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Arrington Fires Back At AOL

Tim Armstrong and Arianna Huffington must rue the day they met Michael Arrington. The founder of TechCrunch -- which AOL bought last year -- has issued an ultimatum: that AOL restore editorial independence to the tech blog or sell it back to Arrington. "In other words, he wants TechCrunch to be free from Arianna Huffington's meddling," writes VentureBeat.

"If not, Arrington says he'll quit (the job he was already ousted from)," quips The Los Angeles Times, referring to reports that Arrington was stripped of his duties at TechCrunch following his recent decision to start an AOL-backed venture fund.

"AOL has stated it will not allow Arrington to remain its editor or have ‘influence on coverage' while also doing a venture fund," All Things Digital writes.

"In short [Arrington's] recasting his ethically questionable decision to continue to edit a site about start-ups even as he invests in them as an affront to his very freedom," according to Observer.com's BetaBeat blog. "We would call his latest move classic Arrington, except even for a ‘digital megalomaniac,' this is brazen."

By his actions, Betanews.com believes that Arrington "just exposed what is wrong with tech journalism today," i.e., ethics and accuracy seem to have taken a backseat to bias and braggadocio. Either way, "At this point ... AOL is not inclined to sell the site," All Things Digital reports, citing sources. 

"The fact is, it's the linkage between TechCrunch and [Arrington's new VC fund] CrunchFund that makes the latter so valuable," VentureBeat adds. "It's why AOL CEO Tim Armstrong is [was?] so excited about the deal."

"But," writes Business Insider, "unless AOL reacts strongly to this latest post, which fires a missile right at its CEO and president, he'll be able to leave on his own terms, having had the last word, making it look as though he quit AOL because they reneged on their agreement with him and because they're bumbling and incompetent."

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