Prologue
Over a career in which I've worked on both sides of the fence, as a Tech Public Relations Specialist and a Tech Journalist, I've become fascinated with the tech media.
While working in the industry, I recognized how little the creation of the tech agenda is being studied. I decided to apply my tech background to research the various forces shaping the tech discourse - especially around emerging technologies.
A decade of research resulted in an in-depth book about tech journalism and tech PR: The TECHLASH and Tech Crisis Communication. It provides the necessary historical background and uncovers the underlying causes of the backlash against Big Tech.
I also utilized my PR expertise and conducted a thorough analysis of the companies' crisis response strategies. Consequently, my Tech PR Template for Crises outlines how companies attempt to defend themselves. It formed a new conceptual claim entitled "Tech Crisis Communication" and revealed the various means by which companies consistently try to evade responsibility.
- My recent OpEds explored
the formation of the Techlash (Techdirt)
Big Tech's evolving policies (Newsweek)
Tech companies' infamous secrecy (Techdirt)
Their media coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic (Techdirt)
Amplifying the good/ a mirror for the ugly/amplifying the bad? (Techdirt)
The "Facebook Papers" and TECHLASH 2.0 (Techdirt)
The Crypto/Web3 craze (Techdirt)
What happens when a Russian invasion takes place in the social smartphone era (Techdirt)
Don't Be So Certain that Social Media is Undermining Democracy (The Daily Beast)
The Tech PR Template for Attacking Whistleblowers (Tech Policy Press)
Generative AI Is Not Our Gateway To Heaven Nor A Frankenstein Monster (The Daily Beast)
The AI Doomers' Playbook (Techdirt)
and 2023: The Year of AI Panic (Techdirt).
- AI Panic Newsletter (Substack):
Your Guide to the Top 10 "AI Media Frames" | What's Wrong with AI Media Coverage & How to Fix It | What Ilya Sutskever Really Wants | The AI Panic Campaign - part 1 | The AI Panic Campaign - part 2 | Effective Altruism Funded the "AI Existential Risk" Ecosystem with Half a Billion Dollars | Ultimate Guide to "AI Existential Risk" Ecosystem | The $665M Shitcoin Donation to the Future of Life Institute (Repost on AI Supremacy)
- I was quoted in:
Forbes three times | Big Technology | Globes | Engadget | The Washington Post | VentureBeat three times | WIRED magazine | Fast Company | Slate | The Independent | Le Monde | Financial Times | IEEE Spectrum | Scientific American
- Recent podcast appearances:
TWiG (This Week in Google) | Techdirt | Innovation Files | Business Bookshelf | The PRovoke Media Podcast | Emerald Podcast Series | Tech'ed Up | Keen On | Peoples & Things | Tech News Weekly | AI Inside (Club TWiT members-only show) | AI Inside
- My YouTube Video:
"AI Hype - Explained." A 25-minute version of my presentation on "The Media Coverage of Generative AI."
I feel grateful that my research can add valuable data to those debated issues.
Research Interest
- Expertise
- Theoretical Background
- Empirical Research: Quantitative & Qualitative Methods
Additional Skills
- Newsroom: Editing news articles and OpEds (short-form and long-form), reporting, storytelling, event planning & interviewing tech executives
- PR: Corporate communications strategy, product launching, media relations, event management, and crisis communication
Education
- BA in Communication, Honor Students Program (2003-2006). Magna cum Laude.
- MA in Political Science (2007-2008).
- Completion of MA Thesis (2009-2010).
- Ph.D. (2011-2016) in Communication.
Dissertation: Agenda-Setting, Two-Step Flow and Tech Blogs: The Role of Tech Bloggers in the Flow of Information.
Supervisors: Prof. Sheizaf Rafaeli & Prof. Gabriel Weimann.
Research Fellowship at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
A visiting research fellow at the University of Southern California.
The first year was in M{2e} – Media, Economics and Entrepreneurship program. Hosts: Gabriel Kahn, professor of professional practice of journalism, and Prof. Chris Smith, clinical professor of communication.
The second and third years were in CPR - The Center for Public Relations.
Host: Fred Cook, professor of professional practice and Chairman of global PR agency Golin.
For more details, here is the fellowship announcement (USC-Annenberg site, February 22, 2018): M{2e} hosts visiting research fellow Dr. Nirit Weiss-Blatt
Tech News & PR in light of the emerging Techlash
Together with Prof. Burghardt Tenderich, the associate director of the USC Center for Public Relations and co-director of the public relations studies program, I launched a "Tech PR" research group.
Work Experience
- April 2021 - Present
Contributor to tech news site Techdirt -- Providing analysis on all things Techlash.
I have also been published in Newsweek magazine, The Daily Beast, Tech Policy Press, and Big Think.
- March 2020 - Present
Book Author: "The Techlash and Tech Crisis Communication." Emerald Publishing Limited (UK). www.TechlashBook.com
- August 2017 - August 2020
- 2018: Instructor: Direct Research: Tech PR.
USC Master of Strategic Public Relations.
Initiated the research group and had a substantial influence on the research steps. The main topics: Big tech companies' crisis communication due to their accumulated tech scandals.
