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Arrington Exits TechCrunch, For Real

At the behest of parent company AOL, Michael Arrington no longer has any connection with TechCrunch, the tech blog he founded and deeply shaped. "AOL executives have decided to terminate Arrington," Fortune reports -- a day after Arrington issued a public ultimatum to AOL: restore editorial independence to TechCrunch, or sell it back to Arrington.

Still, "The ending has been written but much of the final chapter remains blank," Fortune adds. Specifically, what does Arrington's ouster mean for TechCrunch;  CrunchFunch -- Arrington's new VC fund, which is chiefly backed by AOL; AOL head Tim Armstrong; and Arianna Huffington, president and editor in chief of AOL's Huffington Post Media Group.

TechCrunch is a big question mark," writes Fred Wilson, a blogger, VC, and principal of Union Square Ventures. "If AOL can keep the rest of the team together, then TechCrunch has a bright future ... But if others move on ... then TechCrunch could lose its swag, as my son would put it."

Regarding Huffington's fate, Fortune faulted her role in axing Arrington, but believes she's too well positioned at AOL to lose any face. "Huffington now appears to be more influential at AOL than the company's CEO," it writes. "It seems pretty clear that everyone at AOL/HuffPo -- the company's ostensible CEO included -- answers to one person: The lady whose name is on the Web site," writes Gawker.

Which brings us to "the company's CEO." With or without the TechCrunch mess, some say Tim Armstrong's days are now numbered. Emboldened by Carol Bartz's fresh removal from Yahoo, PEHub.com writes: "The CrunchFund debacle may be enough to turn the tide against Armstrong."

Armstrong reportedly approved a $10 million investment by AOL in CrunchFund, a $20 million VC fund launched by Michael Arrington, and initially said Arrington would continue to write for TechCrunch while making investments.

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