Name: How the Pursuit of Profit Undermines the News
Uploaded: 2010-02-18T16:35:00-05:00
Duration: 1 min 12 s
Description: When purely economic incentives drive the media business, says Duke University’s James Hamilton, important civic benefits are lost.

Big Think Home

Search

Popular Searches
Critical thinking Philosophy Emotional Intelligence Free Will

Latest Videos

Latest Articles
Topics
Philosophy
Ethics
Religion
Flourishing
Knowledge
Philosophy of Science
Philosophy of Art
Language
Political Theory
Identity
Meaning & Purpose
Science & Tech
Physics
Biology
Aerospace
Health
Geology
Computing
Engineering
Energy
Biotechnology
Astronomy
Mind & Behavior
Psychology
Neuroscience
Decision-Making
Mental Health
Consciousness
Emotional Intelligence
Personality
Relationships
Parenting
Business
Entrepreneurship
Leadership
Finance
Marketing
Innovation
Strategy
Management
Artificial Intelligence
Startups
Economics
History & Society
History
Literature
Art
Music
Film
Progress
Culture
Sociology
Policy
Geopolitics

Latest
Videos

Latest Videos

Why Einstein called awe the fundamental emotion
with Dacher Keltner

How facing adversity can help you live a deeper, more meaningful life
with Oliver Burkeman

Can you measure love? 3 experts discuss
with Meghan Sullivan

How accepting impermanence can end the struggle to “fix” your life
with Robert Waldinger

How your cognitive biases lead to terrible investing behaviors
with Barry Ritholtz

Is free will a fallacy? Science and philosophy explain.
with Daniel C. Dennett

See All
Columns

Mini Philosophy Mini Philosophy is a space to explore ideas. It’s where we pause the busyness of life to reflect on ourselves,...

Starts With A Bang Understand how the universe works with Ethan Siegel.

Books Big Ideas. Thoughtful Conversations. One Book at a Time.

The Long Game A Big Think Business column written by investor Eric Markowitz, focused on the philosophy and practice of long-term thinking.

Strange Maps

The Well Exploring life's biggest questions, publication by the John Templeton Foundation and Big Think.

13.8 A series exploring the beauty and power of science in culture by Adam Frank and Marcelo Gleiser.
Classes

Featured Classes

Members

8 videos

Productivity for Mortals

Oliver Burkeman

Author, “Meditations for Mortals”

Members

6 videos

AI and the Future of Civilization

Yuval Noah Harari

Historian and Philosopher, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Best-Selling Author

Members

9 videos

The 6 Disciplines of Strategic Thinking

Michael Watkins

Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change, IMD Business School, and Author, “The Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking”

Members

12 videos

Radical Respect at Work

Kim Scott

Co-Founder, Radical Candor, and Author, Radical Respect: How to Work Together Better

Members

7 videos

No-Nonsense Leadership

Ben Horowitz

Founding Partner, Andreessen Horowitz and Author, The Hard Thing About Hard Things

Members

6 videos

A Primatologist’s Guide to Human Behavior

Frans de Waal

C.H. Candler Professor Emeritus at EMORY University, Atlanta, GA

Browse
More
About Big Think
Work with Us
Newsletters
Monthly Issues
Events
Careers
Our Mission
Get Big Think+ for Business
Freethink Media

View our Twitter (X) feed

View our Youtube channel

View our Instagram feed

View our Substack feed

My account
My Classes
My Account
My List
BT+ for my Business
Early Releases
Sign Out
Membership

Latest
Topics
Back
Philosophy
Science & Tech
Mind & Behavior
Business
History & Society
Videos

Back

Latest Videos

Why Einstein called awe the fundamental emotion If you’ve gotten goosebumps when hearing a story about a stranger’s selfless heroism, or you’ve felt your chest swell at...

How facing adversity can help you live a deeper, more meaningful life “There would be something very, very empty and meaningless about [a] sort of life with no problems.”

Can you measure love? 3 experts discuss From neuroscience to philosophy, experts reveal why compassion may be the most important human skill we have.

How accepting impermanence can end the struggle to “fix” your life “The idea is that we move from a place of wanting the world to conform to what we like [towards]...

How your cognitive biases lead to terrible investing behaviors “Let me walk you through the biggest traps that you should be aware of that are a danger to your...

Is free will a fallacy? Science and philosophy explain. Philosophy asks if free will is real. Neuroscience reveals why the answer is more complicated than we expected.

Why 2025 is the single most pivotal year in our lifetime "We're living in an extraordinary moment in history. We are at a moment here in 2025 where we have world...

Even AI is self-censoring. Here’s why that matters. If the people controlling AI are biased, the output will also be. Free speech scholar Jacob Mchangama makes the case...
Columns

Back

Columns

Mini Philosophy Mini Philosophy is a space to explore ideas. It’s where we pause the busyness of life to reflect on ourselves,...

Starts With A Bang Understand how the universe works with Ethan Siegel.

Books Big Ideas. Thoughtful Conversations. One Book at a Time.

The Long Game A Big Think Business column written by investor Eric Markowitz, focused on the philosophy and practice of long-term thinking.

Strange Maps

The Well Exploring life's biggest questions, publication by the John Templeton Foundation and Big Think.

13.8 A series exploring the beauty and power of science in culture by Adam Frank and Marcelo Gleiser.
Classes

Back

Featured Classes

Members

8 videos

Productivity for Mortals

Oliver Burkeman

Author, “Meditations for Mortals”

Members

6 videos

AI and the Future of Civilization

Yuval Noah Harari

Historian and Philosopher, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Best-Selling Author

Members

9 videos

The 6 Disciplines of Strategic Thinking

Michael Watkins

Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change, IMD Business School, and Author, “The Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking”

Members

12 videos

Radical Respect at Work

Kim Scott

Co-Founder, Radical Candor, and Author, Radical Respect: How to Work Together Better

Members

7 videos

No-Nonsense Leadership

Ben Horowitz

Founding Partner, Andreessen Horowitz and Author, The Hard Thing About Hard Things

Members

6 videos

A Primatologist’s Guide to Human Behavior

Frans de Waal

C.H. Candler Professor Emeritus at EMORY University, Atlanta, GA
My Account
Back
- My Classes
- My Account
- My List
- BT+ for my Business
- Early Releases
- Sign Out
Sign In
Membership
More
Back
- About Big Think
- Work with Us
- Careers
- Our Mission

View our Twitter (X) feed

View our Youtube channel

View our Instagram feed

View our Substack feed

Latest Videos

How the Pursuit of Profit Undermines the News

When purely economic incentives drive the media business, says Duke University’s James Hamilton, important civic benefits are lost.

How the Pursuit of Profit Undermines the News

Duke University

Duke offers rigorous academics with a strong interdisciplinary focus and encourages its students to use their knowledge to make an impact on the world. Duke students exhibit exceptional spirit and[…]

How the Pursuit of Profit Undermines the News

Duke University

Up Next

The Present

Why eating ice cream is linked to shark attacks

Why are soda and ice cream each linked to violence? This article delivers the final word on what people mean by "correlation does not imply causation."

Eric Siegel