former NY Post Editor Sues Murdoch’s News Corp

NY Post's Col Allan (The Wrap graphic)

A former top editor of the New York Post has sued News Corp., alleging she faced years of retaliation at the publishing company for complaining about sexual advances by the Post’s former editor in chief, Col Allan, one of Rupert Murdoch’s longest-serving lieutenants.

The L-A Times reports Michelle Gotthelf, who was managing editor of the Post’s digital edition until last week, filed the federal lawsuit Tuesday in the Southern District of New York against Murdoch’s News Corp., NYP Holdings, Allan and Keith Poole, the newspaper’s current editor. The lawsuit alleges discrimination and retaliation.

Poole, who also oversees Page Six and NYPost.com, fired Gotthelf — one of the Post’s most senior female executives — on Jan. 12, roughly two months after learning about her allegations against Allan, the lawsuit said.

Gotthelf had worked at the Post for more than two decades, joining as a features writer in 2000. She became an editor and held several prominent management roles, including metro editor and eventually managing editor. She was the top editor of the paper’s popular website until last week. The Post separately announced her departure Tuesday.

“Any suggestion of wrongdoing related to the management changes announced today is meritless,” a spokesperson for the New York Post and News Corp. said in a statement.

Allan has worked within News Corp. for more than 40 years, joining as a cub reporter in his and Murdoch’s native Australia. While working as a foreign correspondent for News Corp. in the U.S. in the late 1970s, Allan became acquainted with the media baron himself.

In 2001, Murdoch and his oldest son, Lachlan Murdoch, turned to Allan to run the Post following a management shake-up when the newspaper competition with the New York Daily News was particularly intense. Allan had distinguished himself as the editor of two News Corp. publications in Sydney.

Allan served as top editor at the Post for about 15 years, and Gotthelf was one of his top deputies.