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TechCrunch Intern Admits To Asking For Compensation For Writing Posts

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Re: TechCrunch Intern Admits To Asking For Compensation For Writing Posts

#61

Post by jacquesm »

staunch wrote: post #28
patio11 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exclusivity is apparently worth an embargo. http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/09/23/the-last-has-fallen-the... As the old saying goes, after that we're just dickering about the price.

You're claiming it's worth in the neighborhood of $500. If it's actually only worth $5 that's a big difference. No reasonable person believes TC can be bought for $5. My guess is that exclusivity is more of an ego thing than anything else. Competitive people like to win, and in journalism that means scooping the competition. TC might make just as much money, with or without an exclusive (give or take a few dollars).…

Over time the cumulative effect is worth well in excess of $500.

TC lives by the 'scoop', remember the time when they posted twitters internal documents only because they said they were afraid someone else might beat them to it ?

Ethics and TechCrunch have very little to do with each other.

Re: TechCrunch Intern Admits To Asking For Compensation For Writing Posts

#62

Post by jacquesm »

staunch wrote: post #8

I was never this dumb about stuff like this, but I was just as dumb about other stuff. I'd give him a second chance.

I'd fire his sorry ass and make him cough up the details about each and every story he's written in the past, and I would have yanked those where there was interference but I would have left the rest because those companies already written about by this character do not need to be punished if they were in the clear.

Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

And I'd make very sure that every other member of the reporting staff realizes their ass is grass in case of a repetition.

If it would have been once that would be one thing, but twice and possibly more is definitely grounds for termination.

The only thing that put a stop to this is that Arrington was approached directly by a person that he trusts, and the threat of someone scooping TC on their sloppy ethics (as if that's news).

Re: TechCrunch Intern Admits To Asking For Compensation For Writing Posts

#63

Post by wheels »

jacquesm wrote: post #47

Michael, your apology is meaningless without a very clear statement that you have learned something too, and that is not evident from your post. If TC has posted guidelines on how its editors should behave and this person transgressed those guidelines then that's one thing. But if TC does NOT have posted guidelines it would be comforting to know that those will be put in place after this incident, and that you will m…

Transcribing common sense into policy is not the way to get more common sense.

Re: TechCrunch Intern Admits To Asking For Compensation For Writing Posts

#64

Post by jacquesm »

wheels wrote: post #63
jacquesm wrote: post #47

Michael, your apology is meaningless without a very clear statement that you have learned something too, and that is not evident from your post. If TC has posted guidelines on how its editors should behave and this person transgressed those guidelines then that's one thing. But if TC does NOT have posted guidelines it would be comforting to know that those will be put in place after this incident, and that you will m…

Transcribing common sense into policy is not the way to get more common sense.

Leaving common sense to the judgment of 17 year olds is a great way to find out that not everybody has common sense.

You do it for their protection too.

Re: TechCrunch Intern Admits To Asking For Compensation For Writing Posts

#65

Post by [deleted] »

jacquesm wrote: post #62
staunch wrote: post #8

I was never this dumb about stuff like this, but I was just as dumb about other stuff. I'd give him a second chance.

I'd fire his sorry ass and make him cough up the details about each and every story he's written in the past, and I would have yanked those where there was interference but I would have left the rest because those companies already written about by this character do not need to be punished if they were in the clear. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. And I'd make very sure that every other member of the rep…

[deleted]

Re: TechCrunch Intern Admits To Asking For Compensation For Writing Posts

#66

Post by wheels »

jacquesm wrote: post #64
wheels wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Transcribing common sense into policy is not the way to get more common sense.

Leaving common sense to the judgment of 17 year olds is a great way to find out that not everybody has common sense. You do it for their protection too.

If you're old enough to be writing professional articles at a major news source, you're old enough to know that asking for goodies in exchange for articles is not ok. I can't imagine that he was confused on whether or not this was acceptable; he just made a bad choice and got caught.

The typical errors of young-adulthood are not those of moral incompetence, but simple bad judgement.

Re: TechCrunch Intern Admits To Asking For Compensation For Writing Posts

#67

Post by herdrick »

jasonwilk wrote: post #56
whalesalad wrote: post #32

I'm pretty sure the intern was Daniel Brusilovsky... he tweeted about "writing the hardest email he's ever had to write" and all his posts are 404'ing on TC. The tweet of his: http://twitter.com/danielbru/status/8523812779

it was him

Guys, don't. This isn't an adult you're talking about.

Re: TechCrunch Intern Admits To Asking For Compensation For Writing Posts

#68

Post by dannyr »

pavs wrote: post #57
dannyr wrote: post #49

I know he must be protected in some way because he's not of legal age but I do not agree with deleting all his posts. The writer has written several blog posts about milestones of important startups. I feel like I'm losing a sense of history here (though we can still find it on other blogs, google cache, etc). Here are some of his articles that do not exists anymore: http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/12/23/twitter-acqui…

You feel like you are loosing a sense of history? Are you serious? Is TC your ONLY news source?

Despite it's notoriety and admit it or not, Techcrunch is still the most influential tech blog since the start of the Web 2.0 era up to now.

Re: TechCrunch Intern Admits To Asking For Compensation For Writing Posts

#69

Post by herdrick »

jacquesm wrote: post #26
plinkplonk wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"You're making it sound like it's some sort of minor slip-up that happened to get publicized." I think his point was (EDIT: I am just clarifying what I think his point was, not endorsing it) not that it was a "minor slipup" but that the person who committed this is a kid and not an adult (17 is a bit borderline but still pretty young)and he is asking for some compassion and discretion. At least that is how I read it.…

There are two sides to this story. Let me ask this question, because it seems it needs asking: 1) has anybody here ever been approached by other 'writers' who will do a write-up in exchange for goodies ? 2) has anybody here been approached by writers to post links under their HN username ? The second has definitely happened to me, the first was so oblique that it might be my misunderstanding. But I'm fairly surprised…

*... has anybody here been approached by writers to post links under their HN username ? [This] has definitely happened to me..."

Really? That's awful. Ha - I've been making comments around saying that people shouldn't be outing the intern. But now I'm dying to ask you who it was. Maybe if the person's real identity can't be guessed from the username...? Jeez, I don't know. This sucks; I'm going to bed. Figure out the ethics yourself. ;)

Re: TechCrunch Intern Admits To Asking For Compensation For Writing Posts

#70

Post by zaidf »

Stupider(read: more damaging) things are done by 17 year old kids everyday. Heck, I can't even share mine and at the time it happend I just wanted to lock myself in a room. But it taught me a lesson that I pretty much apply a few times everyday.

When the dust settles, pick yourself up and tell yourself "I'll never be that stupid again". It's been a few yrs but I still tell myself that and it usually does wonders in knocking some sense into yourself.

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