7 ms·

Arrington now officially out

119 points by hunterowens 15y ago

cienrak 15y ago
This is good news. Erick is a great reporter without all the conflicts of Arrington.
epenn 15y ago
Erick Schonfeld has been named the editor of TechCrunch. TechCrunch will be expanding its editorial leadership in the coming months. This makes me somewhat skeptical about how much autonomy Erick will be given in the long run. Unless they mean the expanded editorial leadership would ultimately answer to him.
JohnTHaller 15y ago
Arrington launches a ThisIsMyNext-style competing blog in 3, 2, ...
- cienrak 15y ago
  Disagree. Arrington will have a powerful personal blog. But now he gets to have his cake and eat it to. He leaks intel to his former staffers at TC to cover. He writes occasionally as an unpaid blogger. And he runs Crunchfund without any conflicts.
jemfinch 15y ago
Can someone summarize the controversy for me? As I understand it, Arrington wanted to head a new VC while at the same continuing to serve as head of TechCrunch, the major journalistic outlet in the startup field. AOL raised questions about his journalistic integrity, and made him choose between being a VC and being a journalist, and he gave them an ultimatum, they called his bluff, and he chose VC. Did I miss a detail or nuance that makes this anything other than AOL holding up traditional journalistic virtues?
- Lewisham 15y ago
  All the rumors say that Arrington and Ariana Huffington (head of AOL's editorial) were are loggerheads as soon as Huffington joined the company. Two people that liked each other and wanted to work together professionally could probably have worked it out, but there was no way either of these two would have managed it.
- ig1 15y ago
  Arrington voluntarily posted on TC announcing he was stepping down as Editor of TC but remaining on as a writer while he went to start his new fund. His new fund is primarily funded by AOL and he has the full support of the AOL CEO. Arianna who's responsible for AOL's other news outlets then had her staff tell the media that Arrington was fired and would have no role at Techcrunch. This seems to have been done without consulting the AOL executive committee who backed Arrington. Techcrunch when they were acquired by AOL were promised full editorial independence, hence they were AOL's only news blog outlet not to be controlled by Arianna. Arianna then attempted to make a power grab by publicly announcing that Techcrunch fell under her control and she was going to appoint the new editor. Arrington complained that this grossly violated the editorial independence promised by AOL, and that Techcrunch should be able to appoint it's own editor. Many of TC's writers are unhappy with this violation and feel without independence they won't be able to retain the tone and spirit of TC (which is often very abrasive). At least one of their writers (Paul Carr) has publicly stated that he would resign unless Arrington got to appoint the next editor . Even in this article note how the Techcrunch writer puts "Deciding" in quotation marks to indicate that Arrington was pushed. The final line of the press release "TechCrunch will be expanding its editorial leadership in the coming months." seems to imply that Arianna has won the power battle within AOL. The line saying Erick Schonfeld has been named editor is highly misleading, Erick's been co-editor of TC since 2007, it adds nothing new to the situation.
  - mikeryan 15y ago
    Small note, this doesn't seem to be simply an unsolicited power grab on Arianna Huffington's part. From the Press Release announcing the AOL Acquisition of Huffpo: Arianna Huffington To Lead Newly Formed The Huffington Post Media Group Which Will Integrate All Huffington Post and AOL Content, Including News, Tech, Women, Local, Multicultural, Entertainment, Video, Community, and More It seems like her role as Editor In Chief of all AOL content was part of the deal she made, since this occurred after the Techcruch deal was done Arrington likely had little recourse at that point. (Huffpo was acquired after TC, any promises made to TC about editorial independence was prior to the new editorial leadership). "Promises" made when big companies buy little ones are always pretty worthless once the rubber really hits the road.
