Top News:
Zoe Schiffer / The Verge:
Netflix fires a leader of the trans employee resource group who was organizing a walkout, for allegedly leaking metrics related to the Dave Chappelle special — The company suspects they leaked metrics about the Dave Chappelle special to the press — Netflix has fired a leader …
Discussion:
Variety, Insider, Gizmodo, @bcmerchant, @bigblackjacobin, @bigblackjacobin, @naima, @dianelyssa, @koblin, @heerjeet, @sorayamcdonald, @awkward_duck, @brownblaze, @rlyeh, @rlyeh, @rlyeh, @rlyeh, @rlyeh, @rlyeh, Rolling Stone, UPROXX, @aguirreryan, @ericdharvey, @battymamzelle, @earth_woman1, @inafried, New York Times, IndieWire, @dtemkin, @kvanaren, @phil_lewis_, @femme_thoughts, @jackietorrens, @wagatwe, @bad_dominicana, @intothemelwoods, @hologramvin, @worthless_bums, @phil_lewis_, @sadydoyle, @akilahobviously and Vanity Fair, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Naman Ramachandran / Variety: Australian Comedian Hannah Gadsby Slams Ted Sarandos After Being Referenced in Dave Chappelle Memo
Francis Agustin / Insider: Netflix fires the organizer of a trans employee walkout
Brianna Provenzano / Gizmodo: Netflix Has Fired a Pregnant Organizer of the Trans Employee Walkout
Brian Merchant / @bcmerchant: Yep. Our labor laws are so weak that even though this is as blatant an example of retaliation as you're ever likely to see, the best the fired worker can likely hope for from a wrongful termination suit is, like, restored back pay. No incentive for Netflix not to crush them https://twitter.com/...
Edward Ongweso Jr / @bigblackjacobin: Labor law & enforcement is such that even though it is almost certain that the firing was retaliation, they will likely beat any legal challenge (or view the consequences of losing in court as substantially smaller than failing to scare/crush/punish organizing) https://twitter.com/...
Edward Ongweso Jr / @bigblackjacobin: For most Silicon Valley firms, this calculation makes sense. Letting workers have the ability to veto managerial decisions is dangerous, it cultivates the sense that their workplaces are democracies, instead of an enlightened but absolutist space where orders come from the top
Naima Cochrane / @naima: Tell me again about “cancel culture” https://twitter.com/...
John Koblin / @koblin: Hannah Gadsby calls Netflix an “amoral algorithm cult.” Ted Sarandos fielded several tough questions at an emotional virtual town hall. A staffer is fired for leaking to the press. Friday at Netflix: https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jeet Heer / @heerjeet: there's an entire cohort of writers who have made it their career to avoid talk about the power dynamics on this issue (while pandering to those who have power). https://twitter.com/...
Big Relly / @awkward_duck: If there ever was such a thing as ‘cancel culture’ it doesn't seem to be getting who y'all say it does. https://twitter.com/...
Ashley Yates / @brownblaze: “All these white people are going around talking to the press and speaking publicly on Twitter and the only person who gets fired is the Black person who was quiet the entire time,” says a former employee in an interview with The Verge." https://twitter.com/...
@rlyeh: If someone leaks a document relevant to this, ignore it. If someone talks to the press, ignore it. Because you're not getting rid of troublemakers. You're creating a company that regards the people who care about Netflix and what it's like to work there as troublemakers. 13/
@rlyeh: This cascade will sour the best parts of your company culture and erode employee pride in working there. They won't wear your company swag as much and they won't talk glowingly about their employer, even if they love their job. 10/
@rlyeh: I want to say some things about the Netflix mess, but it will run long because staying in my lane will be tricky. 1/
@rlyeh: Absolutely nothing your trans employees do right now to criticize management and the company internally or publicly will do nearly as much damage to Netflix (as a company or brand) as penalizing (officially or not) them for doing so. 12/
@rlyeh: The suspension/reinstatement of one trans employee is a very bad sign for all Netflix employees. I can't say where, but I've seen this movie before. Unless management puts the brakes on right now, it's going to start a multi-year cascade of interactions with no good end. 9/
@rlyeh: Netflix's position content on the screen doesn't have real-world impact is hopelessly unsupported by both history and studies. Criticizing and mocking marginalized groups in media is a cornerstone of hate. There's good evidence it reduces friction for violence. 4/
Jon Blistein / Rolling Stone: Netflix Employee Organizing Chappelle Walkout Fired for Leaking Info to Press
Mike Redmond / UPROXX: Netflix Has Fired The Organizer Of A Trans Employee Walkout That Was Sparked By The Dave Chappelle Controversy
@aguirreryan: “The Closer” cost almost 3 million more than Squid Game, literally HOW https://www.bloomberg.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Eric Harvey / @ericdharvey: I don't know anything about anything but $24 million for a stand-special seems like a lot https://www.bloomberg.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@earth_woman1: Wow, @netflix, you fired a black, trans, pregnant person for basically no reason other than you could do it to intimidate your staff from ever speaking out against bigotry. https://www.theverge.com/...
Ina Fried / @inafried: Thoughts on the Netflix-Chappelle situation from Hannah Gadsby. https://variety.com/...
Ryan Lattanzio / IndieWire: Netflix Fires Employee for Leaking Confidential Data About Dave Chappelle Special ‘The Closer’
Dave Temkin / @dtemkin: You actually have lost the plot, Netflix. The level that they cover for their executives while throwing a black, trans employee under the bus is in many ways, not surprising. https://www.theverge.com/...
Kathryn VanArendonk / @kvanaren: once again congrats to netflix on the TRULY stellar PR work here https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Philip Lewis / @phil_lewis_: Netflix has fired the organizer of the upcoming employee walkout on October 20 The employee, who is Black and pregnant, was encouraging employees and allies to walk out of work in protest of Netflix's handling of the Dave Chappelle special https://www.theverge.com/...
Sydney Bauer / @femme_thoughts: Genuinely didn't think things could have gotten worse at netflix, but it has: https://www.theverge.com/...
Jackie Torrens / @jackietorrens: “The employee, who is Black and currently pregnant, asked not to be named for fear of online harassment. They have been encouraging trans employees and allies to walk out of work in protest of Netflix's handling of the Dave Chappelle special The Closer.” https://www.theverge.com/...
Wagatwe Wan-spooky / @wagatwe: Bigots profit while everyone else pays the price. https://twitter.com/...
@bad_dominicana: what happened to freedom of speech? it only applies to wealthy cis hetero males? how curious! https://twitter.com/...
Mel Woods / @intothemelwoods: Good lord. The hole Netflix leadership is digging itself into truly knows no limit to how deep it can get. https://www.theverge.com/...
@hologramvin: its important to note with this just happening that a) the white trans employees have been able to somewhat speak publicly on this, b) the person who was *actually fired* now is a Black trans person who had not spoken publicly on it at all! https://www.theverge.com/...
@worthless_bums: “All these white people are going around talking to the press and speaking publicly on Twitter and the only person who gets fired is the Black person who was quiet the entire time,” says a former employee in an interview with The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Philip Lewis / @phil_lewis_: “The employee was terminated on suspicion of leaking metrics to the press related to the Dave Chappelle special.” https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Akilah Hughes / @akilahobviously: This is really proving Dave's point about censorship, just in the real way and not his scaredy brain way. https://twitter.com/...
