Top News:
Jessica Bursztynsky / CNBC:
Carlos Watson says Ozy Media is not shutting down after having “good conversations” with investors and advertisers and Friday's announcement was “premature” — - Ozy Media isn't shutting down, CEO and co-founder Carlos Watson told CNBC on Monday.
Discussion:
CNN, Axios, @sarafischer, New York Times, Mediaite, The Hollywood Reporter, @sarafischer, @mccarthyryanj, @brianstelter, @alexweprin, Quartz, TODAY.com, @joefav, @sarafischer, @brianstelter, Insider, @alexweprin, @sarafischer, @squawkcnbc, @digitalshields, @bmorrissey, @alexyoung, @millie, @brianstelter, @sarafischer, @goldietaylor, @marisakabas, @sarafischer, @sarafischer, @phkeane, @sarafischer, @sherman4949, @danprimack, @alexweprin, @jayrosen_nyu, @cnbc, @craigsilverman, @tomgara, bookforum.com, @juddlegum, @digitalshields, @sherman4949, @nycjim, @kerrymflynn, Variety, So, What's the Big News ?, Tourist Trapp, @moorehn, @pomeranian99, @charukasturi and New York Times
Discussion:
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: NEW: Just got off the phone with Carlos Watson on his plans to relaunch OZY — He offered a grand vision in an interview with @Axios, but couldn't give many details about execution, leaving serious doubt about what's real and his ability to pull it off https://www.axios.com/...
Ken Meyer / Mediaite: ‘I Was Shocked by How Fast It Happened’: NY Times' Ben Smith Reacts to Ozy Media's Collapse Days After His Exposé
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter: Carlos Watson Says Ozy Media Won't Shut Down After All: “We Are Open for Business”
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: NEW with @danprimack OZY saga continues —A few employees say they were blindsided by today's announcement that the company coming back —Some got calls over weekend but chose to not engage —Several telling Axios they think the idea is delusional https://www.axios.com/...
Ryan McCarthy / @mccarthyryanj: Carlos Watson just said on CNBC that BuzzFeed offered $250 million for Ozy in 2019.
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: Getting phone calls from folks who are astonished by this Hail Mary pass (if that's what it is?) by Watson. Which employees are going to operate the new Ozy? Where's the evidence of consumer demand? And who's going to oversee it? The “board” is down to 2 people
Alex Weprin / @alexweprin: Ozy Media is back!! https://twitter.com/...
Courtney Vinopal / Quartz: Ozy Media's CEO says the company isn't shutting down after all
Joe Favorito / @joefav: .@carloswatson running master class in getting out his side of story, starting @TODAYshow. Whether or not it works, whether @ozy is reinvented, or many of facts spelled out are true or not, his leaning forward strategy has gotten him a wide voice. #storytelling #crisismanagement https://twitter.com/...
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: We have been able to confirm at least one employee returning to Ozy, Claire Rudy, formerly Claire Lightfoot, who works in accounting. https://twitter.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: An executive who has known @CarlosWatson for decades reacted to today's interviews with a mixture of anger and astonishment: “Carlos is doing what Carlos has always done — he's rolling out new ideas in the media without addressing any of the old questions” https://www.cnn.com/...
Allana Akhtar / Insider: Ozy's CEO said the company isn't dead yet after its board of directors voted to shutter the scandal-ridden media startup
Alex Weprin / @alexweprin: Carlos Watson says Ozy Media will stay open, comparing the company to the biblical figure Lazarus, who Jesus brought back to life a few days after his death: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: Former employee to @axios: “I think [Watson] is delusional enough to believe what he was doing was a part of the path to greatness, and that the idea of OZY can still win. And that's why it still seems he won't apologize any time soon, and will go down all guns blazing.” https://twitter.com/...
Squawk Box / @squawkcnbc: “I hope and I believe that that was a one-off event. It's a tragic event. It's a horrific event. It's a wrong event. I hope and trust that was a one-off,” says @carloswatson on Ozy's COO Samir Rao impersonating a YouTube executive in a call with Goldman Sachs. https://twitter.com/...
Mike Shields / @digitalshields: Watson told Axios that the partnerships with ad agencies like WPP and Dentsu still stand. Axios has not been able to independently confirm that this is true. https://twitter.com/...
Brian Morrissey / @bmorrissey: This is like “Into the Void” where the dude decides there's no way to craw back out so he just keeps going deeper https://twitter.com/...
Aléx Young / @alexyoung: .@carloswatson is a scam artist and should be arrested for securities fraud. Anyone in digital media knows exactly what he is doing and how full of bullshit he is. https://twitter.com/...
Millie Tran / @millie: This is a great thread not just about paid vs. earned media but also about the dubious online advertising and native content biz and the realities of running a media company. Some ppl like to make this stuff seem inaccessible but it's not. The more we demystify it, the better. https://twitter.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: Here's the full @CarlosWatson interview from “Today.” He says calling Ozy a “house of cards” is “slanderous.” He's spinning this moment as a growth opportunity: “If people now know the name Ozy, I hope they'll sign up for our newsletters...” https://twitter.com/...
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: Among some of his plans, Watson says Ozy newsletters coming back this week (we've written that Ozy's email list built using dubious practices), says TV show coming back (unclear how after revelations about lying to guests about distribution), says looking for new board members https://twitter.com/...
@goldietaylor: TMFRHT. If you walked in a Black barbershop and asked, “What's up with Carlos Watson?” The answer would be: “Carlos who?” He was selling relevance he never had. https://twitter.com/...
Marisa Kabas / @marisakabas: Buzzfeed laid off 43 of their journalists in 2019. https://twitter.com/...
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: Watson said that the company hired a third party firm “to validate our data and begin sharing that data monthly going forward on our audience.” Watson wouldn't say who the company hired. https://twitter.com/...
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: Watson is defending the Sharon Osborne “investor” comments on @SquawkCNBC right now. He says Ron Conway only put in $50k dollars, so him relinquishing shares not a “subsequent, big” thing. https://twitter.com/...
Patrick Keane / @phkeane: I run a successful media company that @benyt has never heard of. https://twitter.com/...
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: Staffers that were employees as of Friday confirm to @axios that this is the first time they're hearing of any plans to bring Ozy back. They don't have access to Ozy email anymore. https://twitter.com/...
Alex Sherman / @sherman4949: “That's a good question,” - Carlos Watson on whether his team will stick with him on @CNBC now. So he seems to be resurrecting his company while having no idea who will work for him.
Dan Primack / @danprimack: Shorter Carlos Watson: “It's just a flesh wound.”
