Research Report on Amy Chozick

Amy Chozick is the author of "Jimmy Wales Is Not an Internet Billionaire". It’s an article written for the New York Times and published on June 27, 2013. The article focuses on Jimmy Wales, the co-founder of Wikipedia, as well as his business and family life.

As for Amy Chozick, she describes herself on her Twitter Bio as a “National political correspondent for The New York Times. Former WSJ foreign correspondent in Tokyo. Obama and Hillary’s travelling press in 2008. Native Texan.” Taking a look at her bio on www.amychozick.com, Amy “joined the New York Times to cover corporate media in 2011” (Chozick, Amy Chozick, 2013) and writes about “politics, international affairs and culture.” (Chozick, Amy Chozick, 2013) Before her career at the Times, though, Amy wrote for The Wall Street Journal for eight years. It was during this time that she wrote as a correspondent in Tokyo. Amy is most well known for her writing throughout the Hillary Clinton campaign. However, it was while “traversing back lots, studio sets and corner offices” (Chozick, Amy Chozick, 2013) that Amy was awarded the Front Page Award for “beat reporting for her in-depth stories on the television industry.” (Chozick, Amy Chozick, 2013) Beat reporting is a type of journalism in which one gains familiarity with a sector, thus allowing them to provide insight and report straight facts.

It is this love affair with Hollywood and the entertainment industry that seems to have been a motivating reason for her to write an article on Wales and Wikipedia. The article itself is written in a very tongue-and-cheek manner. It’s as if Amy has become too familiarized with the entertainment industry and as such has become cynical towards supposed L.A. “big shots.” This is evidenced by her repeated use of a quote by Wales mentioning that his third wife, Kate Garvey, has a lot of “connections.” (Chozick, Jimmy Wales Is Not an Internet Billionaire, 2013) Her bitter tone insinuates that Wales’ marriage is a business move. A thought provoking statement is made by Amy when she writes, “Wikipedia… has emboldened anonymous volunteers with the same power as established experts.” (Chozick, Jimmy Wales Is Not an Internet Billionaire, 2013) It is with this statement that Amy reveals yet another motivation for writing the piece: sparking the debate as to what defines journalism. With these motivations and perspectives in mind, it’s advised for readers to take caution while reading. While Amy is a reporter, she definitely has her biases.

Despite Chozick’s portrayal of Wales, people seem to support Wikipedia and Wales whole-heartedly on the New York Times’ article comments section. While many seem happy for Chozick’s perspective, they agree that “Wikipedia is a human accomplishment”—one in which Wales created. (Chozick, Jimmy Wales Is Not an Internet Billionaire, 2013) The article addresses the fact that is indeed possible to have a website that is commercial and ad-free. Furthermore, it’s possible to be successful without having a networth in the trillions. Jimmy Wales is living proof.

While his tactics and business may be criticized, Wales was a revolutionary man. He created a way in which every ounce of human knowledge can be shared with the mass. Yes, this does raise the question of who is a journalist, but that’s why there are fact-checkers. Chozick wrote an article that is provocative, intriguing, and an excellent component to this class. It incorporates the origins of journalism—definition as well as types—as well as the idea of journalism as a business.

Works Cited

Chozick, A. (2013). Amy Chozick. Retrieved December 01, 2013, from www.amychozick.com: http://www.amychozick.com/index.html

Chozick, A. (2013, June). Jimmy Wales Is Not an Internet Billionaire. Retrieved December 01, 2013, from The New York Times : http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/magazine/jimmy-wales-is-not-an-internet-billionaire.html