Tech reporters balance between booster and critic

Leslie Kaufman of the New York Times examines the world of Silicon Valley technology journalism in the wake of a disclosure that Uber wanted to investigate the personal life of tech reporter Sarah Lacy of Pando Daily because she wrote a critical story about the company.

Kaufman writes, “The vitriolic podcast — and the reaction to the Uber executive’s comments — opened a window into the competitive and sometimes incestuous group of publications that have grown up to cover Silicon Valley. An expanding list of publications, including the Gawker Media website Valleywag, the AOL-owned site TechCrunch, Vox Media’s outlet The Verge, The Information, CNET and ReCode, are jockeying for scoops and access to the tech industry’s hottest companies and executives.

“‘They have all carved their own niche, but there is also a lot of overlap,’ said Matthew Panzarino, co-editor of TechCrunch. ‘It is a tight-knit community, and a lot of reporters are reporting the same thing.’

“To further complicate matters, many of these publications make a significant portion of their revenue from live events and conferences that feature appearances by the big-name tech executives they cover. Some publications also rely on investments from venture capital firms that have stakes in the start-ups they cover.

“Pando, for example, which was started in 2012, has received nearly $4 million in funding from multiple venture firms, according to Ms. Lacy. One of those firms, Andreessen Horowitz, also has a stake in Lyft, Uber’s main competitor. Other Pando backers, like First Round Capital, have invested in Uber.

“Ms. Lacy says her challenge in balancing competing interests was no different from that of reporters who cover Washington or Hollywood. ‘For journalists, there has always been a slippery slope between being an insider and getting really good material and being too close to your sources,’ she said.”

Read more here.