Alex Weprin / @alexweprin: There was some heavy spinning here. Watson said they bought traffic because they didn't want to leave things in the hands of the social media algorithms, and said that Goldman Sachs bought a big ad campaign on Ozy a few months after the YouTube impersonation incident
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: Founder of Ozy, Carlos Watson, now says he is going to keep the company going. No one has any idea what that means. https://twitter.com/...
@cnbc: “We were premature.” Ozy CEO Carlos Watson says that his media company will reopen, after informing employees Friday that the board had voted to shut down the company. https://www.cnbc.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Craig Silverman / @craigsilverman: I expect the vision for the rebirth of Ozy involves Carlos Watson hosting more Carlos Watson video shows and podcasts. Meanwhile, the Today show and CNBC let this guy come on and pump his own tires. He's not sorry and won't take responsibility. What a joke https://twitter.com/...
Tom Gara / @tomgara: We're entering a new phase of this incredible story: Carlos Watson Goes Rogue https://twitter.com/...
Judd Legum / @juddlegum: Made a mistake by bootstrapping a media business focused on attracting an actual audience in making an impact. Should have focused on scamming venture capitalists and producing content no one read and I could have gotten featured on the Today Show! https://twitter.com/...
Mike Shields / @digitalshields: I don't know how a single advertiser could spend with Ozy, comeback or not https://twitter.com/...
Alex Sherman / @sherman4949: “Just because something is sloppy or stupid doesn't make it illegal.” - Carlos Watson just now on @cnbc. ...Does that count impersonating a YouTube executive to investors?
Jim Roberts / @nycjim: Ozy CEO Carlos Watson says shutdown was “premature” and that the scandal-ridden media media company would reopen. “I very genuinely feel like we have a meaningful, transformational voice. At our best, this will be our Lazarus moment.” Um... https://www.cnbc.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@kerrymflynn: Ozy employees lost access to their company emails and other digital communication tools Friday... So they found out about the news that Ozy was supposedly still in business Monday the same way the rest of the world did Story with @brianstelter https://www.cnn.com/...
Todd Spangler / Variety: Ozy Media Is Not Shutting Down After All, CEO Carlos Watson Says
Shailendra Singh Bisht / So, What's the Big News ?: Fake it Till You Make it? — Welcome to RPML, a newsletter about the Running Platform Marketing Life.
Spooky N. Gore / @moorehn: Also: Sophisticated investors are lied to and manipulated constantly. It's not unusual for grifters — large and small — to lie to them. I wrote a bit about those dynamics a few years back: https://www.cnbc.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Clive Thompson / @pomeranian99: Final paragraph in the @nytimes piece on Ozy Media collapsing and shutting down: https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Charu Kasturi / @charukasturi: So this is how it ended — OZY, an idea/company many of us journalists have given our heart and soul to, our lives to, shut down without giving us a chance to save our contacts and work, without a chance to say goodbyes to everyone we've been in the trenches with. (THREAD) 👇
RELATED:
Ben Smith / New York Times:
How the charm of Ozy's chief, Carlos Watson, helped persuade investors into putting millions toward a media dream before conducting sufficient due diligence — The story behind the story is about the elite investors who plowed millions into a media dream without much due diligence, persuaded by the charm of Ozy's head, Carlos Watson.
Discussion:
@craigsilverman, New York Magazine, @benyt, @byjoelanderson, @craigsilverman, @youngsinick, YouTube, @sarafischer, @benyt, @jduffyrice, @talkopan, @vivian, @davepell, @ketanj0, @escarry, Boing Boing, @aymanm, @reckless, @amlwhere, @jeremymbarr, @craigsilverman, @benyt, @craigsilverman, Media Voices, @jdesmondharris, @craigsilverman, @sharonwaxman, @lyssaslounge, @geedee215, @jeremymbarr, @sonnybunch, @jswatz, @jodyavirgan, @craigsilverman, @craigsilverman, @donlday, @heerjeet, @nkulw, @chrisecrowley, @rolandsmartin, @justinjm1, @gentlemanstimes, @jessicalessin, @lpolgreen, @akbarth3great, @mattwelch, @jamesrbuk, @craigsilverman, @craigsilverman, @ccadelago, @craigsilverman, @annehelen, @jswatz, @bendwalsh, @rameeztase, @craigsilverman, @daveweigel, @trungtphan, @felixsalmon, Newser, @benyt, @oliverdarcy, Vanity Fair, @danilic, @charukasturi, @sharonwaxman, @sharonwaxman, @sharonwaxman, NPR, @clarajeffery, @rafat, @sharonwaxman, @jayrosen_nyu, @katie_robertson, @byronyork, @nancyromm, @markyarm, @jeffjarvis and @petersterne
Discussion:
Craig Silverman / @craigsilverman: I worry that other people of color building media businesses are going to face even more scrutiny and skepticism because of Ozy's deceptions. And after years of covering ad fraud, I'm incensed that big brands still can't or won't take control of their digital spending.
Chas Danner / New York Magazine: Ozy Is Undead, CEO Dubiously Claims
Ben Smith / @benyt: I also spoke to Carlos Watson, who concedes nothing, and argues that paid/preroll views are superior to people who choose to watch your content: “We did not want to simply be subject to the vagaries of the algorithms...” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Joel D. Anderson / @byjoelanderson: it's true that black media companies must fight for a relatively tiny percentage of funding directed to their businesses. meanwhile mainstream/white-led media startups can tap into millions and millions of dollars for basically the same three media properties over and over again https://twitter.com/...
Craig Silverman / @craigsilverman: Brands paid millions to sponsor content on Ozy. This reveals a lot about advertisers imho, and their inability to to accurately judge real from fake in the digital media ecosystem. Or their propensity to simply not care about the difference... https://www.axios.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Michael Arceneaux / @youngsinick: I could tell Ozy was a crock based on a goofy bus ad, but the reasons why someone like Carlos Watson was able to get access to capital and even media coverage as opposed to other Black media companies that have long proven themselves will likely go unaddressed per usual. https://twitter.com/...
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: Flagging again that ~75 people worked at Ozy. I've been on the phone w lots of them. They're reading all of the stories & tweets. This is very hard for them. A lot of them did great work. It's unfair to say Ozy was a “sham.” The correct framing is that it was woefully mismanaged. https://twitter.com/...
Ben Smith / @benyt: Here are some slides from a deck, from this summer when Ozy was trying to raise money at a $450 million valuation https://twitter.com/...
