When Semafor hired a climate reporter, and sold Chevron ads
Paul Farhi of The Washington Post examines the issues behind news startup Semafor’s decision to hire noted journalist Bill Spindle to cover climate and then sell advertising to Chevron, which resulted in Spindle’s departure. Farhi writes, “Semafor is reluctant to address the specifics of Spindle’s employment but said his dismissal had nothing to do with its advertising partnerships. […]
SABEW to Musk: Restore suspended tech reporter accounts
The following statement was issued Friday by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing: The Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing condemns the actions of Twitter and owner Elon Musk for arbitrarily shutting down the accounts of a number of journalists, including those from SABEW member organizations. Twitter, like any media company, serves […]
Twitter suspends accounts of biz reporters covering Musk
Twitter has suspended the accounts of several prominent reporters who cover Elon Musk, report Mitchell Clark and Alex Heath of The Verge. Clark and Heath report that the reporters include “Ryan Mac of The New York Times, CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan, The Washington Post’s Drew Harwell, The Intercept’s Micha Lee, Mashable’s Matt Binder, Aaron Rupar, and Tony Webster. “The reporters who have been banned […]
The need for more diversity among biz reporters
Dominic-Madori Davis, a senior reporter at TechCrunch, writes about the need for more diversity in tech and business journalism for Nieman Lab. Davis writes, “Next year, I want to see the hiring and retention of diverse staff reporters — and I don’t mean just white women — who are then given platforms to not only […]
Crypto site The Block has been FTX’s funded by Bankman-Fried
The Block, which covers crypto news, has been secretly funded for over a year with money funneled to The Block’s CEO from the disgraced Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency trading firm, reports Sara Fischer of Axios. Fischer reports, “The payments, which employees of The Block were previously unaware of, could undermine the news company’s credibility and cast doubt […]
Semafor climate and energy editor Spindle departs, cites Chevron concerns
Semafor climate and energy editor Bill Spindle has left the news startup due to concerns about Chevron advertising around his content, reports Loree Seitz of The Wrap. Seitz reports, “‘I’m not saying they or Chevron improperly influenced the climate coverage. I could ‘call it as I saw it,” Spindle posted on Twitter. ‘What concerned me was my belief that […]
Judge rules Starbucks can get messages between union group and reporters
A federal judge has ordered the organization behind a unionization drive at Starbucks stores in western New York to turn over all of its messages with journalists, reports Paul Farhi of The Washington Post. Farhi writes, “The order would likely affect thousands of messages between organizers and a large swath of news organizations that have covered the […]
CNBC, Bloomberg run headlines of Twitter layoffs based on fake workers
CNBC and Bloomberg ran headlines Friday saying that laid-off Twitter employees were leaving the building carrying boxes based on photos of people carrying boxes that were not company workers, reports Alex Heath of The Verge. Heath writes, “In videos circulating on Twitter Friday morning, two men carrying boxes are seen standing near the entrance to Twitter’s San Francisco building, […]
The problem with misleading readers about climate change
Emily Atkin of Heated takes news site Semafor to task for having Chevron sponsor its energy newsletter. Atkin writes, “If I sound pissed today, it’s because I am. I am so tired of our nation’s most powerful and reputable media outlets refusing to engage with legitimate journalistic questions about the harmful impact of their fossil fuel […]
Crain’s Chicago ends political endorsements
Jim Kirk, the publisher and executive editor of Crain’s Chicago Business, writes about why the publication is ending political endorsements. Kirk writes, “We no longer see value, however, in drawing a conclusion on behalf of our readers about who best should lead the city and the state from City Hall, from the Governor’s Mansion or […]
