Business Insider’s global editor in chief Nicholas Carlson told staffers he is stepping down, casting the move as his own decision even as the news outlet has lately been plagued with labor strife and controversies over its reporting.
In a memo obtained by The Post, Carlson told employees that he would leave his position as the top editor this summer and become an editor-at-large once CEO Barbara Peng finds his replacement.
Carlson said the decision has “nothing to do with any criticism” of Business Insider’s “journalism,” and that he will be working on projects with parent company Axel Springer.
“Something I hope you know about me is that I believe life is an adventure. That we only have so many heartbeats and we should use them to live life to the fullest,” Carlson wrote. “In that spirit, I’ve decided to make a very big change in my life: Later this summer, I will be stepping down from my position as Global Editor-in-Chief.”
The outlet had been under fire for its recent reporting on the work of scientist-turned-entrepreneur Neri Oxman, which sparked fury from her husband, the billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman.
In February, Ackman sent a scathing demand letter to Axel Springer, demanding Business Insider retract an article that accused Oxman of plagisim.
Ackman claimed his wife was only written about because he was an outspokent critic of Harvard University, and its former president Claudine Gay, over the explosion of antisemitism on campus after Hamas’ October 7 massacre of hundreds of Israelis.
Axel Springer stood by Carlson amid legal threats from Ackman over the publication’s stories, but Semafor reported that Axios’ CEO Mathias Döpfner privately considered firing Carlson during the intense online backlash from Ackman and his supporters online.
In his memo Tuesday, Carlson sang the praise of Business Insider’s journalism and holding powerful people to accountability.
“Every year I’ve been in this job we’ve published journalism that, though fair, has left very powerful people mad at us,” Carlson said. “That’s a fact of journalism, and that’s never going away.”
Sources inside Busines Insider told The Post that the newsroom largely respects Carlson for his editorial sensibility.
“He’s to thank for hiring the people who have done some of BI’s best and most-well known features and investigations,” a source said.
But the editor drew ire from Business Insider’s union last summer, as employees went on strike for two weeks.
In a video obtained by The Post, Carlson was seen frantically removing pro-union flyers from lampposts in the Windsor Terrace section of Brooklyn on Friday and stuffing them into the basket of a Citi Bike.
The flyers called out Carlson and then-CEO Henry Blodget for not coming to the table to negotiate a contract with the union.
Carlson was confronted by an employee in the video, who told the editor she was “one of his reporters” and was frustrated by the situation.
“You’re not my reporter,” Carlson replied.
“Well, I guess it depends on how you look at it. I work in the newsroom,” she said.
“It’s not my newsroom,” Carlson said a forced grin, while another woman began to heckle him.
“I’m not your reporter,” she said heatedly. “You know why? Because you laid me off! And guess what? You laid off everyone on the crypto team!”
Carlson rode away and shortly after the video was publicized by The Post, the two sides came to an agreement.
Months after the strike ended, the outlet announced that its longtime CEO and founder Blodget, was stepping down. As part of the changes, the publication said it would shift bacck toward focusing on business and tecnnology from general news.
Carlson, who was one of Business Insider’s first employees oversaw much of its growth and transformation into a general interest publication in the late 2010s
News of Carlson’s exit was first reported by Semafor last month.
