A blog on the intersection between media, content and diversity by Kellye Whitney
With all this talk of whistleblowing and impeachment flowing around, I suppose it was only fitting that a story about questionable journalism ethics and poor social media skills caught my eye. CNN ran a piece today about Aaron Calvin, a Des Moines Register reporter who lost his job after writing a profile on someone with a … Continue reading Once a Racist, Always a Racist?
So, I ran across a news item in The Guardian this week discussing how the BBC, the world’s oldest national broadcaster, apologized for not warning the Duke of Sussex before publishing a racist image. Now, the image the Duke – you may know him as Prince Harry, husband to Megan Markle, the British royal family’s first … Continue reading BBC, Prince Harry Accepts Your Apology – Because He’s British
You may have heard that Instagram is experimenting with its functionality. In July the popular social media platform began eliminating likes from posts in seven countries – the U.S. was not one of them – “claiming the feature will help to reduce its associated impacts on mental health and societal pressure.” The experiment hasn’t been running for long, but … Continue reading To Like or Not to Like, the Eternal Social Media Question
It’s been a rough week or so for freedoms of all kinds. Top of mind is the list of states that have decided they have the right to police women’s bodies. As of this writing, eight states have passed bills to place extreme limitations on abortions. Shout out to Illinois where I live for doing exactly the … Continue reading Was the Law Always This Judgmental?
Today is World Press Freedom Day. According to Gallup, the world in general is more likely to see the media as having a lot of freedom than it did a few years ago. “Across 133 countries surveyed last year – one of the deadliest on record for journalists – a median of 64% of adults agreed … Continue reading Is Freedom of the Press a Good Thing?
Several things happened this week that have me thinking our perspective on the power of the media is skewed. It’s real, no doubt, but we’re missing something really basic. That might sound strange coming from a member of the media. But I like to think of myself as a different kind of journalist in that, … Continue reading Meghan Markle, the Media and Our Vanishing Rights to Privacy, Decency and Giving Birth Without Photo Shoots
Nipsey Hussle died this week. Or, he was shot and killed this week. I didn’t know much about him. I’d never listened to any of his music until it came time to write this blog, and I thought it was a fitting sound track. My first exposure to him was through Gary Vaynerchuk of all … Continue reading Nipsey Hussle: Short Life, Untimely Death, Enduring, Undeniably Positive Legacy
It seems like every other day some media or tech company is settling a lawsuit. Discrimination this, monopoly that, to the tune of millions of dollars. But I’ve noticed a pattern. When the suit involves women and minorities vs. say, a company, the restitution is considerably smaller. Take Vice Media, for instance. The company has … Continue reading When It Comes to a Woman’s Money, What’s with the Punishment Slap on the Wrist?
Some days I feel like a spectator in this really weird game of media bumper cars. As a career journalist, I have inside knowledge of how the media works. The good, the bad, and we all know things can get very ugly. But lately things seem especially wretched. Huge companies that have a huge impact … Continue reading Media Influence Is so Bad, Apple Wants to Teach Critical Thinking
