Most people think the attention economy began with social media.
It didn't.
In this first episode of Rosenberg, we explore how newspapers transformed from political tools into commercial businesses competing for attention. Along the way, we look at how media shapes our understanding of the world, why shared stories matter, and what the rise of newspapers can teach us about today's digital platforms.
From nineteenth-century publishers to modern algorithms, the technology has changed—but the business remains the same.
The business is attention.
Topics discussed:
• History of newspapers
• The attention economy
• Walter Lippmann
• Benedict Anderson
• Neil Postman
• Media history
• Communication
• Social media and algorithms
• Human behavior
Rosenberg explores history, media, psychology, communication, and human behavior through thoughtful audio storytelling.
What is The Rosenberg Podcast?
The Rosenberg Podcast is a weekly trip through the strange, fascinating and occasionally ridiculous things happening in our world.
Join Dan Rosenberg from the eastern edge of the Pacific for an unpredictable mix of strange news, science, technology, mysteries, unexplained phenomena, unusual discoveries, internet rabbit holes and whatever else has him asking, “Wait…what?”
Some weeks we'll go deep. Other weeks we'll wander completely off course.
That's kind of the point.
New episodes weekly.