David Taub stands next to a framed front page in the Fresno Grizzlies press box. Taub is joining The Fresno Bee newsroom (represented by “Scoopy,” the bee mascot) after a decade at the digital outlet. Photo by Ben Hensley / illustration by Cecilia Lopez
David Taub, the reporter who first exposed the collapse of Bitwise Industries and the fraud scheme that followed, is leaving GV Wire after a decade to join The Fresno Bee.
Taub, the outlet’s senior reporter covering politics, government and elections, has his last official day at GV Wire on Friday. He will join The Fresno Bee covering the same beats.
Taub joined GV Wire in 2016 as founder Darius Assemi — president of Granville Homes — was launching the digital news operation to “educate and inform Fresno residents about issues that matter to them and will matter to them down the road,” Assemi said in a 2017 interview with The Business Journal.
GV Wire’s turning point
He would go on to be managed by Bill McEwen, who spent 37 years with The Fresno Bee. McEwen will take over GV Wire’s regular “Politics 101” news feature.
Taub credited McEwen’s arrival as a turning point for the outlet, which has earned several local and state awards for its journalism.
“When we added Bill McEwen, I think that gave us a lot more credibility,” Taub said. “And we just kept on growing from there, really emphasizing on video and graphics.”
Chasing stories, people
Over his decade at GV Wire, Taub built a reputation for pursuing hard stories and the elected officials at the center of them. He became a regular — if not always welcome — presence at City Hall. But his work ranged beyond politics. In 2023, he was first to write about the threatened “A Day in the Park,” the 288-tile art installation by Clement Renzi that was damaged by vandalism and fire at the Fagbule building near Manchester Center.
“You realize there’s this amazing piece of artwork,” Taub said. “And you realize, ‘Oh wow, this thing is in jeopardy.’”
Huge Bitwise scoop
He was also first to report on the collapse of Bitwise Industries, which ultimately led to the discovery of a $100 million fraud scheme and the criminal convictions of co-CEOs Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr.
Even as late as his May 23, 2023 article exposing Bitwise’s property tax inconsistencies, Taub said he questioned how the company’s real estate holdings across the country fit with its self-proclaimed mission to expand tech education. At Bitwise press events, he said, he always asked the same question: “What do you guys do again?”
“I never understood it,” Taub said. “I thought maybe because it was so high-tech it was over my head, but I still didn’t quite understand what was going on.”
He went on to extensively cover the chain of events that followed — mass layoffs, bankruptcy, trials and nearly a dozen lawsuits.
Media, wrestling
Before GV Wire, Taub worked as a radio producer for KMJ and PowerTalk 96.7 and as an assignment editor for KCOY-TV in Santa Maria, Calif., and KSEE-TV in Fresno. He also worked behind the scenes on several sports broadcasts, including the NCAA basketball tournament and the Super Bowl, and currently serves as an official scorer for Fresno Grizzlies baseball games.
Taub grew up in Michigan and graduated from the University of Michigan with degrees in communications and political science.
And for those who only know him as the reporter who helped bring down Bitwise: Taub also had a career in professional wrestling, managing competitors under the name “Snowy Bear.” Among his career highlights is managing WWF legend The Iron Sheik in a one-off match in Michigan.