Ronan Farrow’s reporting for The New Yorker on the Epstein case built on the foundation of Julie K. Brown’s 2018 Miami Herald investigation and extended into questions about institutional accountability, media suppression, and the mechanisms that allowed Epstein to operate for decades.
The ABC News Suppression Story
Farrow’s most consequential contribution to Epstein-related journalism was his reporting on how ABC News had killed a story about Epstein in approximately 2016. In November 2019, he reported that Amy Robach, an ABC News anchor, had been recorded on a hot microphone expressing frustration that ABC had spiked her investigation despite having secured an interview with Virginia Giuffre years earlier.
The leaked video showed Robach saying she had information about Epstein’s connections to prominent people but that “it was quashed.” Her comments raised questions about whether ABC’s relationships with figures connected to Epstein — including the royal family, whose US operation was relevant to ABC’s coverage interests — influenced editorial decisions.
NBC and Weinstein Parallel
Farrow drew parallels between how media institutions handled the Epstein and Harvey Weinstein stories. His book “Catch and Kill” documented institutional pressures that could cause explosive investigative stories to be suppressed.
Maxwell Coverage
Farrow also contributed reporting on Ghislaine Maxwell, including examination of her social network and how she had evaded accountability for decades despite being named by numerous victims.
Broader Institutional Critique
Farrow’s Epstein coverage fit within a broader template of examining how power protects power — how institutions with relationships with powerful figures can have structural incentives to suppress reporting that would damage those relationships.