A note from the editor-in-chief about Chris Ziegler (opens in new tab)

This is staggeringly odd. I can't believe Apple would sanction this, and don't expect they'll be happy if they're now discovering it. Most contracts would exclude it, too.

Hope all is well with Ziegler and he isn't having personal issues

The plot thickens: https://twitter.com/atp_tipster1/status/779434936558321664

> Obviously having an Apple employee on The Verge staff is a conflict of interest. Vox Media Editorial Director Lockhart Steele stepped in to conduct an independent review of The Verge's work and staff interactions with Chris during the time he worked at Apple and Vox Media to determine if that conflict had manifested itself in any of our coverage or affected any of our editorial decisions...Chris only actively worked at The Verge while employed by Apple in July, and was almost entirely absent from our team in August, so we are confident that we've reviewed the situation thoroughly.

I believe Verge has an obligation to review work before July. Unless Apple has some super-speed HR-hiring process, it's safe to assume that Ziegler was doing interviews with Apple for at least a month prior, nevermind any time spent contemplating jumping ship and wanting to sweeten the process by directing favorable coverage to Apple.

Sure, you could argue that this level of introspection isn't used for all the other reporters who have ever jumped ship to work at the places they've covered, such as journalists joining the White House PR team. But this is the first time I've ever heard of someone deceiving their employer by hiding the fact of employment (rather than just the interview/search process).

Was he trying to avoid a non-compete agreement by just disappearing? That makes no sense.