Alan Rusbridger and Lionel Barber—two of the world’s greatest editors—dive into the hugely important world of media. What—and who—drives it? What do they get ri...
Office streakers, whiskey before lunchtime, and untimely deaths: with Christmas party season almost upon us, Alan and Lionel get nostalgic for the old-fashioned newsroom on this week’s Media Confidential Q&A.Plus, your weekly update on the contested Observer sale, amidst disquiet amongst journalists at the paper. After grilling Tortoise’s James Harding on the podcast, plenty of questions still remain...Meanwhile, down under, the Australian ban on social media for under 16s sparks discussion, and it becomes clear that one of our hosts is not a social media fan. But this “dinosaur” can still bite—listen to the episode to hear his objections. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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23:38
AI: how to stop Big Tech ripping off journalism (again)
In the first of three special editions on artificial intelligence and the media, Alan and Lionel are joined by the CEO of ProRata.ai, Bill Gross.Artificial intelligence poses a serious threat to the survival of news organisations. Last year, the New York Times sued Microsoft over AI models secretly scraping its copyrighted work. Millions of articles from the Times were used to train chatbots, which now compete with the paper, the lawsuit claimed.How can be affected newspapers be identified and compensated for the use of their stories? Bill offers a novel solution, which is being taken up by some of the biggest names in the media: the Guardian, Sky News, the FT, the Daily Mail’s publisher, as well as Prospect.Also this week: updates on the ongoing Observer saga, and Lionel and Alan discuss the scandal involving BBC presenter Gregg Wallace.To watch this interview, and many more, head over to YouTube and search for ‘Prospect Magazine’. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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39:03
Q&A: Lionel’s Wild Ride
In this week’s Q&A, Lionel Barber takes centre stage to tell the tale of a largely unknown man who, for three days, was the richest man in the world.Recorded in front of an audience at Prospect HQ, he spoke about his new book, Gambling Man: The Wild Ride of Japan’s Masayoshi Son, in conversation with Prospect’s books & culture editor, Peter Hoskin.Nobody had written extensively about Son, and with no western biography available, Lionel leapt at the chance to tell the extraordinary story of a speculator who has won and lost billions over the course of his life. From the slums to the high-flying world of trading, he uncovers the rise of a Korean-Japanese businessman, who was truly ahead of his time.Lionel’s book Gambling Man is available here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/451627/gambling-man-by-barber-lionel/9780241582725 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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39:04
Trump 2.0: Buckle up! It’s going to be wild
“Fake news”, lies, and a deep distrust of the “mainstream media”: these all marked the Trump’s first presidency. But will Trump 2.0 only usher in more bombastic speeches, or will the regime turn authoritarian?Alan and Lionel are joined by Margaret Sullivan, columnist and former New York Times editor, who has called Trump an existential threat to journalism. And with several American news organisations in turmoil and some TV networks struggling, what will the next four years hold for independent media?Margaret discusses the role that new platforms like Substack may play, as well as “shadow president” Elon Musk, who only seems interested in free speech when it echoes his own views.She calls for stiff spines and strong wills when dealing with the president and shares her hopes for the industry, if reporters can be be courageous enough...To watch this interview, search for ‘Prospect magazine’ on YouTube, where Media Confidential is published every Friday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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39:13
Sayeeda Warsi on the Tories and why ‘Muslims don’t matter’
Tune into a special taster of Media Confidential’s sister podcast: former Conservative cabinet minister Baroness Sayeeda Warsi joins deputy editor Ellen Halliday and Alona Ferber on the Prospect Podcast.In a moving and emotionally frank conversation about her journey in the public eye, she talks about her lifelong effort to challenge stereotypes, and why she’s finally resigned the whip.Politicians, media outlets, think tanks and even the entertainment industry have poisoned public discourse, culminating in this summer’s riots, which saw mosques targeted and a wave of anti-Muslim disinformation. Sayeeda unpacks these ideas in her new book Muslims Don’t Matter, about “the silencing, stereotyping and stigmatising of Muslims” and describes how Islamophobia, which she calls “Britain's bigotry blind spot”, not only passes the “dinner table test”, but has been embraced and enacted into policy.Muslims Don’t Matter is out now: https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/titles/sayeeda-warsi/muslims-dont-matter/9780349136486/And to listen to more from the Prospect podcast, visit https://prospect.lnk.to/podcastgu Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Alan Rusbridger and Lionel Barber—two of the world’s greatest editors—dive into the hugely important world of media. What—and who—drives it? What do they get right... And what do they get wrong?Lionel, former editor of the Financial Times, and Alan, editor of Prospect and former editor of the Guardian, will bring you revealing, high profile interviews and in-depth discussion.Media Confidential is a Fresh Air production for Prospect Magazine.Enjoy one-month's free trial to Prospect's digital content, and get full access to rigorously fact-checked, truly independent analysis and perspectives. No commitment - you can cancel at any time. Click here to subscribe: https://subscription.prospectmagazine.co.uk/1mfd/prospect-magazine/mcpod1mf About Prospect Prospect brings rigorously fact-checked analysis, ideas and perspectives to the big topics the world is grappling with. In addition to being the UK’s leading monthly current affairs magazine, Prospect publishes daily commentary and analysis online. Even more discussion about the ideas that matter is available in our growing range of newsletters and podcasts, the most recent of which is Media Confidential. We'd love your feedback! Tell us more at: https://f9ce3vpjrw3.typeform.com/to/bxJBPxN2 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.