Do facts have relevance? (Do elephants have a soul?)

Dear Colleagues,

I look from time to time at a small online magazine called The New Atlantis. Its aspiration: “A culture in which science and technology work for, not on, human beings.” You can imagine the eclectic mix of articles, the data considered, the threads tugged and stories spun.

The moon blows up and meteors destroy life on Earth. Astronauts and engineers keep a few people alive in hastily designed capsules. The new world that emerges is severe. There are rebellions, desperation-borne cannibalism.

This comes from Neal Stephenson’s 2015 novel Seveneves. Brian J.A. Boyd is preoccupied in a New Atlantis essay with “Amistics.” Coined by Stephenson after the Amish, the term is used by the people who repopulate planet Earth. Like the Amish, they’re deliberative about which technologies they will and will not make part of their lives. Boyd’s essay — “Why We Need Amistics for AI” — tends toward the philosophical and is focused on the transforming effect artificial intelligence is nearly certain to have on our lives.

I’ve been preoccupied by New Atlantis articles on journalism. M. Anthony Mills writes about political fact-checking. A short while ago it was anything but commonplace. By now it’s a robust sub-genre of journalism — for those striving to preserve accuracy in the field, with ample others out for partisan advocacy and manipulation.

Jon Askanos has two essays of note. One explores how we got from Jon Stewart to Tucker Carlson. Audiences were fed up with canned corporate media with its fake centrism and “objectivity.” Sharp viewpoint journalism with humor and a smattering of data was Stewart’s secret sauce.  But as Stewart “tore down the pillars of the phony old consensus reality,” writes Askanos, “he was laying the foundation for authentically fanatic alternate realities.”

Read Askanos’s essay on the fact, “a beloved friend of social harmony, ca. 1500–2000. “ Arkanos is keen to make the case for a post-fact universe, but not in the way you might think.

There’s temptation, writes Askanos, “to listen to the people — the pundits, the politicians, the entrepreneurs — who weave the most appealing story. They may have facts on their side, and the story will be powerful, inspiring, engaging, and profitable.” But, says Askanos:

There will be others who neither adhere to the black-and-white simplicity of the familiar stories nor appeal to our craving for colorful spectacle. Their stories may have flecks of gray and unexpected colors bisecting the familiar battle lines. They may not be telling you all that you want to hear, because the truth is sometimes more boring and sometimes more complicated than we like to imagine. These are the ones who maintain an allegiance to something beyond the narrative sandcastle of superabundant facts. They may be worth following.

MBN News and New Hires

In our work, we’re striving to be accurate and honest, reliable and responsible. We have a viewpoint. We believe in decent accountable government, rule of law, political pluralism, and tolerance. Let other outlets play their angles. Our reporting reflects our values. Truth first is not a bad tagline.

We have work to do. Stay tuned for further, practical guidance on our niche, our audience, and the kind of journalism we want to do. I’ll have more to say about this next month after an offsite workshop with our senior leadership team. There will be no big surprises. Rather, we’re going for refinement of the direction we’ve been pushing for since I joined you seven months.

You’ll get an update soon, too, on our search for the permanent editor-in-chief. Thanks to Leila Bazzi — and all of you — we’re not waiting. We’re driving forward every day.

There’s plenty to report:

• We have an important investigative series underway on trafficking networks that bring desperate migrants from Jordan to America. The Washington Institute’s DavidSchenker, a regular on Alhurra, says Iran and its proxies are determined to destabilize Jordan by inciting protests, fomenting social unrest, and increasing drug and weapons smuggling.
• We’ve reported recently on Iranian rapprochement with Morocco. We reported over the weekend on developments in Syria, where rebel forces pushed into Aleppo.  Iranian consultations with Russia to aid the Assad regime are a part of our reporting. Iran maintains dozens of military sites on Syrian territory as a means to advance its interests in the region.
• We can do more on Iranian influence across our region. To guide us, we’ve just signed AndresIlves who joins us in January. More about his role in due course. Andres has led the Persian services of BBC and RFE/RL. He brings sharp journalistic and political skills and a formidable network (his brother Toomas Ilves is a former president of Estonia).
• We have winners from our Ideas and Innovation competition! Look to hear from BillySabatini this week about timing for a gathering with announcements and celebration. You’ll also hear from Billy and Deirdre Kline this week about the rollout from our staff survey on organizational culture. I’ll host a town hall meeting soon, but equally important you’ll have a chance to speak to the results in smaller settings we’ll convene between now and Christmas.
• We’ll add to our fine team for greater support of visas and green cards, employee evaluations, and opportunities for professional development. To this end, we’ve just made another fabulous hire, a new HR leaderwith deep, relevant experience, tenacity, and empathy. We’ll announce our new colleague’s name in January, as they’re finishing up with another company as we speak,
• We’ve just hired a new security director. ScottRiddick will start in the new year. I’m grateful that our colleague Farhad Saleh was able to serve as acting director this fall. Scott is a former US Secret Service Special Agent and military police captain with considerable international experience in security operations, threat assessments, emergency planning, and staff protection.
• You’ll meet our new MBN spokesperson soon, too. LeilaBatti will share The best of MBN each day with funders, fans, and stakeholders around the world. She’s articulate, well informed, and passionate about our work. Leila is not a real person. She’s an AI avatar.

Incidentally, the Amish haven’t exactly figured out how to let certain technologies in while pushing others out. Here’s an Amish story we did recently. Tip of hat to Nevine Karass and colleagues.

Reading

A U.S. army general once shared with me the advice he offers troops and commanding officers: Eat right, sleep, exercise, and always be reading something that has nothing to do with your work.

In this spirit, you might wish to try The New Atlantis. I commend the fascinating 70-page essay titled “Do Elephants have a Soul?” by Caitrin Nicol. For a taste, here’s a column I wrote about intriguing bits from Nicol’s research.

In any case, keep reading. Take care of yourselves. And stick with us. We’re committed to supporting you — and three hundred percent determined to turn MBN into the finest media company of its kind.

My very best, Jeff