#512 ft. Terence Lee - Highlighting the Darker Side of Tech & Why Founders Need to be Held Accountable
Apr 8, 2024
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Tech in Asia's Editor-in-chief Terence Lee discusses the challenges of investigative journalism in the tech industry, emphasizing founder accountability. The podcast covers navigating career transitions, balancing coverage with commercial interests, challenges in investigative journalism, tech's dual nature, and Singapore's tech identity crisis. Lee also explores startup investing, AI usage in Asia, tech impact on job roles, and global perceptions of Singapore.
Tech in Asia focuses on investigative journalism to uncover both positive and negative aspects of companies, offering valuable insights for entrepreneurs.
Despite being acquired by SPH Media, Tech in Asia maintains its independence and continues to deliver impactful and data-driven content.
Tech in Asia prioritizes professionalism when facing legal challenges, aiming to de-escalate situations and maintain journalistic integrity.
Deep dives
Tech in Asia's Commitment to Investigative Journalism and Providing Insightful Stories
Tech in Asia prides itself on its investigative journalism, aiming to shed light on both the positive and negative aspects of companies and their operations. By delving deep into the finances and management practices of firms, they offer valuable insights for entrepreneurs and founders. This dedication to thorough reporting aims to educate readers on potential risks and mistakes to learn from.
Tech in Asia's Growth and Impact on the Tech Industry
Over the past 11 years, Tech in Asia has evolved alongside the tech industry, covering stories that may have been overlooked by mainstream media. From startups to established companies, their reporting aims to provide a nuanced view of the tech landscape. Despite being acquired by SPH Media, Tech in Asia has maintained its independence, continuing to deliver impactful and data-driven content.
Navigating Pushback and Legal Challenges in Journalism
Tech in Asia occasionally faces pushback and legal challenges when publishing investigative stories. However, they prioritize de-escalation and professionalism in handling such situations. While receiving letters of demand and criticism, they aim to address concerns, seek clarifications, and maintain a balance between journalistic integrity and resolving disputes amicably to avoid undue legal conflicts.
Maintaining Professionalism and Independence in Reporting
Tech in Asia's focus on accountability and balanced reporting requires navigating potential conflicts of interest, especially when investigating companies with personal connections. While maintaining friendships in the industry, Tech in Asia upholds journalistic standards by ensuring objectivity and independence in their reporting, even when covering companies associated with acquaintances.
Media and Tech in Singapore
The podcast delves into the challenges faced by the media and tech industries in Singapore. It highlights the complexities of media laws and funding issues, especially in the US market. Additionally, it discusses the tech scene's identity crisis in Singapore due to a down cycle and dry funding, with a focus on the need to define the country's position in the global tech landscape.
Ethics of AI and Content Production
The episode explores the ethical considerations surrounding the use of AI in content production. It addresses the disclosure dilemma of AI-generated content and the balance between human touch and AI assistance. The podcast emphasizes the importance of maintaining quality content regardless of the involvement of AI and discusses the evolving role of AI in mundane tasks to enhance work efficiency.
Terence Lee, Editor-in-chief at Tech in Asia joins us to share his journey of being in the tech scene for so long, and now leading one of the most influential tech publications in Asia. And which covers stories so incisive they often receive cease-and-desist letters. He also was instrumental in getting his team to cover our story of being screwed over by HOOQ, which was published in Mar 2023. Terence gives us a peek into what it’s like, the challenges of investigating startups, and what keeps him and his team going.
(00:00) On this episode (00:32) Intro (09:15) A good sense of bullshit & what makes a good company (16:48) What drives the people behind TIA (23:53) That Harsh Dalal story, and the discomfort around it (33:35) Push back for TIA when investigating companies (36:10) How TIA screwed up way back (40:25) Letters of demand sent to TIA (01:06:17) One Shiok Thing