Top Messenger Editors Say Jimmy Finkelstein Protected Pals From Coverage: Lawsuit
Two top editors for the doomed media startup The Messenger are suing the defunct “centrist” news site’s founder Jimmy Finkelstein for breach of contract over unpaid severance, alleging the media mogul also “attempted to restrict negative coverage of personal friends” on the site.
In a complaint filed in New York County on Monday, former Messenger news director Neil Sloane and ex-Business and Finance Editor Ciro Scotti claim that Finkelstein welched on his vow to pay them hundreds of thousands of dollars of severance if they were terminated without cause. Both editors claim that Finkelstein violated New York labor law by not paying them the severance packages promised by their employment agreements.
This is at least the third lawsuit filed by former employees of The Messenger after the site went belly-up just months after its much-ballyhooed launch last spring. After raising $50 million amid promises of massive traffic and $100 million of annual revenue, Finkelstein shuttered the site in late January after he was unable to convince investors to throw more cash at the project, leaving hundreds of workers suddenly jobless.