106: Eric Schurenberg: Is Media Integrity Possible in a World of Endless Information?

AmiSights: Financing the Future For Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

In today’s podcast, I talk to Eric Schurenberg, editor-in-chief of Amplify Publishing Group and former CEO of Inc. and Fast Company.
After a long and successful career as a writer and editor, Eric manages a "concierge book publishing company." The opportunity was created, he says, by the "broken state of traditional book publishing in which book publishers are no longer able to fulfill the model of being the impresario for your book." Instead, in the hybrid model, the author is the client and can make most of the decisions and keep most of the money.
Eric is also heading the Newsroom Trust Project, a not-for-profit startup he describes as a "boot camp for working journalists to help them engage with…the declining state of trust in the profession."
We discussed media integrity, which is leading to our divided country. With all the information and the opportunity for anyone to be a "reporter" on the internet, who do you trust?
Whether it is a self-published subscription-based platform like Substack or a large organization with ample resources like the New York Times, news organizations need to control how they are seen out in the world and how they can deliver information worthy of people's trust, Eric says. And remember, those in the middle are responsible for keeping checks and balances on local and state government.
It’s a fascinating topic that has no easy answers. Listen to our conversation here.

Recorded 02/10/2023.