Huffington Post editor Arianna Huffington has recused herself from the website’s coverage of taxi service Uber after being named to its board, writes Dave Jamieson, its labor reporter.
Jamieson writes, “Huffington said every story related to Uber will be accompanied by a disclosure noting that she’s on the company’s board. According to an email sent out to HuffPost staffers Wednesday, such a disclosure will be attached whether the story subject is Uber, one of its competitors or ride-sharing in general.
“That disclosure is going to see a lot of action. HuffPost’s newspage for Uber indicates that the site often runs multiples posts about Uber each day. Many of these stories ask hard questions about Uber’s business practices; as Huffington notes, that includes stories that ran on the site when she already knew she was joining the company’s board. (See here, here and here.) Uber’s business model famously relies on classifying drivers as independent contractors, rather than employees, in order to save money. Many on the left believe Uber is helping to put downward pressure on working standards in the broader transportation industry.
“Despite the assurances to staff, one senior editor, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the arrangement ‘makes me very uncomfortable.'”
Read more here.
