Categories: OLD Media Moves

Chamber of Commerce ends contract after WSJ investigation

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reviewed cell phone records and ended a contract with a top consultant after the Wall Street Journal detailed the pricey perks enjoyed by chief executive Tom Donohue, reports Daniel Lippman of Politico.

Lipman reports, “The lobby group canceled Collamore’s contract after checking his cell phone records and determining that he had spoken to a Wall Street Journal reporter, according to the sources, who were briefed on the situation. The contract had been due to expire at the end of the year.

“One of the people said that during a phone call with Chamber lawyers about his contract termination, Collamore was not formally accused of leaking Donohue’s calendar, which was referenced in the Journal stories, to the newspaper. He told POLITICO that he did not do so.

“‘I’m not interested in commenting on this story, but any characterization suggesting I would share confidential information is patently false,’ Collamore said in a written statement.”

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.