WebProNews

Tag: NPR

  • Amazon Loses Bid to Overturn NYC Employee Union Vote

    Amazon Loses Bid to Overturn NYC Employee Union Vote

    Amazon’s anti-union efforts have been dealt a major blow, with the company losing a bid to overturn a vote by its employees to unionize.

    Workers at the Staten Island, N.Y voted to unionize and join the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), but Amazon filed an appeal, requesting the vote be re-taken. According to NPR, a federal labor official with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has rejected Amazon’s appeal in its entirety, ruling that the union should be certified.

    ALU president Chris Smalls celebrated the news in a tweet:

    The NLRB ruling is a significant setback for Amazon, a company that is notoriously anti-union. The company has aggressively pushed back against union efforts, even to the point of making its own investors uncomfortable. Amazon has also hired Pinkerton detectives to monitor organizing efforts on the part of its employees.

    With the Staten Island precedent, Amazon will likely face much wider unionization efforts.

  • Unique Job Market Is Hampering Companies’ RTO Plans

    Unique Job Market Is Hampering Companies’ RTO Plans

    Despite companies’ best efforts, few have been able to successfully enforce their return-to-office (RTO) policies, thanks in large part to the state of the job market.

    Companies large and small are working to enforce RTO, but many employees are pushing back. Apple recently had to suspend its RTO escalation, and Google paused its plans for workers in its Maps division. According to a report by NPR, this is a growing trend, with companies having little recourse when employees refuse to come back to the office.

    See also: A Guide to Cybersecurity for Remote Work

    With as many as 11.5 million job openings, much of the cause lies in the current state of the economy. In many cases, employers are hesitant to enforce issues that could lead to employees resigning with little hope of being able to fill those positions. Even Apple is not immune from this challenge, with its top AI executive resigning over the companies RTO policies.

    In addition to the job market, the pandemic led to newfound realizations about what is possible.

    “Could I have worked from home four days a week before the pandemic? I think I easily could have. It just wasn’t the environment,” Jason Carrier, a senior associate at Eagle Hill Consulting, told NPR.

    When asked about the possibility of going back to the office full-time, his view was clear-cut:

    “Probably very close to a deal breaker at this point,” he says.

    Many companies, such as Eagle Hill, are adapting to the changes and altering their view of in-office work.

    “I view the office changing,” said Eagle Hill’s chief marketing officer Susan Nealon. “It’ll be less about the individual work getting done, and more about the group work getting done.”

  • Microsoft Buying Activision Blizzard, CEO Kotick Likely Leaving Soon After

    Microsoft Buying Activision Blizzard, CEO Kotick Likely Leaving Soon After

    Microsoft announced it is buying Activision Blizzard in a deal worth a whopping $68.7 billion.

    Activision Blizzard is responsible for some of the biggest, most successful game franchises in history, including Warcraft, Overwatch, Starcraft, Diablo, Call of Duty, and Candy Crush. Microsoft sees the acquisition as a way for it to continue to cement its position in developing the metaverse, where in-person and virtual reality merge.

    “Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms,” said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft. “We’re investing deeply in world-class content, community and the cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive and accessible to all.”

    At the same time, Forbes is reporting that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is likely leaving once the deal is completed. Kotick has been under fire for his role in Activision’s culture, and has been accused of knowing about sexual harassment and discrimination accusations, but not taking the necessary steps to address the problem.

    Given that Microsoft is working to establish itself as a safe work environment, it’s unlikely Kotick would have place within the company once the deal is finalized.

    According to NPR, Nadella alluded to the challenges involved in reining in Activision’s culture in a call with investors.

    “After the close, we will have significant work to do in order to continue to build a culture where everyone can do their best work,” Nadella said. 

    In the meantime, here’s to hoping Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard will lead to a Starcraft 3…

  • Unvaccinated COVID Patients Will Pay Their Own Bills In Singapore

    Unvaccinated COVID Patients Will Pay Their Own Bills In Singapore

    The Singapore government is tired of footing the bill for unvaccinated COVID-19 patients, and will soon force them to pay their own medical bills.

