Four Former Editors in Chief Talk About the State of Tech Journalism in 2024. Hint: It’s Rough
Join former EiCs from Engadget, Gizmodo, Laptop Mag and Cord Cutters News (and a couple of CNET vets) in this unique Ex-Editor-in-Chief roundtable on the state of tech journalism in 2024.
Being the Editor in Chief of any publication can be a lonely role. Especially given the current state of journalism, where the news remains...mostly bad. And specifically in tech journalism, where many publications have shedded staff or shut down entirely.
Who else is going to understand the unique pressures of EiC life besides fellow editors at the top of the masthead?
I realized that I knew several people in my professional circle who had left the Editor in Chief spot at tech publications recently, so four of us got together to talk about the state of the tech journalism and the media business, from affiliate content to SEO games to the dreaded specter of AI.
The result is this one-shot podcast presenting a roundtable of ex-Editors in Chief of tech pubs. Included are myself, Dan Ackerman (former Editor-in-Chief at Gizmodo and former Editorial Director at CNET), Sherri L. Smith (former Editor-in-Chief at LaptopMag), Roger Cheng (former Editor-in-Chief at Cord Cutters News and former Executive Editor at CNET) and Dana Wollman (former Editor-in-Chief at Engadget).
In the hour-plus conversation here, we talk about:
The high-wire act of keeping the lights on and the content flowing, all while dealing with challenges from a raging pandemic to plummeting ad revenue.
The struggle to manage teams of reporters, both in-office and remotely, and how to protect them from cost-cutting executives.
The stark degradation in quality when SEO games and easy affiliate revenue dollars shift the mission from informing to optimizing.
The seismic shifts AI is wreaking across the entire publishing landscape, and news in particular.
The future of journalism, and a path forward that requires a blend of embracing new tech tools while safeguarding editorial integrity and prioritizing human insight.
Huge thanks to Roger, Sherri and Dana for joining me in this conversation. You can find the video version at the YouTube link above and the audio-only version on SoundCloud. We may upload this to additional platforms in the future.
You can find my fellow ex-EiCs here:
Dana Wollman: threads.net/@danawollman | twitter.com/DanaWollman
Sherri Smith: threads.net/@misssmith11 | twitter.com/misssmith11
Roger Cheng: threads.net/@rogercheng24 | twitter.com/RogerWCheng
And you can find me at MicroCenter.news, the tech news-and-reviews publication I recently launched for iconic tech retailer Micro Center, here at danackerman.substack.com for my semi-regular newsletter, and at twitter.com/danackerman | threads.net/@danack.
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