Initiated the research group and had a substantial influence on the research steps. The main topics: Big tech companies' crisis communication due to their accumulated tech scandals.
- October 2016 - February 2017
Instructor. Teaching the course "Innovation Journalism" at the Technion International School, International School of Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Management.
Initiated this new course and developed the entire content of the syllabus.
Among the topics: Tech journalism, the dos & don'ts of working with the media.
I gave all of the lectures to the International students and graded their final projects - startup pitch deck & media pitch.
Initiated this new course and developed the entire content of the syllabus.
Among the topics: Tech journalism, the dos & don'ts of working with the media.
I gave all of the lectures to the International students and graded their final projects - startup pitch deck & media pitch.
- 2015 (December)
Guest Lecturer at the Haifa University Startup & Entrepreneurship Club.
Helped the various students to develop their startup pitches.
Helped the various students to develop their startup pitches.
- August 2014 - June 2015
Guest Lecturer at the Technion International School, Entrepreneurship & Innovation Program. Instructor: Prof. Harry Yuklea.
Helped the International students to develop their startup pitches and prepared them for VC meetings.
Helped the International students to develop their startup pitches and prepared them for VC meetings.
- 2010 - August 2017
Tech Journalist. The journalistic work included covering Israel's innovation ecosystem, tech conferences, interviewing tech executives from startups and International companies.
Then, Deputy-Editor (at a Telecom, Computing & Technology News portal). Editing numerous tech stories - news articles and OpEds (both short-form and long-form) from freelancers, entrepreneurs, and academic scholars.
- 2011 - 2017
Research Associate at The Center for Internet Research, University of Haifa.
- 2011 (August)
Teaching Assistant at the University of Haifa, Faculty of Management, Department of Business Administration (MBA students), in the framework of the course: "Information and Community." Instructor: Prof. Sheizaf Rafaeli.
Among the topics: Virtual Community, Wisdom of Crowds, Interactivity, Multitasking.
- 2010 (July-November)
Teaching Assistant at Ariel University, School of Communication, New Media Track, in the framework of the course: "The Digital Media Elements."
Instructor: Prof. Azi Lev-On.
Among the topics: Blogs, Online Privacy, Google, Wiki, Social Networking, Online Political Campaigns, Mobile.
- The fields included: Telecom, Consumer electronics & gadgets, Biomed (pharmaceuticals & medical devices), Nonprofit organizations, Tech regulation (e.g., ISOC-IL, Israel Internet Association).
- The services included corporate communications strategy, product launching, media relations, event management (e.g., Biomed conferences with more than 6,000 participants from over 45 countries), and crisis communication.
Main activities: Budgetary management: Developed and implemented a three-year budget plan. Managed funding for facilities and supplies for training soldiers from various military units. Guided combat soldiers and command officers. Developed a curriculum to improve their skills. Planned and executed training events.
Among the topics: Blogs, Online Privacy, Google, Wiki, Social Networking, Online Political Campaigns, Mobile.
- 2005 – 2009
- The fields included: Telecom, Consumer electronics & gadgets, Biomed (pharmaceuticals & medical devices), Nonprofit organizations, Tech regulation (e.g., ISOC-IL, Israel Internet Association).
- The services included corporate communications strategy, product launching, media relations, event management (e.g., Biomed conferences with more than 6,000 participants from over 45 countries), and crisis communication.
- 2001 - 2003
Main activities: Budgetary management: Developed and implemented a three-year budget plan. Managed funding for facilities and supplies for training soldiers from various military units. Guided combat soldiers and command officers. Developed a curriculum to improve their skills. Planned and executed training events.
Awards
2013: Award for "Novelty of Presentation or Ideas" at the Early Stage Researchers Colloquium organized by The Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society in Berlin (November 21, 2013).
Grants
- 2015: Yedioth Haifa scholarship for academic excellence (of the doctoral dissertation)
- 2011-2014: Excellence scholarships for Ph.D. students from the Graduate Studies Authority, University of Haifa.
- 2003-2006: Excellence scholarships for all 3 years of B.A., Yezreel Valley College.
Membership in Professional Organizations
- 2013 - Present: ICA- International Communication Association. Divisions: Mass Communication/ Journalism Studies/ Public Relations
- 2014 - Present: AoIR- Association of Internet Researchers
- 2016 - Present: IAMCR- The International Association for Media and Communication Research. Sections: Journalism Research and Education/ Communication Policy & Technology/ Emerging Scholars Network
- 2017 - Present: AEJMC- Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Public Relations Division (PRD)
- 2018 - Present: NCA- National Communication Association. Divisions: Mass Communication/ Public Relations/ Economics, Communication and Society
- 2020 - Present: PRSA- Public Relations Society of America. Section: Technology.
- 2009 - 2017: ISCA- Israel Communication Association
ReplyDeleteHi, I'm a Colombian teacher who has read your great article "The AI Doomers' Playbook," and I would like to ask if it would be possible for my team of researchers to translate it into Spanish. We want to share your work with the Latin American audience, which may include many believers in doomsday scenarios.