    Governments around the world are struggling to deal with the strain COVID patients put on available medical resources. There have been countless cases of patients seeking treatment for cancer, needing minor surgery, or dealing with any number of other conditions being sent home because of hospitals filled to the brim with COVID patients. Often, it is unvaccinated patients that cause the lion’s share of the burden.

    It appears Singapore has had enough, and is preparing to take measures to ensure individuals that choose to remain unvaccinated, without a medically valid reason, will have to foot their own bill, according to NPR.

    “Currently, unvaccinated persons make up a sizeable majority of those who require intensive inpatient care, and disproportionately contribute to the strain on our healthcare resources,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement when announcing the change.

    The change will take effect on or after December 8. It’s a safe bet many other countries will eventually follow suit.

  • Amazon Workers Vote No to Unionization

    Amazon Workers Vote No to Unionization

    Amazon has scored a big win in Alabama, as workers voted not to unionize in the biggest unionization push the company has seen in the US.

    Workers at the company’s Bessemer, Alabama warehouse began the process of setting up a union vote earlier this year. Amazon immediately began a full-court press initiative to discourage those efforts, including go so far as to put propaganda in bathroom stalls.

    It appears the company’s efforts were successful, as NPR is reporting the employees have voted not to unionize. The union is filing a legal challenge to the results, and wants a hearing with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The union wants the NLRB “to determine if the results of the election should be set aside because conduct by the employer created an atmosphere of confusion, coercion and/or fear of reprisals and thus interfered with the employees’ freedom of choice.”

    In addition to the bathroom propaganda, Amazon bombarded workers with anti-union text messages and mandatory “information sessions.” A mailbox that was supposed to provide a “convenient, safe and private” place to vote was placed inside an Amazon tent, a move many felt was further intimidation. Similarly, the company asked the county to shorten the timing of the traffic light outside the warehouse. Pro-union organizers believed it was to prevent them from being able to talk to workers sitting in traffic, while Amazon says it was standard practice during holiday and peak season.

    Whatever the case, it appears Amazon’s fight over unionization is far from over. Given the company’s aggressive tactics, tactics that caused its own investors to tell it to back down, the company may have won this battle at the cost of the war.

  • Biden Administration Reviewing WeChat Ban

    Biden Administration Reviewing WeChat Ban

    The Biden administration is reviewing an attempted ban of WeChat, amid a broader review of the previous administration’s actions against Chinese platforms.

    WeChat was one of a number of Chinese services the Trump administration tried to ban. Ultimately, a judge blocked the ban, in large part because of how important the app is to the Chinese community abroad.

    “WeChat is effectively the only means of communication for many in the community, not only because China bans other apps, but also because Chinese speakers with limited English proficiency have no options other than WeChat,” wrote U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in her order, according to NPR. She also likened WeChat to “a virtual public square for the Chinese-speaking and Chinese-American community.”

    The Biden administration has been reviewing the actions taken against the various Chinese companies that the Trump administration accused of being a threat to national security. The current administration wants to make sure the purported threats warranted the actions taken.

    According to ABC News, that includes reviewing the attempted ban against WeChat, just a day after the administration put a hold on the attempted TikTok ban. The announcement is good news for the Chinese-American community who rely on WeChat as a communication lifeline to friends and family in China.

  • States Sue Google For Antitrust Violations

    States Sue Google For Antitrust Violations

    As predicted, a coalition of 10 states have sued Google for alleged monopolistic behavior in digital advertising.

    The DOJ filed a lawsuit against Google in October, accusing the company of abusing its monopoly in the search business. Shortly after, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton warned that state lawsuits would likely follow.

    The first of those lawsuits has now been filed, according to NPR, with 10 states accusing the search giant of similarly abusing its monopoly in online advertising. The states involved are Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Utah.

    “These actions harm every person in America,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a video announcing the lawsuit. “If the free market were a baseball game, Google positioned itself as the pitcher, the batter and the umpire.”

    Google has said the claims are “meritless” and vowed to vigorously defend itself in court.

  • Coronavirus: Social Games Replacing Hanging Out

    Coronavirus: Social Games Replacing Hanging Out

    As the coronavirus forces people to forgo hanging out in person, social gaming is gaining in popularity.