RELATED:
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Leaked Netflix documents of metrics evaluating shows indicate $24.1M spent on Chappelle's The Closer vs. $21.4M on Squid Game — The company is dealing with an internal outcry unprecedented in its history. — Netflix Inc. employees raised concerns about offensive material in Dave Chappelle's …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Variety, New York Times, The Wrap, Los Angeles Times, NME, The Entertainment Strategy Guy, NPR, IndieWire, @jedigoodman, @itsmechriswade, TheBlaze, Decider, Deadline, Protocol, @loudmouthjulia, @loudmouthjulia, Wired, Vanity Fair, Insider, ScreenRant, @slatzism and Hollywood Reporter
Discussion:
Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch: Netflix fired the employee who organized a walkout in solidarity with trans workers
Todd Spangler / Variety: Netflix Fires Employee for Sharing Confidential Data About Dave Chappelle Stand-Up Special Outside the Company
John Koblin / New York Times: At Netflix, a star and employees pressure a top executive over Dave Chappelle's special.
Tim Baysinger / The Wrap: Netflix Fires Employee for Leaking Financial Info on Dave Chappelle's ‘Sticks & Stones’ Special
Nardine Saad / Los Angeles Times: Netflix fires employee for leaking ‘sensitive’ information about Chappelle special
Andrew Limbong / NPR: Netflix fires employee as internal conflicts over latest Dave Chappelle special grow
Jed I. Goodman / @jedigoodman: “Netflix spent $24.1 million on the “The Closer,” slightly more than the $23.6 million it paid for Chappelle's 2019 special, “Sticks & Stones.” “The nine-episode “Squid Game,” which delivered the best debut in Netflix history, cost $21.4 million.” https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Ghostopher Wraith / @itsmechriswade: “[Netflix] also evaluates its programs by “efficiency,” which balances a show's reach with its price-tag. On that scale, Chappelle's [Sticks & Stones] scored 0.8 — less than the break-even score of 1.” https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Paul Sacca / TheBlaze: Netflix fires organizer of trans employee walkout over leak of confidential data related to Dave Chappelle's special
Abby Monteil / Decider: Netflix Reportedly Fires Organizer of Trans Employee Walkout for Leaking Financial Data
Dominic Patten / Deadline: Dave Chappelle ‘Closer’ Controversy Blast Radius Grows As Netflix Pink Slips Dismayed Staffer Over Leak
David Pierce / Protocol: Tech's big bad morale problem
Julia Alexander / @loudmouthjulia: Was able to see a few pages back when I was a reporter, and it truly is a wild amount of data that any and every employee has access to. It's surprising there aren't more leaks all things considered. Those data points are as complex as they are simplified in presentable form.
Julia Alexander / @loudmouthjulia: Great, detailed report on the issues inside Netflix. Also looks at the numerous data points Netflix uses, including impact, to determine whether a title is successful or not. Netflix title pages contain tons of valuable metrics used to look at key, specific success indicators. https://twitter.com/...
Angela Watercutter / Wired: Dave Chappelle and the Problem of Popularity
Savannah Walsh / Vanity Fair: Hannah Gadsby to Netflix Chief Ted Sarandos: “F—k You”
Travis Clark / Insider: Comedian Hannah Gadsby tore into Netflix's ‘amoral algorithm cult’ after its co-CEO defended releasing Chappelle's new special
Bojan Pancevski / Wall Street Journal:
Axel Springer CEO details plans for Politico, including expanding staff from 900 to 1,000, publishing in several languages, and eventually adding a paywall — Axel Springer, whose $1 billion acquisition of Politico is expected to close next week, also eyes foreign-language editions
Discussion:
Matt Pearce / @mattdpearce: They should teach these three paragraphs in journalism school. https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@mcbyrne: Wait. We're supposed to pay to read about the tweets @WHCOS likes each day? https://twitter.com/...
Laura Wagner / @laurawags: I understand it's the Wall Street Journal but it is flatly insane to let this claim stand in a story in which the CEO says that reporters who don't share certain political and ideological “values” should “not work for” the company. https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Tim Marchman / @timmarchman: Clearly it's important for reporters to be unbiased and nonpartisan and also to be against a mixed economy, putting them substantially to the right of any U.S. politician of any prominence. https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Tyson Brody / @tysonbrody: what if you built the whole plane out of politico pro https://twitter.com/...
@drewsav: Maybe I'm wrong but wasn't Politico's appeal when it launched was that it wasn't like the conventional newspapers? https://twitter.com/...
Jim Waterson / @jimwaterson: Axel Springer's boss setting out the values it expects Politico journalists to adhere to when it completes its purchase of the news outlet. https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Keith Olbermann / @keitholbermann: Cool. Doesn't he first have to make the content something other than rewritten press releases? https://twitter.com/...
James Pindell / @jamespindell: In order words, Politico will complete their transition to being National Journal. https://twitter.com/...
Nathan Bernhardt / @jonbernhardt: going to be very funny when everyone at Politico UK just gets a blanket pass on point the first, which supporting Brexit is in clear violation of. Iron-hard, bedrock principles, except for the carve outs here and here and here and here and well it's just to keep Those Sorts out https://twitter.com/...
@mattdpearce: I think it's good for journalists to have clearly stated values, like supporting life, democracy and equality. We should have a reason for being here and doing all this stuff. But pretending that your values aren't an ideology, like Axel Springer, is just public relations.
Sewell Chan / @sewellchan: Hard to imagine a media owner in the US saying this: “There will be no restructuring, no synergies, no mergers and no cost-cutting.” https://www.wsj.com/...
Eddie Vale / @evale72: Expecting unbiased & nonpartisan reporting would appear to be in conflict with demanding your reporters also adhere to the owners positions on a list of specific issues?? https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Richard Grenell / @richardgrenell: German media company that has complained about the woke state of US media buys @politico. Expect changes. #balance Watch @nytimes & lefty publications complain about Axel Springer's move. Springer demands employees be pro-capitalism & pro-Israel. https://www.wsj.com/...
Jason Hancock / Missouri Independent:
Missouri's governor vows to prosecute a reporter he labeled a hacker after the reporter alerted the state to a website flaw that exposed teachers' SSNs — On Tuesday, a reporter with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch alerted the state that Social Security numbers of school teachers and administrators …
Discussion:
@govparsonmo, New York Times, @govparsonmo, Washington Post, @johnleschen, USA Today, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, @govparsonmo, @aman4allsaisons, @teapainusa, Krebs on Security, @evacide, The Verge, @tonylovasco, @racheltobac, @pettycommajared, Associated Press, @doctorow, Metacurity, @mat, TechCrunch, @pry0cc, @jeremiahg, @malwarejake, @jeremiahg, Techdirt, Pluralistic, @mattdpearce, Newser, @jeremiahg, @doctorow, @jdmar3, @doctorow, @doctorow, @malwaretechblog, @jamiedupree, @profcarroll, @dataeditor, @rachelwalexande, @shanselman, @patio11, @tessa_weinberg, @vickerysec, @infosec_taylor, @litmoose, @kurteichenwald, @sarhutch, @sarhutch, @bengoerz, @wbm312, @gamescan, @hacks4pancakes, @hacks4pancakes, @govparsonmo, @hacks4pancakes, @bengoerz, @snlyngaas, @quinnypig, @manjusrii, @jonrosenberg, @mattblaze, @k8em0, @webster, @dangillmor, @digiphile, @hayesbrown, @spj_tweets, @marissaaevans, @wongmjane, @laura_nelson, @webster, @helenkennedy, @greg_doucette, @dangillmor, @racheltobac, @albertocairo, @greg_doucette, @rcfp, @jgamblin, @arkansasblog, @aishas, @harrymccracken, @jgamblin, @davidcayj, @gabrieljr, @losowsky, @jadelson, @properlyzuri, @jadelson, @charlesminshew, @jeffstone500, @capitolwatch, @mackenziehuck, @jaspar, @markberman, @petersterne, @averygwilks, @totally_t_bomb, @celestebott, @ilanakeller, @westbywest, @codysandusky, @hootnhollerpod, @hootnhollerpod, @swiftonsecurity, @sengregrazer, @jribas, @allie_kite, @fakebenjay, @charlesminshew, @mtdukes, @mtdukes, @armystrang, @sdkstl and Gizmodo
Discussion:
Governor Mike Parson / @govparsonmo: Through a multi-step process, an individual took the records of at least three educators, decoded the HTML source code, and viewed the SSN of those specific educators. We notified the Cole County prosecutor and the Highway Patrol's Digital Forensic Unit will investigate. https://twitter.com/...
