Aol ’s Techcrunch is in disarray . Last hebdomad Aol / Techcrunchannounced a venture monetary fund that would finance the variety of start - ups it cover . That made destiny of people cry out foul . Now Mike Arrington ’s out of a line . What does it all mean ?
https://gizmodo.com/aol-youve-got-conflicts-updated-5836737
After Aol chief operating officer Tim Armstrong initially said the company was cool with Mike keep on his current purpose , Aol ’s editorial tip ( and ostensibly Mike ’s boss ) Arianna Huffington stepped in with the shenanigans broom and said no style . self-contradictory stories have been flying back and forth ever since . Mike finallywrote a military post on TechCrunchdemanding that Aol either concede the company “ editorial independence ” ( presumably from Arianna ) or sell the company back to him . Either of which would basically have in mind Armstrong had to give over his bollock to Mike Arrington .
The latest news show is thatMike appears to have been give the sack altogether and is in severance negotiation . There ’s also a possibility that he will set in motion a vie web site , and take his writer with him . ( Hey , it ’s happened before . )
It ’s all highly dramatic ! But what does it mean for you ? We have answers .
How will this strike me ?
It wo n’t . That is , unless you are an Aol shareholder . It ’s not a good sign for Aol as a companionship under Armstrong ’s leaders . No matter how this escape from out , it suck in for Aol . There ’s no way it comes out of this look anything other than ill - managed .
What does this imply for the future of journalism ?
Nothing . The controversy revolved around Aol - Huffington Post - TechCrunch covering companies it also finances . Of course , Om Malik , of GigaOm , does the same thing . So does NBC , for that matter . All variety of spiritualist company invest in diligence that they also cross . But Mike hasa reputation for being a bullywho ( very publicly)trades access for reporting . That ’s why this thing blow up in his face .
https://gizmodo.com/i-call-this-blackmail-5814035
What about editorial independence ?
Again , nothing . This was n’t about that . That ’s a stalk horse cavalry Mike used to seek to get his way .
Well , does it say something about the state of the diligence ?
Yes it kind of does . There are no more rules . There is no consensus . The understanding the fund was controversial is that we ’re trying to shake things out . This isall a back and onward now .
What will happen to TechCrunch ?
MG Siegler , Sarah Lacy , Paul Carr and most of the rest of the TechCrunch crew are capital reporter . They ’ll be okay . So will Mike . He ’s racy , and powerful , and influential . People will still fete his fat As like it ’s made of money , which it really kind of is . Aol / HuffPo will uphold the brand . And in a year , you ’ll have forgotten all this bullshit because other than being a spectacle , it does n’t fucking matter .
Is there some form of moral here ?
Yes . Mike Arrington is an bastard . So is Arianna Huffington . This was a power conflict . She won , he lost . That ’s all .
[ Photo byRandy Stewart / blog.stewtopia.com ]
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