China’s Fifty Cent Party
When Chinese citizens express their opinions through online outlets, they write in the presence of a state-appointed cyber police force.
On the Newsstand:The Internet
The Debate Over Net Neutrality
The argument over net neutrality is raging in Congress and the courts, but should the government change a system that might not be broken?
Internet Takes on the Chinese Government
Why an average case of Chinese corruption has become a national, internet-driven frenzy. With the recent conclusion of President Hu’s official state visit to the United States, it is a good time to assess what was actually accomplished during this meeting. Call me a cynic, but I never expected much from this summit in terms of concrete promises or even ... Read More
M.I.A’s Born Free: Violence to End Violence?
Since M.I.A. came out with “Born Free” a few days ago, a lot of people on the web have been praising it for its bold political message. The video portrays an English-speaking police state which appears to be carrying out some kind of genocide against red-headed youths. There are several graphically violent shots, including a shocker towards the end, that ... Read More
The challenges of anonymity in public, political discourse
Obama and Democrats in Congress had a new proposal last week: require groups making public statement to show their face with their messages, reported the New York Times. For a country plagued with people using the veil of anonymity to mask unnecessary baseness, this can only be a positive change and a hopeful sign of a push for changes in ... Read More
Paper and Ink (Online)
As the business manager of a print publication, I can’t help but jump into a discussion about the issues raised in Jeffrey Kalmus’s article in the most recent issue of the HPR about the decision by the New York Times to charge for online content. Two experiences last week stirred my thinking about the economics of print journalism. The first ... Read More
Are Interns SLAVES?
No — that would be a tasteless joke. But they do perform a lot of work for free! As The New York Times explains in a piece that should have been, in retrospect, pretty obvious: Growth of Unpaid Internships May Be Illegal, Officials Say “If you’re a for-profit employer or you want to pursue an internship with a for-profit employer, there aren’t going ... Read More
“Africa: Why Do We Care?”
I would like to think that the Committee on African Studies’ decision to hold a panel event entitled “Africa in the Media” together with the Department of African and African American Studies just two weeks after I finished writing an article about the same subject (you can read it here) is more than mere coincidence. Of course I’m biased, but ... Read More
Billions for Nothing
Richard Thaler wrote an extremely important piece in the New York Times this past weekend on wireless spectrum auctions. This may sound like the stuff of fantasy or boredom, take your pick, but selling off archaic TV spectrum could net the US government $100 billion: Professor Hazlett estimates that selling off this spectrum could raise at least $100 billion for ... Read More
Online Privacy, Google and Facebook
Google’s court case in Italy is a big deal. As everyone is saying, if Google can be held accountable for the content it syndicates on its site, that would change the way that information flows through the internet forever. It could close the whole thing down. I thought I’d take this opportunity to throw out some loosely connected ideas on ... Read More
A Documented Campaign
Producers Alicia Sams and Amy Rice on filming their HBO documentary "By The People: The Election of Barack Obama"