Maria Cramer / New York Times: Governor Accuses Reporter of Hacking After Flaws in State Website Are Revealed
Governor Mike Parson / @govparsonmo: We want to be clear, this DESE hack was more than a simple “right click.” THE FACTS: An individual accessed source code and then went a step further to convert and decode that data in order to obtain Missouri teachers' personal information. (1/3) https://twitter.com/...
Philip Bump / Washington Post: A newspaper informed Missouri about a website flaw. The governor accused it of ‘hacking.’
John Leschen / @johnleschen: @GovParsonMO https://twitter.com/...
Josh Renaud / St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missouri teachers' Social Security numbers at risk on state agency's website
Governor Mike Parson / @govparsonmo: This morning, at 9:45 a.m., I will hold a press conference regarding the recent hacking of @MOEducation's website. We will outline the state's efforts to strengthen data security and the steps that will be taken to hold those involved accountable. https://twitter.com/...
@aman4allsaisons: “View Source Is Not A Crime” deserved a sticker. Feel free to make your own. https://www.zazzle.com/... https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Tea Pain / @teapainusa: The only crime is reportin' Republican's mistakes. https://www.rawstory.com/...
Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security: Missouri Governor Vows to Prosecute St. Louis Post-Dispatch for Reporting Security Vulnerability
Eva / @evacide: “View source” is not a crime. Prosecuting people for reporting security flaws in your website is vile. https://twitter.com/...
Mitchell Clark / The Verge: Missouri governor threatens reporter who discovered state site spilling private info
Rep. Tony Lovasco / @tonylovasco: It's clear the Governor's office has a fundamental misunderstanding of both web technology and industry standard procedures for reporting security vulnerabilities. Journalists responsibly sounding an alarm on data privacy is not criminal hacking. #moleg https://www.stltoday.com/...
Rachel Tobac / @racheltobac: Hitting F12 in a browser is not hacking. If your code leaks personal data via public development tools that any person can see by simply pressing F12 on a keyboard then you have a huge data leak issue, not a hacking situation, on your hands. Fix your website. https://twitter.com/...
Jared Petty / @pettycommajared: This is like the state of Missouri neglegently posting people's social security numbers in the footnotes on a roadside billboard and then suing journalists for reading the billboard carefully and reporting the numbers exist and shouldn't be there. https://www.npr.org/...
Associated Press: Journalist warns Missouri about security breach. He's threatened with criminal charges.
Cory Doctorow / @doctorow: We're a couple decades into the slow-motion information security emergency, and it's speeding up, and most people genuinely don't understand the fundamental premise that “security” is always contextual, in relation to a threat. 22/
Cynthia Brumfield / Metacurity: Missouri Governor Seeks to Prosecute Journalist for Responsibly Reporting Flaw in State's Website
Mat Honan / @mat: This is like a Labrador Retriever explaining a vacuum cleaner https://twitter.com/...
Carly Page / TechCrunch: F12 isn't hacking: Missouri governor threatens to prosecute local journalist for finding exposed state data
Pry / @pry0cc: This is what happens when y'all say HTML is a programming language and not markup 😭🤣 https://twitter.com/...
Jeremiah Grossman / @jeremiahg: At the appropriate time, someone will also need to inform the Missouri Governor and Cole County Prosecutor about Google Cache and the Wayback Machine.
Jake Williams / @malwarejake: Serious talk for my less technical followers: it doesn't matter how many steps it takes to convert the data to a social security number. The data never should be exposed to public access in any format that can be decoded, regardless of the number of steps. Period. 1/ https://twitter.com/...
Jeremiah Grossman / @jeremiahg: I'll tell you exactly why many of us in Tech and InfoSec are especially sensitive about complete BS like this and react accordingly. Aaron Swartz. https://twitter.com/...
Mike Masnick / Techdirt: Journalists In St. Louis Discover State Agency Is Revealing Teacher Social Security Numbers; Governors Vows To Prosecute Journalists As Hackers
Matt Pearce / @mattdpearce: in seriousness: headlines like these undersell the real scandalousness of what Parson is doing. the state published teachers' Social Security Numbers online and is now threatening to prosecute a journalist who tried to protect the teachers' privacy. that's *two* scandals, not one https://twitter.com/...
Jeremiah Grossman / @jeremiahg: Thinking one step forward, whatever person or company built this app... find out what other websites they built and it'll probably have the exact same problems. Highly unlikely this is a one-off.
Cory Doctorow / @doctorow: Renaud did a public service for 100,000 Missouri state employees. He deserves the governor's praise and thanks, not his threats. There IS a place for security measures that assume good faith but bad follow-through - they are essential for groups that trust each other. 33/
@jdmar3: My dude, if someone can right click “view source” and see a SSN for an employee, that is on your web developers. I've seen that kind of amateur shit before, so it's definitely possible, but it looks like the problem might be on your end. https://twitter.com/...
Cory Doctorow / @doctorow: But a public website is visible to the whole world, which, by definition, includes literally everyone in the world you DON'T trust. Sending sensitive information to people you don't trust but tagging it “Please don't look at this” is obviously bad security. 34/
Cory Doctorow / @doctorow: That ignorance is dangerous. It's what's behind #Missouri Governor @GovParsonMO's absolutely shameful slander and threats against @PostDispatchbiz reporter @Kirkman. https://krebsonsecurity.com/ ... 23/
@malwaretechblog: This is like if a bank mailed someone an envelope full of cash and then accused them of bank robbery for opening it. Either the governor has no understanding of how computers work or is just trying to distract from their screw up (probably both). https://twitter.com/...
Jamie Dupree / @jamiedupree: This Governor reminds me of old fart members of Congress who aren't really up to speed on how the internet works. https://missouriindependent.com/ ...
David Carroll / @profcarroll: Selecting View Source from a browser menu is not a crime! Decoding URL encoding is not a crime! This is the most dangerous kind of lawmaker tech illiteracy force multiplied by public IT being bad at privacy because extreme negligence with personal data is not a crime! https://twitter.com/...
Steven Rich / @dataeditor: this whole situation is like dropping your wallet without realizing, a stranger picking it up and handing it back to you and you calling the cops to report that person for robbery https://twitter.com/...
Rachel Alexander / @rachelwalexande: “Decoded the HTML source code” My dude, perhaps learn how the Internet works before you start prosecuting journalists for exposing massive security breaches in your state's IT infrastructure. https://twitter.com/...
Scott Hanselman / @shanselman: Hey @GovParsonMO open your browser and press F12. You're a hacker now. (Spoiler: you're not) https://twitter.com/...
Patrick McKenzie / @patio11: For geeks who have not heard @tqbf et al mention this: not every org in the world is a tech company with a bug bounty, and you might want to conclude “absence of an explicit bug bounty is a sign that sending in details of an exploit, even in good faith, is a risky endeavor.” https://twitter.com/...
