It's Your Week: How Elon Musk can change business standards
What if your boss laid off thousands of your coworkers, abruptly ended the work-from-home policy, said to expect an "extremely hardcore" work environment and then fired anyone who criticized them? Welcome to the world of Elon Musk at Twitter.
I'm Sallee Ann and this is Your Week, a newsletter exclusively for Paste BN subscribers.
This week, we're joined by Money editor Riley Gutiérrez McDermid for her insight on how our newsroom is covering Elon Musk and his business dealings.
But first, don't miss these stories made possible with your subscription:
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Bigger than Twitter
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, took over social media platform Twitter at the end of October. And it's been a ride since, even for those who are familiar with the tycoon.
"I've been covering Elon Musk and his companies for close to 15 years now, and his choices and antics continue to surprise even long-term veterans," McDermid said.
But let's not get distracted by tweets.
"While the world right now is obsessing over Musk's on again/off again purchase of Twitter, there are many journalists at Gannett and other outlets who are focused on the long-term picture of what it means when the world's richest man begins to dominate so many competing industries," McDermid said.
McDermid says the Tech team at Paste BN is focusing on Musk stories that fit in three categories:
- Major, jaw-dropping news
- Developments that tell us more about how his companies, particularly Twitter, can change our political and business standards
- Deeper investigations into what each of these operations are doing to their employees, locations, industries and the policy being crafted for them at civic and national levels.
That last category includes pieces on findings of racial incidents at a Tesla factory, environmental pollution, labor violations, Musk's sway of tech's traditionally sacred mantra of work/life balance, and the effects of muscular and continuous lobbying.
"But as I always tell our team in the newsroom: just when you think you have Musk figured out, he will zigzag a different way – making compelling, comprehensive coverage of him all the more crucial," McDermid said.
Catch up on our team's coverage:
- Will Donald Trump tweet again? Elon Musk reinstates Donald Trump on Twitter
An ultimatum, sudden terminations: Twitter changes raise questions about Elon Musk's management skills - Employees resign from Twitter after Elon Musk's deadline to recommit and his walking back remote-work policy
- #TwitterMigration? How to download your data from Twitter if you're making the switch.
- Twitter blue parody accounts flood the platform after new subscription service rollout
A thrill of hope
I don't know about you, but as soon as the last bite of turkey is done, it's full-on Christmas time. And what's more Christmas than the Rockettes?
The iconic kickline rose to fame with an all-white lineup. But as they near their 100th birthday, the Rockettes are doubling down on diversity.
Make time this week to read about the journey of Rockette hopefuls who aspire to make the iconic group look more like America.
As 11-year-old Laylah Guach says in the story, "A girl who has the same skin color as me looking right at me? It’s some connection. Like that could one day be me."
Thank you
Thank you for making our work possible with your subscription. Your support allows us to dig deeper and find stories that resonate. Have a happy Thanksgiving and a great week.