    According to report by NPR, social games are becoming the new way people hang out, providing interaction without the risk of infection. One such example is Discord, a communication platform popular with gamers that has seen a 200% increase in signups in the last week.

    Even games that are normally played in person are seeing growth, as families stay home. Jackbox Games CEO Mike Bilder told NPR that their traffic last weekend was “comparable to Thanksgiving weekend, which is a very busy time of year for us. Across the board we’ve just seen a lot of additional activity over a typical weekend.” The company has also released a guide to help people adapt and play their games remotely.

    Similarly, Facebook recently announced a closed beta of its Horizon virtual reality environment, an environment designed to allow users to visit, interact, cooperate on tasks, compete with each other and more. As the pandemic continues to progress, it’s a safe bet social games and virtual reality will only continue growing in popularity.

  • Do Short and Sweet Facebook Posts Drive More Traffic?

    Do Short and Sweet Facebook Posts Drive More Traffic?

    Like you, NPR sure would like more of its Facebook followers to click through to its site. And like you, NPR is looking for a way to optimize its Facebook traffic.

    Let’s face it – getting Facebook users to click on your links isn’t easy. Things were easier a couple of years ago – before Facebook nerfed organic reach and every single one of your followers saw your posts in their feeds. Now, only a small percentage of your followers even see your posts, and if they do, that’s only half the battle. You have to get them to click your links.

    NPR recently looked at all of its Facebook posts over the past six months to see if there was any correlation between lead-in text length (what you write in your post above the generated link) and click through rate.

    What NPR found was that it might be best to keep it short and sweet.

    “Since driving traffic to NPR.org is one of our main goals on Facebook we looked at click-through rate (link clicks divided by post impressions) to get a sense of how efficient each group was at delivering traffic. What we uncovered is that shorter posts (specifically posts that were 120 characters in length or fewer) tended to have significantly higher click-through rates. Meaning, when all things are equal, these posts are more effective at delivering traffic to our site,” says NPR digital metrics analyst Dan Frohlich.

    Of course, all things aren’t exactly equal. Some posts are just more interesting – post length aside. Time of day of post, day of the week, the quality of the main image. As you can see, there are a lot of variables at play.

    But the study did find a significantly higher click rate on posts with shorter intros:

    Screen Shot 2015-10-29 at 1.23.12 PM

    Posts of 0 to 120 characters performed better than all other ranges – including the average.

    Like I said before, there are a lot of variables to consider. And this is far from comprehensive – just one outlet analyzing its own data. But it does make you think – if you’re too wordy in your Facebook posts, are you giving away too much? And are people already tired by they time they get through the lead-in?

  • Nikki Giovanni Remembers the Incredible Maya Angelou

    Poet, author and professor Nikki Giovanni remembered the renowned poet and activist Maya Angelou — who died Wednesday at her home — during an NPR broadcast Thursday.

    “I don’t know anybody, and I really don’t, who has gotten as much out of life as Maya Angelou,” Giovanni told NPR’s Michel Martin.

    Giovanni said Angelou never shared much about her past, but opened up in 1969 with the release of her famous I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. It was the first in a series of memoirs that depicted her difficult childhood, which included the trauma of sexual abuse. Angelou spent much of her childhood in silence, refusing to speak.

    “I think [Angelou] had a difficult childhood at the beginning and I think that the silence allowed her to absorb good stories,” said Giovanni. “You know, she was tough. I mean, her writing was very tough. And it is interesting how uplifting many people experience it because if you think about it, she was writing about some things that a lot of people didn’t talk about – like being molested, for example, and also the struggle to get an education, and also some of the dynamics within her family that a lot of people would not necessarily want to talk about, at a time when a lot of people did not write about those things.”

    Giovanni said Angelou loved being alive, even as her aging body began to let her down.

    “Maya had an embrace of life and it is rare, you know,” said Giovanni. “Even I – I like being alive – but even I don’t come anywhere near just that joy that she brought. There is an old Negro spiritual – he woke me up this morning and started me on my way. The Lord is blessing me. And I don’t know anybody who thinks that but Maya. I mean, of all of the people that I know, I don’t know anybody who has just that verve, that I am alive, and as long as I’m alive – she used to say that all the time. Say you know, and then your back hurts, and well, she says you know, as long as I am here it feels good. That is the way she is going to look at it.”

