The schoolhouse murders in Newtown, Connecticut, have renewed the debate on gun control in America. But that debate is happening without the main protagonist. The National Rifle Association, so persuasive and powerful in private, has been silent in public. It has been their strategy in the past, and it has worked. Will this time be […]
We suffering taxpayers were treated to some rare good news this week, when the U.S. Treasury sold the last of its holdings in AIG, earning a cool $23 billion profit. Not bad for a risky corporate turnaround. But there to rain on the parade was Hank Greenberg, the former CEO of the insurance giant, who […]
Being a pioneer is tough and risky. It takes courage, skill and more than a little luck. And for every Lewis and Clark there are dozens who meet less glorious ends. That’s the lesson for Netflix, whose attempt to be a pioneer in the use of social media has run afoul of the Securities and […]
The cross-channel brawl that has broken out between London mayor Boris Johnson and a French central bank official has everything a British tabloid editor loves: colorful protagonists, money, national pride and a favorite adversary – the French. While it’s tempting to read the story as a blunder by the French, it’s a calculated move, and […]
A piece by New York Times media columnist David Carr has started a lively discussion on the practice of allowing quotes to be approved before they’re published.
The Murdochs were in the news again this week. But this time it was Elisabeth Murdoch, who grabbed headlines for her powerful speech at the Edinburgh International Television Festival. It’s a terrific speech, one of the best I’ve seen in a long time by a business leader, and it is instructive not only for media […]
Usually when a company sees its stock price sliced in half the CEO takes to the airwaves to reassure anxious investors and heavily stock-optioned employees. But flouting convention is a hallmark of Mark Zuckerberg. It’s the right strategy.
After being silent for most of the week, Knight Capital Group CEO Tom Joyce spoke to the Wall Street Journal today. He emphasized the firm’s rebound in business activity since a trading glitch stung the firm with a $440 million loss. The interview will help shift the focus toward Knight’s future, not its painful recent […]
Call me a contrarian, but I recently resumed my subscription to home delivery of the Financial Times. It must have brought a smile to the face of my local newsman, whose morning route has been lightened the past few years as my neighbors and I opted for getting our news on various electronic gadgets. I […]
Facebook users were up in arms recently after the company replaced the email address that appears in their profiles with an “@facebook.com” address. The response was swift and negative, with Facebook fielding a raft of harsh comments in the media and across the blogosphere. Facebook responded with a brief statement distributed by email from an […]