hunterowens 15y ago
Here is Arrington's announcement at Disrupt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFARI6oBv8c http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFARI6oBv8c
MattLaroche 15y ago
I can remember the post that finally pushed me to unsubscribe from TechCrunch: http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/20/why-we-often-blindside-companies/ http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/20/why-we-often-blindside-comp.... It's by Michael Arrington, and it's one step short of a hatchet job on Caterina Fake. It's not the only dirty laundry airing I've seen on TechCrunch, it's just the most fetid. I liked TechCrunch when it primarily carried the underdog and captured the optimism and energy of the valley. Whenever Michael Arrington used it as a soapbox to air dirty laundry, it made me uncomfortable. To the future leaders of TechCrunch: Less ValleyWag, more GigaOM.
- Jun8 15y ago
  So, why did she leave Hunch? Anyone care to fill in? Is this another example of the timeless adage "never start a company with your sig other"?
  - philwelch 15y ago
    I don't think that's a "timeless adage". Given the long history of the "mom and pop store" and the "family business" most people within the past 50 years would consider that adage absurd.
    - Jun8 15y ago
      That was a tongue in cheek comment, maybe not so explicit; however, I still think there's quite a bit of truth in it. The mom and pop store example isn't quite relevant because (i) generally "mom" marries into the business, i.e. it was established before she came in, she just helps and (ii) well, there's a reason they are called mom and pop, they are married (when expectations about marriage were a little different). That's why you see so few such stores established by twenty somethings today.
      - philwelch 15y ago
        You see few businesses in general established by twentysomethings. Silicon Valley is and always has been the exception, not the norm. Although yes, generally one gets married before starting business ventures with one's partner. But that's still a very, very common setup.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
kloncks 15y ago
Arrington leaving will create a void in technology news-covering. Say what you want, but he's had terrific scoops, amazing interviews, and elevated the status of startups in the press. But what do you expect from Arianna and AOL? He'll have a pretty personal personal blog - something like AVC - and I look forward to him bringing his expertise and style to investing. Good times.
- terrenceNA 15y ago
  Agreed. Like him or hate him, Arrington is the reason we all read Techcrunch. If he started his own site, we'd all read that instead in an instant. Journalism needs guys like this who cause waves, it's what seperates mediocre journalism from real talent. And Arrington certainly had a way of making enemies. I'm hoping he starts his own site soon.
  - tomkarlo 15y ago
    "Journalism needs guys like this who cause waves, it's what seperates mediocre journalism from real talent." No, it's not. Good investigation and objective reporting is what the industry needs. Link-baiting and sensationalism are generally bad for constructive communication.
- brown9-2 15y ago
  I don't think it's fair to blame the other parties for this. The void was in the making as soon as Arrington decided he should head a VC fund.
  - slantyyz 15y ago
    That's funny, I thought the void was in the making as soon as Arrington & co. decided to sell TechCrunch. It's not like we all didn't see this happening 11 months ago.
- riverlaw 15y ago