    Angelou always gave the perception that she had little awareness of her fame and impact, and Giovanni confirmed that perception.

    “She did not want people feeling sorry for her. This is what I’m saying. And so a lot of the discomfort of her illness she did not share. She was not one of those people that is going to whine. As she said, if I am alive I am well and if I’m not alive then, you know. The one thing that I know Maya … would want is to know what’s being said now about her in her death … She would get the biggest kick.”

    You can listen to the full NPR interview here.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Neko Case Did A “Tiny Desk Concert” In A Gorilla Suit

    Neko Case has a staggering talent. The writer/musician counts some pretty loyal people among her fans, because we all know how hard she works just so we can listen to her describe how we’re feeling at any given moment. It’s like she’s psychic, and her music reaches us at just the right moment in our lives.

    Aside from all that, she’s also just hilarious. While her music speaks of grave topics like the pain of losing someone–“anti-love songs”, she calls them–or of realizing too late what should have been done, she doesn’t take herself too seriously. Her sense of humor and vaguely sarcastic take on life and other people is evident in both her own songs and the ones she chooses to cover.

    It’s also evident in the Halloween concert she gave NPR for their “Tiny Desk” series, when she dressed up in a gorilla suit to share her velvety voice with the world. Take a look.

    Image: NPR

  • NPR Buyouts: Plan To Cut Staff By 10%

    NPR Buyouts: Plan To Cut Staff By 10%

    NPR announced on Friday that it will attempt to reduce its staff by about 10% through voluntary buyouts, in order to balance the budget. NPR is a very popular source of news and entertainment for many people, and it is sad to hear of news like this. Hopefully people will not have to miss out on too many of their favorite programs because of this decision. The economy of this country is struggling and since radio broadcasting is a dying business in some aspects, they are forced to analyze their budget and see where they are able to slim down.

    More information about the buyouts is supposed to be available next week, while their last significant cutback came in 2008, letting go of about 8% of their staff at that time. A number of other people have been hired since then certainly, but many of them have been sent to work for their other up and coming outlets such as NPR.org and the various apps that they offer. This announcement was depicted as one of the most significant staff cutbacks in the history of the public radio organization, according to the New York Times. A spokeswoman for the organization was also quoted saying that if the desired reductions are not achieved through buyouts alone, “involuntary measures will need to be considered.”

    Hard times cause people to not be able to be quite as generous to their favorite radio stations, while advertisers are not able to do all that they used to do either. The plans were prepared by a team that was led by NPR’s chief executive Gary E. Knell, hoping to present a balanced-budget plan before departing from the company. Knell announced last month that he would be taking over for the National Geographic Society. NPR, based out of Washington, has said that the buyout is necessary in order to close a continuing deficit, which is projected at $6 million in its upcoming fiscal year.

    NPR and the radio industry as a whole have certainly suffered through the recession, with unfavorable solutions on the rise. This buyout and other measures are intended to help NPR break even in the fiscal year beginning in October of 2014. The organization currently has 840 full and part time employees. NPR states that the recent recession hit NPR and most other media outlets as well, after contributors and advertisers began to scale back on their support. NPR does a lot for the music and entertainment industry as well, with their popular programs such as “Prairie Home Companion” featuring Garrison Keilor and “All Songs Considered,” which features new songs for people to check out.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYkk62aqKd8

    The public radio station is in trouble in the struggling business world of today’s society. Is there anything the public can do in order to help?

    Image via Youtube

  • NPR’s Scott Simon Is Live-Tweeting His Mom’s Final Days, and It’s Heartbreakingly Beautiful

    NPR’s Scott Simon is currently doing something that some may call inappropriate, and others may call brave. Whatever the case, it’s inarguably fascinating, and at times heartbreaking.

    Simon is currently live-tweeting what seem to be his mother’s final days as she lies in an ICU bed. Between tweets praising the ICU nursing staff, lamenting missed opportunities, and doling out incredible insight, Simon is doing something that I’ve never seen done on Twitter. He’s making it feel more human that it’s ever felt before.

