Kara Swisher has "issues" with M. Mayer. The typical ~snarky undertone oozes from this article (and everything else she writes for All Things D on the subject). She was a great reporter for the WSJ 10 years ago, though.
I've noticed people taking note of and commenting on Kara Swisher's take-charge, arrogant, brusque nature far more often than with many male tech journalists. Unexamined bias, or an expectation that female correspondents be softer and nicer?
It could also be the converse - that women are conceived as "bitchy" and there is confirmation bias.
In this case I don't believe it's sexism for one minute. Allthingsd (and specifically this author, I believe) are very well-known for aggressively publishing and criticizing leaks from Yahoo. Any motivations behind such a tactic would certainly bleed through into the aforementioned writing style.
Swisher is married to a Google VP. That is the conflict of interest.