Josie Duffy Rice / @jduffyrice: i'm glad to see other black media heads interviewed in this article, including the inimitable @laurenwilliams. but i wish it covered what this means for media going forward. it's near impossible to build a thriving media outlet, and it'll only get harder. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Tal Kopan / @talkopan: Imagine if all the gobs of money that went into this apparent house of cards could have bolstered an established local news industry that's been undercut by ... stuff like this https://twitter.com/...
Vivian Schiller / @vivian: Ozy's promise was “diversity without the conflict.” Is such thing even possible? @benyt https://www.nytimes.com/...
Dave Pell / @davepell: If you're a sexual harasser, the last words you want to hear are: Roman Farrow is on the phone. If you're a phony media company, the last words you want to hear are: Ben Smith is on the phone. https://twitter.com/...
Ketan Joshi / @ketanj0: As @mollytaft pointed out a few days ago, this story of a slowly self-reinforcing bubble of fakery and fraud rings some extremely similar bells for the markets for dodgy offsets in the climate world. Except in the climate case, the crash is very real and physical and terrible. https://twitter.com/...
Eddie Scarry / @escarry: ," wrote Ben Smith, the former editor in chief of BuzzFeed. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Rob Beschizza / Boing Boing: Ozy Media soap opera ends in its demise
Ayman / @aymanm: This is perhaps my favorite story of the week. And likely we have the perfect guest to talk about it... @benyt joins me to discuss his bombshell reporting and how that literally led to Ozy Media shutting down. https://twitter.com/...
Nilay Patel / @reckless: This is so funny - Tesla famously spends $0 on marketing and does not even have a comms person https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Ann Marie Lipinski / @amlwhere: Two key reasons Ozy can happen again: 1. Investors who perform little analysis and “rely on gut instinct and herd-like validation from their peers” 2. Advertisers “who are ever in search of news without, well, news” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: A great thread from someone who was very early on this story https://twitter.com/...
Craig Silverman / @craigsilverman: Definitions: PAID media is advertising. Spend money to get an audience. In today's world that could be display ads, FB ads ppl click on, YouTube ads for your video. EARNED media is when people choose to watch/read/listen to your content or the media chooses to cover you.
Ben Smith / @benyt: @sarafischer The content they produced was real, but the audience wasn't, and the the lies to advertisers, investors, to Axios — that's not mismanagement, it's just deception. I think they were doing what they intended to do? Horrible for the staff, who worked hard and didn't deserve it.
Craig Silverman / @craigsilverman: Also, brands do completely bonkers shit with their money. In 2017 I gave JPMorgan a LOT of data and details to show how its sponson on Ozy was getting junk paid traffic. Yet here we are four years later and JPMorgan was still spending with Ozy. https://twitter.com/...
Esther Kezia Thorpe / Media Voices: The Information Reporter Kaya Yurieff on covering the sprawling creator economy
@jdesmondharris: “[S]ome advertisers and venture capitalists are much more comfortable attaching themselves to media with lower stakes that is attached to lofty ideas, but not news that's going to move the needle or challenge the status quo,” said Lauren Williams https://www.nytimes.com/...
Craig Silverman / @craigsilverman: Let's move on. What has Ozy done since? It continued to pay for audience in a variety of formats. This pattern suggests Ozy's strategy of covering “the new and the next” wasn't building the kind of audience it was promising investors and advertisers.
Sharon Waxman / @sharonwaxman: “The classic demographic for Ozy was a retired female white teacher who used Ozy to stay young and stay woke and loved learning about the world from it,” the former employee said. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Katharina Borchert / @lyssaslounge: If you've been following the crazy #OzyMedia story, this is an excellent thread about early warning signs and how big companies ignored them. https://twitter.com/...
Vaxton P. Hartnabrig / @geedee215: This dude talks in press release copy — why didn't that automatically trip any alarm bells for Ozy's rich investors? Everything that he's saying, even now, lands as affable dissembling. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: “A strange feature of Ozy Media was that the content was all real, its journalism was real (albeit light) and the ad revenue appears to have been real, too. Nobody loves this stuff more than advertisers, who are ever in search of news without, well, news.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Sonny Bunch / @sonnybunch: Some personal news: I've been promoted to “Twitter wag.” https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Jody Avirgan / @jodyavirgan: I was turned off by Ozy from the moment I first heard about it, not because I sniffed a scam but because of this — it just seemed so aggressively safe. https://twitter.com/...
Craig Silverman / @craigsilverman: But in this case Ozy was sourcing traffic from multiple extremely dubious sources, and the brands didn't know. It later told the brands that this traffic/content wasn't part of their deal. OK!
Craig Silverman / @craigsilverman: So: it paid to place sponsored Ozy content in the LA Times and then quoted its own sponcon to create the impression it was getting good press. This thread has so many more examples like this https://twitter.com/...
@donlday: Gosh why am I working so hard to get people to read our content when apparently just paying for eyeballs is superior. 🙄 https://twitter.com/...
Jeet Heer / @heerjeet: I think the reporting of both @benyt & @CraigSilverman point in the same direction: that Oxy “worked” as a fake media company because it suited what advertisers wanted (safe, non-threatening diversity) rather than what audiences wanted. That's a wider problem than just Oxy https://twitter.com/...
Noah Kulwin / @nkulw: Hahaha https://twitter.com/...
Chris Crowley / @chrisecrowley: thinking about how Ozy investor Laurene Powell Jobs's Emerson Collective pulled funding for California Sunday Magazine, leading to its shut down last year... there was also the matter of the Atlantic laying off 20 percent of its staff... https://www.nytimes.com/...
@rolandsmartin: Doubling down on a damn lie. Advertisers gave millions to @ozy and their fraudulent numbers and totally ignore those of who have grown our business organically by not buying a penny of marketing. THAT is real audience growth https://twitter.com/...
Justin Miller / @justinjm1: The big legal question is whether Ozy's prolific deceit was used to hook investors who were subsequently harmed with the company going bust. If so, it's fraud. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Chris Chafin / @gentlemanstimes: everyone loves the ozy story because they're just **slightly** over the line that every other media company dances on every day https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jessica Lessin / @jessicalessin: Has not a more true phrase been uttered... “The whole Ozy episode seemed to confirm the widely held suspicion that venture capital and advertising may be the world's least rigorous industries.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Lydia Polgreen / @lpolgreen: I have spent a lot of time in the past week thinking about all the Black and brown owned media companies Ozy leapfrogged. https://twitter.com/...
Matt Welch / @mattwelch: The implications & patterns of this story present all kinds of avenues for consideration & exploration. https://twitter.com/...
