MIT Tech Review editor: Tech journalism should strive to make tech a force for good

Gideon Litchfield, the editor of the MIT Technology Review, writes about why the magazine has undergone an overhaul.

Litchfield writes, “That’s why, along with the redesigned print edition of MIT Technology Review, we’re also launching a new mission statement: ‘to bring about better informed and more conscious decisions about technology through authoritative, influential, and trustworthy journalism.’ We think it’s no longer enough for tech journalism to merely explain technology and its ramifications. Rather, it should explicitly strive to make technology more of a force for good, by helping its makers, users, and framers reach better decisions.

“We’ll do that in a number of ways, including writing more about tech ethics and policy. But we’re also changing the notion of what a printed magazine is for.

“For years the web was just a place for magazines and newspapers to republish their printed stories. Today, in the digital-first era, it’s the other way around; a print edition is typically a ‘best of’ collection of stories that first appeared online (minus the interactive bits). But our approach assumes that since people use print and digital media differently, they should serve different purposes.”

Read more here.