Opinion
Thoughtful columns and commentary pieces from The Desk contributors.
HD Media’s lawsuit blames Google, Facebook for its own failures
A small newspaper chain in West Virginia is making big headlines of its own after it filed a federal lawsuit last week against Facebook and Google for alleged monopolistic practices.
Sinclair wants to deliver radio streams via ATSC 3.0 signals
The Sinclair Broadcast Group is readying the launch of three radio stations via its next-generation ATSC 3.0 signal in Seattle.
Without Trump, cable news execs worried about ratings decline
CNN and MSNBC thrived on scandal during the Trump presdiency. Now that he's almost gone, executives are worried about the future of cable news.
Viewpoint: How will the media handle a Joe Biden presidency?
A new era in Washington politics brings a new set of challenges for the American news media.
By:
Robert E Gutsche Jr
Philo’s donation of $1 million in ad inventory is a big deal
The move shows financial strength in a company that's barely three years old — and helps teach the old media guard some new tricks about long-term goodwill.
Viewpoint: Will movie theaters survive the coronavirus pandemic?
Movie theaters are on life support. How will the film industry adapt?
By:
Matthew Jordan
Viewpoint: Social media companies are too big to police themselves
Financial loss was the goal of last week's attack — but bad actors could have more-nefarious intentions when conducting social media hacks in the future.
By:
Kobi Leins
Twitter Bitcoin scam reveals broader threat to security, democracy
Twitter mediates so much in the public sphere that weak points — like last week's compromise of several dozen verified accounts — expose weaker points in society.
By:
Dr. Laura DeNardis
Viewpoint: Sitcom dads are goofy — and out of touch with parents of today
Today’s dads are putting more time into caring for their children, so why are sitcom dads still portrayed as silly and foolish?
By:
Erica Sharrer
Viewpoint: Twitter and the way of the hashtag
From its beginnings as a geeky tool designed to help individual users deal with an increasingly fragmented information stream, Twitter made the hashtag a new and powerful part of the world’s cultural, social and political vocabulary.
By:
Jean Burgess
Is media criticism a malicious attack or legitimate critique?
Threats against the freedom of the press may be serious. But they are not the same thing as genuine and constructive criticism.
By:
Julie Reid
Viewpoint: TikTok teens punked Donald Trump — and may have threatened democracy, too
Social media has enabled protests and meaningful political action by capturing public attention, but it can also make the electoral process vulnerable to misinformation and manipulation.
By:
Anjana Susarla