Kara Swisher, who covers the tech beat while running The Wall Street Journal‘s All Things Digital site, disclosed that she married a Google executive earlier this week shortly before the vote for Proposition 8 in California passed.
Swisher, in an update of her ethics statement on All Things D, writes, “The Dow Jones Code of Conduct, which I am abiding by (see below for a link), generally provides that no news personnel ‘assigned to report…on a specific industry may buy or sell securities in any company engaged, in whole or significant part, in that industry, nor may any member of the immediate family of any such employee do so.’
“But in this case, Dow Jones has concluded that—with this disclosure and the interactive nature of blogging, which makes it possible to provide this detailed explanation and also a place for comment, both of which are not adequately available in the print edition—her financial interest in Google should not prevent me from writing about this industry.
“While some may raise objections, Dow Jones feels the transparency will give readers a chance to judge my work on its merits, especially in light of my extensive experience covering the technology industry for the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and in two books about America Online I authored. In fact, I began reporting on Google itself in 1999, well before others did, and wrote many articles on it years before Megan worked there, like this one.
“While I am no longer a Dow Jones employee and have become an independent contractor to the company, honoring its long-term commitment to high standards of journalism is key to the success of my future work for AllThingsD.com. I am well aware of the controversies surrounding ethics online now swirling about, some of which have resulted in giving readers some pause about the quality and honesty of some in the blogosphere. Such wariness is always a good thing for everyone and I encourage readers to ask tough questions and demand more of those providing them information of all kinds. I know that I am asking for a large measure of trust from readers of the site, and I pledge to do everything I can to be deserving of that trust.”
Read more here.