James Ball / @jamesrbuk: “The whole Ozy episode seemed to confirm the widely held suspicion that venture capital and advertising may be the world's least rigorous industries” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Craig Silverman / @craigsilverman: Ozy's strategy has been to buy audience, influence and the trappings of success. It appears to have worked until money from investors started to dry up. Ozy's problem is that all its paid media never turned into earned media aka real audience success. So they had to keep buying.
Craig Silverman / @craigsilverman: Backgorund: In 2017 I revealed Ozy bought a bunch of junk web traffic and had sent it to sponsored content pages on its website. They PAID for an audience to view this stuff. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
Christopher Cadelago / @ccadelago: Carlos Watson, zooming with Ben Smith on Sunday to defend Ozy after its implosion, was joined by a new public relations adviser, the former Clinton aide Phil Singer. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Craig Silverman / @craigsilverman: BUT in spite of all these obvious signs that the company was not connecting with an audience, Brands continued to spend money with Ozy. The one thing Ozy was good at was at selling itself and a vision. From the NYT tonight: https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Anne Helen Petersen / @annehelen: everyone should name their newsletter that does valuable reporting something that sounds amazing when mentioned in a serious NYT article https://twitter.com/...
John Schwartz / @jswatz: “I look at the demands they made on me — my metrics, numbers,” he said of the advertising agencies. “Now I'm sitting there going, 'Y'all made me jump through all these hoops? It was that easy just to lie and make up this stuff?'” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ben Walsh / @bendwalsh: if true, this is yet more gross mismanagement by Carlos Watson! https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Rameez / @rameeztase: i've never understood the “they buy audience” criticism. This is quite literally just called advertising. The fact that it didn't work is a strategic failure, not a moral one. There were plenty of those in this situation, to be clear. https://twitter.com/...
Craig Silverman / @craigsilverman: This matters because the money invested in Ozy and spent on campaigns with it could have been deployed elsewhere. It could have helped support mission-driven media that does the hard work of connecting with and serving a *real* audience.
Dave Weigel / @daveweigel: “After our conversation on Sunday, in which [Carlos Watson] was joined by a new public relations adviser, the former Clinton aide Phil Singer...” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Trung Phan / @trungtphan: FYI: This thread is a great breakdown of Ozy's “business model” (and why corporate sponsors kept spending with the media startup) https://twitter.com/...
Felix Salmon / @felixsalmon: “The low-conflict, low-news journalism that Ozy offered appears to have been a hard sell to readers and viewers. Ozy's content, however, was catnip to #brand managers in the consumer packaged goods market.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Kate Seamons / Newser: ‘This Is Our Lazarus Moment’: Ozy Reverses Closure Decision
Ben Smith / @benyt: There is a core point here that many advertisers want totally safe content that also brings in a passionate, diverse young audience and would literally prefer to buy fake content than sponsor anything interesting or risky. https://twitter.com/...
Oliver Darcy / @oliverdarcy: “I am sympathetic to people like Mr. Watson and Ms. Holmes — strivers whose dreams apparently led them into deception,” @benyt writes. “If you've ever worked for and loved a new institution, you can imagine how hard it would be to let it fail.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair: Ozy CEO Insists Nothing Is Awry at His Still-Imploding Company
Dan Ilic / @danilic: Wow. @benyt 's piece last week on @Ozy shut them down. Hey Ben, can you do a pice on @Australian next? thanks mate! https://www.nytimes.com/...
Charu Kasturi / @charukasturi: We were blindsided by @benyt's original NYT article last Sunday. The Board told Ben they were proud of how “Carlos' team” handled the Samir Rao/YouTube impersonation scandal. But “Carlos' team” — not even senior managers — knew of any of what had happened until the news broke.
Sharon Waxman / @sharonwaxman: In a defiant interview with TheWrap shortly after the publication of the expose, Watson said he was the target of a “a bulls— ad hominem attack” in the New York Times because “Ozy's rising.”
Sharon Waxman / @sharonwaxman: That was Monday. On Friday his demeanor was different: “Carlos was upset,” said one person who was present at the Friday meeting, in an interview with TheWrap. “He seemed beaten down by all of it. He seemed distracted.”
Sharon Waxman / @sharonwaxman: “I know this isn't anything that any of us wanted,” Watson said, according to those present. “I'm very sorry to say that the board has voted, given everything that's happened, to suspend operations and to close Ozy as of today.”
David Folkenflik / NPR: Ozy shuts down after accusations of deceit, as high-profile backers peel away
Clara Jeffery / @clarajeffery: Now THIS is a kicker https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@rafat: To blame VC money or that the digital media model is broken are wrong conclusions to draw out of Ozy debacle. Fraud is always the wrong model, irrespective.
Sharon Waxman / @sharonwaxman: Exclusive: “People on the call said Watson's crying appeared ‘fake’ and ‘theatrical,’ an individual with knowledge of the meeting told TheWrap.” A must-read on the 5-day-collapse of @OzyMedia by @antoinettesiu: https://www.thewrap.com/...
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: “When the end came, it came swiftly, five days after The New York Times published an article that raised questions about the company and its leadership team.” https://www.nytimes.com/... The board — which failed in its oversight duties — said today, “we are closing Ozy's doors.”
Katie Robertson / @katie_robertson: The full story on the swift collapse this week of Ozy Media, from @benyt and me https://www.nytimes.com/...
Byron York / @byronyork: House of cards. It took five days from @benyt piece to the total collapse of Ozy Media. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Nancy Rommelmann / @nancyromm: And the denouement (for now!), Ozy announcing they're out. Great work by @benyt. Also, are we laying bets on how long before Carlos Watson starts his new venture? https://www.nytimes.com/...
Mark Yarm / @markyarm: If you're an Ozy staffer who just lost your job, please hmu re the possibility of freelancing for @inputmag. DMs open; email in bio. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Craig Silverman / @craigsilverman:
[Thread] A look at why Ozy failed as a paid media company and has become a perfect, cautionary illustration of paid versus earned media — The Ozy Media meltdown has a lot of lessons. As the reporter who caught them buying junk traffic in 2017, I'm biased. But I see it as a perfect, cautionary illustration of Paid versus Earned media. So: a 🧵 on why Ozy failed as a paid media company — and why it matters.
Discussion:
Mediaite, New York Times, @espiers, @craigsilverman, @jayrosen_nyu, New York Times, @katie_robertson, @om and @sharonwaxman
Discussion:
Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite: Carlos Watson Tells TODAY Show Ozy is BACK: ‘This is Our Lazarus Moment’
Elizabeth Spiers / @espiers: It's not just this (though it is this). There are a lot of brands who need to check a box with media buys for a specific demo and don't actually care about performance. Someone just needs to tell their CMO that they have a buy that covers a target audience https://twitter.com/...
