Latest news with #Lessin
New York Post
2 days ago
- Business
- New York Post
Top tech editor taking heat for Zuckerberg interview — which didn't mention their close friendship, family vacations: report
The editor of a top tech publication is taking heat after she interviewed Mark Zuckerberg – and didn't mention their close friendship, including joint family vacations to Lake Tahoe and a stay at the Facebook CEO's Hawaii haunt during the pandemic, according to a report. Jessica Lessin, founder and editor-in-chief of The Information, sat with Zuckerberg on Monday for an interview to promote the launch of the site's new weekday show TITV. While the pair's friendship is well-known in most media circles, Lessin made no mention of their relationship during the interview and there was no disclosure on the website, according to the published transcript. Advertisement 3 The Information's Jessica Lessin interviewed Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday. The Information/Youtube That's causing a stir among media insiders, some of whom are questioning whether Lessin should have recused herself and handed the interview off to another reporter, according to journalist Oliver Darcy's Status newsletter. 'If you decide to interview someone who you regularly go on vacation with, you should disclose that friendship at the start of the conversation,' a prominent tech reporter told Darcy. 'Readers deserve that context as they consider all the questions you ask – and the ones that you don't.' Advertisement Another tech reporter called the snafu 'an insult to her newsroom,' according to Status. Lessin and The Information did not immediately respond to The Post's requests for comment. The tech editor's relationship with Zuckerberg goes back years, as her husband Sam Lessin won big on Facebook stock he received in 2010 when the Facebook founder – and fellow Harvard pal – bought his startup, according to Vanity Fair. Advertisement Sam later worked as an executive in product management at Facebook for about four years, according to his LinkedIn profile. 3 Sam Lessin and Jessica Lessin at the 11th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony in April. Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize The Lessins and Zuckerbergs have vacationed together in Lake Tahoe to celebrate the Fourth of July, according to Status and The New York Times. Jessica reportedly spent considerable time at Zuckerberg's compound in Hawaii during the COVID-19 pandemic, and her husband was seen alongside the Facebook CEO on a hunt in Kauai decked out in camouflage in a series of photos published by The Daily Mail. Advertisement The tech site editor previously said she does not view her relationship with Zuckerberg as a conflict of interest, and that she would step aside when 'there is something that could stand in the way of me doing my job objectively,' according to a 2021 New York Times report. 3 Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks at LlamaCon 2025 in April. AP But other journalists have been left scratching their heads as to why Lessin did not recuse herself, especially as The Information pushes its new TITV launch and tries to position itself as a premium publication, according to Status. Annual subscriptions to The Information cost $399, with a professional version offering access to databases and surveys at nearly $1,000 a year. The interview itself contained few tough questions for Zuckerberg, Darcy noted in his newsletter, and had a rocky start – with no audio for the first few moments. Eventually a journalist popped in to announce the glitch and end TITV's inaugural show, and the company published a transcript and video the following day.
Axios
4 days ago
- Business
- Axios
The Information launches new video product called TITV
The Information on Monday will launch its first live video product, TITV, hosted by reporter Akash Pasricha. Why it matters: The video format allows The Information to give its readers, who are mostly tech and business professionals, a peek behind the curtain into how the outlet's editorial decisions are made. Co-founder and CEO Jessica Lessin will host a regular segment talking about coverage themes coming out of the outlet's editor's meetings. Lessin told Axios in an interview that video and newsroom inside access are things The Information's subscribers have long asked for. Zoom in: The show, which debuts Monday at 1 p.m. ET, will include guests from within The Information's newsroom and its source rolodex to talk about the biggest stories of the day across tech, business and AI. Each show will start with multiple segments on top news stories anchored by Pasricha, and then will include guests to discuss news of the day. Each show will vary in length, depending on the news cycle. Some shows could last up to an hour, per Lessin. The show will live be streamed live on YouTube, X and The Information's website. It will be available on-demand across those channels and podcast platforms, such as Apple and Spotify. The company will leverage the feeds from its former podcasts to reach a built-in audience, Lessin said. Over time, it may launch new show feeds. The outlet will cut vertical video clips from the show to distribute on social media channels such as TikTok, Instagram, X and others after the show airs. The newsroom will set up studios in San Francisco and New York so that reporters from both coasts can make regular appearances from the office. Reporters in places like Hong Kong will also make regular appearances remotely. Between the lines: The name TITV is meant to underscore how ubiquitous the TV-watching experience has become in the digital era. "It's not meant to be literal," Lessin said. Zoom out: Lessin hopes the video series will drive a meaningful new revenue stream for the brand. "I think this could become a very significant part of our business," she said. The outlet has five people working on the new product as of now. Lessin said she hopes to build on that momentum as the show grows. Amazon Web Services will serve as the product's presenting launch sponsor. The big picture: TITV is one of the most significant product launches from The Information since its inception over a decade ago. The company, which relies mostly on high-end subscriptions, has focused on creating more products that allow its heavily engaged subscribers to interact with its reporters and get deeper insights. Last week, it launched a new AI chatbot called The Information Deep Research chatbot, to help its readers mine through the outlet's trove of business data. The outlet created a long-form lifestyle and trends reporting section called the "The Information Weekend" in 2021. It launched a series of social networking tools in 2022.
