Against Corporate and Billionaire Funded Media Theorists

Over the past twenty years, we have witnessed a worrying trend in the field of media theory: the migration of researchers from academia to corporate research positions, often funded by billionaire-backed institutes or corporate think tanks. While these theorists and researchers continue to trade on their scholarly prestige often through dual posts in universities, their work potentially serves the interests of their wealthy benefactors, raising questions about the independence of this work.

This phenomenon is particularly concerning given the growing influence of Big Tech companies and their founders on the ownership and control of knowledge. As these firms become ever more deeply enmeshed in our digital lives, they have a vested interest in shaping the discourse around technology, media, and society. By luring academics with generous salaries and research budgets, these corporations and billionaire funders co-opt critical voices and legitimise their own agendas.

One need only look at the roster of high-profile media theorists now ensconced in corporate positions to see the scope of this problem. From well-known figures in the field of internet studies to leading proponents of planetary computation, many have been drawn to well-funded sinecures. While they may justify their moves as opportunities to conduct impactful well-funded research, the reality is that, although they may protest the opposite, they are now beholden to the whims and priorities of their corporate and billionaire overlords.

The consequences of this shift are far-reaching. By aligning themselves with the interests of Big Tech, Silicon Valley and the Billionaire class, these academics risk becoming apologists for the very power structures that needs to be critiqued. Their work, however insightful or provocative, is inevitably tainted by the suspicion of corporate influence. Moreover, their departure from academia deprives students and colleagues of valuable mentors and collaborators, further weakening the critical discourse around media and technology.

Marx's critique of political economy offers a useful way of understanding the conservative implications of this trend. By aligning themselves with the interests of capital, these theorists effectively reinforce the existing relations of digital capitalism and the ideological superstructure that supports them. Rather than challenging the systemic inequalities and power imbalances that characterise computational capitalism, they help to legitimise and perpetuate them. In doing so, they abandon the critical, emancipatory potential of media theory in favour of a conservative defence of the status quo.

Kant's famous call for Sapere Aude, the courage to use one's own understanding without the guidance of another, takes on renewed urgency in this context. By subordinating their intellectual autonomy to the interests of their corporate and billionaire funders, these theorists abdicate their responsibility as scholars to think critically and independently. They fail to embody the Enlightenment ideal of the scholar as a free, rational agent, instead becoming mere instruments of the very power structures they should be interrogating. In this sense, their move to corporate research positions represents a challenge to their academic integrity but of the fundamental principles of scholarly inquiry itself.

Curiously, this phenomenon has received relatively little critical attention within the field of media theory itself. Despite its profound implications for the integrity and autonomy of the discipline, the trend of scholars moving to corporate research positions has been largely met with silence or even tacit approval. This lack of critical self-reflection is, perhaps, a symptom of the growing influence of corporate interests on the field, as scholars become increasingly reluctant to bite the hand that feeds them. It is a stark reminder of the urgent need for a renewed commitment to independent, critical scholarship in the face of encroaching corporate power.

Of course, this is not to suggest that all corporate-affiliated research is inherently compromised or that academics should never engage with industry. Indeed, there is value in fostering dialogue and collaboration between scholars and outside the ivory tower of academia. However, when such collaborations are funded by billionaires or corporate interests, questions have to be asked about the autonomy and credibility of such "academic" inquiry.

What is needed, then, is a renewed commitment to independent, critical scholarship in the field of media theory. This means resisting the allure of corporate funding and insisting on the importance of academic freedom. It means fostering a culture of scepticism towards the claims and interests of Big Tech, even, or perhaps especially, when they are cloaked in the language of innovation and progress. And it means nurturing a new generation of scholars who are willing to challenge the dominant narratives around technology and society, even at the risk of biting the hand that feeds them.

Only by maintaining a robust, independent community of media theorists can we hope to navigate the complex challenges posed by our increasingly digital world. The alternative, a field beholden to the whims of billionaires and corporate agendas, is a bleak prospect indeed – what C. Wright Mills called administrative research. It is time for media theory to question this trend and reaffirm its commitment to critical scholarship in the service of the common good.