Latest news with #Can'tLookAway
Business Insider
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Bloomberg made a rare cut to staff in a newsroom overhaul. Read the memo breaking down the changes.
Bloomberg is making a rare staff cut as it reorganizes its newsroom, but plans to end the year with a bigger head count, according to a memo from editor in chief John Micklethwait, which was viewed by Business Insider. Micklethwait announced several changes in the newsroom's structure to support three particular areas of recent focus: Bloomberg is merging some finance teams and consolidating them under Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam to support its coverage of private markets. It's also combining teams that focus on front-page news to provide more consistency in how news shows up throughout the week, a shift that will let Bloomberg put more attention on the rollout of AI tools across the newsroom. Third, it's centralizing video editorial under Kristin Powers, mirroring its audio editorial model. While layoffs have become commonplace across the media landscape, staff reductions at Bloomberg's media arm are rare. The newsroom is one of the largest in the US and is partly insulated by its ownership by Michael Bloomberg's financial information giant Bloomberg LP, whose key product, the Bloomberg Terminal, is widely used on Wall Street. The company also has a history of hiring in economic downturns. Bloomberg declined to comment on the scale of the cuts. Among those affected was editor Ian Fisher. Here's Micklethwait's full memo to staff: Our newsroom is always evolving. The capitalism that we chronicle keeps changing while the habits of our readers, listeners and viewers are also continually shifting. So we are always looking for ways in which we can improve our coverage. Look around Editorial & Research and we are currently adding people in Washington to cover the Trump presidency, expanding BI to cover more mid-cap companies, developing our geoeconomics and emerging markets offering, launching tech-focused TV programs in Europe and Asia, rolling out our Weekend product and experimenting with AI to improve our translation, summaries and our data journalism. Change is a constant. However, if you look back over the past few years, three areas where we have leapt forward a long way stand out. We have deepened our coverage of private markets and credit, leading the way in a fast-growing part of the financial markets that is a priority for our company. We have continued to strengthen the ways we deliver and package news across our platforms, and record usage on the Terminal and strong growth in digital subscriptions are testament to our success. And we have built up our expertise in video - as proven by the two Emmys we won last month and the release of "Can't Look Away." Today we are announcing several changes in our structure to consolidate our achievements in each of these three areas - and set ourselves up for future expansion. Our advance into private markets has involved intense collaboration between our Credit and Finance groups. We now think the time is right to combine those teams - as well as Legal, Wealth and Investing - under the leadership of Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam. In a sign of how important Credit, Finance, Investing, Legal and Wealth are to us, Sree will join our Editorial & Research Management Committee. Shannon Harrington, Executive Editor for Global Credit, will report into Sree as will two new Executive Editors: We will post for an Executive Editor for Finance, Investing & Legal in the Americas and an Executive Editor for Credit and Finance in APAC. In APAC, the Finance Managing Editor (Luo Jun) and the Credit Managing Editor (Andrew Monahan) will report to the new Executive Editor, with the Credit Managing Editor having a dual reporting line into Shannon. Given the intensity of the story in the US, we are also uniting the Legal team with Financial Regulation under Managing Editor Benjamin Bain. Both Ben and the Finance & Investing Managing Editor for the Americas (Michael Moore) will report to the new Americas Executive Editor. The Managing Editors for Global Wealth (Brian Chappatta), Europe Finance & Investing (Tom Metcalf) and Mideast Money (Adveith Nair) will retain their reporting line into Sree. Dan Hauck, who has overseen the combined Credit and Deals groups with great skill for the past six years, will continue to oversee Deals and still report into Heather Harris. Dan will work closely with Sree and Shannon on private equity in particular, where we have had a string of exclusives this year. He will also take on the editing mentoring work previously done by Wes Kosova. One thing I must stress about Credit: although the growth in private markets has provided the catalyst for us to change formation, it doesn't in any way diminish our coverage of the much larger public credit markets where our customers rely on us to be first with new issues, loan deals and debt restructurings. Links with the other markets teams will remain as strong as ever and credit reporters will continue to file most of their stories into the Markets Editing hubs. The second set of changes focuses on our front pages across all our platforms. The News Desks have for years been the arbiters of which stories we put in front of our