New York – AOL and Michael Arrington, the founder of popular technology blog TechCrunch, reportedly are on the verge of parting ways after Arrington posted that the company either should give the site “editorial independence” or sell it back to him.
All Things D reported the two sides are now in “complex severance negotiations” that eventually could wind up in court. Fortune reported on Thursday that Arrington would be fired by AOL, which acquired TechCrunch last year in a bid to boost readership and page views.
The latest news comes a week after Arrington left his role as TechCrunch editor to help close a new $20 million fund, known as the CrunchFund. He retains the role of “founding editor,” and continues to write for the site.
This article was also published in Potomac Tech Wire.
Related Links:
http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/06/editorial-independence/ (Arrington statement)
http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/09/07/exclusive-arrington-out-at-aol-for-real-this-time
Photo by flickr user Jason Persse, used under Creative Commons license
