Billionaire CEO Shuts Down Publications After Vote to Unionize
The CEO of a group of digital local news sites shut down the publications a week after reporters and editors in the combined newsroom of DNAinfo and Gothamist voted to join a union, reports The New York Times.
Joe Ricketts, the billionaire founder of TD Ameritrade, owned the sites.
“For DNAinfo and Gothamist, the staff’s vote to join the Writers Guild of America East was just part of the decision to close the company, write Andy Newman and John Leland.
“The decision by the editorial team to unionize is simply another competitive obstacle making it harder for the business to be financially successful,” said a spokeswoman for DNAinfo.
