Media News

CoinDesk journalists concerned about owner interference

Leo Schwartz of Fortune examines cryptocurrency news operation CoinDesk under its new owners, which forced editors to take down a story.

Schwartz reports, “The article was titled ‘I Watched Justin Sun Eat the World’s Most Expensive Banana. I Don’t Get It.’ It provided context about the art world and the banana-eating stunt, as well as background on Sun, including his run-in with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which has charged him with fraud. Sun and Tron have moved to dismiss the lawsuit. The Coindesk report also noted that Sun’s lawyers have threatened media outlets with legal action for reporting on the use of Tron, the blockchain he founded, for illicit finance.

“Soon, CoinDesk faced pressure of its own. After Sun’s team complained about the tone of the piece, CoinDesk’s owners, the crypto exchange Bullish, demanded editorial staff remove it from the publication’s website, according to sources familiar with the matter. Tron is a major sponsor of CoinDesk’s flagship Consensus conference series. (A version of the article still appears online through a syndication agreement with Yahoo News.)

“In response, sources close to CoinDesk say the site’s journalists raised concerns over editorial independence, including at a newsroom meeting last week with Bullish CEO Tom Farley and CoinDesk CEO Sara Stratoberdha, and asked for the article to be restored with an editor’s note.”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.

Recent Posts

Western, formerly with WSJ, joins NY Times in Soeul

New York Times international editor Phil Pan sent out the following on Wednesday: We’re excited…

13 mins ago

NY Times names Karaian deputy biz editor

New York Times business editor Ellen Pollock sent out the following on Wednesday: I’m thrilled to announce…

23 mins ago

FT seeks a trade and climate correspondent

The Financial Times is looking for a correspondent to cover international trade, based in Washington,…

3 hours ago

Why hedge fund managers are hesitant to talk with reporters

Nell Mackenzie, a hedge fund reporter at Reuters, spoke on the "Hedge Fund Huddle" podcast…

7 hours ago

Fortune jumps to No. 8 biz news website in November

Fortune magazine jumped two spots to become the No. 8 business news website in November…

7 hours ago

Bloomberg seeks a breaking news editor in Tokyo

Bloomberg News is one of the biggest financial and business news organizations in the world.…

7 hours ago