readers on the Terminal and the Web during the workweek, while the 24/7 team built our successful offerings for mobile and oversaw news on the weekend. This setup made sense to get Daybreak and Bloomberg Today off the ground but it no longer fits a seven-day news cycle, where readers expect the same news judgment from us wherever they are and whatever day it is. So we are combining the teams and reshaping the News Desks in each region, with one group overseeing front pages and news alerts (the now), one group looking ahead (Daybreak and Planning) and one group in charge of enterprise (the hub). Matt Miller will continue to oversee breaking news and economic data and devote more of his time to another of our key initiatives, the rollout of AI tools across the newsroom. In the Americas under News Director Emma Moody, Alan Goldstein will join the desk as Executive Editor, with Managing Editors Katherine Cho and Kevin Whitelaw (weekends) reporting to him. Alison Ciaccio becomes Managing Editor for Planning and Daybreak, reporting to Emma, and Pratish Narayanan continues to oversee the hub as Executive Editor. The Web team under Lindsey Rupp continues to dual-report to the News Desk and Digital. In Asia, News Director Mike Patterson will be joined by Linus Chua as Executive Editor. Maggie Otte and Shamim Adam (weekends) remain as Managing Editors and will report into Linus. The digital homepage team under Kristine Servando will dual-report into the News Desk and Saira Asher, Managing Editor for Digital in Asia. Emily Cadman continues to run the hub, and we will post for the Managing Editor for Daybreak and Planning. Our EMEA News Director Ros Mathieson is keen to return to Asia, and I'm delighted that she will become our Chief Asia Correspondent based in Singapore, a new role reporting to John Fraher and Madeleine Lim. Will Kennedy will succeed her as News Director in London. His leadership team will include Executive Editors James Ludden (front pages, alerts) and Edward Evans (hub), and we will post for the Managing Editor roles for Daybreak/Planning and the front pages. A new digital homepage team under Niveditha Ravi will dual-report to the desk and Sarah Muller. Shiyin Chen will continue to oversee weekend news, reporting into James, while Adam Blenford moves to Katherine Bell's weekend team as a Senior Editor. We will post for a successor to Will as head of Energy and Commodities shortly. The third set of changes focus on video. On the business side of Bloomberg Media, Roman Mackiewicz took over leading the video end-to-end strategy four months ago. To better align the editorial side with this (and also mirror our successful audio editorial model), we are unifying video editorial under Kristin Powers' leadership. Kristin has a wealth of experience across all our platforms - and helped launch both Green Docs and "Can't Look Away." Julie Alnwick McHale will continue to run Bloomberg Television and expand her remit to oversee all video news; Regina Dellea will be in charge of our studio, Bloomberg Originals; and Amina Wilson will be head of development for all programming, an expanded role. Julie, Regina and Amina will all report to Kristin, who will also continue to serve as Dave Merritt's deputy. The video alignment follows the successful integration of radio and podcasts in one audio division under Anthony Mancini two years ago. To enable Kristin to focus on video, we are making some more changes in the Media Editorial group. Ted Fine and his partnerships team will now report to Julie Alnwick McHale. Emily Anton will take the lead for cross-platform projects. Loly Chan will run production across Businessweek and Markets magazines reporting into Katie Boyce. And we also want to simplify our approach to still images. For years we have run separate photography teams, serving our magazines, features, and the newswire. We'll now unite them into one group, led by Aeriel Brown and reporting up to Chris Nosenzo. We'll also be moving Dorothy Gambrell and Mark Glassman onto Martin Keohan's wider Data Viz group. These two changes will build on the success of our combined design merger. Finally on the Media side, continuing our drive to build up our consumer product in Asia, Stephanie Phang will move over to Emma O'Brien's group where she will oversee our growing suite of newsletters that are helping us reach new audiences in the region. We will post for a new Managing Editor for Southeast Asia shortly. As part of all these changes, we have sadly had to say goodbye to some colleagues. That too is part of how a newsroom evolves and gets stronger. To those who worry that this is driven by cost cutting, I will point out that we will end this year with a bigger newsroom than we started it. We have a responsibility not only to deliver the best content we can to our customers but also to create that content as efficiently as possible. Reto and I and the rest of our leadership team are confident that these changes - as well as the long list of ongoing improvements and expansions that I mentioned at the beginning of this note - will all help us provide an even better Chronicle of Capitalism. And I am also certain that the newsroom and indeed our broader department will continue to evolve and change shape in the years ahead. The best, as we have occasionally pointed out before, is yet to come.
