"A MarketWatch columnist who covers Silicon Valley and was allowed to invest in a Web concern resigned following scrutiny of whether she breached ethical guidelines.
Bambi Francisco resigned effective immediately from MarketWatch, a financial-news Web site operated by Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co. Aside from writing her column on Internet companies, Ms. Francisco regularly appeared in video reports for MarketWatch and wrote a blog for the site. She had made a personal investment in Vator.tv, a video platform designed to link entrepreneurs with venture capitalists.
In a statement, L. Gordon Crovitz, executive vice president of Dow Jones's consumer media group, said: "Dow Jones demands the highest journalism standards at our own publications and services, as reflected by our strict Code of Conduct. Our MarketWatch reporter Bambi Francisco started Vator.tv on her own time with our approval, under certain guidelines on permitted areas of coverage. Bambi has decided to pursue her enterprise full time."
In a column on MarketWatch yesterday, Ms. Francisco wrote: "With much regret, I'm leaving MarketWatch, my employer for eight years, as a full-time columnist and correspondent, though I hope to maintain ties." In an interview, she said, "I'm not hiding anything, I want to be transparent."
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Check out the first episode of vator reports - a show on innovation, based on the many innovative ideas and businesses Peter Thiel and I are seeing on the vator.tv site. In this episode, some companies highlighted are uShip - the eBay for shipping (and one of my favorite videos on vator!), SnipWiki - a site where engineers can create new software code by collaborating through a wiki, Lotus Video - a maker of vitamin vodkas, Swingstar Golf - an online golf trainer, Crushpad - a Web 2.0 approach to winemaking, and Dogster - a social network site for dogs, among many others. Enjoy the show. And if you go to vator.tv, let me know which video pitches Peter and I should highlight
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