Is this the end of CoinDesk as we know it?

Former CoinDesk editorial staffer Michael McSweeney writes about the recent happenings at the cryptocurrency news site, where the owner ordered the removal of a story and fired three top editors.

McSweeney writes, “Yanking a rather inoffensive piece of event journalism at the apparent behest of a major crypto business interest is an affront to all the hard work done over CoinDesk’s 10-year existence.

“I’ve criticized some of CoinDesk’s decisions since my exit, but when the acquisition deal was announced last year, I genuinely hoped that Bullish would be the owner the world’s biggest crypto news platform needs: one respectful of its editorial independence and focused on the task of building, at long last, a sustainable business model through which its news, events, and other products could thrive.

“Crypto media needs more strong, analytical voices who help people understand what’s happening in the industry today, not less.

“Now I’m left wondering if this is the end of CoinDesk as we know it. And crypto, ever in need of critical minds and independent voices, would be poorer for it.”

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.