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 ]
When a social media millionaire bought the highbrow, long-form magazine, the result – with the best of intentions – was failure born of incomprehensionWhere might James Graham find another journalism drama to rival Ink, his triumphant Birth of the Bun saga – this time maybe on Broadway? Easy. He... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
CEO says Facebook is ‘watching closely’ and will ‘take down threats of physical harm’, joining raft of tech companies purging white nationalists and neo-NazisMark Zuckerberg broke his silence on the white supremacist violence in Charlottesville last weekend, writing in a Facebook post Wednesday... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
If Jeff Bezos really wants make an impact, he should look to places where books aren't sold—but lent. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2017-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Twenty-three years ago, Jeff Bezos was selling books out of his garage. On Thursday, the Amazon chief executive at least temporarily dethroned Bill Gates as the richest person in the world. Following a 1.3% jump in Amazon.com Inc. shares Thursday morning, Bezos, 53, was worth as much as $91.3... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
News Corp., publisher of the Wall Street Journal and the Times of London, is holding "very advanced" discussions with Facebook about subscriptions to its content online, CEO Officer Robert Thomson said."I've been talking with Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, exchanging thoughts, on how important it... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2017-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
If you are worried your beach reads might be a little too easy this summer, Gates has some more heady suggestions for you. As one of the world’s top philanthropists, perhaps it makes sense that Bill Gates is treating beach reading like an intellectual cause: Each year, he offers up his list of... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2017-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Ad Age "Media Guy" columnist Simon Dumenco's media roundup for the morning of Friday, May 19:I came thisclose to being able to make this a Trump-free edition of your daily media scan, but then, well, see Nos. 5 and 6, below. (Sorry!) Anyway, let's get started ...1. More evidence that Jeff Bezos... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2017-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Awami League-controlled government has charged and jailed journalists using vague new laws Mahfuz Anam still laughs at the size of the damages claims he was landed with last year. “It amounted to about US $8bn [£6.2bn],” the editor of Bangladesh’s Daily Star newspaper said. “I’m in the realm... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Consumer sales down to £204m last year and are at lowest level since 2011 – when Amazon Kindle sales first took off in UK Britons are abandoning the ebook at an alarming rate with sales of consumer titles down almost a fifth last year, as “screen fatigue” helped fuel a five-year high in printed... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Every day, digital publishers are challenged by the fragmentation of media. Third-party and social platforms appropriating content, mobile "snacking," low-quality "clickbait" competition and content recommendation services that drive visitors off-site are just some of the factors depressing... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2017-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
It can be cheaper to buy the physical copy of a book than a digital download thanks to changes in Amazon’s deal with publishersAt the start of this decade publishers feared the death of the paperback. Britons abandoned bookshops at an alarming rate, seduced by e-readers and cheap digital... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Bill Gates was "super-touched" by a moving tale shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2017-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Fast Company talks with author Yuval Noah Harari, whose new book looks ahead and hazards a few guesses on what's next for humanity. Fast Company talks with author Yuval Noah Harari, whose new book looks ahead and hazards a few guesses on what's next for humanity.Yuval Noah... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2017-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
If you controlled a media publishing platform that connected to millions of people, it'd make you a pretty powerful individual. Not so, according to Mark Zuckerberg, who has come out against the notion that Facebook helped win it for Trump. TechCrunc... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2016-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Apple CEO Tim Cook and Microsoft founder Bill Gates were both on a list of potential vice presidential candidates for Democrat Hillary Clinton, according to a leaked email published on Tuesday by Wikileaks. The email, apparently sent by campaign chairman John Podesta on March 17, named the two... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2016-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
After investing millions of dollars in education and opening their own private K-12 school this year, pediatrician Priscilla Chan and her Facebook-founding husband, Mark Zuckerberg, announced Wednesday that they will invest $3 billion over the next decade to fight diseases. The funds will come... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
As Facebook has taken on the mantle of content distributor, news publisher and story curator, the world's biggest social media company has ventured into the territory of traditional media companies. Such moves have helped Facebook attract users and advertising dollars -- but they have also... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
As Facebook has taken on the mantle of content distributor, news publisher and story curator, the world's biggest social media company has ventured into the territory of traditional media companies. Such moves have helped Facebook attract users and advertising dollars -- but they have also... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Oprah has her book club. Mark Zuckerberg had his Year of Books. And Bill Gates has his annual reading lists — book recommendations shared each year by the Microsoft founder and philanthropist. Gates' 2016 list of summertime reads, complete with an animated video describing his picks, was released... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this