Tessa Weinberg / @tessa_weinberg: “Putting Social Security numbers within HTML, even if it's ‘non-display rendering’ HTML, is a stupid thing for the Missouri website to do and is a type of boneheaded mistake that has been around since day one of the Internet...” https://missouriindependent.com/ ... via @J_Hancock #MoLeg
Chris Vickery / @vickerysec: This mentality is the reason why cybersecurity is terrible everywhere. Someone responsibly notified the State of Missouri about an agency exposing personal data to the public internet. And now the Governor of Missouri is trying to prosecute the person who notified the State. https://twitter.com/...
Ashley / @infosec_taylor: That's called a misconfiguration and that is an insider threat. It was publicly available information. No hacking needed. Either you are getting bad advice from your IT staff or you are GROSSLY misrepresenting what they are telling you. https://twitter.com/...
Moose / @litmoose: Growing up Floridian, I was used to the worst of all the news. If someone was horrendously wrong, or awful, or things went politically askew, it was always my home state. That extra breeze through your window tonight is the collective sigh of all FL infosec: “He's not ours!” https://twitter.com/...
Kurt Eichenwald / @kurteichenwald: This stunt by @GovParsonMO is like a bank president calling for a bank robbery charges when someone finds cash lying all over the lobby of the bank & notifies tellers it should be in the vault. @stltoday should sue the state if he goes through with this. https://www.rawstory.com/...
Sarah Hutchins / @sarhutch: This is a ✨ classic ✨ example of bad database design. In fact, Shaji Khan, the excellent cybersecurity prof. quoted by @stltoday, taught a whole class on how this stuff happens when I got my master's in data science. https://www.stltoday.com/...
Sarah Hutchins / @sarhutch: “The bigger problem...is that the sensitive data was there at all.” It wasn't the P-D that decided to put SSNs on a publicly accessible site. https://twitter.com/...
Ben Goerz / @bengoerz: @gamescan @GovParsonMO Key here: ENCODING is not ENCRYPTION. Encoding is reversible without a password. It is never sufficient to protect sensitive data like SSNs. Displaying encoded (but not encrypted) SSNs publicly online is negligent. The developer and state may be liable. https://www.packetlabs.net/...
Whitney Merrill / @wbm312: Whatever “award” or “recognition” for misguided security response was given to the Dallas County Sheriff for the Coalfire pentest arrest should also go to Governor Parson. https://twitter.com/...
Adam Pavlacka / @gamescan: @GovParsonMO To be CLEAR, HTML source code is FREELY available on a web page. It is NEVER secure. THE FACTS: If your devs put PII (such as SS numbers) in HTML source code, then they made a massive security blunder. The problem is with the developer of the app, not the reporter.
Lesley Carhart / @hacks4pancakes: To be abundantly clear - the data was wide open on the web - simple decrypting, decoding, and parsing on the client side is irrelevant to this.
Lesley Carhart / @hacks4pancakes: He's continuing to dig an even deeper hole with legal and technical misinformation. https://twitter.com/...
Governor Mike Parson / @govparsonmo: This data was not freely available, and by the actors own admission, the data had to be taken through eight separate steps in order to generate a SSN. (2/3)
Lesley Carhart / @hacks4pancakes: @GovParsonMO Narrator voice: what he just described is “freely available”
Ben Goerz / @bengoerz: @gamescan @GovParsonMO This is more than a “security blunder”. @GovParsonsMO, your web developers encoded (without encryption) SSNs and displayed them openly on the web. You have a massive data breach here. You need to engage a competent Incident Response firm & legal counsel immediately.
Sean Lyngaas / @snlyngaas: “If this is a crime, the law is on the wrong side of cybersecurity.” -@HarleyGeiger
Corey Quinn / @quinnypig: This is about as illegal as right-clicking an NFT! https://twitter.com/...
Belinda Barnet / @manjusrii: BREAKING: If you go to a website and select “view source” on the browser you're officially a hacker! https://twitter.com/...
Matt Blaze / @mattblaze: Don't encode SSNs of people in the HTML of publicly available webpages. And if you do, don't call the cops if someone notices and (quite responsibly) warns you. https://twitter.com/...
Katie Moussouris / @k8em0: That SSNs were embedded in the webpage demonstrates a low hanging fruit vulnerability that should have been prevented in the 1st place or at least found in a security assessment. Prose-killing the messenger only scares other security messengers away. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Tony Webster / @webster: I have questions about [*gestures at Gov. Parson's entire law enforcement career*] https://missouriindependent.com/ ...
Dan Gillmor / @dangillmor: Missouri's governor is on a rampage against the press, and journalists need to be clear that he's making entirely bogus charges against the St. Louis newspaper that discovered abysmal security practices on a state-run computer — and acted responsibly.
Alex Howard / @digiphile: 👎 @GovParsonMO doubled down on his bogus claim that a reporter who found & reported a flaw in a .gov that exposed state employee PII “hacked” it: https://twitter.com/... Data journalism is not a crime, Governor! @stltoday informed Missourians of government error. Please retract. https://twitter.com/...
Hayes Brown / @hayesbrown: “Multi-step process” is my favorite part of this. step 1) right-click page step 2) click “view source” step 3) have eyes https://twitter.com/...
@spj_tweets: “The newspaper agreed to hold off publishing any story while the department fixed the problem and protected the private information of teachers...Gov. Mike Parson was labeling the Post-Dispatch reporter a ‘hacker’ and vowing to seek criminal prosecution.” https://missouriindependent.com/ ...
Marissa / @marissaaevans: I really want to be surprised but members of the public don't realize how terrible and outdated these governmental websites are from a user experience and security standpoint. https://twitter.com/...
Jane Manchun Wong / @wongmjane: oh wow ,,HTML sounds scary. i will include my credit card number in my bio and sue anybody for pointing it out 😤😤😤😤 https://twitter.com/...
Laura J. Nelson / @laura_nelson: So, to recap, a @stltoday journalist found gaping holes in a Missouri website that left teachers' Social Security numbers exposed and told the state before running the story. In response, the governor has launched a police investigation into the reporter. https://www.stltoday.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Tony Webster / @webster: Gov. Parson is threatening to prosecute a journalist who 100% did the ethical thing by telling the state they were publishing teacher SSNs online, then holding publication of the story until after the state fixed it. That's the gold standard for reporting security failures. https://twitter.com/...
Helen Kennedy / @helenkennedy: It seems idiots in Missouri put 100k teachers' social security numbers online in HTML source, which a child can access. (Like, um, right clicking on “view page source.") The Post Dispatch did a story on the vulnerability, now the gov wants to prosecute them for “hacking.” https://twitter.com/...
T. Greg Doucette / @greg_doucette: “decoded the HTML source code” is not a thing... https://twitter.com/...
Dan Gillmor / @dangillmor: The governor of Missouri is in super-demagogue mode. Will journalists in Missouri — especially TV reporters — know enough about tech to understand how completely bogus his statements are? This is a test of local/regional journalism. (Also a test of CNN et al.) https://twitter.com/...
Rachel Tobac / @racheltobac: This person reported a vulnerability — a big data leak issue that anyone could see — and took time out of their day to report it to keep people safe. Changes were made to protect data, *and now they want to slap that person with criminal charges?* Absolutely not. https://twitter.com/...
Alberto Cairo / @albertocairo: It doesn't get more idiotic than this—the “hacking” was reading an HTML file—but this guy is a GOP heavyweight, so idiocy is a requirement in the job description: https://missouriindependent.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
T. Greg Doucette / @greg_doucette: Wow, it's somehow even dumber than I thought 😳 https://twitter.com/...
@rcfp: When a government official threatens to prosecute a journalist for doing their job... 🚩🚩🚩 https://missouriindependent.com/ ...
Jerry Gamblin / @jgamblin: Hey, @EFF can you make sure you look out for @kirkman? https://missouriindependent.com/ ...
