Categories: OLD Media Moves

Silicon Valley Biz Journal editor recuses himself from Yahoo coverage

A story on the Silicon Valley Business Journal website Friday afternoon says that its editor has recused himself from the newspaper’s Yahoo coverage.

The editor, Scott Ard, sued Yahoo and CEO Marissa Mayer earlier this week alleging that the company had a system of eliminating male employees.

The story, written by Jon Wile and Craig Douglas, states, “Scott Ard, who is currently the editor-in-chief of the Silicon Valley Business Journal, was employed for three years as a senior director of Yahoo’s editorial division at its Sunnyvale corporate headquarters before he was terminated in January 2015, according to the lawsuit. Filed in federal district court in San Jose, Ard’s suit alleges his termination was without cause and unfairly the result of a companywide evaluation process motivated by gender discrimination and pressures to squeeze costs from its operating budget.

“Ard has been editor-in-chief since July 2015 and recused himself from the reporting and editing of this news story, as well as other news stories related to Yahoo in recent weeks.

“Yahoo did not respond to a call and email seeking comment today on the lawsuit. Yahoo spokeswoman Carolyn Clark told the San Jose Mercury News yesterday that Yahoo does not comment on pending litigation.”

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.