Craig Silverman / @craigsilverman: It was vicious cycle Ozy could not pull out of. My view: Ozy simply refused to change its vision and strategy to produce something people actually wanted in large enough numbers to build an audience. Interestingly, however, Ozy did manage to pull in millions from... paid content.
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: Ozy Media's founder Monday: “We are strong and undeterred.” Four days later the company closed its doors. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Sarah Kessler / New York Times: Balancing Honesty and Optimism in Silicon Valley
Katie Robertson / @katie_robertson: Five days after @benyt's column on Ozy Media, the company is shutting down, its board says https://www.nytimes.com/...
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Sources: Ozy inflated its numbers by buying most of its social media following and viewership for some shows, then used the numbers in pitches to TV networks — The downfall of Ozy Media and its charismatic founder Carlos Watson will go down as one of the most sudden media collapses of all time.
Discussion:
AdExchanger, American Press Institute, @sarafischer, The Daily Beast, @craigsilverman, @chronotope, @coopintn, @balakrishnanr, @johnqbarrett, @jrosenbaum, @ziadramley, @dabeard, @saramorrison, @martinsfp, @emilybell, @axios, @axios, @axios, @axios, @axios, @jayrosen_nyu, @sarafischer, @aaschapiro, @megan and @bgrueskin
Discussion:
Allison Schiff / AdExchanger: Ozy Media's Downfall Is An Object Lesson In The Ubiquity Of Fake Traffic - And Marketers Finally Need To Learn
American Press Institute: Need to Know: October 4, 2021 — Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: Re: OZY — One source told Axios that more than 95% of viewership for “The Carlos Watson Show” was paid —2 sources said execs included social media interactions in overall reach metrics —Email list was massive, but many emails obtained via dubious practices https://www.axios.com/...
Craig Silverman / @craigsilverman: Axios reported that it paid for its social media following, and used these follower counts to try and impress investors and others. https://www.axios.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Aram Zucker-Scharff / @chronotope: For better or worse these days media companies are valued by the size and demographics of their audience and now it's out there that as much as 95% of that audience is fake. How do you raise funds or get advertisers after that? https://www.axios.com/...
Kristina Gordon / @coopintn: I knew Ozy was bad news from the beginning when they did an interview with me about forgiveness after infidelity and then slapped a headline on it that read: How to Cheat and Get Away With It. https://twitter.com/...
R. Balakrishnan / @balakrishnanr: Catch up on something fun. A nice structured story ... Ozy Media Ozy Built a TV Show on a False Claim, Says Its Former Producer https://www.nytimes.com/...
John Q. Barrett / @johnqbarrett: Great reporting. Ponzi & Madoff come to mind. Who are — were — Ozy Media's lawyers? Have they withdrawn representations that they must have transmitted, and maybe made themselves, to media companies, lenders, prospective investors, etc.? @benyt @carloswatson @BradBessey https://twitter.com/...
Jason Rosenbaum / @jrosenbaum: This is such a weird story. I watch a lot of popular channels on YouTube (mainly non political things about music, the NBA and professional wrestling) and I've never heard of Ozy until this week. https://twitter.com/...
Ziad Ramley / @ziadramley: Ben has started an avalanche of reporting on Ozy and his latest story is just as shocking as the first https://twitter.com/...
Sara Morrison / @saramorrison: I hope people don't think that Ozy is the only outlet that does this to writers. Many legitimate ones do, too! You send them 25 pitches and you never hear from them again. https://twitter.com/...
Martin Sfp Bryant / @martinsfp: “One source said that more than 95% of viewership for ‘The Carlos Watson Show’ was paid.” “Two sources said the company would often include social media interactions in its overall reach metrics.” 😳 https://www.axios.com/...
Emily Bell / @emilybell: OZY - the exact opposite of standing up to scrutiny. @benyt peeled back the lid of the can.....worms everywhere. It does make one think though that if internal knowledge of all these practices were so prevalent, why it took so long https://twitter.com/...
@axios: Some employees knew these things were happening and protested. Many assumed it was happening but were not directly involved so they didn't speak up. https://www.axios.com/...
@axios: Ozy Media was built on years of lies that together created a false narrative about its business, financials and culture, according to documents obtained by Axios, and dozens of conversations with former employees, investors, business partners and advisers. https://www.axios.com/...
@axios: As of Friday evening, only two people remained on Ozy's Board: CEO Carlos Watson and Michael Moe, a venture capitalist. https://www.axios.com/...
@axios: 🧵: The story of Ozy became so viral so fast because it highlighted the worst parts of every industry in America: naive investors, digital media outlets faking their numbers and over-zealous startup founders toeing the line between dishonesty and delusion. https://www.axios.com/...
@axios: • One source said that more than 95% of viewership for “The Carlos Watson Show” was paid • Another said the company bought most of its social media following • Two sources said execs included social media interactions in overall reach metrics https://www.axios.com/...
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: “Ozy Media was built on years of lies that together created a woefully false narrative about its business, financials and culture...” https://www.axios.com/... It's hard to overstate how little was there.
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: NEW: The revenue figures Carlos Watson shared with Axios in Jan 2021 align with what he told investors, recruits, board members and third-party vendors. Given all of the deception around the company's numbers (details below) everything is being questioned. https://www.axios.com/...
Avi Asher-Schapiro / @aaschapiro: Would be interesting to learn more about what happened with the deals Carlos Watson worked on while he was global head of education investment banking at Goldman Sachs.
David Folkenflik / NPR:
Ozy CEO Carlos Watson resigns as a corporate director of NPR, just before the board's governance committee meeting to weigh his future with NPR
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Columbia Journalism Review, Axios, @pilhofer, Defector, Look What You Made Me Do, TODAY.com, TVNewser, nexttv.com, Forbes, @heynottheface, RAIN News, @jeremymbarr, @hunterw, @nmcalone, @bybrianbyrne, @aprjoy, @stphnfwlr, @brandyljensen, @saraashleyo, @gingergibson, @hunterw, @hunterw, @williamturton, @hunterw, @lwoodhouse, @lwoodhouse, @ckrewson, @ddayen, @genepark, @mikeisaac, @davidfolkenflik, @davidfolkenflik, @davidfolkenflik, @davidfolkenflik and @benyt
Discussion:
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab: This is why you always wait for the post-credits scene: Ozy changes its mind and claims it's still alive
Jon Allsop / Columbia Journalism Review: The colossal wreck of Ozy
Aron Pilhofer / @pilhofer: Just a quick addendum on the Ozy story. Before journos get too sanctimonious about buying traffic, might be a good idea to ask around the ad side first. Especially your native ad department. You might be surprised what you find out. https://www.cjr.org/...
