What democratic ideals are we trying to protect when we regulate technology platforms? As we covered in last week’s update, Bridget Barrett, Kate Dommett, and Daniel Kreiss explored this question in their paper “The capricious relationship between technology and democracy.” Two of the co-authors joined Justin Hendrix for The Sunday Show podcast, and that conversation is available now.
“It struck us that it was unclear what people meant when they talked about democracy—it was very slippery what the problems they were diagnosing where, and how to solve it.”
— Daniel Kreiss
Recent publications and appearances
Congratulations to Alice Marwick on winning UNC’s Phillip and Ruth Hettleman Prize for Artistic and Scholarly Achievement!
“The findings of the report are debatable. The results just don't hold up to scrutiny. They don't map to any of the ways that people actually share information.” Dr. Marwick spoke to Engadget about Facebook’s recent transparency report and the fight to study what happens on the platform.
“Any dean who comes to a journalism and media school has to be up for a fight. They have to articulate ‘a vision for what journalism and media look like in 2021 given the polarization this country is experiencing, given the movements for racial justice, given extraordinary threats to democracy that we’ve had.’” Daniel Kreiss and Deen Freelon weigh in on UNC’s search for a new journalism dean.
Coming soon
September 14: Shannon McGregor will join a panel discussion on Democracy and Public Discourse, organized by Carolina Public Humanities and the General Alumni Association. The panel will take place in-person at the Center for Global Education, but will also be live-streamed.
September 29: Deen Freelon will join a panel conversation on shared governance and academic freedom hosted by the Royster Society of Fellows.
October 8: Alice Marwick and Will Partin will present work on the Q Clock and and knowledge production within the QAnon conspiracy at the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) annual conference.
October 12: Tressie McMillan Cottom will appear live for readings and conversation with Kate Bowler and Kelly Corrigan at Durham’s Carolina Theatre.
October 27: Faculty Affiliate Caitlin Petre will give a research seminar at the University of Leeds on how metrics are transforming the work of journalists.
Rest of Web
We’re reading this new article by Nathan Matias, Neil Lewis Jr., and Elan Hope on the persisting dominance of whiteness in the academy.
Reuters has a new report out by the Trust in News Project on “Overcoming indifference: what attitudes towards news tell us about building trust.”
Crystal Lee shared a thread of academic job postings in the tech and social justice space:
And in the words of Shannon McGregor, “forever and ever, Amen.”