Irish Examiner
03-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Social media aimed at kids is driven by profit, not safety
Representatives from big tech companies consistently describe their products and services as being "safe by design" for children. I'm not buying it. TikTok says: 'We've designed our app with safety in mind, implementing a 'safety by design' approach that ensures we are building protection for our users, including teens and their parents'. Roblox claims its platform 'was developed from the beginning as a safe, protective space for children to create and learn'. Unsurprisingly, all of the popular services that children use make similar claims about the importance of the safety of their product. Claims that are at best, lofty ideals, and at worst, deliberately misleading. There is plenty of evidence these claims are far from the reality of what children and young people are experiencing on platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, both of which use an incredibly powerful AI-powered recommender system to recommend content that maximises attention, rather than what is age-appropriate, content from friends, or even the kinds of things they're interested in seeing. A hard-hitting 2024 report by DCU's Antibullying Centre showed how recommender algorithms being used in YouTube and TikTok shorts were actively fuelling the spread of misogyny and 'male supremacy' content. There were two other notable findings to this research. Firstly, the speed with which the content started to appear was staggering, taking only 23 minutes after the account became active. Secondly, once the user started to show any interest at all in the recommendations, the content increased dramatically in both volume and in toxicity. Girls are not immune to being served harmful content either, though it tends to fall into different categories, such as eating disorders and body dysmorphia. In a report published last year, the Centre for Countering Digital Hate reported YouTube's recommender algorithm is pushing 13-year-old girls down rabbit holes of harmful content. An analysis of 1,000 recommended videos found one in three were related to eating disorders, two in three focused on eating disorders or weight loss, and one in 20 involved content about self-harm or suicide. Snapchat, which is incredibly popular (like YouTube and TikTok) with children who are under the platform's own minimum age requirement of 13 (36% of eight-12 year olds use it, according to our latest research), promises it is 'deeply committed to helping teens on Snapchat have a healthy and safe experience', yet Snap Inc, its parent company, is currently facing multiple lawsuits in the US that allege its harmful design fosters addictive behaviors and exposes children to risky content, such as cyberbullying, substance abuse, and self-harm material. The horrifying impact of this content is well documented in a soon to be released Bloomberg documentary called Can't Look Away. There can be no doubt these online products and services widely used by children are far from being 'safe by design'. They may not be intentionally harmful to children, but it is the consequence of their design. Their design is to deliberately maximise profit, not safety, which has largely been an afterthought. A more recent market offering has been Instagram's teen accounts from Meta, which promises parents that 'teens are having safe experiences with built-in protections on automatically [sic] .' Certainly, at surface level, this new design sounded promising, with greater efforts made to ensure there would be far stronger protections in place from harmful content and harmful contact for those under 16. But two recent reports suggest it's not as safe by design as its widely circulated ad campaign would have us believe. Accountable Tech released a report this month which found despite Meta's controls, all accounts had been recommended sensitive, sexual, and harmful content, with minimal educational recommendations and distressing experiences reported by most users. Another report published in April by the 5Rights Foundation titled Is Instagram Now Safe for Teens? had very similar findings. There can be no doubt these online products and services widely used by children are far from being 'safe by design'. They may not be intentionally harmful to children, but it is the consequence of their design. Their design is to deliberately maximise profit, not safety, which has largely been an afterthought. How is it that other industries are expected to adhere to far more stringent regulations? The toy industry, for example, is subject to a strict range of regulations to sell into the European market, including