Can you define what a publisher is? What constitutes a magazine in this day and age?That's a pretty good question in this speeded up world. Is a magazine simply a printed collection of curated specific interest stories crafted by editors and writers for a specific audience? Or is it more? If the pages exist only in digital format, is it a magazine?Television shows like 60 Minutes and 20/20 call themselves newsmagazines. Are they? Really?I thought about all of this when I saw the article below in TechCrunch about the New York State Attorney General investigating digital platforms Twitch, 4chan and Discord for their potential roles in the recent horrific Buffalo, NY mass shooting. Are those platforms actual publishers? If they are, does that also mean that more commonly used platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are the same? How responsible should a company be for the actions its users undertake?On a related front, as I prepared for a trip to a wedding last week, I realized that I needed some cash so I could tip bell hops, car valets and the like and I that I had no cash on hand. What's worse, I couldn't remember the pin code for my cash station card. Why? Ever since the pandemic began, all of my transactions have been online or in person with a credit card. My wallet was empty because I haven't used it since January 2020.Why do I mention this? I found the story about the deadlock in the FCC important. It dawned on me how internet reliant I am these days and how cut off from the world I would become if I lost my access to the net. It disappoints me that once again, something that should be done to help people is held up because some politicians want to play chicken with citizen's lives. It’s equally ridiculous that something that has become such a necessity for even the lowliest of us, is all too often inaccessible. And it’s inaccessible because some traders and analysts and politicians who’s lives resemble nothing like most people can’t manage without a specific return on their “investment.”We deserve better from our elected officials. And, we deserve better from the unelected corporations that now impact so much of our daily lives.
Share this post
It's Tuesday: Who is a Publisher? What is a…
Share this post
Can you define what a publisher is? What constitutes a magazine in this day and age?That's a pretty good question in this speeded up world. Is a magazine simply a printed collection of curated specific interest stories crafted by editors and writers for a specific audience? Or is it more? If the pages exist only in digital format, is it a magazine?Television shows like 60 Minutes and 20/20 call themselves newsmagazines. Are they? Really?I thought about all of this when I saw the article below in TechCrunch about the New York State Attorney General investigating digital platforms Twitch, 4chan and Discord for their potential roles in the recent horrific Buffalo, NY mass shooting. Are those platforms actual publishers? If they are, does that also mean that more commonly used platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are the same? How responsible should a company be for the actions its users undertake?On a related front, as I prepared for a trip to a wedding last week, I realized that I needed some cash so I could tip bell hops, car valets and the like and I that I had no cash on hand. What's worse, I couldn't remember the pin code for my cash station card. Why? Ever since the pandemic began, all of my transactions have been online or in person with a credit card. My wallet was empty because I haven't used it since January 2020.Why do I mention this? I found the story about the deadlock in the FCC important. It dawned on me how internet reliant I am these days and how cut off from the world I would become if I lost my access to the net. It disappoints me that once again, something that should be done to help people is held up because some politicians want to play chicken with citizen's lives. It’s equally ridiculous that something that has become such a necessity for even the lowliest of us, is all too often inaccessible. And it’s inaccessible because some traders and analysts and politicians who’s lives resemble nothing like most people can’t manage without a specific return on their “investment.”We deserve better from our elected officials. And, we deserve better from the unelected corporations that now impact so much of our daily lives.