The Problem with Social MediaThe last four years has seen a dramatic erosion of facts and truth, one of the essentials of our democracy. In its place are conspiracy theories, misinformation and blatant lies....Read MoreMarch 1, 2021AccountabilityBusinessMediaPersonalitiesResponsibility
Will Shakespeare, No Anti-VaxxerThree virus-related stories. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The coronavirus vaccine is on its way. The bad news is it’s under cyber-attacks aimed at stealing “technology for keeping the vaccines refrigerated in transit or to sabotage the movements [of shipments],” The New York Times reports (Dec. 7). “Josh Cormay,” the Times writes, “a coronavirus...Read MoreDecember 9, 2020Health CarePersonalitiesResponsibility
The Price of GreatnessSome citizens in Wolfford, Texas see the refusal to wear a mask to protect others as a principled stand. “I’m not doing it because I woke up in a free country.” “… we’re done with all that.” “…we don’t care.” Facing a tidal wave of defections from advertisers angered by the hate speech that appears next to their names in...Read MoreJuly 6, 2020PersonalitiesRespectResponsibility
Don’t Read This!It’s boring. It’s just another vanity website, only this one’s about “ethics.” Come on! I already know the difference between right and wrong. This guy is just another pseudo-intellectual, California liberal telling us how to live our lives. What a gasbag. He just uses it as an excuse for writing another negative riff on the president. (Okay, I don’t like...Read MoreFebruary 14, 2020Ethics
Just What is Good for Society, Mr. Zuckerberg?“A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” Fact-check: while attributed to Winston Churchill, versions of the expression existed as far back as the 1700s. Since the advent of social media, however, that cautionary quote needs serious updating and here’s why. Currently, more than 2.41 billion individuals use Facebook, of...Read MoreNovember 1, 2019AccountabilityBusinessHonestyMediaPersonalitiesPoliticsResponsibility
When Democracy Comes Dressed as PatriotismThe current American political order is starting to feel like a collision between the films Seven Days in May and All the King’s Men. One...DemocracyEthicsExtremismGovernment
Who Watches the Algorithm?We are building machines that may soon judge, persuade, police, diagnose, hire, fire, and even help governments decide whom to trust. Yet we still have...A.I.AccountabilityConscienceDemocracy
He Just Does His JobI’ve been listening to and watching Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia for more than a year now: his speeches, his questions in Senate hearings,...IntegrityLeadershipPersonalitiesPoliticsPrinciple
Why Donald Trump Has Pulled Me Back In—AgainLast August, I wrote that I was “stepping back from the chaos” of Donald Trump. I meant to write about his presidency only when his...AccountabilityCivic ResponsibilityCynicismDemocracyGovernmentPersonalitiesPolitics
Scott Pelley RespondsDuring a contentious staff meeting at 60 Minutes, Scott Pelley spoke out sharply, criticizing the judgment and decision-making of CBS News editor in chief Bari...AccountabilityCharacterConscienceJournalismMediaPersonalitiesPrincipleTrust
The Clock is Still Ticking. But Now It’s Ticking for CBSI began watching 60 Minutes when it premiered on September 24, 1968, when Harry Reasoner and Mike Wallace introduced a new kind of television journalism:...AccountabilityCorporate responsibilityEthicsJournalismPersonalitiesPoliticsPursuit of ExcellenceResponsibility