the CE standard, which shows the toy meets European safety standards for children. This ensures the toy has passed checks for things like dangerous chemicals, durability, and age-appropriate design. This is all before it reaches the consumer. It is simply inconceivable that an industry as powerful and as widely used by children is not subject to anything even close to this level of scrutiny and testing at the design stage. This is despite the passing of the EU Digital Services Act, which does attempt to put some minimum standards in place and impose risk assessments on some of the larger platforms. It's hard to fathom how WhatsApp was able to unleash its AI buddy — a virtual assistant powered by artificial intelligence — onto all of its subscribers' feeds, with the small caveat that 'some messages may be inaccurate or inappropriate". Forty per cent of children aged eight–12 have a WhatsApp account in Ireland, according to our research. For any parents who may not want such a powerful resource in their children's pockets, it's unfortunately not a feature that you can unsubscribe from, despite it being described as "optional". As we continue to navigate the online landscape, it's clear the promise of "safety by design" from major tech companies is almost always falling short of its stated goal. While big tech must be held accountable for these shortcomings, it's crucial that we demand stricter regulations and oversight from Government and regulators to ensure they are truly safe and appropriate for the young audiences they serve. Until these changes are made, children will continue to face a digital environment that prioritises profit over their wellbeing and exposes them to very real harms. Alex Cooney is chief executive of Ireland's online safety charity, CyberSafeKids. Find resources to help protect children on its website.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Jolt's Latest Doc ‘Can't Look Away' Examines the Dark Side of Social Media and Its Impact On Adolescents
In the documentary 'Can't Look Away,' directors Matthew O'Neill and Perri Peltz expose the dark side of social media and the tragic impact Big Tech company algorithms can have on children and teens. Based on extensive investigative reporting by Bloomberg News reporter Olivia Carville, the doc follows a team of lawyers at Seattle's Social Media Victims Law Center who are battling several tech companies for families who have lost children due to suicide, drug overdose, or exploitation linked to social media use. O'Neill and Peltz ('Axios,' 'Surveilled') capture the lawyers' fight against Section 230 of the Federal Communications Act. Created in 1996 before the birth of social media, Section 230, known as the Communications Decency Act, states that internet service providers cannot be held responsible for what third parties are doing. More from Variety Netflix's 'Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders' Investigates Who Was Responsible for Seven Deaths: A Psychopath or a Drug Company? Judas Priest Documentary, Co-Directed by Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello, Coming From Sony Music Vision (EXCLUSIVE) Millennium Docs Against Gravity Festival in Poland Crowns 'Yintah' With Grand Prize 'The fact that this group of really incredible lawyers came together with this mission in mind to get around Section 230 through product liability, we just thought it was such a fascinating approach,' says Peltz. 'Can't Look Away' is currently streaming on Jolt, an AI-driven streaming platform that connects independent films with audiences. Recent Jolt titles include 'Hollywoodgate,' 'Zurawsksi v Texas,' and 'The Bibi Files,' a documentary from Oscar-winners Alex Gibney and Alexis Bloom that investigates corruption in Israeli politics. O'Neill says that he and Petlz decided to put 'Can't Look Away' on Jolt, in part, because the company could 'move quickly and decisively reach an audience now, with a message that audiences are hungry for.' 'What was also appealing to us is this sense of Jolt as a technology company,' he says. 'They are using these tools to identify and draw in new audiences that might not be the quote unquote documentary audience. We are documentary filmmakers, and we want our films to speak to everyone.' Jolt uses AI to power its Interest Delivery Networks, enabling films to connect with their target audiences. The platform's Chief Executive Officer, Tara Hein-Phillip, would not disclose Jolt viewership numbers for 'Can't Look Away,' making it difficult to determine how well the new distribution service is performing. However, Hein-Phillip did reveal that since the platform's launch in March 2024, the company's most-viewed film is the documentary 'Your Fat Friend,' which charts the rise of writer, activist, and influencer Aubrey Gordon. Hein-Phillip attributed part of the film's success on Jolt to Gordon's niche but significant online following. 