I sometimes wonder how people would spend their time differently if they didn't have to work such long hours to survive and weren't ensnared in the attention economy for so much of their "leisure" time. Free time + sufficient attention span to marinate in long form content have sadly become luxuries instead of human rights.
So so honored to be mentioned here! This is so so so on point with what I am thinking about - especially the humanism aspect (I love Sarah Bakewell’s new book, def recommend). And I also love how you do have these perspectives informed as you say by your work in labor and journalism - by democratic civil society. I have my qualms about Freedom House but you have made a solid argument for rechecking /rethinking. What caught me today as especially notable beyond all the other awesome thinking here is this subtle observation “ There’s no such thing as clickbait on monopolistic social apps or AI-powered chatbots that don’t feature clickable links anymore” - but yet this is the imaginary for so so many newsroom strategies still. More soon I hope !!!!!
Thank you for the Sarah Bakewell rec! Yeah re: the end of clickbait, we’re not there *yet* but that seems to be where the trend lines are headed if the big tech gen AI push actually pans out (not exactly a given imho)
Wow, I love this. You were one of the very first people I followed on Twitter when I was studying political theory in college ten years ago, and it's been so rewarding to think about politics and philosophy, acclimate to social media, and develop an appreciation for (and eventually role in!) class solidarity with your thinking and writing making sense of it year by year. My work now is democracy promotion and election monitoring and I love to see this kind of analysis.
Less seriously - if Yascha Mounk is the scholar saying quant has demonstrated its superiority over qual, I'm not so worried for qual.
Wow. That’s so incredibly kind of you to say! It’s been a real journey for me too. I’m self-conscious about how much my opinions about these things have been formed by different and idiosyncratic traditions. And re: YM - ha.
This piece brilliantly captures the tension between data-driven journalism and the core values that define the profession. It’s a reflection on the evolving landscape and the enduring need for ethical integrity.
Yes to absolutely all of this. I have been thinking a lot about the absolute non-inevitability of a lot of the things that have happened in this space, and this is such an excellent complement in making the case for the needful, less-measureable things that will define a better future for it. Thank you!
I sometimes wonder how people would spend their time differently if they didn't have to work such long hours to survive and weren't ensnared in the attention economy for so much of their "leisure" time. Free time + sufficient attention span to marinate in long form content have sadly become luxuries instead of human rights.
Oh man, this subject is like another 20,000 blog post to me. You are so right.
So so honored to be mentioned here! This is so so so on point with what I am thinking about - especially the humanism aspect (I love Sarah Bakewell’s new book, def recommend). And I also love how you do have these perspectives informed as you say by your work in labor and journalism - by democratic civil society. I have my qualms about Freedom House but you have made a solid argument for rechecking /rethinking. What caught me today as especially notable beyond all the other awesome thinking here is this subtle observation “ There’s no such thing as clickbait on monopolistic social apps or AI-powered chatbots that don’t feature clickable links anymore” - but yet this is the imaginary for so so many newsroom strategies still. More soon I hope !!!!!
Thank you for the Sarah Bakewell rec! Yeah re: the end of clickbait, we’re not there *yet* but that seems to be where the trend lines are headed if the big tech gen AI push actually pans out (not exactly a given imho)
Wow, I love this. You were one of the very first people I followed on Twitter when I was studying political theory in college ten years ago, and it's been so rewarding to think about politics and philosophy, acclimate to social media, and develop an appreciation for (and eventually role in!) class solidarity with your thinking and writing making sense of it year by year. My work now is democracy promotion and election monitoring and I love to see this kind of analysis.
Less seriously - if Yascha Mounk is the scholar saying quant has demonstrated its superiority over qual, I'm not so worried for qual.
Wow. That’s so incredibly kind of you to say! It’s been a real journey for me too. I’m self-conscious about how much my opinions about these things have been formed by different and idiosyncratic traditions. And re: YM - ha.
This piece brilliantly captures the tension between data-driven journalism and the core values that define the profession. It’s a reflection on the evolving landscape and the enduring need for ethical integrity.
Yes to absolutely all of this. I have been thinking a lot about the absolute non-inevitability of a lot of the things that have happened in this space, and this is such an excellent complement in making the case for the needful, less-measureable things that will define a better future for it. Thank you!