Dr. Joan Donovan, Shorenstein Center expert, comments on El Paso, 8chan, and what’s next

Dr. Joan Donovan, Research Director, responds to El Paso shooting, use of manifestos as a tactic, and explains how extremists manipulate the media to control public conversation Cambridge, MA – Dr. Joan Donovan is Director of the Technology and Social Change (TaSC) Research Project at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at

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A Landscape Study of Local News Models Across America

Local journalism is in crisis, off and online. Years of downsizing in the face of digital disruption have weakened regional and local news organizations. But there are a few glimpses of hope in models for local news across the country. This landscape study includes over 40 mini case studies on outlets that are making the shift, starting fresh, or experimenting with new ways to survive and thrive.

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Small is Beautiful

The decline of the legacy media started long before the Internet, but the Internet exposed a business model that relied too heavily on the wrong customers. This paper argues that subscription might be the only viable business model for digital media in the long run, but a small circulation might be large enough to make news outlets sustainable. Small is beautiful.

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map courtesy of Open Street Maps

Understanding Douma

The New Media Propaganda Wars and the Value of a Second Draft Read the paper A new paper by James Harkin, Joan Shorenstein Fellow (Fall, 2018) and Director of the Centre for Investigative Journalism in London explores current debates about online disinformation through the prism of Syria reporting and a single incident – a heavily

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Big Tech and Democracy: The Critical Role of Congress

In March 2019, two projects at Harvard Kennedy School—the Technology and Public Purpose (TAPP) Project at the Belfer Center and the Platform Accountability Project at the Shorenstein Center—hosted a workshop for Congressional staff to identify and discuss policy approaches to the dilemmas of big tech platforms.

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Racecraft. Castecraft. A Transnational Weapon to Criminalize and Dehumanize African American, Dalit, and Romani People

For centuries, racist or casteist ideologies have overlapped in the oppression of African Americans, Dalits, Romani people, and others. The racecraft of inferiority continues to be a powerful ideological weapon that ruling elites and dominant majorities have been using—intentionally and unintentionally, overtly or covertly—against historically oppressed groups. Join us for a panel discussion featuring: Cornel

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