City University of New York / BuzzMachine
Professor of Journalism at the City of University of New York and Director of its Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism; blogger at BuzzMachine.com and author of What Would Google Do? and Public Parts: How Sharing in the Digital Age Improves the Way We Work and Live
Competition: In the Olympic Games and in the Media As world-class athletes go for the gold , NBC television goes for the audience. But those formerly passive viewers now have a voice, and it's a loud one. On Twitter and Facebook, on blog after blog, NBC has been excoriated since the opening ceremonies: for commentary, dramatizations and especially tape delays. Instead of destroying the old business model, are the New Media reinforcing it? Photo: USA gymnasts celebrate on the podium after winning the gold medal in the Artistic Gymnastics Women's Team final on Day 4
Competition: In the Olympic Games and in the Media As world-class athletes go for the gold, NBC television is going for the audience. But those formerly passive viewers now have a voice -- and it's a loud one. On Twitter and Facebook, on blog after blog, NBC has been excoriated since the opening ceremonies: for commentary, dramatizations and especially tape delays. At the same time, prime time viewing is off the charts. We hear from the tweeter who was famously shut down and from inside NBC strategy sessions.
The Uses of Social Media and the Right to Free Speech Facebook, Twitter and other social media have allowed Egyptians, Iranians, Chinese and others to challenge repressive governments. The governments, in turn, have been criticized for shutting the media down. Now countries with traditions of protecting free speech face a different challenge. Recent incidents, from London to San Francisco, have led to crackdowns, including prior restraint in the name of law and order. When social media are used to advocate violence, organize riots or coordinate crime, can government block access to the perpetrators and others as well? Will there be new limitations on the right to free speech as the law catches up with the technology?
The Internet and Education Almost every American student in K through 12 now has access to a computer. But public school districts are desperately short of money. What do they do in the Internet Age? They lay off librarians. Sara Scribner is one of several librarians who’ve received pink-slips in Pasadena. She says the real losers are students who need what she calls " Internet literacy ." We hear from Scribner and others on whether the Internet is turning our kids into experts or idiots.
Is the Internet Making School Kids Experts or Idiots? Almost every American student in K through 12 now has access to a computer. But public school districts are desperately short of money. What do they do in the Internet Age? They lay off librarians. Internet-savvy kids can do research on Google, but who's teaching them how to cull through that mass of information to separate fact from fiction? Boosters of the digitized culture say the Age of Gatekeepers is over, that the idea of authority is being overwhelmed by the prospect of freedom. Critics say that will leave kids to fend for themselves in world full of misinformation and propaganda. We hear both sides.
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.