Dan McQuade / Defector: Ozy Media Is A Monumental Bummer
Eugene S. Robinson / Look What You Made Me Do: OZY Rules: The House Negro Gets It in the End
Scott Stump / TODAY.com: Ozy Media CEO Carlos Watson says company is still in business: ‘This is our Lazarus moment’
A.J. Katz / TVNewser: Carlos Watson Goes on Today Show and Squawk Box to Claim Ozy Media Isn't Actually Shutting Down After All
Jon Lafayette / nexttv.com: CEO Carlos Watson Claims Ozy Media's Not Dead Yet
Jemima McEvoy / Forbes: Ozy Media CEO Says Company No Longer Shutting Down: ‘This Is Our Lazarus Moment’
John S. Nash / @heynottheface: “This was a company that didn't have an audience & boasted of a massive audience & valuing itself at hundreds of millions of dollars. These pop up in all sorts of industries. It does expose how little attention so-called sophisticated investors often pay” https://mediaite.com/a/jxzed
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: Credit to Ben Smith, who mixes media commentary and humor by saying on Reliable Sources that Ozy Media “had a real problem building a kind of non-billionaire audience.” https://www.mediaite.com/...
Hunter Walker / @hunterw: I know a lot of folks are enjoying the coverage of Ozy's demise but it's important to remember that these dysfunctional media companies can really hurt well meaning employees.
Nathan McAlone / @nmcalone: “In 2017 and 2018, Watson cited the number of people who might have been in Central Park on the days of the festivals, regardless of whether or not they attended, the former employee said.”: https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...
Brian Patrick Byrne / @bybrianbyrne: A lesson in why engagement, and not follower count, is what matters: https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...
April Joyner / @aprjoy: @GeeDee215 It did. I had a brief stint in Mountain View as a freelancer. Wouldn't have thought I'd be co-bylining this years later https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...
Stephen Fowler / @stphnfwlr: This Ozy story just keeps getting wilder and wilder!!! As someone who is both a millennial and incredibly online, it's still so puzzling to me that I've never heard of the supposed millennial-focused online outlet... https://www.npr.org/...
Brandy Jensen / @brandyljensen: i think most of those employees are pretty okay with everyone dunking on the bosses who exploited them https://twitter.com/...
Sara Ashley O'Brien / @saraashleyo: this. read @kerrymflynn's Ozy work culture story: https://www.cnn.com/... a lot of ppl end up being collateral damage, for lack of a better word. they buy into a charismatic leader w/ a lofty mission and don't want to let them down — even at the risk of their own health https://twitter.com/...
Ginger Gibson / @gingergibson: Ozy recruited good journalists, some who aren't in journalism anymore because of them. https://twitter.com/...
Hunter Walker / @hunterw: .@benyt's second story gets to this a bit. Big money investors and the execs who bilk them aren't at the same level of risk of employees who waste time and energy at dysfunctional outlets. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Hunter Walker / @hunterw: I have dealt with exploitative and grifty places at least three times in my life. It wasn't as ridiculous or absurd as Ozy necessarily but it makes me cognizant people are really affected by this.
William Turton / @williamturton: @hunterw Speaking as someone who has worked at a couple dysfunctional media companies, I have no issue enjoying the demise of the charlatans
Hunter Walker / @hunterw: @WilliamTurton It's the demise of more than that though William. It's not something to enjoy.
Leighton Woodhouse / @lwoodhouse: This guy is truly the Elizabeth Holmes of media.
Leighton Woodhouse / @lwoodhouse: LOL Carlos Watson was on NPR's board? https://www.npr.org/...
Chris Krewson / @ckrewson: Yeah. https://www.npr.org/... https://twitter.com/...
David Dayen / @ddayen: Statement from NPR Board chair LaFontaine Oliver: “Earlier today, [OZY CEO] Carlos Watson submitted his resignation from the NPR Board of Directors. I have accepted his resignation on behalf of the Board. Mr. Watson's resignation is effective as of today.”
Gene Park / @genepark: media executives not savvy or smart enough to recognize very-obvious grifters explains everything about everything imo https://twitter.com/...
Rat King / @mikeisaac: watson has somehow been involved in every major media entity for years without anyone going “huh wha?” and it is extremely funny to watch everyone hit eject at the same time https://twitter.com/...
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: Starting with NYT's story Sunday night, Watson and his media company, Ozy, have been accused of misleading the public, advertisers & investors about the performance of the buzz-hungry digital outlet. Watson called NYT story a hit job. Each day has brought new allegations.
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: NEWS: Ozy CEO & co-founder Carlos Watson has resigned from NPR's board of directors after a week of scandal. His resignation, in a letter to NPR's board chairman, arrived shortly before NPR's governance committee was set to meet to determine his status. https://www.npr.org/...
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: “I've always interpreted it as, ‘Think big but be humble’,” Watson once told NPR, alluding to the poem that inspired Ozy's name. “Our ambition is to help people see more and be more, introduce them to the new and the next, but make sure... they're a little bit humble about it.”
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: Before joining the NPR board in 2016, Watson had a nearly year-long collaboration with NPR, including a weekly appearance on Weekend All Things Considered and cross-posting of Ozy articles. https://www.npr.org/...
Ben Smith / @benyt: Ozy's board announces it is “closing Ozy's doors”
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Disney says Hulu president Kelly Campbell has left after less than two years in the role — Campbell's departure was announced to staff by Rebecca Campbell, Disney's chairman of international operations and direct-to-consumer. Kelly Campbell's direct reports at Hulu will report to Rebecca Campbell …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Wrap, @mattbelloni, @mattbelloni, nexttv.com, Adweek, @laceyvrose, Deadline, @benmullin, @jbflint, @masasoncap, @mattbelloni, @richlightshed and Hollywood Reporter
Discussion:
Matthew Belloni / @mattbelloni: Some big Hollywood streaming news: HULU President Kelly Campbell is OUT. She just informed her team.
Matthew Belloni / @mattbelloni: Here's the internal Disney memo on Hulu President Kelly Campbell's exit from int'l/direct to consumer chief Rebecca Campbell (no relation)... https://twitter.com/...
Daniel Frankel / nexttv.com: Hulu President Kelly Campbell Abruptly Departs
Kelsey Sutton / Adweek: Hulu President Kelly Campbell Leaves in Latest Disney Shake-Up
@laceyvrose: “Effective immediately” typically means one of two things. 1) some bad shit went down, start making calls. Or 2) got a job at a rival, and they're just not saying. This falls in bucket two... and given all the cooks in that kitchen, structural hang ups, etc, are we shocked? https://twitter.com/...
