Silicon Valley's Power Over the Free Press: Why It Matters

"A big shift happened in news and information over the past few years: The people who write news and information no longer control the distribution of it. Technology companies do."

"Specifically it's Facebook and Twitter — the large social platforms created in Silicon Valley."

"'We have reached a point of transition where news spaces are no longer owned by newsmakers,' Emily Bell told an audience at the University of Oxford recently. Bell, who led the digital transition of The Guardian, is currently at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University. (Here's her Guardian column version of the speech.)"