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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Mark Zuckerberg’s New Year’s Resolution: Start a Worldwide Book Club

It's going to be tough for Mark Zuckerberg to break his New Year's resolution this year. He's got more than 130,000 people to keep him accountable. The post Mark Zuckerberg’s New Year’s Resolution: Start a Worldwide Book Club appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2015-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bezos admits making 'billion of dollars of failures' at Amazon

Amazon c.e.o. Jeff Bezos has admitted to making “billions of dollars of failures” at the company, and has said it does not matter. Speaking at Business Insider’s Ignition conference, Bezos also addressed the dispute the online retailer had with Hachette Book Group in the US, which has now been... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cheaper books make for wealthier authors, insists Amazon's Jeff Bezos

'The Kindle is trying to reduce friction for reading a whole book, and it’s working,' Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said at a conference yesterday. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors take out full-page NYT ad to criticize Amazon

There's no sign that Amazon and Hachette are close to burying their ebook hatchet, which has prompted the authors caught in the middle to speak up. One of those affected, Douglas Preston, penned an open letter to Jeff Bezos, requesting that he... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Business Adventures why Bill Gates's favourite book is back at the top of the bestseller lists

It is 43 years old and was out of print for ages, but the Microsoft mogul's approval has caused a brand new surge in salesName: Business AdventuresAge: 43 Continue reading... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Billionaires’ Favorite Book

It’s recently emerged that America’s two richest men share not only a fondness for bridge, but identical taste in literature. Both Bill Gates and Warren Buffet—according to an essay this week from Gates—count John Brooks’ Business Adventures as their single favorite book about business. Why is... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2014-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Did sales affect Time's pick for Person of the Year?

Did Time magazine pick Pope Francis as its Person of the Year because he'll sell more magazines than Edward Snowden? That's what some media outlets and Twitter users suggested Wednesday after the new pontiff beat out Mr. Snowden for the recognition.Business Insider, for instance, wrote:"Snowden,... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2013-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bill Gates: Here Are the Books I Read When Out on the Road

I read while traveling, waiting for meetings, in the evening, and especially on vacation. As you can see, I'm still pretty much an old-school print guy, because I like to jot notes in the margins, but I assume I'll move over to ebooks when annotation features get better.     Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bezos portrait wins FT/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year

Brad Stone's The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon (Bantam Press) has won... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jeff Bezos's Wife Gave The Tell–All Amazon Book A One–Star Review

"I find way too many inaccuracies," MacKenzie Bezos writes in a critical Amazon.com review of a new book about the company her husband founded.The vast majority of the 45 Amazon.com customers who have reviewed Bloomberg Businessweek writer Brad Stone's new book, The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-11-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Everyone's a Critic, and Everyone Is a Publisher: Brad Stone on MacKenzie Bezos on Brad Stone on Jeff Bezos

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[ AllThingsD | 2013-11-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bezos’s E-Book Overhaul Provides Blueprint for Post

Jeff Bezos has already transformed one traditional print business -- books -- into a digital one. The experience provides a blueprint for how the billionaire technology executive is now poised to overhaul newspapers following his $250 million acquisi ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook For Every Phone? Not Quite, But Getting There

The social network announces it is seeing huge mobile success, even on non-smartphones. That great mobile push launched by Mark Zuckerberg six months ago is starting to bear fruit. Yesterday Facebook published a blog post claiming 100 million users sign into the social network via its... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jeff Bezos Reveals Amazon Makes No Dough On Its Hardware

Jeff Bezos, in the U.K. to launch the Kindle Paperwhite and Amazon's Lending Library service, has told the BBC that his firm makes no money on its Kindles. "We make money from when people use our devices, not when people buy our devices," he told technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones. "That... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2012-10-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PayPal, You've Met Your Match: Erotica Writers

Mark Coker of Smashwords became the leader of indie ebook writers--including some with dirty minds--in a fight against censorship and PayPal. He also has strong feelings about the DOJ's ebook pricing lawsuit.Mark Coker is the CEO of Smashwords, an ebook publishing and distribution platform.... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2012-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bezos tops Guardian book trade power list

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon drops price of ad-supported Kindle

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 13/07/2011 - 15:32 Amazon.com has dropped the price of its advertising-heavy Amazon 3G Kindle to $139 (£86.91). Telecoms company AT&T is sponsoring the Kindle with Special Offers, which will include campaigns for customers and sponsored... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Yes, That Is a Cat on the Head of a Soon-to-Be Public Company CEO (And, Of Course, It's Groupon's Andrew Mason)

Do you think Zynga's Mark Pincus would put a cat on his head for a national magazine shoot? Or LinkedIn's Jeff Weiner? Or, perish the thought, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook? But the wacky stylings of Groupon CEO and Co-founder Andrew Mason seem to demand it. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-Books Outsell Print Books at Amazon

Amazon.com said that it sold 105 ebooks for every 100 printed books, a milestone that its chief executive, Jeff Bezos, said had occurred sooner than expected. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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