Incognito mode was safer in a media world filled with rumors and vicious gossip In my previous newsletter, I talked about how Shakespeare lived and worked in a time of media disruption comparable to our own. He was an entrepreneur, a theater owner, a content creator, and a stage performer in the new business of public playhouses. There was money to be made at…

He innovated in a world rife with plagiarism, censorship, death threats, and worse What many people don’t know about Shakespeare the poet and playwright is that he became wealthy in the new media business of his time — public theater. Numerous startup companies built large open-air playhouses in London at the end of the 1500s. Shakespeare was an entrepreneur, a theater owner, and…

ChatGPT and other AI tools make journalists look powerless I’ve been training digital entrepreneurs for several years on how to combat disinformation and propaganda online. Bravely — or naively — I preach the value of spreading trustworthy information. Over the long haul, the truth will triumph, I say. But I have to admit that my cheery, optimistic attitude has…

You’re reading the My News Biz newsletter. My goal is to help digital media entrepreneurs find viable business models. This edition originally appeared May 27, 2021, before my health sabbatical. It has been updated and shortened. A book on artificial intelligence caught my attention recently because its findings have so…

Say yes if it is a teaching-learning organization — Dear Readers: The following post first appeared on my website June 16, 2021. Thank you for reading! Over the years, lots of colleagues and students have asked me whether they should accept a particular job offer. …

Rigorous methods help distinguish pseudoscience from trustworthy information — You’re reading the My News Biz newsletter. The following post first appeared in my newsletter on June 23, 2022. My goal is to help digital media entrepreneurs find viable business models. Thank you for reading.! Both scientists and journalists sometimes have the uncomfortable experience of seeing their research and conclusions…

SEO and social media came in third behind my newsletter and media partners I’ve been publishing a blog for some 12 years now and have never been dazzled by the visitor traffic. I consoled myself by saying it was meant to be just a type of business card. …

It’s about finding the time, finding an agent, and relentlessly beating the drum This episode of my newsletter is about how a police reporter at a a metropolitan daily newspaper became a celebrated writer of mystery novels. For some journalists, covering crime or politics is a stepping stone to more creative work. …

And other illusions that are not supported by reliable data There seems to be a natural human tendency to believe that people today are worse than people of previous generations. That people used to be polite and considerate and generous, but now they’re mean and cruel. Just look at all the crime, people say. And the kids! They don’t respect…