Loren Steffy slams unethical journalists

Houston Chronicle business columnist Loren Steffy wrote the column this morning that probably a lot of columnists should be writing. His message: I am not for sale.

Steffy (Disclosure: I know Steffy. We worked together at Bloomberg. Last summer at SABEW in Seattle, we had a few beers.) was responding to the recent spate of revelations by columnists and reporters that they’ve accepted money to write with a particularly slant.

Steffy wrote: “If I hammer on Ken Lay or call for the release of Jamie Olis, you need to know it’s me talking and not some hidden paycheck. If I write about a company, you need to know I’m not in the stock, long or short.”

And he added: “I’d like to think we’re done with this, but I have a feeling we’re just getting started. People like Richard Scrushy and Jack Abramoff share ideas. They see what works.

“And they have one seemingly unlimited resource: ready cash.

“So I just wanted to make sure we’re clear about this. Their money is no good here. Even if we disagree, you need to know that. This is our space.”