Boston Globe
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
‘The right thing to do.' White Stadium supporters talk up advantages of city's rehab plan.
Some held signs: 'Build it for the students!' 'Repair the ruins! Restore the Park!' 'BPS Parents for Franklin Park!' Advertisement The news conference is the latest development in the saga about the White Stadium rebuild, which has become a political football in the ongoing mayoral race. Last month, Boston He Wu rejected that claim, saying the $170 million number 'does not reflect anything that's grounded in reality,' though she acknowledged it is based on an internal, 'worst-case' cost projection. Advertisement The plan for the stadium has been met with mixed reaction locally. Proponents have lauded the badly needed improvements to the facility, which had fallen into disrepair, and access for Boston Public Schools student-athletes and the Franklin Park community, as well as the positive impact of a women's professional soccer team playing in a public facility. But there also has been plenty of pushback from opponents who say a professional soccer stadium is not the right fit for the location. They have concerns about the impact of the project on the park and the surrounding areas. On Wednesday, proponents of the stadium rebuild reiterated what they considered to be advantages of the plan, while portraying the opposition to it as small, vocal, and well-financed. 'We are really frustrated by the negative attention that this project has been getting, and we believe it's a very small group that is against the project,' said Christine Poff of the Franklin Park Coalition. 'A very loud group. very wealthy and very well funded.' She was referencing the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, a nonprofit park stewardship group that in recent weeks continued its legal challenge of the project, filing a notice of appeal with Massachusetts Appeals Court. In front of the stadium Wednesday, Nancy Lessin, who has lived nearby on Park Lane since the late 1980s, took exception to Poff's characterization of the opposition to the plan. 'I'm funded by nobody,' said Lessin, who has four grandchildren in the city's public schools and walks her Australian labradoodle, Tigger, at least twice a day in the park. Advertisement Lessin has ongoing environmental, health, and security concerns about the construction project, she said. 'There are many, many issues,' she said. 'I don't want to be characterized as someone who doesn't want things for the Boston public schools. I do.' Lessin disagreed with the notion that the city was transparent regarding the project, saying city officials have failed to answer questions of her regarding the stadium overhaul for months. 'The city has been not transparent at all,' she said. 'Not at all.' Poff, who pointed out there were about 60 community meetings regarding the White Stadium project, responded: 'I've had a different experience.' She also dismissed an alternative proposal supported by the conservancy that would see White Stadium refurbished into a The conservancy, in a statement, said it was proud to stand with a number of other groups, including the NAACP Boston, 'who support a significantly more affordable, fully-public stadium renovation that would meet the needs of BPS students and the community, without the many flaws of a massive new private soccer stadium.' 'Experts agree that a high school stadium should not cost anywhere near $100 million, and our community deserves a truly public stadium renovation that respects the state's strong environmental protection laws,' read the statement. 'With Boston Legacy playing their first season at Gillette Stadium, there is still ample time to collaborate on a better path forward.' At Wednesday's news conference, Rickie Thompson, president of the Franklin Park Coalition, called the ongoing proposal to renovate the stadium 'the right thing to do.' Thompson walks the park every day and said the planned overhaul of the stadium that allow it to play host to a professional women's soccer team would bring with it economic benefits to a part of the city sorely needs it. Advertisement Jacob Bor, who also serves on the Franklin Park Coalition board of directors, said the deal for the new stadium includes 'major wins' community, including funding mechanisms that will help maintain and preserve the park, increased public and school access to the space, and a schedule that will protect and respect big annual events held in the park such as Juneteenth and a kite and bike festival. A refurbished White Stadium could 'uplift' the entire park, he said. 'This is a park that's received very low public investment for over 50 years,' he said. Tony DaRocha, a retired Boston Public Schools teacher and local track coach, concurred, saying White Stadium has not been kept up. 'Why,' he asked, 'should our kids be deprived of facilities that are world class?' Danny McDonald can be reached at
