TechCrunch - Lessons in Economics and Ethics Part II

In a post earlier today we noted that the problem with a blog like TechCrunch is that its Economics will conflict with Ethics, most specifically the Ethics* of being part of of a large corporate - "Fast and Loose" is great for a small independent organ, not so good for a slow and tightly run large media empire. When you are a small organ you can both write about, and invest in, the same companies. You can't as part of a large corporate media empire. Michael Arrington, TechCrunch founder, has pretty much laid this dilemma out in a post on TechCrunch in what looks a lot like an ultimatum to his acquirers:

We’ve proposed two options to AOL.

1. Reaffirmation of the editorial independence promised at the time of acquisition. Given the current circumstances, that means autonomy from Huffington Post, unfettered editorial independence and a blanket right to editorial self determination. To put it simply, TechCrunch would stay with Aol but would be independent of the Huffington Post.

or

2. Sell TechCrunch back to the original shareholders.

If Aol cannot accept either of these options, and no other creative solution can be found, I cannot be a part of TechCrunch going forward.

AOL are unlikely to be able to do (1), for 2 main reasons:

- They are a large corporate and a great, rich lawsuit/hate campaign target for any pressure group they upset, so allowing their Tech organ to effectively look like a DotCom style market analysis business for it's Editor's investment fund is a PR disaster and maybe a legal one. Remember Henry and Mary and all that from last time round - the resulting scandal made the SEC force banks to drop doing both analysis and sell side activities in the same unit and pay large fines ( Purely out of goodwill, of course ).

- Even worse, AOL are co-investors in this same startup investment fund run by Mr Arrington, doubling the conflict of interest complications

For these reasons the financial and legal risks are probably too large to give TechCrunch pure editorial independence, especially now.

Option (2) is quite hard as well - If they sold it back so soon after buying it, at a loss, they would looks like fools and no doubt prompt all sorts of questions about their management competence. Senior heads would roll. If they tried to sell it for more, who would buy?

This is a real sign of the Bubbletimes, this whole brouhaha wouldn't be happening without the silly money now being thrown at Silicon valley technology startups, and all who sail with them. In fact one wonders why TechCrunch sold to AOL when it did (Sep 2010) as the Bubble was already evident (we opened our Bubblewatch section in April 2010) but to be fair it was only visible to geeky trend watchers like us - the really obvious froth only started about February 2011 (this year) after AOL bought HuffPo. One imagines a certain amount of D'Oh at TCHQ soon after that

In our early post we pointed to the interesting insight into the economics of a Tech blog that the TechCrunch datasieve is opening up, but putting the backroom negotiations on the front page is a new one on us old M&A hands too. And given that that post has set the scene for this one, we do now turn a slightly quizzical eye at the alleged independence Messrs Siegler and Carr claimed they have

In that post, I also commented on Stowe Boyd's point that this was looking like a tragedy like Titus Andronicus and wondered it was not a tragedy or even comedy. I am wondering now if this is more the Theatre of the Absurd....and here we all are in the front row.

*Please note - When we talk about Ethics here, we are not talking about Morality - we are talking about What Gets You Flamed/Sued/Fined/Incarcerated.