Some lessons from the MIT Media Lab controversy

When the news first broke that the MIT Media Lab had a close relationship with deceased billionaire and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, some saw it as a momentary lapse in judgment, and there was widespread support for Media Lab director Joi Ito. But then New Yorker writer Ronan Farrow reported that the Epstein relationship was much deeper than it first appeared — including the fact that Ito got a significant amount of money from Epstein for his own personal investments. Much of the earlier support evaporated, and Ito agreed to resign. And there were other spinoff effects as well: Richard Stallman, a free-software pioneer and veteran MIT professor, also resigned, after being criticized for comments he made on an internal email list that downplayed the impact of Epstein’s sexual abuse. To explore these and other issues, CJR had a series of one-on-one and roundtable interviews — using its Galley discussion platform — with a number of journalists and other interested observers, including WBUR reporter Max Larkin, Slate writer Justin Peters, Gizmodo editor Adam Clark Estes and Stanford researcher Becca Lewis. We talked about why places like the Media Lab often get a free pass from reporters, and why there’s so much technology writing that focuses on the “hero/genius” trope, where the all-knowing founder gets credit for inventing something amazing, even if the thing they invented either doesn’t work (Theranos) and/or they are terrible people in a variety of ways (Steve... Continue reading at 'Columbia Journalism Review'

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2019-10-03 10:50:57 UTC ]
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The Murdoch media’s China coronavirus conspiracy has one aim: get Trump re-elected | Kevin Rudd

News Corp is campaigning full-bore for the US president, with reports of a Wuhan lab ‘intelligence’ dossier being seeded across its empireIn liberal democracies, the integrity, impartiality and professionalism of intelligence agencies matters. That’s why it is essential that intelligence... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-05-08 03:41:08 UTC ]
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Penske Media Names Its First Chief Digital Officer | People on the Move

[caption id="attachment_180341" align="alignright" width="150"] Craig Perrault[/caption] Penske Media Corp. has promoted Craig Perrault to chief digital officer, a newly created role responsible for leading product strategy, business development, monetization and audience development across the... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-05-07 15:03:14 UTC ]
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Rob Biddulph to attempt world record for largest online art lesson

Children's author and illustrator Rob Biddulph is attempting to break the world record for the largest online art lesson, in partnership with HarperCollins and global talent investor Entrepreneur First. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-06 15:32:05 UTC ]
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Watch: Condé Nast's Pam Drucker Mann on the state of media in the pandemic

In this live episode of Ad Age Remotely, Condé Nast's chief revenue officer discusses how the publishing giant is navigating managing costs and ad revenue.  Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2020-04-30 14:45:12 UTC ]
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Watch live at 10 a.m. EDT: Condé Nast's Pam Drucker Mann on the state of media in the pandemic

In this live episode of Ad Age Remotely, Condé Nast's chief revenue officer discusses how the publishing giant is navigating managing costs and ad revenue.  Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2020-04-30 12:45:12 UTC ]
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Kate Mortenson launching national digital media company, raising $10M

Pondr hopes to raise at least $10 million this year and has already netted at least $1 million from Cargill heirs Whitney and Betty Macmillan. Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2020-04-30 09:00:00 UTC ]
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Watch live Thursday at 10 a.m. EDT: Condé Nast's Pam Drucker Mann on the state of media in the pandemic

In this live episode of Ad Age Remotely, Condé Nast's chief revenue officer discusses how the publishing giant is navigating managing costs and ad revenue.  Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2020-04-29 22:14:12 UTC ]
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BNP Media to Take Most of Its Magazines Digital-Only By August

The fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating a planned shift from print to digital at Michigan-based BNP Media, where management has informed staffers that the company will be phasing out the print editions of all of its controlled-circulation trade magazines by the end of July. The... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-04-28 15:18:48 UTC ]
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What needs to be done to help the media industry?

If it wasn’t already obvious that the media industry was in dire straits before the coronavirus came along, it has become abundantly obvious now. Every day, it seems, news outlets large and small are announcing waves of furloughs, salary cuts, and layoffs for significant numbers of their... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-04-24 11:57:00 UTC ]
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G/O Media Promotes Deadspin EIC Jim Rich to Editorial Director | People on the Move

[caption id="attachment_180020" align="alignright" width="150"] Jim Rich[/caption] G/O Media announced Wednesday that Deadspin editor-in-chief Jim Rich has been promoted to editorial director across the company's entire portfolio, which also includes sites like The A.V. Club, Gizmodo, Kotaku,... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-04-22 19:47:03 UTC ]
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Coronavirus continues to take its toll on the media industry

It’s hard to imagine an industry more poorly prepared for the arrival of a global pandemic than the media business. Even before “coronavirus” became a household word, the industry was already reeling from a series of body blows, most of them delivered by Google and Facebook and their dominance... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-04-20 11:45:00 UTC ]
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The right-wing media’s rallying cry: anti-lockdown edition

On Monday, Joshua A. Bickel, on assignment for the Columbus Dispatch, took a photo that went viral. Bickel was in the Ohio statehouse, where he’d been sent, in the absence of a furloughed colleague, to film a briefing by Mike DeWine, the governor. His photo captured a group of protesters,... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-04-17 12:00:34 UTC ]
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Modern Luxury Media Furloughs Staff, Combines Issues

Modern Luxury Media, publisher of more than 40 high-end regional lifestyle magazines, has furloughed a significant number of staffers across the company through at least the end of June as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. CEO Michael Dickey—who noted that he and other executives are forgoing... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-04-14 18:53:14 UTC ]
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Group Nine Media Lays Off 7% of Staff

Group Nine Media, whose digital media properties include PopSugar, The Dodo and NowThis, laid off dozens of employees, or 7% of its more than 700-person staff, across the company. It's the latest publisher to take drastic action as COVID-19 has drastically altered the media landscape. As the... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2020-04-07 20:39:10 UTC ]
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‘Walden’ may be the most famous act of social distancing. It’s also a lesson on the importance of community.

Henry David Thoreau’s most famous book is more than a guide to nature. It’s a memoir of grieving. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-04-07 12:00:00 UTC ]
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In Camus’ ‘The Plague,’ lessons about fear, quarantine and the human spirit

Cut off from the world, residents of a stricken city must discover new ways to live. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-04-03 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Independent and Profitable, Digital Trends Aims to Redefine Tech Media

Asked whether, back in 2006, he could have possibly envisioned that the tech review blog he co-founded, using rented office space above an Oregon furniture store, would one day grow into a profitable digital media enterprise spanning three offices on two coasts and attracting talent from the... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-03-31 17:01:10 UTC ]
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Complex’s Rich Antoniello’s recipe for media in crisis: ‘Brand plus brains plus balance sheet’

For publishing companies to survive a global crisis like the one we're in, Rich Antoniello's formula is 'brand, plus brains, plus balance sheet." He would know, having stewarded Complex through the 2008 financial crisis as CEO, the role he still holds now. But compared to that, the downturn... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2020-03-31 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Macmillan drops controversial US e-book library policy

Macmillan has abandoned its controversial lending policy on e-books for US libraries in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-18 05:44:27 UTC ]
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Digital Media India: Google Highlights Data, Subscription Products for Publishers

At the recent Digital Media India conference, Rohan Tiwary of Google Asia Pacific, offered updates on some of the company’s ongoing Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2020-03-17 17:30:42 UTC ]
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