When you know everything about two billion citizenry but do n’t desire to tell anyone what you know , it ’s sturdy to transmit an epitome of foil without really being transparent . One solution that Facebook has come up with is hiringLiz Spayd , a former public editor in chief for the New York Times to “ confabulate ” on “ foil ” in an effort to get everyone to end the hell up about it .
https://gizmodo.com/facebook-figured-out-my-family-secrets-and-it-wont-tel-1797696163
harmonize toRecode , a Facebook representative has sustain that Spayd will “ help amplify early moves to chronicle what it does related to everything from terrorism to fake news to secrecy . ” The business is kind of like being the public editor of a newspaper , but at Facebook — which isnot a medium companionship . That position involves listening to the concerns of readers , encounter out what decision led to those concerns , and publicly address how those fear are valid , invalid , or both . Liz Spayd was legendarily terrible at this line . She was so risky at her job that the New York Times just said screw it andcompletely eliminatedher spot in June . In other speech , she ’s perfect for helping Facebook not do this matter that it does n’t want to do .
The New York Times really really embarrassed itself by hiring Liz Spayd as public editorhttps://t.co/bNvGEFgpwb
— Lee Fang ( @lhfang)December 5 , 2016
The tilt of thing that Facebook is criticized for is virtually endless , but some of the more recent payoff include its unequalled index to proliferate “ fake news , ” its seemingabilityto censor photo journalism butinabilityto stop detest spoken communication , its facilitation ofterrorist propaganda , and it ’s genuinelycreepyknowledge of exploiter last . It likes to either deny that takings exist or throw off a6,000 word essayfrom Mark Zuckerberg about how seriously his society takes its responsibilities . Recently , the societal web — which is not a media fellowship — has undertake to do something about the criticism it faces over the news that ’s divvy up on the website . It hired former CNN correspondentCampbell Brownto direct its newsworthiness partnerships team and former New York Times stafferAlex Hardimanto head word its news product division . Spayd is the latest news veteran to embark the crimp and look busy .
Spayd ’s tenure at the Times lasted a picayune less than a year , and she had the inauspicious responsibility of taking over for Margaret Sullivan , one ofthe most belovedjournalists in the business . Her time at the paper wasconsistently mockedby the medium elite group that cares about such thing . For most people , a public editor ’s pillar is n’t a go - to when they afford up the newspaper publisher , and most outlets do n’t even have one . But the role can be extremely crucial for explaining how a paper work or holding it accountable from within . Spayd was oftentone deafand was n’t very good at take heed to her colleagues .
In one famousinstance , she address a lector ’s worry that the sports section is more focused on longer human interest group stories than tallying scotch and work play - by - plays . The Times sports editor Jason Stallmanexplained to herthat between the internet and ESPN , readers can easy find all the scores they need . “ We do n’t want to become our spine on those uncoiled - up sports stories , but we ’re always looking for what people would n’t get elsewhere , for what ’s not being done , ” he say . Spayd implied that the New York Times sport section ca n’t “ afford ” to focus on “ apart ” stories . But the fact is the Times has great sports writers , easily accessiblescorecardson its website , and follow the mainstream news in sports just fine . Stallman ’s degree that mass need a reason to wait to the Times in a new media landscape just went in good order over her principal .
The incident that really slide down Spayd ’s reputation was the time that shewent on Tucker Carlsonand bolster his biased New York Times narrative by chastising tweets from her workfellow that offered political judgment . When Carlson pose her with some incredibly meek tweet as example , she said :
Yes , I think that ’s outrageous . I think that that should not be . They should n’t be tweeted … I do n’t know that any of those people should be fired , but I do reckon that when people go over the line like that , and I think some of those are over the line , that there ought to be some variety of a consequence for that .
Carlson is a babble out principal that seem on Fox News topraiseDonald Trump for staring at the sun , and he founded The Daily Caller , a web site that published a“useful ” compilationvideo about mowing down liberal protestors with cars . Thebowtie - lovingbuffoon has never filed a newsworthy level in his life . Meanwhile , Eric Lipton , one the New York Times reporters that Spayd pick apart , pointed outthat his tweet bemock Ivanka Trump ’s use of the White House to sell her merchandise was keep an eye on by a schematic excuse from Trump ’s company .
All of this is to say that Spayd is a big hearer and an even bad representative of difficult site . She might be futile in her new place at Facebook , and I ca n’t imagine Zuckerberg would have a problem with that as long as it looks like she ’s doing something . But , Facebook also might get some totally absurd recommendation out of left over field that it never imagined anyone would be dense enough to call back as a good idea . If the social giant really wanted to create its own home public editor that was worth a damn , it should ’ve looked to Margaret Sullivan who has written about the company ’s failingsonnumerousoccasions . Among her passport to Facebook that are already on the record , shesuggestsit acknowledge that it ’s a medium company . But , of grade , she ’s alreadyemployedat the Washington Post and doing great .
[ Recode ]
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