In my 'digital thinking' class, the goal is for students to emerge fully literate in the changes affecting journalism. Here are the main currents and trends that I expect them to master by the close of the term.
It simply isn't true that an algorithmic filter can be designed to remove the designers from the equation. That assertion melts on contact, and a New York Times reporter who receives such a claim from a Facebook engineer should somehow signal to us that he knows how bogus it is.
That's what I asked Jeff Hancock, the Cornell University professor who collaborated with Facebook on its 'emotional contagion' study, which subtly manipulated the news feeds of users to see if happier inputs made for sadder outputs. I also listened closely as he spoke of being in the center of an internet storm. Conclusion: I am not convinced.
In November of last year, I said that I was joining First Look Media, Pierre Omidyar's start-up, as a (paid) advisor. Today, I am announcing that I am no longer involved in First Look.
A disgusted viewer and longtime critic of the Sunday shows — that would be me — interviews NBC's Chuck Todd about his attempt to remake the most famous of those shows.
PRESSTHINK is a project of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University. It is written and edited by professor Jay Rosen, who has taught at NYU since 1986. The blog is about the fate of the press in a digital era and the challenges involved in rethinking what journalism is today. It presents essays, press criticism, interviews and speeches. PressThink does not accept advertising.