    Of course, it’s Simon and his mother than are the real human elements here. Twitter is just a medium – a delivery system for everything Simon is saying. But I tell you guys, it’s powerful. It’s not inappropriate, it’s not in bad taste, and it’s not outside the purview of “what Twitter is for.”

    This is precisely what social media was made to do.

    From the heart-wrenching:

    To the funny:

    And the beautiful:

    This is truly something. It’s making waves on Twitter, as it should:

    Enough of me talking. Go follow @nprscottsimon right now.

  • Claire Danes Gets Backlash For Bipolar Comments

    Claire Danes has a reputation for playing quirky characters–she got her big break on the teen drama “My So-Called Life”, playing a high-schooler looking for a place to fit in–and isn’t afraid to tackle roles that might be a bit outside the box for some actors. For instance, she played autistic doctor Temple Grandin in a film about her life. But now, the actress has spoken about playing a bipolar CIA agent on the Showtime hit “Homeland”, and her remarks are rubbing some people the wrong way.

    “I had to do a lot of research for this role. And actually, I found great material on YouTube,” she said during an interview with NPR. “There was a lot of footage of people who recorded themselves when they were in manic states. I think they were probably up in the middle of the night and lonely and, you know, needed to talk. So they talked to the camera. So I gorged on sort of manic confessionals on YouTube. They talk at a very fast clip. But, you know, it’s not a strictly unpleasant phenomenon. A lot of people are reluctant to treat themselves because they’re so protective of those manic highs.”

    After the interview aired, several listeners took to NPR’s website to comment on Danes’ remarks, referencing the fact that those who are bipolar and use proper medications and treatment can live quite normal lives. One commenter said, “I am… disappointed that the actress portraying a person with bipolar disorder says she prepared by “gorging on manic confessionals on You Tube”. That’s like studying diabetes by visiting the morgue, instead of talking with those who control it with medication and diet.”

    Another listener agreed, writing, “I was concerned that the actress chose “youtube” as a source of information. I have watched many of those videos and it is important to understand that for those of us living with loved ones who struggle with Type I bi-polar, the “youtube” examples actually appear mild.”

    Though the actress was trying to illustrate that she did her research on how to properly portray her character, her words have garnered some anger and hurt from bipolar disorder victims and their loved ones who say she should have chosen another avenue in order to get a handle on the role.

  • NPR’s “Car Talk” Hosts Retire, Twitter Reacts

    For the longest time, whenever my family and I have gone on vacations and trips, on Saturday mornings, my dad has always wanted the radio turned to NPR for Car Talk, a talk show (hosted by National Public Radio) where listeners from all around America call in with their car conundrums and ask “Click and Clack” (Tom and Ray Magliozzi) for a cheap and easy resolution. With their answers, it’s not just a simple “do this and do that,” but they always throw in a little comedy in their responses as well.

    (image)

    Today (Friday, June 8th, 2012), NPR published a document from their Communications Department stating that the brothers will not record any new episodes of Car Talk this upcoming fall; however, their most well-known and favorite episodes will still continue to air on NPR.

    The Magliozzi brothers also published a tweet on their @cartalk Twitter account announcing this news:

    To keep their content fresh and diverse, the Car Talk production team will create new episodes with a mixed range of content from shows of past seasons.

    The document from NPR concludes their report with the following statement:

    “The brothers will mark their 25th anniversary on NPR this fall, and then put the series in the hands of their producers, who will continue to produce the show.”

    To see a blog post from the Magliozzi brothers themselves about their upcoming retirement, click here.

    The Twitter community has been very active in reacting to this news and saying their goodbyes:






  • NPR and TED Launch a New Radio Show

    NPR and TED Launch a New Radio Show

    National Public Radio announced today that it will launch a new radio program later this month based on the TED conferences. TED, which stands for technology, entertainment, and design, holds conferences around the world that feature enlightening lectures of under 18 minutes from the foremost scholars and entrepreneurs in the world. Videos of these lectures, dubbed TED Talks, have become popular online.