  What do I expect from Arianna and AOL. Well if we look take engadget as an example... I expect to change my book mark from that crapfest soon.
jarek 15y ago
pageview++;
- troymc 15y ago
  Error: Buffer overflow
  - philwelch 15y ago
    Pageview is a pointer?
    - chico_dusty 15y ago
      C++ is a hell of a language.
    - troymc 15y ago
      It's probably an integer :D
      - philwelch 15y ago
        Unless pageview is a pointer or an array index, or a value used to calculate a pointer or array index, there's no way incrementing it can lead to a buffer overflow. Maybe an integer overflow.
ig1 15y ago
One thing all the coverage of this has missed is that Arrington's leaving doesn't really fix this conflict of interest. Two critical points: 1) Crunchfund is funded by AOL. 2) Techcrunch is owned by AOL. Yes Arrington being in-charge of both was a conflict of interest, but the fact is that even after Arrington's resignation/firing, AOL is still in charge of both.
ricw 15y ago
Kind of predictable. There is no way he could be a "serious startup journalist" while working as a VC. While at first AOL seemed to be the "big evil corp.", it now seems to me that this is a simple journalistic principle that should be held and valued highly. As such, I applaud AOL to sticking to this principle. It's simply the right decision. And if Arrington did a good job and laid all the groundwork (and AOL doesn't mess up), techcrunch will keep on going as it has..
- greyman 15y ago
  But Michael already has several investments in various companies, so what is the principal difference now? He kind of was a VC already, wasn't he? I am also not sure if TC will be the same without Michael. I personally don't think so, but we'll see.
  - eli 15y ago
    It was wrong before too. It got even more wrong with the new fund, though.
varunsrin 15y ago
Am I one of the few who thinks that Arrington & TechCrunch are a problem in the startup world today? The reason TC gets the scoops is in part because they strong-arm startups by not writing about them if they don't provide an exclusive. Now, granted they get a lot of scoops about major companies which is quite impressive - but honestly, that's not very insightful, just juicy bits of info that we like to read about. Most startups that TC 'scoops' tend to be "social mobile local" startups that generate buzz - there are a lot of successful startups in decidedly non-sexy areas that are quite profitable, which never get covered because they don't get the same page views that say, Color's $40 million investment does. I think Arrington & TC actively hurt the startup community by providing a narrow world-view. Sites like GigaOM & Ars Technica provide thoughtful, indepth analysis of the technology scene , while TechCrunch continues to post opinionated, linkbait pieces. Am I the only one who feels that TechCrunch is the startup world's Jersey Shore? Just because you get a lot of views doesn't mean that your content is valuable or useful in any way.
- JonnieCache 15y ago
  >Am I the only one who feels that TechCrunch is the startup world's Jersey Shore? I don't think it's ever truly been taken seriously by hackers, except in a pragmatic sense.
  - loganfrederick 15y ago
    Not sure if I entirely agree. Before one of it's earlier Wordpress redesigns (around 2007), TechCrunch did a solid job on providing information on internet/tech startups before most others were looking at the space. Plenty of people doing web development in 2005-2007 were reading TechCrunch to find interesting companies and web development news.
- Nelson69 15y ago
  No, you're not. I don't know if it's good or bad or if that generality can be made. It sure can be fun to read at times.
- wh-uws 15y ago
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
adrianscott 15y ago
Oh my Gaahd! I like totally can't wait to buy Arrington's next startup... the transition will be so seamless... he'll help preserve and expand value during the transition and afterwards... well, on second thought, maybe not...

