Categories: OLD Media Moves

If only we were all this lucky

Katherine Eban of Conde Nast Portfolio writes that New York Times business reporter Alex Berenson had a scoop literally land in his e-mail inbox when an attorney working for Eli Lilly & Co. sent him confidential information about a settlement instead of to another attorney — who happens to have the same last name.

Eban wrote, “So when the Times‘ Berenson began calling around for comment, and seemed to possess remarkably detailed inside information about the negotiations, Lilly executives were certain the source of the leak was the government.   
 
“As it turned out, one of Eli Lilly’s lawyers at Pepper Hamilton in Philadelphia wanted to email Sidley Austin’s Berenson, about the negotiations. But apparently, the name that popped up from her email correspondents was the wrong Berenson.
 
“Alex Berenson logged on to find an internal ‘very comprehensive document’ about the negotiations, the consultant said, and on January 30, Berenson’s article, “Lilly in Settlement Talks With U.S.” appeared on the Times‘ website. A similar article followed the next day on the front page of the New York Times.”

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.

Recent Posts

Dynamo hires former Business Insider executive editor Harrington

Former Business Insider executive editor Rebecca Harrington has been hired by Dynamo to be its…

18 hours ago

Bloomberg TV hires Kerubo as desk producer

Bloomberg Television has hired Brenda Kerubo as a desk producer in London. She will be covering Europe's…

18 hours ago

Jittery CNBC staff reassured by new boss

In a meeting at CNBC headquarters Thursday afternoon, incoming boss Mark Lazarus presented a bullish…

19 hours ago

Making business news accessible to a wider audience

Ritika Gupta, the BBC's North American business correspondent, was interviewed by Global Woman magazine about…

19 hours ago

Rest of World hires Lo as China reporter

Rest of World has hired Kinling Lo as a China reporter. Lo was previously a…

19 hours ago

Bloomberg rises to No. 7 biz news website

Bloomberg News saw strong unique visitor growth to its website in October, passing Fox Business…

20 hours ago