Short Takes: WSJ’s Privacy Schizophrenia

September 28, 2011 • 2 min read • By Brian Morrissey

There were plenty in the digital media world eagerly sharing a brief blog post from The Wall Street Journal today. In it, Julia Angwin told the world the Wall Street Journal is changing its privacy policy. The shift will allow the Wall Street Journal Digital Network to collect personally identifiable information without user consent. This is, to be fair, an aggressive move on the Journal’s part. It’s also a bit hypocritical at first glance, considering the Journal’s hard-hitting (and sometimes overly dramatic) privacy series, “What They Know.” That series is a flashpoint in the online media and marketing world. All sorts of motives have been ascribed to it, with some actually believing News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch is using the series to squelch the threat online media poses to his mostly offline media empire. We even put on a panel about the subject at our Data Management Summit, “Is the WSJ to Blame for Our Infatuation with Privacy?” I got one email from an ad tech exec this morning saying he was “surprised the media pubs aren’t having a field day with this one.”

The truth of the matter is, there’s no conspiracy. The WSJ has conscientious reporters, many of whom I know personally and respect, who aren’t taking marching orders to settle scores. Some of the stories in the series have been overplayed — I’m sure the WSJ would admit that privately — but they weren’t done out of spite, that’s for sure. News organizations don’t work as many on the outside assume they do. As I wrote before, the industry has screwed up privacy and disclosure far too much for it to blame the people who have called it out. In the end, the attention called to some practices has helped. After spending years fighting regulation tooth and nail, the industry appears on a sustainable track that is centered on transparency. It’s been a messy process, but the WSJ’s spotlight on the sticky issues has probably played an important role in getting it to move to this place after years of denial and foot-dragging.

https://digiday.com/?p=2443

Digiday Top Stories

Experimental Channels
Dentsu’s new Web3 readiness tool shines light on the tech’s potential to complement AI
Dentsu's Innovation Initiative is launching a web3 readiness index next month — at a time when the industry is obsessed with AI. Could the two technologies actually make a good pair?
Member Exclusive
Digiday+ Research deep dive: Publishers large and small put their resources into first-party data
Eighty-two percent of publishers overall say they're already using first-party data to prepare for the end of the third-party cookie, and nearly half are requiring users to register and integrating first-party data segments into DSPs – indicating that first-party data is the clear path forward for publishers heading into the post-cookie world.
Member Exclusive
Media Briefing: Why publishers hope chatbots will be the latest retention tool
Publishers hope the chatbots they are developing will be the latest retention tool to keep readers onsite and to get them to consume more content.
Sponsored
How enterprise-grade CDPs are enhancing data processes and improving customer experiences
Produced in partnership with Marketecture The following article highlights an interview between Martin Kihn, Salesforce’s senior vice president of Marketing Cloud, and Ari Paparo, founder and CEO of Marketecture Media. Register to watch more of the discussion and learn how brands are making the most of enterprise-grade CDP technologies. As brands expand across channels and […]
Privacy
How programmatic advertising will evolve this year on the heels of audio growth and privacy changes
Comscore’s programmatic division Proximic released a State of Programmatic study highlighting the growth of audio and podcasting, other digital advertising channels and challenges around third-party data.
Audio Anywhere
Why podcasters are selling subscriptions through third-party vendors
Many podcasters are turning to third party platforms like Supporting Cast and Supercast to launch or grow their subscription businesses beyond Spotify or Apple.