    “With TED and NPR, there’s this collective curiosity about the world – a belief that civil discourse and shared ideas leads to a better understanding of the issues and opportunities we face,” says Eric Nuzum, vice president for programming at NPR. “TED Radio Hour brims with the possibility of these ideas, engaging us to think hard, and differently. It’s captivating.”

    Each episode of the “TED Radio Hour” will be based on TED Talks, delivered at TED conferences, that have a common theme. The program will be hosted by Alison Stewart, previous host of NPR’s Bryant Park Project. Some of the episode themes already mentioned are the source of happiness, crowd-sourcing innovation, power shifts, and inexplicable connections. Also, some of the featured speakers on the show’s first season will be chef Jamie Oliver, behavioral economist Dan Ariely, and author Kathryn Schulz.

    “At TED, we’re always looking for new ways to spread ideas,” says June Cohen, executive producer at TED. “It’s exciting to bring TED to radio – one of the world’s most powerful mediums – with a partner that has perfected the art of storytelling. TED Radio Hour is the first collaboration of its kind at TED; given NPR’s wide scope of listeners and journalistic integrity, we’re confident it will inspire curiosity among an entirely new audience.”

    The radio program will begin airing on NPR member stations on April 27, but you will have to check your local public radio station’s schedule to confirm that it will air the show.

    As a sample of what you are likely to hear on the “TED Radio Hour” take in this TED talk given by chef Jamie Oliver in February 2010:

  • Google’s Privacy Approach With Danny Sullivan and NPR

    Google’s new privacy policy has been the topic of some discussion — although, perhaps not as much as expected — as their new multi-platform approach resulted in the creation of one privacy policy to rule them all, much like Sauron’s ring, but this time, without the overt use of the all-seeing Tower eye.

    While Google may in fact be omniscient, at least in relation to the web, at least they aren’t in your face about it like the Eye of Sauron was. Geek-addled facetiousness aside, while the backlash may not have been what some expected, any time the words “Google” and “privacy” come together, it makes for an interesting topic. From Google’s perspective, it’s all about consolidation and personalization, something their disclaimer states quite clearly:

    If you’re signed into Google, we can do things like suggest search queries – or tailor your search results – based on the interests you’ve expressed in Google+, Gmail, and YouTube. We’ll better understand which version of Pink or Jaguar you’re searching for and get you those results faster.

    The privacy concerns about the sharing of this personal information across multiple platforms seemed to be addressed with the confirmation that Google users can indeed opt out, something Danny Sullivan discussed with Marketplace, which was broadcasted over NPR’s airwaves. Sullivan explains what Google’s privacy changes to the everyday user:

    “…YouTube can see maybe what you’ve been searching on on Google web search and say, oh, you’re really interested in skateboarding so I’m going to prepopulate the YouTube homepage perhaps with a lot of skateboard videos.”

    The full audio of Sullivan’s Marketplace appearance is also available:


    As indicated, the opt out option appears to have taken the sting out of the privacy complaints, although, the opt out option does put the responsibility in the hands of the user. Does anyone else find it weird that Google’s new privacy policy is something of a consolidation effort, but if you don’t want to have information collected, you have to opt out of each individual Google property? While one policy may indeed rule them all, getting out from under it is site-by-site undertaking.

  • Obama’s Middle East Speech to Get Twitter Follow-Up Chat

    Obama’s Middle East Speech to Get Twitter Follow-Up Chat

    Tomorrow at 11:40 am Eastern Time, President Obama will give a speech about United States policy in the Middle East and North Africa. The White House is looking to connect via social media to the public by announcing a live follow-up chat on Twitter.

    The speech will stream live at whitehouse.gove\live, and after it’s completed Twitter users will be given a chance to participate and even shape the discussion that follows.

    Here’s the form the discussion will take:

    Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes will be interviewed by Andy Carvin from NPR and Marc Lynch from Foreign Policy. Instead of formulating all the question themselves, they are inviting the Twitterverse to help craft the queries. From the NPR News blog:

    If you’re on Twitter and want to submit a question, please post a tweet with your question and include the hashtag #MEspeech in the tweet. You can pose your question before or during the speech. We won’t be able to get to every question, of course, so we encourage everyone to follow the #MEspeech hashtag and join the broader conversation about the speech on Twitter.

