Dell’Omo apologizes to The Rider News
By Olivia Nicoletti
Rider President Gregory Dell’Omo stirred campus conversation on Feb. 1 after sending out a university-wide email accusing The Rider News staff of inaccuracy in a front-page article that ran that day, titled, “Dell’Omo’s tenure extended, announces plan to retire.” Now, Dell’Omo has released an apology.
In his original email, Dell’Omo claimed he had never announced his retirement in the Jan. 27 interview he had with executive editor and senior sports media major Shaun Chornobroff and managing editor and junior journalism major Amethyst Martinez. In response, The Rider News released audio and transcript of the interview the same day.
On Feb. 9, Dell’Omo invited Chornobroff and Martinez for a meeting to rectify the situation.
They met on Feb. 14, where Dell’Omo addressed the tensions, and another university-wide email was sent out soon after.
In the Feb. 14 email, Dell’Omo said, “Upon reviewing the transcript and audio of our conversation that was released by the paper, it is readily apparent that I was too ambiguous when speaking about the subject of retirement.”
Later in the email, he said that his contract is due to end July 31, 2025; however, he said he has not set a definitive retirement date.
Chornobroff admitted to the craziness that came with the publication of the original article and Dell’Omo’s initial response, but he remained “proud of Amethyst and The Rider News for standing by the reporting of the article.”
“I also just want to thank President Dell’Omo for sending out an apology email and addressing the confusion,” Chornobroff added.
In agreement with Chornobroff, Martinez said, “I appreciate President Dell’Omo reaching out and meeting with us … and I appreciate the apology that was sent university-wide.”
Dell’Omo concluded his email by saying that he looks forward to continuing to work with Chornobroff, Martinez and the rest of The Rider News staff.
Chornobroff echoed that sentiment, saying, “I also look forward to working with him in the future as well and hope to talk to him for many future articles.”
Martinez recognized the importance of defending herself as a journalist and The Rider News as a whole, and she said she is glad that everything was eventually set straight.
“It’s important for us to protect The Rider News’ legacy of always being an accurate publication that faculty, staff and students can trust,” Martinez said.
