Jefferson Hack

Mediatwits 141:Unpacking the Sony Hack, and Free Speech in Hollywood

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• published: 19 Dec 2014
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It's been a rough month for Sony. Especially for Sony Pictures Entertainment's chair Amy Pascal. Following terrorist threats from the hacking group “Guardians of Peace,” the studio has pulled its film “The Interview” from theaters. At the center of all this is a hacker group calling themselves the "Guardians of Peace." But who exactly are they? Yesterday, a U.S. intelligence officials confirmed that the attack were linked to North Korea. Many had suspected that the group held ties to North Korea because of the upcoming Sony film “The Interview,” a Seth Rogen and James Franco comedy where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s head literally explodes on-screen.The film revolves around two bungling journalists who are recruited by the CIA to assassinate Jong-un. That’s not the only fallout the studio has had to endure. Earlier this month, Pascal had to apologize for a series of racially charged emails between her and producer Scott Rudin about President Obama that were revealed in a massive hacking attack of the company. Aaron Sorkin, the creator of “The Newsroom” and other TV shows, blasted the press in an New York Times op-ed. His argument was essentially that what's been covered so far is not newsworthy. We'll try to unpack what this attack means for Sony, Hollywood and the media industry at large with special guests Jeff Roberts, technology reporter at Gigaom; and Emily Yoshida, entertainment editor at The Verge; along with regulars Alex Leo, head of audience development for Yahoo; and Andrew Lih at American University. PBS MediaShift’s Mark Glaser will be hosting and Jefferson Yen will be producing.