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The problem here isn't Amazon, but the business model that TNR chose for itself, and the implications of that. This covers a period in TNR's history when Chris

The problem here isn't Amazon, but the business model that TNR chose for itself, and the implications of that. This covers a period in TNR's history when Chris Hughes (formerly of Facebook) was in charge, and essentially wanted to turn the site into a 'vertically integrated digital media company' (native advertising / clickbait factory). It shouldn't be a surprise that this had deleterious consequences for journalistic integrity and allowed advertisers to apply undue pressure. Foer (the author of this piece) didn't want to go along with that, and he and almost the entire staff resigned in protest. Hughes ended up putting the magazine up for sale, and Foer was brought back in under the new editor. Oh, and Foer's new book is now available on Amazon. https://www.amazon.co.uk/World-Without-Mind-Existential-Threat/dp/1101981113/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1505739592&sr=8-2&keywords=world+without+mind https://www.amazon.co.uk/World-Without-Mind-Existential-Thre...

puh744 9y ago
Why does the term "vertically integrated digital media company" make me picture someone trying to stack bags full of trash on top of each other, seeing how high they can go before it collapses?
- pdimitar 9y ago
  Why does that sound exactly like what most online media do nowadays?
fehrm 9y ago
Amazon is part of the problem, it is not black and white like that.
- plandis 9y ago
  Where exactly is the moral violation here? Businesses utilize leverage all the time. Nobody is stopping New Republic from publishing but that doesn't mean that a company needs to keep paying them.
  - spenczar5 9y ago
    Who said anything about moral violations? Even totally natural, non-manmade systems can present problems worth addressing (hurricanes, for example). You can simultaneously believe that the companies involved are morally fine and believe that the overall system isn't a good one.
    - ghostbrainalpha 9y ago
      Exactly. But it I still think we shouldn't promote any system where Amazon was considered wrong for pulling its ad. The purpose of the ad was to get people to sign up for a Prime Membership so they could watch a niche TV show. If someone was reading an Article titled "Amazon Must Be Stopped" it is very unlikely that the ad would have been effective. Amazon wasn't punishing The New Republic. The New Republic just rendered the banner ads on their site completely ineffective, and Amazon chose not to continue to waste marketing budget.
leggomylibro 9y ago
Yeah. This is like making your whole business model centered around selling things through Fulfillment by Amazon. They handle the shipping and returns and customer service...and also deciding whether to grace your small storefront with another day of continued existence. You COULD always move to eBay, or Etsy, or Tindie, or try pitching your products to local brick & mortar stores. But if you invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in Amazon's particular ecosystem...well, I hope you've already pulled that much out, because you are depending on the goodwill of a third party who can contractually tell you to fuck off for more or less any reason, with your only options being small claims or arbitration. The message I'm starting to get from a handful of posts along these lines over the past couple of years is something like: "don't make anything more than a side business which depends on a 3rd-party service with no competitors that you can easily switch to."

puh744 9y ago

Why does the term "vertically integrated digital media company" make me picture someone trying to stack bags full of trash on top of each other, seeing how high they can go before it collapses?

pdimitar 9y ago
Why does that sound exactly like what most online media do nowadays?

fehrm 9y ago

Amazon is part of the problem, it is not black and white like that.

plandis 9y ago
Where exactly is the moral violation here? Businesses utilize leverage all the time. Nobody is stopping New Republic from publishing but that doesn't mean that a company needs to keep paying them.
- spenczar5 9y ago
  Who said anything about moral violations? Even totally natural, non-manmade systems can present problems worth addressing (hurricanes, for example). You can simultaneously believe that the companies involved are morally fine and believe that the overall system isn't a good one.
  - ghostbrainalpha 9y ago
    Exactly. But it I still think we shouldn't promote any system where Amazon was considered wrong for pulling its ad. The purpose of the ad was to get people to sign up for a Prime Membership so they could watch a niche TV show. If someone was reading an Article titled "Amazon Must Be Stopped" it is very unlikely that the ad would have been effective. Amazon wasn't punishing The New Republic. The New Republic just rendered the banner ads on their site completely ineffective, and Amazon chose not to continue to waste marketing budget.

leggomylibro 9y ago

Yeah. This is like making your whole business model centered around selling things through Fulfillment by Amazon. They handle the shipping and returns and customer service...and also deciding whether to grace your small storefront with another day of continued existence. You COULD always move to eBay, or Etsy, or Tindie, or try pitching your products to local brick & mortar stores. But if you invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in Amazon's particular ecosystem...well, I hope you've already pulled that much out, because you are depending on the goodwill of a third party who can contractually tell you to fuck off for more or less any reason, with your only options being small claims or arbitration. The message I'm starting to get from a handful of posts along these lines over the past couple of years is something like: "don't make anything more than a side business which depends on a 3rd-party service with no competitors that you can easily switch to."