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Important Items
The College Board Strips Down Its A.P. Curriculum for African American Studies
The College Board purged the names of many Black writers and scholars associated with critical race theory, the queer experience and Black feminism. It ushered out some politically fraught topics, like Black Lives Matter, from the formal curriculum. The study of contemporary topics — including Black Lives Matter, incarceration, queer life and the debate over reparations is downgraded. The subjects are no longer part of the exam, and are simply offered on a list of options for a required research project.. And it added something new: “Black conservatism” is now offered as an idea for a research project.
The expunged writers and scholars include Kimberlé W. Crenshaw, a law professor at Columbia, which touts her work as “foundational in critical race theory”; Roderick Ferguson, a Yale professor who has written about queer social movements; and Ta-Nehisi Coates, the author who has made the case for reparations for slavery. Gone, too, is bell hooks, the writer who shaped discussions about race, feminism and class.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/01/us/college-board-advanced-placement-african-american-studies.html
Walking on Eggshells—Teachers’ Responses to Classroom Limitations on Race- or Gender-Related Topics
MT @jeremycyoung Astonishing report from @RANDCorporation on educational gag orders, based on their own national teacher survey & @PENamerica‘s report. Takeaways: teachers are self-censoring, & gag order restrictions fall disproportionately on Black teachers.
https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA134-16.html
Make sure you can vote in the NY primaries
RT @nypl New Yorkers! Feb 14, is the LAST DAY to update your party affiliation for the June primary elections. 🗳
https://www.nypl.org/voter-information
Innovation
Will the Metaverse Be Entertaining? Ask South Korea.
In South Korea, the world’s testing ground for tech, K-pop singers are being spun up out of pixels and doing battle in a virtual universe.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/29/business/metaverse-k-pop-south-korea.html
The current state of metaverse interoperability
A Tech Worker Is Selling A Children’s Book He Made Using AI. Professional Illustrators Are Pissed.
Technology
How Will The Metaverse Change The Publishing Market?
Creating a “lie detector” for deepfakes
Microsoft and Adobe joined forces and designed a new feature called Content Credentials, which they hope will someday appear on every authentic photo and video. 900 companies have agreed to display the Content Credentials button. They represent the entire life cycle of photos and videos, from the camera that takes them (such as Nikon and Canon), to the websites that display them (The New York Times, Wall Street Journal).
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/creating-a-lie-detector-for-deepfakes-artificial-intelligence/
Instagram Co-Founders Introduce Artifact, an AI-Powered News App
Platformer’s Casey Newton called the app a “kind of TikTok for text, though you might also call it Google Reader reborn as a mobile app or maybe even a surprise attack on Twitter.”
https://www.cnet.com/news/social-media/instagram-co-founders-introduce-ai-powered-news-app-artifact/
How the TikTok algorithm works: Everything you need to know
https://searchengineland.com/how-tiktok-algorithm-works-390229#.Y96617c-K2Q.twitter
The Junkification of Amazon Why does it feel like the company is making itself worse?
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/01/why-does-it-feel-like-amazon-is-making-itself-worse.html
Inside Book Twitter’s Final(?) Days
https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a42638589/book-twitter-end/
Publishing & Media
CEO of Penguin Random House U.S., Country’s Largest Book Publisher, Steps Down
HarperCollins Is Cutting 5% of Its North American Workforce
HarperCollins, which laid off a “small number” of workers last fall, is taking more drastic steps to reduce its workforce, and plans to cut 5% of its employees in North America by the end of the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.
Amazon Is Changing Its Ebook Return Policy in Major Breakthrough for Authors
https://authorsguild.org/news/amazon-changing-ebook-return-policy/
How Easy Is It to Pirate Books?
Too easy! HT @LauraB7 It’s like a hydra, where if you cut off the head, three more sites will pop up with the book available on it.
https://bookriot.com/how-easy-is-it-to-pirate-books/
Author Websites: 8 Mistakes That Are Costing You Book Sales
Book2look Powers Look-Inside Excerpts at Bookshop.org
The founders of Book2look and Bookshop.org announce a new partnership for book excerpts and marketing to Bookshop.org’s site.
Condé Nast Forges Content Partnership With Pinterest
https://wwd.com/business-news/media/vogue-pinterest-conde-nast-partnership-fashion-week-1235502557/
Gawker Is Shutting Down (Again)
Gawker, the gossipy and snarky pop-culture site rebooted in mid-2021, is shutting down — for a second time, with the CEO of parent company Bustle Digital Group citing the need to prioritize “better-monetizing sites.”
https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/gawker-shutting-down-1235509262/
Orange Unified restores digital library, suspended over parents’ book complaints
Hide your books to avoid felony charges, Fla. schools tell teachers
At one school, “the kids began crying and writing letters to the principal, saying, ‘Please don’t take my books, please don’t do this.’”
Resources & Opportunities
23 Diversity-Centered Events to Attend in 2023
https://www.mehtabookeditingnewyork.com/writing/23-diversity-centered-events-to-attend-in-2023
How Fan-Favorite DK Star Wars™ Books Get Made
First Novel Prize introduces support for low-income writers
The First Novel Prize is opening access to low-income writers with this year’s edition by sponsoring a minimum of 100 places for writers who otherwise would have to pay £25.
https://www.thebookseller.com/news/first-novel-prize-introduces-support-for-low-income-writers
Publicity Intensive for Debut Poets
https://www.pw.org/content/get_the_word_out
Journalism Creators Program
https://www.journalism.cuny.edu/j-plus/entrepreneurial-journalism-creators-program/
This week! Come to this panel I put together: Media Changemakers: Real Actions You Can Take To Make A Difference
Do you want to make a difference? Hear how you can make it happen (even with your full-time job)! This week! 2/8 6pm ET FREE for @WMG_NYC members, $15 for non-members. Sign up quick!
Come to this Master Class with some powerful and purposeful media changemakers who will share their stories, vision, and how they made it happen. Learn how you can take action for the causes you believe in from:
- Vaishnavi Patel, Author who created Authors for Abortion Access
- Arielle Nissenblatt, Podcast Professional who started PodVoices
- Sara Berliner, Co-Founder of Kinspire and the force behind the Vote Like a Mother movement
- Moderator: Bridget Todd, journalist, Host of There Are No Girls on the Internet and Director of Communications at UltraViolet. https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-5068380
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