By: E&P Staff John Mainelli, a writer who has covered the radio industry for the New York Post for nearly eight years, has left the paper after a dispute over consulting relationships with radio stations and owners that have been cited as a conflict of interest.
The conflict of interest was first cited by representatives of Sirius Satellite Radio shock jock Howard Stern. Stern was reportedly upset about Mainelli's article Tuesday about rumors that the talk show host would return to terrestrial radio. In response, Stern's PR agents got word out about Mainelli's lucrative industry consulting, and brought up the conflict.
According to a report on Radar magazine's Web site Friday, Mainelli was then given an ultimatum by the paper's editor, Col Allan: stop consulting or leave.
Mainelli told Radar that he only had one choice. "I consider myself fired," he was quoted as saying. "I can't live on what I earn from the Post."
The consulting relationships that are now cited as a conflict were not exactly a secret, according to Mainelli. He is quoted as saying his editors knew about his sideline, and that he was careful not to write about anything that would pose a conflict.
The article quotes a Post spokesperson as saying that Allan was not aware to the consulting jobs, and that he would have put an end to them if he had.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here