Nellie Andreeva / Deadline: Kelly Campbell Exits As Hulu President
Ben Mullin / @benmullin: Scoop from @Lilliannnn and @JBFlint: Departing Hulu President Kelly Campbell is in talks to join NBCUniversal https://www.wsj.com/...
Joe Flint / @jbflint: Departing Hulu President Kelly Campbell is in talks to join NBCUniversal in senior role w/@Lilliannnn https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ
@masasoncap: Formerly Chief Marketing Officer for Hulu and was appointed by Kevin Mayer. Oversight did not include original scripted programming. Wonder if Landgraf would ever be a possible contender for the job, FX (the network) is not a top priority like Hulu is... https://twitter.com/...
Matthew Belloni / @mattbelloni: Let the John Landgraf speculation begin anew.... https://twitter.com/...
Sarah Whitten / CNBC:
Members of the IATSE union, representing backstage movie and TV workers, authorize a strike after trying to negotiate a larger streaming revenue share and more — - Hollywood's backstage union workers voted to authorize an industry-wide strike. — This vote comes after months …
Discussion:
Kelsey Sutton / Adweek: IATSE Union Votes to Authorize Strike, Putting TV and Film Production on Notice
Vanessa Armstrong / SlashFilm: IATSE Members Vote To Authorize Strike — Here's What That Means For The Film Industry
Anousha Sakoui / Los Angeles Times: Hollywood crews give near unanimous support for strike authorization after contract talks stall
Deadline: IATSE Members Overwhelmingly Approve Strike Authorization; AMPTP Says It “Remains Committed To Reaching An Agreement”
Gideon Resnick / @gideonresnick: Per the @IATSE release: —90 percent of eligible union voters cast ballots —More than 98 percent of them in support of strike authorization https://iatse.net/... https://twitter.com/...
John Fetterman / @johnfetterman: Solidarity with @IATSE Everyone—*everyone*— deserves their work to be treated with dignity. The Union Way of Life is sacred. https://twitter.com/...
@iatse: “The members have spoken loud and clear. Our people have basic human needs like time for meal breaks, adequate sleep, and a weekend. For those at the bottom of the pay scale, they deserve nothing less than a living wage.” https://iatse.net/...
Michael Kennedy / @michaelkenken: 90% voter turnout with 98% authorizing. This is monumental. I stand with IATSE. https://twitter.com/...
Alison Herman / @aherman2006: I cannot emphasize how pissed off a union membership has to be — nor how impressive an organizing push has to be made — to win a strike vote by a 96-point margin and with 90 percent turnout https://variety.com/...
Jeffrey Wright / @jfreewright: “The vote passed with 98 % support and 90 % turnout.” Tells you everything. #IASolidarity https://twitter.com/...
James Alexander / @scriptsbyjames: NINETY EIGHT PERCENT VOTED YES. It's WAY past time for some change. https://twitter.com/...
Lucas Shaw / @lucas_shaw: I asked one of the most powerful agents in Hollywood to rank the streaming services that pay his clients the most. His top 4: Netflix, Amazon, HBO Max and Apple. https://www.bloomberg.com/... https://twitter.com/...
CBS Los Angeles: IATSE Members Overwhelmingly Approve Strike, Moves Hollywood One Step Closer To Historic Shutdown
@msnbcunion: As America's newest unionized TV workforce we proudly stand with @IATSE along with the rest of @WGAEast https://www.cnbc.com/...
Sarah Whitten / @sarahwhit10: “I hope that the studios will see and understand the resolve of our members,” Matthew Loeb, president of @IATSE said. “The ball is in their court. If they want to avoid a strike, they will return to the bargaining table and make us a reasonable offer.” https://www.cnbc.com/...
Harrison Weber / dot.LA: Hollywood Crews Vote ‘Yes’ on Strike Authorization, Raising the Stakes for Streaming Giants
Max Willens / Digiday:
News app Newsbreak, which claims 45M MAUs, hires Snap's Xana O'Neill as head of original content as it tries to boost its nearly 3,000-strong creator program — After about a year of trying to get into the original content business, Newsbreak is unofficially starting over.
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Filings: The Spectator doubled pre-tax profits to £1.6M in 2020, as turnover rose 15% to £16.3M and subs grew 40%, compensating for lost newsstand and ad sales — The Spectator more than doubled its pre-tax profits in 2020 as a 40% boost to subscriber numbers balanced out challenges …
Sam Shead / CNBC:
Filing: TikTok's European revenue grew 545% YoY to $170.8M in 2020 as losses soared to $644.3M, up from $118.7M in 2019; headcount grew to 1,294 from 208 — - TikTok's turnover in Europe grew 545% to $170.8 million last year as advertisers upped their spending on the platform …
Amitha Kalaichandran / Poynter:
How editors can better assess the credibility of experts and raise standards for op-eds, as contrarian viewpoints on COVID-19 flood opinion sections — An influx of contrarian viewpoints on COVID-19 policy in mainstream opinion journalism could have dire consequences on how the pandemic plays out.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTube TV and NBCUniversal renew their carriage deal; YouTube TV's price will remain the same and Peacock Premium will not be bundled with the service — YouTube TV said the price of the internet-television package will remain the same. In reaching the carriage renewal …
Discussion:
@youtubetv, Light Reading, @lukebk, @xpangler, @variety, MediaPost, @wired, Droid Life, The Verge, Ars Technica, @jenlucpiquant, Deadline, Wired and Hollywood Reporter
Discussion:
YouTube TV / @youtubetv: We're thrilled to share that we have now reached an agreement with NBCUniversal. You'll continue to have access to 85+ channels, including all NBCU channels, their Regional Sports Networks, and your local NBC station, with no change to our current monthly price.
Jeff Baumgartner / Light Reading: NBCU, YouTube TV strike new deal
Todd Spangler / @xpangler: NBCU and YouTube Clinch New Agreement, No Price Increase for TV Streaming Service https://variety.com/... via @variety
@variety: YouTube TV customers will continue to get NBCUniversal's suite of cable channels and local NBC stations after Google and NBCU announced an official agreement Saturday https://variety.com/...
@wired: If you're a YouTube TV user and like Sunday Night Football, chances are you've spent the past few days wondering whether you'll be able to stream this weekend's game. https://www.wired.com/...
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica: YouTube TV and NBC avoid blackout for now but are still at odds in negotiations
Jennifer Ouellette / @jenlucpiquant: The YouTube TV, NBCUniversal Debacle Feels Like a Harbinger. Streaming was supposed to help people cut the cord, but it mostly just replaced it. https://www.wired.com/...
