{"id":287132,"date":"2019-10-01T07:00:21","date_gmt":"2019-10-01T11:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/?p=287132"},"modified":"2023-11-08T20:30:11","modified_gmt":"2023-11-09T01:30:11","slug":"continuing-education-is-essential-in-todays-new-media-soaked-world-and-so-is-accuracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2019\/10\/continuing-education-is-essential-in-todays-new-media-soaked-world-and-so-is-accuracy\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Fabiano wears many hats"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t
\"Michael

Michael Fabiano, AP vice president and general manager of revenue\/Americas, in the AP's New York headquarters control room.<\/p>

AP Photo<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\t

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\n\t\tMichael Fabiano wears many hats\t<\/h1>\n\n\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t
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\n\t\tHarry Pierre\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\tHarvard Correspondent\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/address>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t

\n\t\t\tFrom debunking \u2018fake news\u2019 to maintaining trust in media, AP sorts it all out\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\n<\/header>\n\n\n\n
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For nearly two centuries, the Associated Press (AP) has been at the forefront of delivering fair, accurate and unbiased news to the world. In today\u2019s climate of \u201cfake news,\u201d the AP\u2019s rigorous standards and fact-based journalism are more important than ever. According to a recent Pew Research poll<\/a>, a majority of Americans distrust the government or each other, while nearly two-thirds have a negative view of news sources and the media. News organizations have felt these frustrations increase and many outlets, including the AP, are using new tools to combat the \u201cfake news\u201d outcry.<\/p>\n

Michael Fabiano, A.L.M. \u201916, and newly elected president of the Harvard Extension Alumni Association (HEAA), leads the AP\u2019s business strategy for the Americas and has witnessed massive change within the industry. Before that, Fabiano worked for NBC News as vice president and general manager of NBC Digital Publishing, where he built a company-wide digital publishing business.He spoke to the Gazette about how technology shifted his mindset toward lifelong learning, the challenges facing news organizations and what AP is doing to solidify trust in the media.<\/p>\n

Q&A<\/h2>\n

Michael Fabiano<\/h3>\n

Gazette:\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>There has been an increased push by adults to continue their education past traditional schooling and to continue learning throughout their whole lives. How do you feel you can extend that push as new president of the HEAA?<\/p>\n

Fabiano:<\/strong> <\/strong>I have firsthand experience of proactively retooling my skillset twice since beginning my business career. When the internet enabled mass globalization and exponential technological advancement, I witnessed a significant shift in business. I wanted an edge to stay relevant.<\/p>\n

I worked full time and attended Columbia Business School\u2019s Executive MBA program in 2005. Ten years later, I found Harvard Extension School\u2019s journalism program. It was unique in that I was able to take classes in the law school in intellectual property, learn the latest in content management system technology, as well as explore how the internet has impacted writing and content creation.<\/p>\n

A technological tipping point is occurring in higher education, allowing us to leap well beyond the traditional classroom lecture experience. Driven by interactive classroom software and artificial intelligence, society has, for the first time in history, an educational model that is quite different from the traditional classroom lecture \u2014 and arguably much more impactful.<\/p>\n

My experiences have given me a depth of understanding of how continuing education programs are delivered to working adults and where the value is to corporations and students. Businesses can see value added immediately as experienced students bring classroom knowledge into the workplace. As a hiring manager, I want employees that have the persistence to work and attend school simultaneously.<\/p>\n

Our board needs to function at a more strategic level than ever before, working with our incredibly talented alumni, integrating across the other Harvard schools, and positioning Harvard Extension School as the premier lifetime learning community that it is.<\/p>\n\r\n

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Michael Fabiano speaking at this year\u2019s HEAA Commencement banquet in Annenberg Hall. <\/p>

Photo by Alex Gagne<\/p><\/figcaption>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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Gazette:<\/strong> <\/strong>Your career has allowed you to view the world, and in particular the media\u00a0industry, from myriad different angles.\u00a0 Can you highlight some of the transformation you\u2019ve experienced and where you think the industry is headed?<\/p>\n

Fabiano:\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>A good part of my career has been about helping organizations transform, and then manage the resultant tremendous changes. At NBC, my role in the strategy group was centered around repositioning a $16 billion company for a digital future through large scale initiatives. \u2026 I had the opportunity to work on properties such as the \u201cToday\u201d show on digital rights and asset management, develop disruptive international streaming business models with NBC News, create new programming for The Weather Channel, and enable a new e-commerce purchasing platform for video and images.<\/p>\n

At the Associated Press, I am responsible for the Americas Media business. My team delivers content and technology that enable free speech globally. The way the AP works with customers is changing dramatically as massive consolidation across newspapers, television, and radio creates very large global distribution platforms. These new media organizations are operating at significant scale and are in various stages of maturity as they adjust to these new ecosystems. \u2026 For example, a single local TV station used to reach a finite demographic marketing area. Now with an app, they can reach the world. This has significant implications for how they manage technology and content. As part of a 100-member TV group for example, the complexity grows where they can offer an advertiser a large national audience.<\/p>\n

Gazette:<\/strong> <\/strong>The AP is often at the forefront of any single major news event happening around the world. How does your organization aim to \u201cget it right\u201d when the term \u201cfake news\u201d is increasingly attached to a story that a particular person or group does not agree with?<\/p>\n

Fabiano:<\/strong> <\/strong>While AP is a breaking news organization, we\u2019d rather get it right than be first. We maintain and must keep very high standards in pursuit of the truth. Reporting objectively every day takes a special rigor that our editorial staff manages with great care. Having multiple verifiable sources, supporting data and presenting all sides of a story is the heart and soul of the AP. Many of our readers don\u2019t realize that AP does not write any opinion pieces \u2014 it only reports the facts. Our content is licensed to 15,000 media outlets worldwide and our customers and members are authorized to write derivative intellectual property, in the spirit of progressing understanding, thinking, and democratic principles.<\/p>\n

Fact-checking is in AP\u2019s DNA. It\u2019s something we have been doing since the 19th\u00a0<\/sup>century. To counter the growing amount of misinformation online, AP has created three public news feeds. The first is called \u201cNot Real News<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 This is a roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these stories or visuals are legitimate, even though they may have been shared widely on social media. So AP debunks them.<\/p>\n\r\n

“A single local TV station used to reach a finite demographic marketing area. Now with an app, they can reach the world.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\n\r\n

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