Mark Cuban: How dare you write about me!
Mark Cuban was happy to sit with Deadspin blogger Will Leitch for an interview to go into GQ. (Deadspin, a sports blog, is owned by Gawker Media, Valleywag's publisher.) But then Cuban saw Leitch's subsequent post on Valleywag. "While I respect the magazine," Cuban writes on his blog, "I am not a fan of the site [Leitch] works for, or of its affiliated site that the blog ran on. I would not have done the interview had I known he would blog about it for this site." Which is too bad, really. We're normally fans of the outspoken, outrageous entrepreneur-blogger. Except when he engages in phony self-righteousness. "Is this ethical?" he asks.
Our admittedly biased answer: Duh. We're not alone in this opinion. Leitch wrote his piece for GQ and it ran in an issue that's been out for weeks. He then quoted from it for the Valleywag post. Since when must a reporter ask nicely before writing a piece on someone? According to Cuban fanboys, noted journalism experts all, since forever. Some even believe that Cuban and GQ signed a contract before the magazine could proceed with an article. Anybody up for some mindless outrage?
We're sure that he doesn't care about ethics, only blog hits and garnering attention for increased book sales. — Miguel
Totally not ethical. He basically lied to you and then used your interview for his own personal gain. I'd be more than upset with him and hopefully, the magazine is as well. That was very unprofessional in my opinion. His work for the magazine should be kept separate from his blogging life. — tiffany
Completely unethical, possibly illegal. The magazine that paid for his travel and wage, likely owns all of the intellectual property generated. When the author took that property and used it for his own benefit outside of the company on blog, he may have violated the law. Even if he did not break the law, it was unethical, and bad journalism. These are new issues that have to be tested and figured out though... — PRoales
Maybe Cuban's just upset Leitch keeps linking to photos of the married Cuban getting a lap dance?(Photo by mil8)