Huffington Post killed negative story pitch on Uber

The Huffington Post killed a story pitch about Uber and drowsy drivers earlier this month, shortly before editor in chief Arianna Huffington joined the taxi company’s board, reports Erik Wemple of The Washington Post.

Wemple writes, “On April 6, reporter Sarah Digiulio sent a note to some colleagues apprising them of this story in the New York Times: ‘Uber Driver Napped as His Passenger Led Highway Chase, Policy Say.’

“An editor replied: ‘Thanks, Sarah. Let’s hold on this one please as we’re partnering with Uber on our drowsy driving campaign.’ That editor is Gregory Beyer, according to two Huffington Post sources and confirmed by spokeswoman Lena Auerbuch. Beyer is listed on the Huffington Post masthead as executive features editor. According to his LinkedIn profile, he formerly served as ‘senior editor to Arianna Huffington,’ and a newsroom source says he’s still a top lieutenant of the boss.

“The day before Digiulio’s note, Huffington and Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick jointly published a piece on Huffington Post titled ‘A Wake-Up Call to End Drowsy Driving.’ The piece outlined a partnership among the Huffington Post, Uber and Toyota ‘to raise awareness of the issue and help save lives.’ For this particular venture, Huffington pledged to do some miles. ‘If you’re interested in a sleep tutorial, order a ride with Uber and you could win a chance to have Arianna ride along with you,’ noted the piece.”

Read more here. Huffington has said that she will not be involved in the news site’s coverage of Uber.