Desk Sensors, Chaperoned Sleepovers, and El Chapo Thirst: A Love Story
Happy Tuesday, poppets! I hope your coffee is hot and your State of the Union watching party date even hotter. Speaking of the SOTU, White House chief digital officer Jason Goldman has ensured that you can watch it mostly anywhere, and won’t do as I while trying to watch the Republican debates; namely yell out loud that it’s 2015 and why TF can I only listen to it on a phonograph.
A request: do you like the Morning Missive? Does it bring a bit of snark-tinged joy to your day? If so, forward this to two friends whom you think would also enjoy. Or direct their attention to tinyletter.com/amynw and have them subscribe today.
Guys, does anyone have a child I can borrow so that they can be my chaperone for the sleepover at the National Archives? Frappucinos are a good thing to give children before sleep, right?
We all remember the New Republic meltdown of yore (read: December 2014) when a mass exodus of staffers following a (seemingly) ousted editorial team drew prying eyes to TNR’s 32-year-old owner, former Facebooker and king of the Harvard housing lottery, Chris Hughes. Well, now the New Republic is up of sale, with Hughes admitting that, huh, transitioning an old-media legend into the digital age isn’t that easy, no matter how much cash you throw on the burning pile.
So the Daily Telegraph thought it would be a super idea to install sensors from a company called OccupEye, to allow management see who was at their desks, 24 hours a day. When staff started getting a wee bit skewed by the whole endeavor and leaked it to BuzzFeed, mgmt claimed it was to increase energy efficiency, eventually scrapping the whole thing. Lesson of the day: when installing tech that shows whether or not someone is taking too long in the loo, maybe have an internal communications strategy?
With the State Department releasing Clinton Aide Huma Abedin’s emails, start taking bets on whether it with supersede Cruz’s birther controversy as Trump’s hysterical talking point of the week.
And finally, Jack Shafer of Politico reminds journalists to check their thirst on the huge El Chapo get they didn’t.
Until tomorrow, fabulous folks.