David Martosko Offered <em>Mother Jones</em> Scribe a Job After Reporting on His Defamation Lawsuit

David Martosko is officially out as executive editor of The Daily Caller and in as U.S Politics Editor of the Daily Mail. Though he's still tweeting out links to Daily Caller stories, Martosko began tweeting Daily Mail stories as well on Saturday. Emails to Martosko's former Daily Caller address are returned with: "I'm no longer with The Daily Caller." Signed, "With Every Good Wish, David Martosko." He told FishbowlDC that his last day at The Daily Caller was Friday. "I'm in London today, meeting new colleagues and learning the Daily Mail's online and content management systems," he said in an email. No last-day party was thrown by Martosko or his Daily Caller colleagues. "Not my style," he said. His transition to the high-trafficked Daily Mail couldn't have possibly come at a better time. Kate Sheppard of Mother Jones reported on Friday that in 2008 Martosko posed on Facebook as a "dope-smoking commie" to gather information on animal rights activists. The stunt came during Martosko's time at Berman and Company, a conservative PR firm. It led to a defamation lawsuit against him and Berman and Company by the Humane League of Philadelphia, an animal rights group. "The Mother Jones [report] was odd since the tactics it described are so unremarkable -- on both sides of the ongoing battles in the animal rights movement," Martosko told FBDC. "The bunny-huggers pose as farmers, circus-barn sweepers and medical lab workers, the privately funded investigators and researchers pose as activists, law enforcement poses as everybody. Occasionally one of the animal rights people goes to jail since they're the ones blowing stuff up and smashing windows." He declined to comment on the lawsuit. "I'm glad I left that behind for good a few years ago," he added. "For all its virtual rock-throwing, journalism is a lot safer since it's rare that anyone receives a genuine death threat." An interesting development: Martosko said Sheppard did "a good job with the research that was handed to her" and that he called her to offer her a job with the Daily Mail. "A few people who read the piece told me I'll fit right in among British journos," he said. Sheppard confirmed to FBDC that the offer was made but she didn't accept. "While I appreciate the offer, I have an excellent job right now," she said. We've requested comment from Sheppard and the Daily Mail.

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David Martosko Offered Mother Jones Scribe a Job After Reporting on His Defamation Lawsuit

Eddie Scarry

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Eddie Scarry