Internal review backs Business Insider story

Reports of plagiarism against the academic Neri Oxman, wife of billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, are “accurate and well documented,” reports Sam Jones of The Financial Times.

Jones reports, “In a memorandum sent to Business Insider reporters on Sunday, a copy of which was seen by the Financial Times, chief executive Barbara Peng said an internal review into the financial news website’s reporting this month — which led to a war of words on social media between Ackman and the platform — had found it to be rigorous and fair.

“‘We are a journalism organisation with high standards and a commitment to truth and fairness,’ wrote Peng. ‘There was no unfair bias or personal, political, and/or religious motivation in the pursuit of the stories.’

“Axel Springer, the German media conglomerate that owns Business Insider, confirmed the memo was accurate.

“It said: ‘We note that Business Insider’s chief executive has published a statement on the matter. Axel Springer stands by Business Insider and its newsroom.'”

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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.