    @acarvin
    Andy Carvin    Please join me (@acarvin) and Marc Lynch (@abuaardvark) Thursday for a tweet chat during Obama’s #MEspeech: http://n.pr/kVl9nC Pls RT 1 hour ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    Apparently, the White House themselves played a role in getting this live Twitter-chat off the ground:

    The White House contacted Marc and me several days ago, asking if we would be interested in conducting a Twitter chat related to the speech. We agreed on the condition that the two of us would run the chat and any subsequent interviews ourselves, including choosing the questions and topics to be addressed in it.

    The hashtag #MEspeech is already generating some tough questions on Twitter, as you can see:

    @avinunu
    Ali Abunimah    .@acarvin Who will be there next to WH official Ben Rhodes to provide opposition? No one. So this is a propaganda event. #MESpeech 1 hour ago via Twitter for Mac · powered by @socialditto

    @acarvin
    Andy Carvin    .@avinunu the only terms were that the WH would have no say about what we ask. And I hope we get lots of questions from people across MENA. 1 hour ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    @antoniagogella
    W McLennan    @abuaardvark In context of US democ. principles & human rights principles explain US (selective) support of repressive regimes #MEspeech 16 minutes ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    @alphaleah
    Leah McElrath    . @abuaardvark @acarvin Does Obama Admin see recent events in #MENA as opp to change US policy: will we walk our talk finally? #MEspeech 42 minutes ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    It looks like the White House is truly trying to involve the world of social media in the debate. Policy debate via Twitter is just the beginning of the enormous role Social media is going to play in the upcoming 2012 elections. The White House is already integrating, and Republican contenders are going to have to do the same.

  • NPR President and CEO Vivian Schiller Steps Down

    NPR President and CEO Vivian Schiller announced her resignation today. NPR sent us the following statement:

    The NPR Board of Directors announced today that it has accepted the resignation of Vivian Schiller as President and CEO of NPR, effective immediately.

    Board Chairman Dave Edwards said: “The Board accepted Vivian’s resignation with understanding, genuine regret and great respect for her leadership of NPR these past two years.”

    According to a CEO succession plan adopted by the Board in 2009, Joyce Slocum, SVP of Legal Affairs and General Counsel, will be appointed to the position of Interim CEO. The Board will establish an Executive Transition Committee to develop a timeframe and process for the recruitment and selection of new leadership.

    It sounds like Schiller was forced out. Here’s a tweet from the NPR Twitter account:

    @NPR
    NPR    RT @davidfolkenflik: LISTEN to my discussion in a few minutes on Morning Edition. To repeat: NPR CEO Vivian Schiller forced out by board 13 minutes ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    @davidfolkenflik
    David Folkenflik    BREAKING: The board for NPR NEWS has just ousted CEO Vivian Schiller in the wake of video sting by conservative activist of a top exec. 32 minutes ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    Schiller was ousted following comments made by NPR exec Ron Schiller, who referred to Tea Party members as racist.

  • NPR Launches Local Online News Sites

    NPR Launches Local Online News Sites

    National Public Radio, in collaboration with 12 NPR member stations, has launched a dozen topic focused news sites today, debuting its Argo Network, an online journalism venture created to produce in-depth local coverage.

    Vivian-Schiller-NPR Topics that will be covered include global health, climate change, gentrification, public safety, education, politics, military, immigration and music. Each Argo station chose its topic based on what was most relevant to the local community.

    "The ARGO project has launched a dozen independent, news sites of substance and immediacy, where people can deepen their understanding of the critical issues that affect both communities and the nation," said NPR President and CEO Vivian Schiller.

    "By networking the sites, each station gains national perspective, audience and the opportunity to learn from the experiences of the others."

    The sites will be connected to each other through NPR’s API that allows the integration and sharing of content among the Argo stations and NPR. Content from the Argo sites will flow into the NPR.org API.

    Each Argo site is anchored by a news blog that features multiple stories each day along with community features for audience engagement and curated content. The individual stations will decide how to integrate the Argo site with their station websites.

    The Argo Network is funded by a $3 million grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.