Mark Di Stefano
Mark Di Stefano is an Australian journalist and author. He has worked at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Buzzfeed[1] and the Financial Times.[2] He is the author of What a Time to Be Alive: That and Other Lies of the 2016 Campaign.[3]
He resigned from Financial Times after allegedly hacking into private Zoom meetings at other media organizations including The Independent and the Evening Standard.[4]
The incident was the subject of widespread press coverage in the UK, Australia and the US.[5] Di Stefano is a former political journalist at the ABC, Australia's national public broadcaster. After 4 years at the ABC, Di Stefano spent almost 6 years at BuzzFeed. He is the author of What a Time to Be Alive: That and Other Lies of the 2016 Campaign.[6]
In an apology on its website, the FT admitted that Di Stefano accessed Zoom videoconferences of other newspapers. "Last week, the FT received a complaint from The Independent that a reporter had joined a staff conference call without authorisation. Access details had been shared with him. The journalist in question has now resigned from the company. The FT wishes to apologise to The Independent and the Evening Standard, which subsequently informed the FT that the same reporter had accessed a meeting it held." [7]
Di Stefano announced his resignation on Twitter. "Hi, letting everyone know today was my last day at the FT. This afternoon I offered my resignation. Thank you to everyone who has given support. I’m now going to take some time away and log off." [8]
The Independent editor, Christian Broughton, said: “We respect freedom of speech and understand the challenges of news gathering, but the Independent considers the presence of a third-party journalist in a staff briefing to be entirely inappropriate and an unwarranted intrusion into our employees’ privacy." [9]
A spokesperson for the Evening Standard said: "For a journalist from the FT to have illegitimately accessed a private Zoom call is unacceptable. We are sure the FT will want to offer an immediate explanation and an apology." [10]
The Times reported that Di Stefano gained access to the calls to find out whether staff would be affected by wage cuts and furloughing linked to the Coronavirus disease 2019 lockdown, news of which he shared on Twitter and in articles published by the Financial Times.[11]
The Daily Telegraph reported that Di Stefano may have broken computer hacking laws including the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and the Data Protection Act 2018.[12]
In a column published by The Australian newspaper, columnist Chris Kenny said Di Stefano received support and sympathy from fellow journalists even though the "claims against Di Stefano amounted to hacking". These journalists included Guardian Australia political reporter, Paul Karp, former ABC host and now head of journalism at the University of Technology Sydney, Monica Attard, The Saturday Paper cartoonist Jon Kudelka, Nine columnist Sean Kelly, and commentator George Megalogenis as well as YouTube UK chief Ben McOwen Wilson. [13]
References[edit]
- ↑ Amanda Meade (13 February 2019). "BuzzFeed Australia founding editor loses job in cost-cutting program". The Guardian.
- ↑ "Financial Times hires Buzzfeed's Di Stefano to cover media and technology". Financial Times. 5 November 2019.
- ↑ Mark Di Stefano (29 August 2016). "What a Time to Be Alive". Melbourne University Publishing.
- ↑ Mediaweek (2020-05-04). "Aussie journo quits The FT after controversy over Zoom hacking claims". Mediaweek. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
- ↑ "FT reporter accused of listening to Zoom calls of rival outlet resigns". The Guardian. 1 May 2020.
- ↑ Mark Di Stefano (29 August 2016). "What a Time to Be Alive". Melbourne University Publishing.
- ↑ "Statement on Independent complaint". aboutus.ft.com.
- ↑ "Hi, letting everyone know today was my last day at the FT..." Twitter.com. 1 May 2020.
- ↑ "FT suspends journalist accused of listening to rival outlets' Zoom calls". The Guardian. 27 April 2020.
- ↑ "Financial Times journalist listened to rivals' Zoom calls, report says". NY Post. 27 April 2020.
- ↑ "Financial Times reporter Mark Di Stefano 'spied on Zoom meetings at rival papers'". The Times.
- ↑ "FT journalist in 'Zoombomb' case may have broken IT law". The Telegraph. 28 April 2020.
- ↑ "Subscribe to The Australian | Newspaper home delivery, website, iPad, iPhone & Android apps". www.theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
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