Magazine retracts articles with fake CEO quotes
The Diplomat magazine has retracted a Nov. 5 article that included quotes from a CEO where the interview was fabricated. A Diplomat article states, “The author presented themselves as a South Korean freelance journalist and claimed to have interviewed Newtype’s CEO. We now know that the journalist fabricated the interview and may not even be who […]
How the WSJ standard and ethics team works
The Wall Street Journal has posted a short video explaining how its standards and ethics editing team works. “I get a lot of complicated, investigative work across my desk,” said Elena Cherney, head of standards and ethics, in the video. “As standards editors, we need to know how credible the information is.” Standards and ethics […]
$6 million payment to fired Forbes editor for “services and guidance”
The research firm founder who paid Forbes editor in chief Randall Lane $6 million, which resulted in his firing, said the money was for “services and guidance,” reports Benjamin Mullin of The New York Times. Mullin reports, “Mr. Lane, the former chief content officer of Forbes, received the multimillion-dollar payment ‘in recognition of the services and guidance’ he provided […]
Forbes CEO sends second email about editor in chief firing
Forbes CEO Sherry Phillips sent the following to the staff on Friday in the wake of the firing of editor in chief Randall Lane: Team, Many of you have now read the reporting about the circumstances surrounding Randall Lane’s departure from Forbes. I recognize how unsettling it is to learn information of this nature through the media, particularly […]
Forbes fired top editor after discovering secret payment
The top editor of Forbes was fired last month after the company discovered that he had received a payment of about $6 million from the founder of a firm that does business with the magazine, reports Benjamin Mullin of The New York Times. Mullin reports, “Randall Lane, the magazine’s chief content officer, was paid by RJ Shook, […]
eBay to pay journalists $56 million in stalking case
eBay and three executives have agreed to pay two Massachusetts journalists $56 million to settle a stalking case, reports David Streitfeld of The New York Times. Streitfeld reports, “In the spring of 2019, eBay was under pressure from an activist hedge fund. A handful of Ms. Steiner’s articles, including one about a bar Mr. Wenig had built […]
Inman News threatened by real estate leader
Thomas Bohn of Inman News, a real estate news service, writes about how a real estate leader threatened the news organization. Bohn writes, “The article was an op-ed we had run the day before, a hard look at how one of the largest players in the industry is perceived by some. It found its mark. “What […]
Why business journalism doesn’t tell the truth
The Fine Print founder and publisher Karl Bode writes about the problem facing business journalism. Bode writes, “I’ve always been fascinated by the way corporate business journalism isn’t really journalism in any coherent sense of the word. As a telecom beat reporter I spent years watching major outlets write stories about U.S. internet access (or […]
Prolific financial journalists face questions over identity
Four prolific financial journalists who cover the world of cryptocurrency have ignored repeated requests to verify their identities, reports Rob Waugh of Press Gazette. Waugh reports, “Together, they have written over 1,000 articles for more than 30 different news outlets. “None of the many publications who have published their work has yet been able to verify them […]
Chicago stations sued over link to “Mr. Finance”
Three Chicago broadcasters have been accused of fraudulently lending their institutional credibility to a convicted mortgage-fraud felon running what state officials called a “Ponzi-like scheme,” reports Jon Asplund of Crain’s Chicago Business. Asplund reports, “The complaint says the media outlets went beyond running paid advertising for Ellington by producing ‘Mr. Finance’ segments in their own studios, with […]