119 points by hunterowens 15y ago

This is good news. Erick is a great reporter without all the conflicts of Arrington.

epenn 15y ago

Erick Schonfeld has been named the editor of TechCrunch. TechCrunch will be expanding its editorial leadership in the coming months. This makes me somewhat skeptical about how much autonomy Erick will be given in the long run. Unless they mean the expanded editorial leadership would ultimately answer to him.

JohnTHaller 15y ago

Arrington launches a ThisIsMyNext-style competing blog in 3, 2, ...

cienrak 15y ago
Disagree. Arrington will have a powerful personal blog. But now he gets to have his cake and eat it to. He leaks intel to his former staffers at TC to cover. He writes occasionally as an unpaid blogger. And he runs Crunchfund without any conflicts.

jemfinch 15y ago

Can someone summarize the controversy for me? As I understand it, Arrington wanted to head a new VC while at the same continuing to serve as head of TechCrunch, the major journalistic outlet in the startup field. AOL raised questions about his journalistic integrity, and made him choose between being a VC and being a journalist, and he gave them an ultimatum, they called his bluff, and he chose VC. Did I miss a detail or nuance that makes this anything other than AOL holding up traditional journalistic virtues?

Lewisham 15y ago
All the rumors say that Arrington and Ariana Huffington (head of AOL's editorial) were are loggerheads as soon as Huffington joined the company. Two people that liked each other and wanted to work together professionally could probably have worked it out, but there was no way either of these two would have managed it.
ig1 15y ago
Arrington voluntarily posted on TC announcing he was stepping down as Editor of TC but remaining on as a writer while he went to start his new fund. His new fund is primarily funded by AOL and he has the full support of the AOL CEO. Arianna who's responsible for AOL's other news outlets then had her staff tell the media that Arrington was fired and would have no role at Techcrunch. This seems to have been done without consulting the AOL executive committee who backed Arrington. Techcrunch when they were acquired by AOL were promised full editorial independence, hence they were AOL's only news blog outlet not to be controlled by Arianna. Arianna then attempted to make a power grab by publicly announcing that Techcrunch fell under her control and she was going to appoint the new editor. Arrington complained that this grossly violated the editorial independence promised by AOL, and that Techcrunch should be able to appoint it's own editor. Many of TC's writers are unhappy with this violation and feel without independence they won't be able to retain the tone and spirit of TC (which is often very abrasive). At least one of their writers (Paul Carr) has publicly stated that he would resign unless Arrington got to appoint the next editor . Even in this article note how the Techcrunch writer puts "Deciding" in quotation marks to indicate that Arrington was pushed. The final line of the press release "TechCrunch will be expanding its editorial leadership in the coming months." seems to imply that Arianna has won the power battle within AOL. The line saying Erick Schonfeld has been named editor is highly misleading, Erick's been co-editor of TC since 2007, it adds nothing new to the situation.
- mikeryan 15y ago
  Small note, this doesn't seem to be simply an unsolicited power grab on Arianna Huffington's part. From the Press Release announcing the AOL Acquisition of Huffpo: Arianna Huffington To Lead Newly Formed The Huffington Post Media Group Which Will Integrate All Huffington Post and AOL Content, Including News, Tech, Women, Local, Multicultural, Entertainment, Video, Community, and More It seems like her role as Editor In Chief of all AOL content was part of the deal she made, since this occurred after the Techcruch deal was done Arrington likely had little recourse at that point. (Huffpo was acquired after TC, any promises made to TC about editorial independence was prior to the new editorial leadership). "Promises" made when big companies buy little ones are always pretty worthless once the rubber really hits the road.

hunterowens 15y ago

Here is Arrington's announcement at Disrupt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFARI6oBv8c http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFARI6oBv8c

MattLaroche 15y ago

I can remember the post that finally pushed me to unsubscribe from TechCrunch: http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/20/why-we-often-blindside-companies/ http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/20/why-we-often-blindside-comp.... It's by Michael Arrington, and it's one step short of a hatchet job on Caterina Fake. It's not the only dirty laundry airing I've seen on TechCrunch, it's just the most fetid. I liked TechCrunch when it primarily carried the underdog and captured the optimism and energy of the valley. Whenever Michael Arrington used it as a soapbox to air dirty laundry, it made me uncomfortable. To the future leaders of TechCrunch: Less ValleyWag, more GigaOM.

Jun8 15y ago
So, why did she leave Hunch? Anyone care to fill in? Is this another example of the timeless adage "never start a company with your sig other"?
- philwelch 15y ago
  I don't think that's a "timeless adage". Given the long history of the "mom and pop store" and the "family business" most people within the past 50 years would consider that adage absurd.
  - Jun8 15y ago
    That was a tongue in cheek comment, maybe not so explicit; however, I still think there's quite a bit of truth in it. The mom and pop store example isn't quite relevant because (i) generally "mom" marries into the business, i.e. it was established before she came in, she just helps and (ii) well, there's a reason they are called mom and pop, they are married (when expectations about marriage were a little different). That's why you see so few such stores established by twenty somethings today.
    - philwelch 15y ago
      You see few businesses in general established by twentysomethings. Silicon Valley is and always has been the exception, not the norm. Although yes, generally one gets married before starting business ventures with one's partner. But that's still a very, very common setup.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

kloncks 15y ago

Arrington leaving will create a void in technology news-covering. Say what you want, but he's had terrific scoops, amazing interviews, and elevated the status of startups in the press. But what do you expect from Arianna and AOL? He'll have a pretty personal personal blog - something like AVC - and I look forward to him bringing his expertise and style to investing. Good times.