Dade Hayes / Deadline: NBCUniversal And YouTube TV Reach Carriage Deal, Avoid Blackout; NBCU Says It Felt “Obligated” To Warn Viewers - Update
The Guardian:
ICIJ, The Guardian, BBC, Le Monde, and WaPo publish the Pandora Papers, a trove of 11.9M files from companies hired by the wealthy to set up offshore accounts — Millions of documents reveal offshore deals and assets of more than 100 billionaires, 30 world leaders and 300 public officials
Discussion:
Washington Post, ICIJ, YouTube, BBC, Washington Post, Insider, ICIJ, Fast Company, BBC, CNET, @icijorg, Zash's Newsletter, @washingtonpost, Press Gazette, @imrankhanpti, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Rehacked Newsletter, @icijorg, Slate, @paullewis, Poynter, @icijorg, @carolecadwalla, NPR, @paullewis, @paullewis, @snowden, @maxblumenthal, @paullewis, TwiLIGHT News, New York Magazine, New York Times, @benjaminnorton, CP24, @icijorg, @icijorg, digitaljournal.com, @krystalball, Al Jazeera, @paullewis, Mother Jones, New York Post and Blue Potion
Discussion:
ICIJ: The largest investigation in journalism history exposes a shadow financial system that benefits the world's most rich and powerful. Read more.
Juliana Kaplan / Insider: The Oscar Mayer heir who gave away his fortune to fight inequality explains why South Dakota became America's secret $360 billion tax haven …
Spencer Woodman / ICIJ: Governments vow investigations within hours of Pandora Papers revelations
Clint Rainey / Fast Company: 6 big takeaways from the Pandora Papers leak
Icij / @icijorg: NEW: #PandoraPapers reveals the inner workings of a shadow economy that benefits the wealthy and well-connected at the expense of everyone else. Brought to you by ICIJ and 600+ journalists, the largest collaboration in journalism history. 🧵 https://www.youtube.com/...
@washingtonpost: A massive trove of private financial records shared with The Washington Post exposes vast reaches of the secretive offshore system used to hide billions of dollars from tax authorities, creditors, criminal investigators and citizens around the world. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette: How Pandora Papers offshore leak became ‘biggest journalism partnership in history’
Imran Khan / @imrankhanpti: We welcome the Pandora Papers exposing the ill-gotten wealth of elites, accumulated through tax evasion & corruption & laundered out to financial “havens”. The UN SG's Panel FACTI calculated a staggering $7 trillion in stolen assets parked in largely offshore tax havens.
Dainius / Rehacked Newsletter: ReHacked #87: Supply chain disruptions, implantable bioartificial kidney, Opel to shut German plant until 2022 due to chip shortage and more
Icij / @icijorg: • 35 current and former world leaders • 330+ politicians and public officials • A global list of fugitives, con artists and murderers. We've uncovered their financial secrets in the #PandoraPapers: The biggest journalism partnership in history. https://www.icij.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Daniel Politi / Slate: Pandora Papers: Massive Leak Exposes Offshore Dealings of 35 World Leaders, Hundreds of Public Figures
Paul Lewis / @paullewis: The offshore secrets of more than 35 current and former presidents revealed in a massive leak. This is one of the most exhausting, complex and potentially explosive investigations I've ever worked on. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Icij / @icijorg: The #PandoraPapers contain 12M documents from 14 service providers. Our investigation uncovers the financial secrets of 35 current and former world leaders, 330+ politicians and public officials, and a global list of fugitives, con artists and murderers. https://www.icij.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Carole Cadwalladr / @carolecadwalla: Kudos & congrats to the 600 journalists from around world who have investigated & reported out this HUGE new leak. Politicians & PMs in the frame but the real villain here is the entire offshore system. And esp London's leading role #PandoraPapers https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Joe Hernandez / NPR: What the ‘Pandora Papers’ show about how the powerful hide money from public view
Paul Lewis / @paullewis: This isn't a story any single government can censor. It is the largest journalistic collaboration in history. More than 600 journalists in over 100 countries. Here's everything you need to know about the Pandora papers. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Paul Lewis / @paullewis: We hear that people in Jordan are blocked from reading the @ICIJ's story about their King's secret property empire. They can read all about it here instead. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Edward Snowden / @snowden: The humorous side of this very serious story is that even after two apocalyptic offshore finance/law firm leaks, those industries are still compiling vast databases of ruin, and still secure them with a Post-It Note marked “do not leak.” Hats off to the source! #PandoraPapers
Max Blumenthal / @maxblumenthal: Pandora Papers look like another US intel leak/hack-and-dump, complete with Luke Harding listed on the Guardian reporting team https://twitter.com/...
Paul Lewis / @paullewis: Hugely proud of the Guardian's contribution to this project. Too many people to mention, not least the subs, designers, lawyers, picture researchers, audio producers, videographers, data graphics illustrators and editors who are so essential for these projects.
Patrick Kingsley / New York Times: Jordan's King Among Leaders Accused of Amassing Secret Property Empire
Ben Norton / @benjaminnorton: What a coincidence that there are zero US politicians included in the “Pandora Papers” list of offshore bank accounts. I guess they're all pure and free from corruption! I'm sure this has nothing to do with the fact that the so-called “leak” was likely a hack by US spy agencies https://twitter.com/...
CP24: Global elites using shell companies and trusts to hide money from tax authorities: Pandora Papers leak
Icij / @icijorg: • More than 11.9M confidential files • More than 600 journalists • 150 news outlets • 2 years of reporting The #PandoraPapers offer insights into why governments and global organizations have made little headway in ending offshore financial abuses. https://www.icij.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Icij / @icijorg: The #PandoraPapers unmask the covert owners of offshore companies, incognito bank accounts, private jets, yachts, mansions and famous artwork — providing more information than what's usually available to law enforcement and cash-strapped governments. https://www.icij.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Krystal Ball / @krystalball: The richest Americans (Bezos, Musk, Gates) don't appear in the Pandora Papers leak because: “the uber-rich in the United States tend to pay such low tax rates that they have less incentive to seek offshore havens.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Paul Lewis / @paullewis: Data was leaked to the ICIJ, which shared access with the Guardian, BBC, Washington Post and others. Phenomenal teamwork that lasted - on and off - over 18 months. https://www.icij.org/...
Hannah Levintova / Mother Jones: Largest-Ever Leak of Offshore Files Reveals the Secret Finances of Hundreds of Billionaires and World Leaders
Jorge Fitz-Gibbon / New York Post: Pandora Papers: Newly revealed docs expose tax havens for rich and famous
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