Robert Thomson (executive) explained

Robert James Dell’Oro Thomson
Birth Date:1961 3, df=yes
Birth Place:Torrumbarry, Victoria, Australia
Occupation:journalist, editor
Spouse:Wang Ping

Robert James Dell’Oro Thomson (born 11 March 1961) is an Australian journalist. Since January 2013 he has been chief executive of News Corp.

Life

Thomson was born in Torrumbarry, Victoria, and studied at Christian Brothers College in St Kilda East, and at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.[1] [2] One of his ancestors was named Arturo Dell'Oro, and came from Domodossola, in northern Italy.[3] He is married to Wang Ping, the daughter of a general in the Chinese People's Liberation Army.[4] [5]

Career

Thomson started work as a copyboy at The Herald (now the Herald Sun) in Melbourne in 1979.[6] In 1983, he became senior feature writer for The Sydney Morning Herald, and two years later became Beijing correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald as well as the Financial Times.[2] Thomson then became a Tokyo correspondent for the Financial Times in 1989.[7] Thomson was appointed the Financial Times foreign news editor in 1994[1] and in 1996 became editor of the Financial Times weekend edition.[2] While at Sydney Morning Herald, Thomson wrote a series on Australian judges, which was published as a book in 1987, The Judges: A Portrait of an Australian Judiciary.[8] [9] [10] In 1998, Thomson became U.S. managing editor of the Financial Times.[6]

In May 2008, he was appointed managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, having previously been the editor of The Times.[11] [12]

He received an honorary doctorate from RMIT University in 2010.[13]

In January 2013, Thomson became the chief executive of News Corp.

In 2007, Thomson was one of the first media executives to criticise Google and big tech for the disaggregation of content and publication of falsehoods, and to pressure them for a higher share of advertising value.[14] [15]  He has been known to use alliterative expressions to call out those companies, such as platforms for "the fake, the faux and the fallacious", and "tech tapeworms."[16] Thomson called for new terms of trade for tech platforms to allow viable business models for creators and to benefit broader society.[17] [18]

In 2023, Thomson has decried the unauthorised use of journalistic content by generative AI and the resulting existential risk posed to media companies. Thomson and several other media leaders[19] have called for compensation by tech companies that are developing and employing AI. Speaking in May 2023 at INMA, a media conference, Thomson summed up the industry's outrage, saying "[media's] collective IP is under threat and for which we should argue vociferously for compensation."[20]   He said that AI was "designed so the reader will never visit a journalism website, thus fatally undermining that journalism."[21]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Auletta. Ken. Murdoch's Best Friend. The New Yorker. April 4, 2011.
  2. News: 'Rupert has got a crush on you'. The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 March 2013.
  3. Web site: Robert J. Thomson all'inaugurazione di Palazzo San Francesco. Donati 50.000 dollari. - Mariano Cattrini. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141129050241/http://www.marianocattrini.it/2011/12/22/robert-j-thomson-allinaugurazione-di-palazzo-san-francesco-donati-50-000-dollari/. 29 November 2014. dmy-all.
  4. News: Rupert Murdoch and Robert Thomson: A Tale of the Tape. New York. April 25, 2008. en.
  5. Private Eye magazine, No. 1189, 20 July - 2 August 2007, p.7
  6. News: Arango. Tim. Murdoch's 'Head of Content'. New York Times. April 28, 2008.
  7. News: Milmo . Dan . Hodgson . Jessica . Gibson . Owen . Times editor quits unexpectedly . 12 March 2021 . The Guardian . 21 February 2002.
  8. Web site: Rupert's man: the Victorian 'bush lad' at the top of News Corp. Max. Mason. 12 April 2019. The Australian Financial Review. "He wrote a lauded series on Australian judges, which he turned into a book: The Judges: A Portrait of the Australian Judiciary".
  9. Web site: The judges . National Library of Australia . June 9, 2020 .
  10. Web site: Robert Thomson . Mark . Baker. The Australian Media Hall of Fame . June 9, 2020 . "Thomson proposed an ambitious project – a series of interviews with Australia's reclusive judges. It led to a book and a Journalist of the Year nomination." .
  11. News: Clark . Andrew . Murdoch tightens control of Journal . 12 March 2021 . The Guardian . 21 May 2008 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230122215049/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/may/21/rupertmurdoch.newscorporationbusiness . Jan 22, 2023 .
  12. News: Golum . Wall Street Journal Publisher Thomson Is Named Editor . 12 March 2021 . Bloomberg . 20 May 2008 . subscription . live . https://archive.today/20231204205427/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2008-05-21/wall-street-journal-publisher-thomson-is-named-editor . Dec 4, 2023 .
  13. Web site: Gough . Paul . Interview with Robert Thomson: Media Man . https://web.archive.org/web/20141129021522/http://alumnimagazine.rmit.edu.au/spring-2014/media-man/ . dead . 29 November 2014 . RMIT Alumni Magazine . 29 November 2014 . 29 November 2014.
  14. Web site: News Corp. CEO Wields Words as Weapon in Battle Against Facebook . 2022-10-18 . Bloomberg Law . March 1, 2018 . subscription . en . live . https://archive.today/20231204203736/https://news.bloomberglaw.com/tech-and-telecom-law/news-corp-ceo-wields-words-as-weapon-in-battle-against-facebook . Dec 4, 2023 .
  15. News: Vogelstein . Fred . This Publisher Foresaw an Internet of Fiction Mixed With Fact . en-US . Wired . Mar 2, 2018 . 2022-10-18 . 1059-1028.
  16. UK Parliament Select Committee on Communications Minutes of Evidence, " Examination of Witnesses (Questions 254 - 259)" (18 July 2007). Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  17. "Day of 'reckoning' looms for tech titans: News boss". The Australian. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  18. Web site: Goldsmith . Jill . 2021-03-04 . News Corp. CEO Robert Thomson Says 'The Fourth Estate Is About To Get A Second Wind' From Digital Deals; Still 'Haggling With Facebook' . 2022-10-18 . Deadline . en-US.
  19. News: Bruell . Alexandra . 2023-06-28 . subscription . Big News Publishers Look to Team Up to Address Impact of AI . en-US . Wall Street Journal . 2023-06-29 . 0099-9660.
  20. Web site: 2023-06-20 . "Don't Get Screwed Again": News Publishers Are Banding Together in the Face of AI Threat . Joe . Pompeo . 2023-06-29 . Vanity Fair . en-US.
  21. News: Murgia . Madhumita . Thomas . Daniel . Criddle . Cristina . Nicolaou . Anna . Pitel . Laura . 2023-06-17 . AI and media companies negotiate landmark deals over news content . Financial Times . subscription . 2023-06-29.

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