terrenceNA 15y ago
Agreed. Like him or hate him, Arrington is the reason we all read Techcrunch. If he started his own site, we'd all read that instead in an instant. Journalism needs guys like this who cause waves, it's what seperates mediocre journalism from real talent. And Arrington certainly had a way of making enemies. I'm hoping he starts his own site soon.
- tomkarlo 15y ago
  "Journalism needs guys like this who cause waves, it's what seperates mediocre journalism from real talent." No, it's not. Good investigation and objective reporting is what the industry needs. Link-baiting and sensationalism are generally bad for constructive communication.
brown9-2 15y ago
I don't think it's fair to blame the other parties for this. The void was in the making as soon as Arrington decided he should head a VC fund.
- slantyyz 15y ago
  That's funny, I thought the void was in the making as soon as Arrington & co. decided to sell TechCrunch. It's not like we all didn't see this happening 11 months ago.
riverlaw 15y ago
What do I expect from Arianna and AOL. Well if we look take engadget as an example... I expect to change my book mark from that crapfest soon.

jarek 15y ago

pageview++;

troymc 15y ago
Error: Buffer overflow
- philwelch 15y ago
  Pageview is a pointer?
  - chico_dusty 15y ago
    C++ is a hell of a language.
  - troymc 15y ago
    It's probably an integer :D
    - philwelch 15y ago
      Unless pageview is a pointer or an array index, or a value used to calculate a pointer or array index, there's no way incrementing it can lead to a buffer overflow. Maybe an integer overflow.

ig1 15y ago

One thing all the coverage of this has missed is that Arrington's leaving doesn't really fix this conflict of interest. Two critical points: 1) Crunchfund is funded by AOL. 2) Techcrunch is owned by AOL. Yes Arrington being in-charge of both was a conflict of interest, but the fact is that even after Arrington's resignation/firing, AOL is still in charge of both.

ricw 15y ago

Kind of predictable. There is no way he could be a "serious startup journalist" while working as a VC. While at first AOL seemed to be the "big evil corp.", it now seems to me that this is a simple journalistic principle that should be held and valued highly. As such, I applaud AOL to sticking to this principle. It's simply the right decision. And if Arrington did a good job and laid all the groundwork (and AOL doesn't mess up), techcrunch will keep on going as it has..

greyman 15y ago
But Michael already has several investments in various companies, so what is the principal difference now? He kind of was a VC already, wasn't he? I am also not sure if TC will be the same without Michael. I personally don't think so, but we'll see.
- eli 15y ago
  It was wrong before too. It got even more wrong with the new fund, though.

varunsrin 15y ago

Am I one of the few who thinks that Arrington & TechCrunch are a problem in the startup world today? The reason TC gets the scoops is in part because they strong-arm startups by not writing about them if they don't provide an exclusive. Now, granted they get a lot of scoops about major companies which is quite impressive - but honestly, that's not very insightful, just juicy bits of info that we like to read about. Most startups that TC 'scoops' tend to be "social mobile local" startups that generate buzz - there are a lot of successful startups in decidedly non-sexy areas that are quite profitable, which never get covered because they don't get the same page views that say, Color's $40 million investment does. I think Arrington & TC actively hurt the startup community by providing a narrow world-view. Sites like GigaOM & Ars Technica provide thoughtful, indepth analysis of the technology scene , while TechCrunch continues to post opinionated, linkbait pieces. Am I the only one who feels that TechCrunch is the startup world's Jersey Shore? Just because you get a lot of views doesn't mean that your content is valuable or useful in any way.

JonnieCache 15y ago
>Am I the only one who feels that TechCrunch is the startup world's Jersey Shore? I don't think it's ever truly been taken seriously by hackers, except in a pragmatic sense.
- loganfrederick 15y ago
  Not sure if I entirely agree. Before one of it's earlier Wordpress redesigns (around 2007), TechCrunch did a solid job on providing information on internet/tech startups before most others were looking at the space. Plenty of people doing web development in 2005-2007 were reading TechCrunch to find interesting companies and web development news.
Nelson69 15y ago
No, you're not. I don't know if it's good or bad or if that generality can be made. It sure can be fun to read at times.
wh-uws 15y ago

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

adrianscott 15y ago

Oh my Gaahd! I like totally can't wait to buy Arrington's next startup... the transition will be so seamless... he'll help preserve and expand value during the transition and afterwards... well, on second thought, maybe not...