Yesterday I wrote about the ongoing CNET editorial independence issue. I said that the editors and journalists at CNET were part of the problem, and suggested that they either publish their (assumed) dissent, or resign, or both. A conversation began in the comments of that post, with some people saying that it isn’t reasonable to expect people to resign. From Danny Sullivan: I think a lot of CNET staffers probably aren’t resigning, Mike, because they have families to support, as well as themselves. It’s not exactly a great economy out there. I think what Greg did was very brave, but not everyone is that brave nor even able to make that type of move. Rof Hof: I don’t blame people in today’s publishing business for wanting to line up work first. Not everybody can be sure of being able to support their families, and when they’ve been screwed by their employer, they shouldn’t be expected to *immediately* screw themselves too. But don’t be surprised to see more leaving. There were similar comments on Twitter. These comments were often combined with statements my position wasn’t valid because I have made some money selling my business. As just one example, David Carnoy, Executive Editor at CNET, says: @arrington In your post about @CNET you neglected to disclose $ $ $ you made from selling out to AOL. Easy to walk when you had your BIG EXIT. And finally, some people have said that it’s only reasonable for people to resign if they have another job lined up. Hunter Walk, in a comment to the original post, says: Let’s see other journalists stand with their brethren and start a “free the CNET staffers” fund that can be tapped by any CNET journalist who wants to walk away but needs the money to do so. Mike, I’ll match up to the first $ 500 of your contribution I think some of these are valid points and worth exploring. First, sure it’s easy for me to say they should just quit their jobs when I’m not the one doing it and I may have more financial security than most or all of them. If I worked at CNET, had a family to take care of and had little financial breathing room I cannot say for certain that I’d resign. My family would certainly come first (and second, and third). It’s a fair point. Second, I agree that it
TechCrunch