Blogger Gets $250,000 Bonus Prior to Dismissal

Ben Parr, a recently fired employee of the tech blog Mashable, was paid a $250,000 retention bonus prior to his dismissal.

Parr, a graduate of Northwestern University, worked for the company for more than three years and was considered a “critical” brand on the site.

Nevertheless, the young journalist was handed his walking papers shortly after his contract was extended to July 2012 and he received a $250,000 payout to stay with the tech blog.

The fact that people knew about the payout was a breach of contract, according to a source for The Business Insider.

Thus, the agency speculates that Parr’s agreement was shot down, or that the rapidly growing tech site and the technology journalist could not reach an agreement.

According to Parr’s website, he wrote an astounding 2,446 articles for the company.

In posting at benparr.com, the journalist wrote a “goodbye” letter to Mashable calling the more than three years he worked for the company as truly the “best years of my life.”

Parr plans on continuing to write about technology and the business world but will be doing so on the "Social Analyst" column on his website.

“As for what’s next: I am considering several opportunities right now and will definitely keep you all posted as to my future plans. I want to leverage the national platform that I have built and use it to help, empower and reach as many people as I can,” he wrote.

Although he was fired, the young journalist shows no signs of slowing down, saying that he will be exploring options in several sectors.

The optimistic and inspired outlook expressed by Parr is a result of his steadfast belief that he has “the ability and thus the responsibility to change the world for the better.”