Mediaite founding editor Colby Hall is stepping away from the media-politics website a month after he was suspended due to “editorial errors” in his newsletter.
“After 15 years as Founding Editor of Mediaite, I’m stepping away from the site I helped launch, and that has been my obsession for well over a decade,” he wrote in a Friday op-ed. “The decision follows the editorial errors in the One Sheet newsletter that surfaced in April. I addressed those mistakes on the record at the time, and I stand by what I said then.”
These were honest mistakes. There was no excuse for them; the responsibility was mine, and the only credible response was to own it. Does intention matter in this sort of situation? I suspect some will show me grace, and many won’t. I get that. Journalism requires discipline, and in this case, I fell short,” Hall continued. “I’ve spent 15 years building a reputation I’m proud of, and that’s something I have to earn back, not something I can ask for. That work begins today.”
His exit comes after Status reported in April that “the outlet had fabricated quotes and committed other egregious errors,” including more than six instances “in which Hall appeared to invent stories out of thin air, fabricate quotes or misattribute reporting to the wrong person.”
“Thank you for bringing these errors to our attention,” Mediaite’s Joe DePaolo said in response at the time. “We presented your findings to Colby Hall who insists the errors were purely a result of sloppiness in how he aggregated and categorized information, not from the use of A.I. Regardless, it is completely unacceptable and Colby has been suspended from Mediaite pending further investigation.”
A month later, Hall is now turning to Substack and consulting work.
“I’m not pretending suspension is a wellness program. The past month or so was about as dark as anything I’ve gone through professionally. It’s not something I’d wish on my worst enemies, including Mark Levin,” he wrote in Friday’s message. “Mediaite will keep punching above its weight. I’ll keep writing, advising and looking for what’s next.”
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