Uber Senior Vice President of Business Emil Michael last week said, in comments he apparently thought were off the record, that the company should consider hiring a team of opposition researchers to investigate the personal lives of journalists who reported negatively on the company. He reportedly singled out one journalist, PandoDaily Editor in Chief Sarah Lacy, as someone he specifically would like to target in spreading “dirt” about her personal life. Michael made the comments at a dinner held last week in New York.
Sarah is acting a bit overdramatic about it if she's going around telling others that she "fears for her children". A bit of a drama queen it seems, capitalizing on the press and Emil's comment.
I can see no reason why she has to fear for anything at all. Uber and Emil are both on the receiving end of a hailstorm of negative comments. I tweeted that Uber should fire Emil as an example to others of the consequences of such stupidity.
My advice to Sarah: she should cut the crap while she's ahead.
For those of us old enough to remember Watergate, it's Nixon's enemies list and "ratfucking" all over again. (Pardon the obscenity, but that is an actual quote from a Nixon operative.) And we know how well that turned out. Michael's "apology" is total B.S. He just got caught, that's all. As someone who has worked as both a journalist and a flack, I have twice as many reasons to be offended. Thanks for bringing the story to light.
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Uber Exec Floats Digging Up Dirt on Journalists
Posted by: Erika Morphy November 19, 2014 07:38 AMUber Senior Vice President of Business Emil Michael last week said, in comments he apparently thought were off the record, that the company should consider hiring a team of opposition researchers to investigate the personal lives of journalists who reported negatively on the company. He reportedly singled out one journalist, PandoDaily Editor in Chief Sarah Lacy, as someone he specifically would like to target in spreading “dirt” about her personal life. Michael made the comments at a dinner held last week in New York.
I can see no reason why she has to fear for anything at all. Uber and Emil are both on the receiving end of a hailstorm of negative comments. I tweeted that Uber should fire Emil as an example to others of the consequences of such stupidity.
My advice to Sarah: she should cut the crap while she's ahead.