@arkansasblog: Missouri governor vows criminal prosecution of reporter who found flaw in state website. Shades of Asa, bonus baby Mike and our badly flawed jobless benefit website. https://www.rawstory.com/...
Aisha Sultan / @aishas: There's a word for political leaders who threaten journalists with criminal prosecution because they uncover information that embarrasses the state. Remind me of that term.
Harry McCracken / @harrymccracken: If View Source is outlawed, only outlaws will use View Source. https://missouriindependent.com/ ...
Jerry Gamblin / @jgamblin: Ok @ebellis, everything you said about Missouri was true. https://missouriindependent.com/ ...
David Cay Johnston / @davidcayj: 1/Missouri @GovParsonMO vows to prosecute @stltoday reporter Josh @Kirkman Renaud, who found sensitive data exposed on a state website, reported it to authorities, held off running a story until the state protected the info. Parson then... https://www.rawstory.com/...
Gabe Rosenberg / @gabrieljr: This is both poor logic, and dangerous. @GovParsonMO is trying to prosecute a reporter for doing their job, and you can read what's actually happening here: https://missouriindependent.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Andrew Losowsky / @losowsky: The reporter clicked “view source” on the browser. Demonizing the press like this for doing a public service responsibly is dangerous and scary https://twitter.com/...
Jeff Adelson / @jadelson: Congratulations. Y'all just “hacked” the Missouri state website https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Zuri Davis / @properlyzuri: Since the good governor clearly has a lot of time on his hands to do silly things, you think he'd take a moment to pardon an innocent Lamar Johnson for a homicide even prosecutors admit he couldn't have committed. https://twitter.com/...
Jeff Adelson / @jadelson: JFC. This is an insane threat against a reporter who went out of their way to notify the state it had screwed up and put personal information at risk. And viewing source code of gov websites is a standard part of reporting (hell, I was doing that as I saw this) https://twitter.com/...
Charles Minshew / @charlesminshew: [saves what I originally wanted to say to drafts...] https://twitter.com/...
@jeffstone500: Lawsuits like this aren't even about winning. This + the ShotSpotter harassment against @VICE are only latest designed to intimidate journalists by driving up organizational costs and making reporters think twice about doing quality investigative work. https://twitter.com/...
Daniela Altimari / @capitolwatch: This is a wild story. Instead of criminal prosecution, the reporter deserves a public service Pulitzer!! https://twitter.com/...
Mackenzie Huck / @mackenziehuck: Oh, Missouri. Do better. Give the reporter an award, not legal action! https://twitter.com/...
@jaspar: Absolute clown shit. The reporter did nothing wrong. The website was publishing SSNs! https://twitter.com/...
Mark Berman / @markberman: “The newspaper delayed publishing this report to give the department time to take steps to protect teachers' private information, and to allow the state to ensure no other agencies' web applications contained similar vulnerabilities.” https://www.stltoday.com/...
Peter Sterne / @petersterne: This is a press freedom issue. The government is threatening to prosecute a journalist who reported on a government agency's mistake. cc @rcfp @pressfreedom @FreedomofPress https://twitter.com/...
Avery Wilks / @averygwilks: Speaking of stories that cause grown adults to behave like children https://twitter.com/...
@totally_t_bomb: If looking at HTML source code is a crime then I'm pretty much Al Capone https://twitter.com/...
Celeste Bott / @celestebott: They HELD OFF PUBLICATION until the state could fix the error, but ok https://twitter.com/...
Ilana Keller / @ilanakeller: Jeeeeeez. Tell me you're continuing the onslaught against “the media” without ... well, you know the rest. https://twitter.com/...
Ben West / @westbywest: .@GovParsonMO The felony was violation of RSMo Section 610.035 in exposing up to 100k teacher SSNs. I'll submit an invoice shortly so you needn't waste that $50M. https://missouriindependent.com/ ...
Cody Sandusky / @codysandusky: @MO_Independent @GovParsonMO I encourage everyone seeing this tweet to call the gov's office and share their thoughts on this banal investigation. I just got off the phone to discuss it, warning that ransomware attacks and other cybercrime is on the rise - attacking this type of action is bad and dangerous.
@hootnhollerpod: holy shit 1) state fucks up thing they've been warned for fucking up before 2) reporter notices fuck up and reports to state 3) state claims they've been hacked by reporter 4) governor seeks criminal charges against reporter https://missouriindependent.com/ ...
@hootnhollerpod: the post dispatch even held the story while the state fixed the problem so as not to publicize the data vulnerability.
@swiftonsecurity: Sometimes you just need people hitting F12 and seeing if there's a hidden column for social security numbers on your site. Computer security, especially data disclosure, is hugely about assurance against mistakes. https://twitter.com/...
State Senator Greg Razer / @sengregrazer: Seeking criminal prosecution of a journalist who pointed out the vulnerability to the state is an abuse of power. Also, it's very embarrassing to call this a “hack.” Moral of the story: Missouri has not adequately invested in IT infrastructure. #moleg https://missouriindependent.com/ ...
Allison Kite / @allie_kite: On Tuesday, a @stltoday reporter alerted the state of a data vulnerability. The paper agreed to hold off publication until it was fixed. By Thursday, @GovParsonMO labeled the reporter a “hacker” and vowed to seek prosecution. https://missouriindependent.com/ ... #moleg
@fakebenjay: First and foremost, fuck the governor of Missouri. Second, I never thought I'd hear of anything stupider than “the Sony hacks happened because passwords were stored in plaintext in passwords.txt”, but “Missouri teacher SSNs were stored in the browser dev tools” might top it. https://twitter.com/...
Charles Minshew / @charlesminshew: This is what we tell journalism students not to do... take one side of the story and run with it. Read more about this from the @stltoday: https://www.stltoday.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Tyler Dukes / @mtdukes: “No private information was publicly visible, but teacher Social Security numbers were contained in HTML source code of the pages.” https://twitter.com/...
American Propagandist / @armystrang: My dipshit governor wants to put a journalist in jail for pointing out how bad their IT system is https://missouriindependent.com/ ...
Staci D Kramer / @sdkstl: A flaw in publicly accessible code in an app for public use. They held the story to give the state time to fix it. The payback from a governor projecting his own behavior onto others: claim they were “attempting to embarrass the state and sell headlines for their news outlet.” https://twitter.com/...
Justin Peters / Slate:
Ben Smith has been transparent about his BuzzFeed stock options, but his shifting divestment deadline and their fluctuating value erode trust in his reporting — On Sept. 26, New York Times media columnist Ben Smith broke a big story. In a column headlined “Goldman Sachs …
Discussion:
Emma Carew Grovum / @emmacarew: The Slate piece breaking down Ben Smith's massive conflict of interest is very good: https://slate.com/... but doesn't address the fact that a non-straight/white/male journalist would NOT be given the same privileges and leeway.
Keegan Hamilton / @keegan_hamilton: “It was a mistake for journalists to ever pretend that it was valuable or even possible to suppress their own beliefs, knowledge, and perspectives in pursuit of absolute neutrality in every story they ever report.” https://slate.com/... via @justintrevett
Evan DeSimone / @mediaevan: From a technical ethics perspective I suppose this matters, but I find it hard to believe that many people see this as a real issue. https://slate.com/...
Katie Notopoulos / @katienotopoulos: I disagree here with the core implication that Ben, as a reporter, is motivated by money. I've spent a lot of my adult life wondering “what makes Ben Smith tick” and it's nothing so banal. When it comes to making content, he's far, far sicker than that https://slate.com/...
Jonathan L. Fischer / @jon_fischer: This is a good question! https://slate.com/...
Cale G Weissman / @caleweissman: good blog: https://slate.com/...
