Entry Details

About the Entry

Category: 
Online > Online Breaking News Coverage > Northeast

Title of entry: 
OpenAI Boots Sam Altman

Issue or Publication date:
Nov. 17, 2023 - Nov 22, 2023

Publication name: 
InformationWeek

Publishing/parent company: 
Informa

View Website home page:
https://informationweek.com

Description of the enterprising work that went into this entry and its significance or impact on readers:

The release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT was arguably one of the biggest technology game-changers in recent years. Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and ChatGPT have dominated headlines globally as excitement and existential fear grip the technology community.

So, it was a huge shock when -- on the Friday before Thanksgiving -- OpenAI announced the firing of CEO Sam Altman. Our editorial team quickly pounced on the rapidly developing stories to give our readers comprehensive coverage that competed directly with major national news outlets. (Our stories consistently appeared prominently in Google searches).

Our coverage went beyond simple rewrites and included details gathered from various sources and exclusive interviews with top IT thought leaders.

In the first story, “OpenAI Board Boots CEO Sam Altman, President,” Senior Writer Shane Snider cut through the noise and confusion to give our readers up-to-the-minute reporting on a developing story. Snider spoke with Forrester analyst Rowan Curran to give readers context on what the move meant for our industry.

The drama brewed throughout the weekend and in the late night/early morning Sunday hours, advanced as Microsoft stepped into the fray, as detailed in “Weekend OpenAI Drama Ends with Huge Microsoft Power Play.” Snider spoke with prominent analyst Patrick Moorhead, founder and CEO of Moor Insights & Strategy, to provide analysis.

Our coverage continued with “500-plus OpenAI Workers Demand Board Resignations in Letter,” which distilled an extremely convoluted and complex situation into a readable narrative.

Finally, after a total of six news stories over just a few days before a major holiday, the series concluded with Sam Altman retaking his position at OpenAI. Our story, “Return of the King: Altman Reclaims OpenAI Throne,” wrapped up the most salacious technology world drama in recent memory. At the suggestion of Senior Editor Joao-Pierre Ruth, Snider included a quote from the TV series “The Wire,” as the lede: “You come at the King, you best not miss.”

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Entry URL(s), if applicable:
Please enter a URL that will direct judges to the entry: 
https://www.informationweek.com/machine-learning-ai/openai-board-boots-ceo-sam-altman-shocking-ai-world
Additional URLs, if needed:
https://www.informationweek.com/machine-learning-ai/weekend-openai-drama-ends-with-huge-microsoft-powerplay
https://www.informationweek.com/machine-learning-ai/500-plus-openai-workers-demand-board-resignations-in-letter
https://www.informationweek.com/machine-learning-ai/return-of-the-king-altman-reclaims-openai-throne