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# Back to Basics
- URL: https://werd.io/back-to-basics/
- Published: 2024-09-25T13:30:43.000Z
- Updated: 2024-09-25T13:30:43.000Z
- Author: Ben Werdmuller
- Tags: Media, Notable links, #Import 2025-06-11 21:47

\[[Paul Bradley Carr](https://paulbradleycarr.com/back-to-basics/)\]

> "I’ve worked at (and founded!) my fair share of billionaire-funded publications and I’ve always had a firm rule: You have to be more critical of the people writing the checks (and their cronies) than you are of anyone else. It’s the only way to offset the inherent bias of taking their money."

Paul Carr discusses quitting his column at the [SF Standard](https://www.sfstandard.com/) because of its newfound apparent shyness when it comes to criticizing tech moguls - which is a serious journalistic flaw when you consider how important said moguls are to the culture and politics of San Francisco.

This is in the wake of fallout from its coverage of [Ben Horowitz's conversion to MAGA](https://sfstandard.com/2024/08/16/felicia-ben-horowitz-party-switch/), to which [the subjects publicly objected](https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/15/ben-horowitz-declares-war-on-michael-moritz/). The SF Standard's backer, Michael Moritz, is another wealthy tech backer, who has actually been collaborating with Horowitz's partner Marc Andreessen to build [a sort of city of the future](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/25/business/land-purchases-solano-county.html) on repurposed agricultural land in the North Bay.

As Paul points out, there must be a separation of church and state between editorial and business operations in a newsroom in order to maintain journalistic integrity. That doesn't seem to be something every newcomer understands.

[#Media](https://werd.io/tag/Media)

\[[Link](https://paulbradleycarr.com/back-to-basics/)\]