Jack Crosbie / @jscros: the very short answer to this (good) blog is that once you attain a certain level of status at the times the paper's standards do not apply to you https://slate.com/...
Eoin Higgins / @eoinhiggins_: Looks like @nytimes is facing some thorny ethical questions with respect to @benyt—an issue that could easily be dispensed with if he sold his stock. But 10 months after the first deadline to do so, the Times now says he gets more time. Why? https://slate.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@choire: How high would you have to be to turn down millions of BuzzFeed SPACbucks for a NYT blogging job. https://slate.com/...
Emma Sarappo / @emmasarappo: I say this every Sunday, thank you @justintrevett!! “The fact that the possibility exists is enough to give readers reason to wonder ... whether the Times' media columnist is free to cover every important story that comes his way.” https://slate.com/...
McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:
Alden's treatment of outlets is utterly predatory; rivals like Stewart Bainum's all-digital Baltimore Banner, to launch next year, could provide an alternative — The Tribune Tower rises above the streets of downtown Chicago in a majestic snarl of Gothic spires and flying buttresses that were designed to exude power and prestige.
Discussion:
New York Times, @sulliview, MediaPost, @amlwhere, @slulay2, Robert Feder, @mckaycoppins, Media Nation, Tortoise, @bobmcgovernjr, @evanhill, Poynter, @byrobinepley, @garyharki, @jamesfallows, @mmcphate, @awinston, @raylong, @rexhuppke, @rexhuppke, @rexhuppke, @brynstole, @lizbowie, @rexhuppke, @nyguild, @lrozen, @jeremyjojola, @mmasnick, @nickconfessore, @jeremypgordon, @jeffreygoldberg, @mstaradowdell, @priyadesai, @mayakauf, @bikeblisschick, @vinp27, @jimdaleywrites, @zacharyos, @zmiller547, @akamisterjayem, @danahull, @milehighrobert, @patbagley, @jones_mattryan, @mdgbmore, @davealtimari, @tjortenzi, @brettmmurphy and @ellierushing
Discussion:
Marc Tracy / New York Times: The executive who tried to buy The Baltimore Sun plans a rival news outlet.
@sulliview: I've read (and written) a lot about the demise of local newspapers but very little as searing as this @mckaycoppins piece in @TheAtlantic which includes an interview with Alden's elusive villain, Heath Freeman https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
Ann Marie Lipinski / @amlwhere: I've been gone from the Chicago Tribune a long time and sometimes think I'm inured, but this paragraph and this story evoked such sorrow. What tragic, cynical stewardship. https://www.theatlantic.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Stephanie Lulay / @slulay2: This is what we're up against. Local news can adapt, creating new models built to serve communities. Or we can have our head held under water by a hedge fund. https://twitter.com/...
Robert Feder: Robservations: Melissa McGurren sues The Mix; fourth woman targets Eric Ferguson; Rick Party joins 104.3 JAMS
McKay Coppins / @mckaycoppins: He's right about this: The reporters who have stayed at the Chicago Tribune (and all of Alden's newspapers) are working extremely hard and deserve credit for that work. To understand the circumstances in which they're laboring, read our story: https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
Dan Kennedy / Media Nation: An elegant, comprehensive takedown of how Alden pillages local newspapers
Giles Whittell / Tortoise: Sensemaker: Cop flop?
Bob McGovern / @bobmcgovernjr: I want to preface this with: I love my job, who I work for and our awesome mission. That being said, journalism has been my passion since I was a teenager working for my local paper. Digital First and its methods took that from me and so many others. This is a must-read: https://twitter.com/...
Tom Jones / Poynter: Poynter Power Rankings: Who influenced the media this week? Kristof, Coppins, Facebook and more.
Robin Epley but spooky / @byrobinepley: Someone ask me what it was like to run two Alden properties by myself for 18 months. Go on. Ask. https://twitter.com/...
Gary Harki / @garyharki: I think everyone I know who has left an Alden paper, whether they left for another job in journalism, retired or left the industry, has felt an enormous sense of relief at not having to deal with this vile, predatory hedge fund. https://twitter.com/...
James Fallows / @jamesfallows: Excellent piece by @mckaycoppins on the two people who have done more than Rupert Murdoch to destroy the civic purpose of American journalism: Randall Smith and Heath Freeman. (See also: https://www.ourtownsfoundation.org/ ... ) https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
@mmcphate: 1/ California newspapers owned by Alden: Orange County Register Long Beach Press-Telegram Los Angeles Daily News Inland Valley Daily Bulletin Redlands Daily Facts Torrance Daily Breeze San Gabriel Valley Tribune Whittier Daily News Riverside Press-Enterprise https://twitter.com/...
Ali Winston / @awinston: Alden decimated Northern California newspapers and has control of the New York Daily News. Very little of this is new, but the hedge fund's actions are incredibly detrimental to society https://twitter.com/...
Ray Long / @raylong: Kiss my mistletoe! This article fails to appreciate great journalists who turned down buyouts and still kick ass. We all miss folks that left, but we broke many, many Madigan stories, added an editor with Illinois roots and a Pulitzer on his resume, and filled the statehouse gig. https://twitter.com/...
Rex Huppke / @rexhuppke: 4/ ...ignored in virtually all coverage of Alden's takeover of our paper. As the staggeringly talented people who took the buyout left, they deserved 100% of the attention and kudos, along with the justifiable hand-wringing about where the paper was heading.
Rex Huppke / @rexhuppke: 3/ But I think what bothers those of us who stayed at the Tribune after the Mass Exodus of 2021 is this: We're still here. And I believe the size, quality and ferociousness of the remaining Tribune staff was considerably underplayed in The Atlantic piece, AND has been largely...
Rex Huppke / @rexhuppke: 6/ But as Ray alluded to in his tweet, maybe let's hold off on throwing dirt on our casket. Far more people stayed than left, and the staff of the Chicago Tribune continues its longtime habit of kicking ass.
Bryn Stole / @brynstole: And it's among the few newspapers in the chain (along w/ the Baltimore Sun) that still have any kind of newsroom at all. https://twitter.com/...
@lizbowie: Stewart Bainum will launch an all-digital, non-profit news outlet, with 50 journalists an annual budget of $15 million. No matter what happens, this publication will be good for the city and state, creating jobs and a much more competitive news ecosystem. https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
Rex Huppke / @rexhuppke: 1/ OK, to anyone who cares about or covers Chicago media, I guess I have something to say about this. And I'm dovetailing a bit off a tweet my esteemed colleague @RayLong sent earlier, which I just retweeted prior to this thread. Buckle up. https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
@nyguild: “What threatens local newspapers now is not just digital disruption or abstract market forces. They're being targeted by investors who have figured out how to get rich by strip-mining local-news outfits.” How Alden Global Capital kills newspapers: https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
Laura Rozen / @lrozen: “What threatens local newspapers now is not just digital disruption...They're being targeted by investors who.. get rich by strip-mining local-news outfits. The model is simple: Gut the staff, sell the real estate, jack up subscription prices, &wring as much cash as possible out https://twitter.com/...
Jeremy Jojola / @jeremyjojola: Greedy hedge fund companies are poison for journalism. We saw this happen with the Denver Post. And it's getting worse. https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
Mike Masnick / @mmasnick: Anyway, now that Harvard Biz has deleted that paragraph about how hedge funds may be rainbows and ice cream for local news, you should probably read this deeply reported Mckay Coppins article about what those hedge funds are ACTUALLY doing. https://twitter.com/...
Nick Confessore / @nickconfessore: Shot: @mckaycoppins on the secretive investor and his protégé who are getting rich by gutting newspapers around America: https://www.theatlantic.com/ ... Chaser: The protégé, Heath Freeman, bought a $19 million oceanfront mansion last month: https://nypost.com/...