'We are still learning along the way what builds audience and where to find them and how long it takes to build them,' Hein-Phillip says. 'It's slightly different for every film. We really focus on trying to find unique audiences for each individual film. In a way, that is problematic because it's not a reliable audience to say, 'Oh, we have built however many for this particular film, now we can turn them onto (this other) film and they'll all go there.' They won't.' The company utilizes advanced data analytics and machine learning to develop performance marketing plans that target specific audiences for each film and increase awareness. All collected data is shared with each respective Jolt filmmaker, who receives 70% of their Jolt earnings and retains complete ownership of their work and all future rights. 'Initially, we thought Jolt would just be an opportunity to put a film up there,' says Hein-Phillip. 'We would put some marketing against it, and we would push the film out into the world and give it our best push, and we definitely still do that, but now we realize that to build an audience, you actually have to do a handful of things. Some films come to us and they have already done that work, and some films come to us and they haven't. If they haven't, it's in our best interest and their best interest for us to help facilitate that.' That 'work' can include a theatrical release, an impact campaign, or a festival run. In addition to being a 'great, impactful film,' Hein-Phillip says that Jolt partnered with O'Neill and Peltz on 'Can't Look Away' because of the doc's audience potential. 'There are so many audiences for this film – parents, teenagers, lawyers, educators, etc,' said Hein-Philip. To attract those audiences, Jolt and 'Can't Look Away' directors have, ironically, relied on social media to help get the word out about the film. 'We aren't anti-social media,' says Petlz. 'What we are trying to say in the film is – put the responsibility where it rightly belongs.' 'Can't Look Away' will be released on Bloomberg Media Platforms in July. Best of Variety What's Coming to Netflix in June 2025 New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts?
Bloomberg
11-04-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Social Media's 'Big Tobacco Moment' Is Coming
The new Bloomberg Originals documentary Can't Look Away, which follows parents suing tech companies after the deaths of their children, is difficult to watch. It should be. The film lays bare what many parents already know: Social media is rewiring their children's brains, creating a generation of short attention spans and social anxiety. While viewing the film, what became clear is that tech platforms aren't doing nearly enough to stop it — and probably never will. It's apparent simply in Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg's shift in tone. In January 2025, he stood before some of these parents at a US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing and said, 'I'm sorry for everything you've gone through.' Before the year was out, the Facebook creator's rhetoric had changed. Donning a gold chain and longer hair, he told an audience of technologists 'I don't apologize anymore.'
Bloomberg
04-04-2025
- Bloomberg
How to Keep Your Kids Safe Online
The 'stranger danger' fears of the 20th century can seem quaint compared with the horror stories kids may come across in the digital world. Before the internet, parents feared sexual predators or drug dealers having physical access to their children. Now they're just a swipe away. Kids are growing up online, immersed in social media, obsessed with it and, in some cases, addicted to it. More than 95% of teens in the US use social media, with one-third saying they are logged on almost constantly. The fabric of their social lives has shifted from classrooms to smartphone apps, video games and chat forums — internet spaces where it can be impossible to know who you're really talking to. And, as Bloomberg's new documentary Can't Look Away demonstrates, these online environments can be dangerous, and even deadly. The film, which is streaming on Jolt and in select theaters starting April 4, follows a group of attorneys fighting to hold social media companies accountable for causing devastating harm to kids: Cases where teens were ruthlessly blackmailed by international gangs of cyber-sextortionists or sold deadly counterfeit pills by drug dealers who deliver through their bedroom windows.
