He wrote articles for them. They did not say he was never their employee; they said he never did any WORK for them, which is a lie. He produced articles and was paid by them for his work--that he produced for them.
As a free lance reporter he writes articles and sells them. Much like a consultant that owns his own company, or a columnist that sells their column to many papers but works for none. They buy their work because they increase readership. The do not withhold taxes, nor do they pay a share like an employer does. They provide him with a 1099 at the end of the year, not a W2.
As such, he was never employed by them.