Michael Arrington created a major media brand with TechCrunch, built it into a profitable business, sold it and now is witnessing its demise at the hands of its new owners. All this in a few short years.
Naturally, he has something to say about it.
Other than dial up, TechCrunch is/was the most profitable and fastest growing business unit inside of AOL.
That, ultimately, is why everything fell apart.
Arrington squarely places all of the blame on Tim Armstrong’s need to coddle Arianna Huffington.
The company has bet everything on Huffington, so anything that challenges her power, real or perceived, has to be destroyed.
Really? That’s why AOL is gutting Arrington’s team at TechCrunch? There’s likely more going on behind the scenes than a battle of outsized egos.
Meanwhile, Mashable, ReadWriteWeb and GigaOm continue to provide tech news without all the drama.
Footnote: Do you find it odd that Huffington and Arrington are almost the same name, give or take a few letters? I wonder what kind of rich and powerful editor I might be if my last name was Burnington.
