Simon Owens
STORIES BY THIS AUTHOR
How Obamacare Changed My Life
It took place all the way back in 2008, but I can still remember the call. I sat in my car in a grocery store parking lot. I had gone there to make the call so that nobody at my workplace could listen in. For the past two years I had worked as a full time reporter at two weekly ...read more
Dear Reporters: Stop Referring to Chuck Johnson as a “Troll.” He’s a White Supremacist, and He’s Now Directly Tied to Donald Trump’s Campaign
The Daily Beast has published a story confirming that Chuck Johnson, who once wrote for “mainstream” conservative outlets but now primarily publishes to his own blog, paid for one of the women to attend Donald Trump’s press conference stunt prior to Sunday’s debate. It’s a great ...read more
Twitter is Under No Obligation to Host Chuck Johnson’s Witch Hunts
I don’t always mind if people invoke the C word when referring to an instance in which a major social media or search platform bans a particular person from posting to it. Yes, Facebook or Twitter banning a user does not meet the technical definition of censorship given that ...read more
Why HBO Now’s Launch Will be Great for Netflix
Back in 2012, I interviewed Jake Caputo, a web designer who had a novel idea for how to convince HBO to launch a standalone subscription service that didn’t require a cable package. Instead of simply voicing his wishes, he created a website called TakeMyMoneyHBO.com. It provided ...read more
Will The FTC Soon Rain on Native Advertising’s Parade?
In late March, CUNY journalism professor Jeff Jarvis reached into his own pocket and paid for a Google Consumer Survey, the results of which should concern anyone who works within the journalism or advertising industry. He did so after browsing the viral aggregation site ...read more
I Don’t Find Your Millions of Pageviews Impressive
(Ashton Kutcher is the founder of a new viral aggregation site) It happens once every few months. A business or media reporter writes a breathless profile of some previously unknown web native who has “cracked the viral code.” We’ve been treated for years to the adage that you ...read more
Elon Musk Isn't the next Steve Jobs. He's Our Greatest Science Ambassador
In 2009, USA Todayconducteda survey of 1,000 Americans, asking them a very simple question: “Can you name one famous scientist?” The results were depressing. About 23 percent of respondents couldn’t name a single scientist. Of those who were named, none are currently living: ...read more
When a Twitter Parody Account Isn't Actually a Parody
I’m the last person in the world to decry a good Twitter parody account. The Mayor Emanuel Twitter handle, launched during Rahm Emanuel’s election bid for the mayorship of Chicago, was a lesson in brilliant dadaist surrealism that caricatured Emanuel’s penchant for profanity and ...read more