Jeremy Gordon / @jeremypgordon: Hard proof of the obvious — the slow destruction of a national press has been a coordinated effort by the worst people alive — and yet dozens of unserious jokers will continue to get rich by insisting mean tweets and woke college students are our biggest threat to free speech https://twitter.com/...
Jeffrey Goldberg / @jeffreygoldberg: An incisive investigation of the men who are killing America's newspapers, from @mckaycoppins (via @TheAtlantic): https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
@priyadesai: This is a searing deep dive into the destruction of local newspapers. It's gut wrenching, but then their are laughable moments like this: https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Maya Kaufman / @mayakauf: Between this fascinating @mckaycoppins deep dive and @elainejgodfrey's recent piece on Gannett's role on the collapse of local newspapers, the Atlantic is doing excellent work to expand our understanding of the crisis. https://twitter.com/...
Cherilyn DeVries / @bikeblisschick: One of the reasons local papers are dying. Financial operatives are intentionally harming them. https://twitter.com/...
Vinnie P. / @vinp27: Pick up a razor-thin Boston Herald and you can see Alden's hatchet work on display. https://twitter.com/...
Jim Nightly Frights / @jimdaleywrites: This is a great article, but to read it you wouldn't know Chicago has another daily—the @Suntimes—as well as a vibrant ecosystem of nonprofit alternative newsrooms poised to step into the breach https://twitter.com/...
Zachary Oren Smith / @zacharyos: Where have I heard this before: “These papers were in many cases left for dead by local families not willing to make the tough but appropriate decisions to get these news organizations to sustainability. These papers would have been liquidated if not for us stepping up.” https://twitter.com/...
Zack Miller / @zmiller547: I really don't have any words after reading this. Everyone inside the industry knew it was bad but I'm begging the non-journalists that follow me to read this. It's terrifying and heart-wrenching. This is a deep dive into how wealthy hedge funds are destroying the 4th estate. https://twitter.com/...
@akamisterjayem: It's deeply unsettling to see a warning about an awful thing that has already befallen you. https://twitter.com/...
@danahull: “You could look to Oakland, California, where the East Bay Times laid off 20 people one week after the paper won a Pulitzer.” https://twitter.com/...
Robert Sanchez / @milehighrobert: Not a lot new here, but still well worth the read. And please remember that @5280magazine, a city mag, had this story five years ago: https://www.5280.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Pat Bagley / @patbagley: .@mckaycoppins commits another act of stellar journalism. The Salt Lake Tribune is one of the very few newspapers that escaped Alden's greedy clutches. This is personal to me https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Matt Jones / @jones_mattryan: If you haven't worked for Alden, it's hard to understand *how* bad they are. Sure, it's hard everywhere for newspapers. But Alden is a whole other thing. If you need proof, just ask any of us who have left the @virginianpilot and @Daily_Press this year. https://twitter.com/...
Matthew D. Gallagher / @mdgbmore: Very important read about the fate or future of newspapers and local journalism. I'm still betting on Bainum and The Baltimore Banner. https://twitter.com/...
Dave Altimari / @davealtimari: The reporter used the Chicago Tribune as the lead to this story but easily could have used The Courant the oldest paper in the country. What this hedge fund has done to journalism is criminal frankly. Destroyed by the third string kicker for Duke. https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
T.J. Ortenzi / @tjortenzi: Baltimore is getting a new news org: “Next year, Bainum will launch The @BaltimoreBanner, an all-digital, nonprofit news outlet. He told me it will begin with an annual operating budget of $15 million, unprecedented for an outfit of this kind.” https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
Brett Murphy / @brettmmurphy: “They call Alden a vulture hedge fund, and I think that's honestly a misnomer. ... A vulture doesn't hold a wounded animal's head underwater.” https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
Ellie Rushing / @ellierushing: “If you want to know what it's like when Alden Capital buys your local newspaper, you could look to Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, where coverage of local elections in more than a dozen communities falls to a single reporter working out of his attic.” https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
Nikki Usher / Nieman Lab:
With two-thirds of NPR's stations licensed to colleges, which are vulnerable to culture wars, stronger walls between license-holders and newsrooms are needed — For many who are concerned about declines in local news, shoring up the existing journalism infrastructure for public media in communities seems like a no-duh solution.
Discussion:
Nikki Usher / @nikkiusher: Wrote about the coming (and present) culture wars that we'll see between public media and higher ed. As public media becomes more important than ever, we need to fix its vulnerabilities-which include, surprisingly, university governance and procedure https://www.niemanlab.org/...
Laura Hazard Owen / @laurahazardowen: lotta “wait what?!” moments in this good article by @nikkiusher on how public radio gets tangled up with university boards https://www.niemanlab.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Laura Hazard Owen / @laurahazardowen: In 2019, @nprillinois reported with @propublica on sexual harassment at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. And then this happened. (3/ https://www.niemanlab.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Charles Ornstein / @charlesornstein: Good Q by @nikkiusher: Higher ed and public radio are enmeshed. So what happens when the culture wars come? https://www.niemanlab.org/... via @NiemanLab
Laura Hazard Owen / @laurahazardowen: @nikkiusher @NiemanLab So with higher ed increasingly at the crossroads of the culture wars, public media is vulnerable to growing political interference over its operations, in both red and blue states. If you know of more examples, let us know @NiemanLab. (5/5) https://www.niemanlab.org/...
Nikki Usher / @nikkiusher: And the potential for censorship and self-censorship is really worrisome, even in blue states. At my own university @illinois_alma, sexual misconduct could not be investigated by pub media w.o revealing sources https://www.niemanlab.org/...
Brock E.W. Turner / @brockewturner: This is something I think about a lot: “If public media is to be part of the solution for helping to bolster the availability of local journalism...there needs to be a stronger wall between who holds the license and who runs the newsroom.” Via @NiemanLab https://www.niemanlab.org/...
Laura Hazard Owen / @laurahazardowen: This year UNC Chapel Hill's Board of Trustees appointed 2 new board members to NC Public Radio (@wunc). One had called student protesters of a campus Confederate statue “criminals” and “entitled wimps” and voted against Nikole Hannah-Jones' tenure (1/ https://www.niemanlab.org/...
Nicholas Dawes / @nicdawes: Really important warning from @nikkiusher about the governance structures at university-based public radio stations, crucial bastions of local reporting with real vulnerabilities to interference. https://www.niemanlab.org/...
David Bauder / Associated Press:
News Leaders Association extends deadline for its newsroom staff diversity survey to October 31, after receiving less than 250 responses when it wants 1,500 — NEW YORK (AP) — More than a year after George Floyd's killing focused attention on efforts to diversify newsrooms, the ability to measure real progress is proving elusive.
Discussion:
@ap, @marissaaevans, @webjournalist, @kmtorralva, @delanomassey, @emmacarew, @devishastri, @alexanderrusso, @niemanlab, @rasmus_kleis, @sciwrialicia, @kaitwells and @laelaps
Discussion:
Marissa / @marissaaevans: It's a shame these newsrooms will beg for names and lists of journalists of color to recruit but won't respond to an industry survey so a journalist of color can have an accurate understanding of the newsroom they're walking into. https://twitter.com/...
Robert Hernandez / @webjournalist: I would love for news guild/unions and Latinx/Black/Asian/Indigenous and allies ask the news org leadership to due annual audits. Perhaps we should create a template for staffers at news orgs to gather internal signatures of support for this?? https://twitter.com/...
Krista M. Torralva / @kmtorralva: Probably because they know they didn't do any better over the last two years. https://twitter.com/...
@delanomassey: “A lack of diversity can reveal itself in many news decisions ...” ☝🏽 that says a lot https://apnews.com/...
