Semafor Climate Editor Says he Resigns Over Chevron Ads; Boss Cites Other Issues (CNN, Media Post)

By Mathew Carr

Whistleblower Steven Donziger, who has highlighted nature-damaging behavior over many years by oil giant Chevron, says: “Don’t let Chevron’s stink affect how you think.”

Yet former Semafor climate editor Bill Spindle concedes he didn’t resign because Chevron improperly influenced news coverage.

Horse’s Mouth:

“The specter”

See this section of the Media Post story:

“Semafor, however, is pushing back,” Oliver Darcy, wrote in CNN’s “Reliable Sources” newsletter Monday, quoting a Semafor statement: “We decided to part ways with Bill due to issues that were unrelated to any advertising partnerships.

“Semafor adheres to robust ad acceptability guidelines that we stand by, and that are industry standard. We did not remove advertising due to editorial requests and have a number of rotating sponsors of the climate newsletter.”

The dust-up occurs as lawmakers are taking a closer look at the role advertisers and agencies play in “greenwashing” energy giants such as Chevron, including the placement of ads and native content adjacent to climate crisis editorial coverage.

On Thursday [today, Dec 8, I believe], the Institute for Advertising Ethics will host the second of two symposiums discussing ways the ad industry can build a framework and utilize tools to mitigate its role in greenwashing.


CarrZee comment: If you are a fossil fuel company genuinely trying to limit your damage to the climate and not trying to limit editorial decision making, a banner ad (full column width) in a story on CarrZee.org (real climate journalism) for a full month is only £1,000. Just saying;) mathew@carrzee.net

(More to come)

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