skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, May 23, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump administration says it's halting Harvard's ability to enroll international students; Post-George Floyd, MN communities drive Black wealth building; FL's fluoride ban sparks concerns over dental health; Despite barriers, TN adults want college degrees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A deadlocked Supreme Court prevents nation's first publicly funded religious school, House Republicans celebrate passage of their domestic policy bill, and Trump administration sues states for taking climate action.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Despite lawmaker efforts, rural communities still short of crucial broadband, new Trump administration priorities force USDA grant recipients to reapply, and Appalachia's traditional broom-making craft gets an economic boost from an international nonprofit.

Could Twitter Become a User-Owned Co-op?

play audio
Play

Monday, May 8, 2017   

SEATTLE – What if ownership of the social media website Twitter was turned over to its users?

That question isn't just hypothetical anymore. Shareholders at this year's annual meeting will vote whether to commission a study on what cooperative ownership would look like for the technology company.

Nathan Schneider, a media studies scholar-in-residence at the University of Colorado-Boulder, proposed the idea in the Guardian last fall after rumors swirled that Twitter was up for sale.

Schneider says he's been involved for a few years now in a movement called “platform cooperativism.”

"An effort to bring the cooperative business model into the online economy as a way of dealing with some of the abuses in terms of labor and surveillance and this sort of thing,” he explains. “And it just seemed like Twitter is an interesting case for that."

The vote on whether to commission the study on a Twitter co-op will come sometime before May 22. Schneider notes that the proposal isn't likely to pass, but says the goal is simply to keep the conversation going.

Opponents to the proposal argue that users could be more involved in decisions simply by buying stock, giving them a vote at meetings.

In fact, the Buy Twitter campaign encouraged users to buy stock so they could vote on the proposal. But Schneider says that misses the point.

"The way that a publicly traded corporation is set up – legally as well as culturally – and the way a stock market operates, it really orients participants to focus on the short-term value of the stocks that they own," he explains.

Schneider says successful co-ops span many industries, and include Washington-state-based clothing retailer REI, the Associated Press and the Green Bay Packers football team.

He also says the movement toward cooperative business models is something that is catching on among tech companies.

"This is a kind of model that we think can unlock a lot of value that the really investor-driven tech economy that we've had so far is not unlocking and that it can create some new potential in a huge variety of sectors," he states.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
Florida has become the second state to officially ban fluoride in public drinking water. (Pixabay)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Florida's new law banning fluoride in public water systems has drawn sharp criticism from dental professionals, who cite decades of evidence …


Environment

play sound

Tax revenue from marijuana sales in Montana will now support a wider variety of conservation projects, since Gov. Greg Gianforte has signed House …

Environment

play sound

Memorial Day weekend is the start of recreational boating season in Minnesota. State officials are encouraged by recent trends in keeping people safe …


Five years after George Floyd's murder, Minnesota government researchers say racial disparities are still a challenge, including a widening homeownership gap for Black residents. (Adobe Stock)

play sound

The racial reckoning spurred by George Floyd's murder got the public's attention about possible progress in ending wealth disparities. A Black-led …

Social Issues

play sound

A budget plan taking shape in Congress is getting attention for tax cuts and reductions for safety-net programs. Policy experts in South Dakota also …

In 2004, British Petroleum introduced the carbon calculator, reframing the climate crisis as a matter of personal responsibility, according to reporting from The Guardian. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

By Jessica Scott-Reid for Sentient.Broadcast version by Nadia Ramlagan for West Virginia News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service C…

Social Issues

play sound

May is National Foster Care Month, and Kentucky advocacy groups across the political spectrum say the state hasn't done enough to keep kids out of …

Social Issues

play sound

By Enrique Saenz for Mirror Indy.Broadcast version by Terri Dee for Indiana News Service reporting for the Mirror Indy-Free Press Indiana-Public News …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021