Emma Carew Grovum / @emmacarew: A survey is only as good as its data, which means newsrooms need to start reporting their data publicly. If your newsroom doesn't have an annual diversity report and doesn't participate in industry studies, then it's time to name and shame. https://twitter.com/...
Devi Shastri / @devishastri: “There is no pipeline problem,” said Robert Hernandez, a professor at the (USC)'s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. “We are producing diverse students. The reality is they're not being hired, they're not being retained, they're not being promoted.” https://twitter.com/...
Alexander / @alexanderrusso: Journalism demands accountability from others, but struggles to provide it https://apnews.com/...
@niemanlab: Because we're us, we've documented the struggles of this journalism industry diversity survey for a few years. It is still struggling: https://apnews.com/...
Rasmus Kleis Nielsen / @rasmus_kleis: US @NewsLeaders Association has extended the deadline for its survey about employment practices at news organisations after few revealed the diversity of their staff. The association was hoping for responses from 5,900 newsrooms. It's had fewer than 250 https://apnews.com/...
Alicia Chang / @sciwrialicia: “The @AP reported that 76% of its full-time news employees in the United States are white, 8% are Latino, 7% are Black and 6% are Asian. News management is 81% white.” https://apnews.com/...
@kaitwells: It took @wirecutterunion an ENTIRE year of bargaining, a human rights reckoning & gobs of NYT money to a consultant before Wirecutter agreed to our DEI proposal and to publicly disclose diversity stats. And that transparency still lacks intersectionality. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
A look at OneLog, which lets readers use a single login across some of the largest Swiss media websites and expects to reach 2M active accounts by 2022 — OneLog brings together some of the largest and most trusted Swiss media companies. Their single sign-on solution will reach 2 million active accounts …
Discussion:
What's New in Publishing, @jayrosen_nyu, @pilhofer, @joonian, @niemanlab and @risj_oxford
Discussion:
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: You can use one log-in to access many of the largest news sites in the Swiss ecosystem— some free, some subscriber-based. (Including the big public broadcaster.) By 2022 the system will have 2 million active accounts. Swiss population: 8.7 million. https://www.niemanlab.org/...
Aron Pilhofer / @pilhofer: Some day, US publishers will realize the singular value of single sign-on. But not just any SSO, managed for the benefit of some startup or another... but SSO managed by a trusted third party (like the @LocalMediaAssoc or @LMConsortium). Magic will happen. https://www.niemanlab.org/...
Wong Joon Ian / @joonian: this is cool but make it crypto https://twitter.com/...
Geoff Weiss / Tubefilter:
Netflix to launch the Netflix Book Club on November 16 featuring Facebook and YouTube videos highlighting books it is adapting — Netflix has unveiled a virtual book club that will highlight titles it's adapting into series and films. — Netflix Book Club content will be hosted by Orange …
Alex Sujong Laughlin / Study Hall:
Social media and audio production are just two of the invisible structures built to prop up a select few voices — Until late this summer, I worked as a senior producer at a company that made podcasts for clients and media partners. I quit, in part, because I saw how far my ideas could go without my name attached to them.
Discussion:
@clairevtran: “In modern newsrooms, social media work occupied similar roles to historically pink-collar work, like secretarial or administrative ... which placed women and other underrepresented groups in roles supplemental to the work considered ‘core’ to the business"https://studyhall.xyz/ ...
Kai Ryssdal / @kairyssdal: This. My job is to speak my native language into a microphone. Easiest job in the shop. Aaaaaaalllllllllllllllll the other stuff I get credited for @Marketplace is because of the producers who do the hard, hard (and invisible) work https://twitter.com/...
Gabe Rosenberg / @gabrieljr: Yes to everything from @alexlaughs on the “ghostwriters” of media - who in so many places include the (usually young) digital editors or social media producers, too often dismissed as “pedestrian peddlers of a lower form.” https://studyhall.xyz/... https://twitter.com/...
Melissa Gomez / @melissagomez004: This from @alexlaughs should be required reading for anyone who works in a newsroom.. “Beyond pay and credit discrepancies, the invisibility of this labor props up the fallacy that great works of journalism and art come from a singular, gifted individual.” https://studyhall.xyz/...
Herman Wong / @hermanywong: What I have long admired about @alexlaughs is that she is principled and willing to speak up, even at a cost. Her essay is perceptive and her voice valuable to journalism. https://studyhall.xyz/...
Maryam Shah / @maryamshahlive: this is brilliant and I CAN RELATE 🗣🗣🗣🗣 🗣🗣🗣🗣 🗣 https://twitter.com/...
Mark W. Smith / @markdubya: This, from @alexlaughs, is a critical time capsule on how our industry has limited important voices and forward movement. Thank you for writing it, Alex. https://studyhall.xyz/...
Rhaina Cohen / @rhainacohen: This essay will speak to anyone who's worked in a behind-the-scenes role in journalism. And to anyone who's worked with producers, social media editors, podcast editors and so on—here's what it feels like for your coworkers. https://twitter.com/...
R.I.P. Sanchez / @ricsanchez: great essay by my old colleague @alexlaughs on the invisible roles in media. social media production — especially in newsrooms — is essentially ghostwriting. “I wrote thousands of words a day, uncredited, in service of other people's bylines.” https://studyhall.xyz/...
Nick Andersen / @nicktheandersen: speak 👏🏼 that 👏🏼 truth 👏🏼, @alexlaughs https://studyhall.xyz/... https://twitter.com/...
Study Hall / @studyhallxyz: the ‘company intern running the twitter’ is a tired joke, but it's not going away. read @alexlaughs on what that means for media workers whose labor is designed to fade into the background: https://studyhall.xyz/... https://twitter.com/...
Courtney Kueppers / @cmkueppers: Every person working in journalism really really ought to read this. Thank you, @alexlaughs. https://studyhall.xyz/...
Corinne Segal / @cesegal: This is so incredibly good. https://twitter.com/...
Danielle Woodward / @d__woodward: This was such a great read. “This presumption that social editors don't do real work was heightened by the lack of visibility around the work we actually did ... By design, a successful social media project feels like it has no writer at all.” https://studyhall.xyz/...
Brianna Lee / @briannaclee: “Social media and audio production are just two of the invisible structures built to prop up a select few voices that are deemed valuable in the media industry.” Nodding through this piece (in between the nightmare flashbacks of my first social media job) https://twitter.com/...
Brent Lang / Variety:
IATSE, the union representing backstage movie and TV workers, says that unless an agreement is reached, its 60K members will go on strike starting October 18 — Negotiations to prevent a strike that could bring the film and television production business to its knees are going down to the wire.
Discussion:
Insider, @theryank, @ashleyn1cole, The Wrap, Vulture, @iatse, The Guardian and Hollywood Reporter
Discussion:
DeArbea Walker / Insider: An entertainment industry worker describes harsh conditions and says she's ready for a strike
@theryank: The AMPTP letting it go this far is probably the dumbest thing I've seen in my decade in the industry. Especially NOW that the business model is an endless content stream. Stop fucking around. Meet the extremely reasonable demands and get back to business. https://variety.com/...
Ashley Nicole Black / @ashleyn1cole: Period. If you've ever enjoyed any show or movie, you should too. The people who make the content you love are potentially striking for things like lunch breaks and not to have to work such long hours they regularly get into car accidents falling asleep on the drive home. https://twitter.com/...
Rebecca Alter / Vulture: 60,000 IATSE Workers Will Strike on Monday if Deal Isn't Reached
@iatse: In response to our strike deadline announcement this week, we are getting reports some studios are scheduling unplanned sixth and seventh days and additional overtime. (THREAD)
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