- In a recent interview with CNN, Salesforce chairman and co-CEO Marc Benioff discussed how the goal for Time magazine is to bring more trust to the world
Last year, Salesforce chairman and co-CEO Marc Benioff announced that he and his wife Lynne Benioff were buying Time magazine for $190 million from Meredith Corporation. And recently, Benioff was interviewed by CNN Chief Media Correspondent Brian Stelter on the show “Reliable Sources” where he discussed the goals of the magazine.
“Well, I’m thrilled to be a steward of this historic brand. Just being associated with this 95 year history of TIME magazine and the ability to give it the fuel to keep going forward. That’s what really excites us every day,” said Benioff during the interview.
Then Stelter asked Benioff whether he was willing to lose money on TIME after saying at the time of the acquisition that he wanted the publication to be “unshackled.” Stelter asked Benioff what it meant for the magazine to be unshackled.
“Well, I do want TIME magazine to be unshackled and what that means is that our world today needs more trust. We are in a crisis of trust. When you look at what’s happening with social media, when you look at the types of decisions that are being made in regards to artificial intelligence and these next generation of technologies, especially as regards to media, what we’re finding ourselves quite vested in a crisis of trust,” Benioff replied. “And TIME magazine can be a steward of trust as we move through this. That’s one of the core values of TIME: Trust. Impact. The core magazine itself. And that it’s about equality. Well, actually T-I-M-E, that’s why I think they called it TIME. And we so strongly believe that has to drive us forward and that’s why we’re so deeply involved.”
From there, Stelter started asking Benioff about his thoughts on the technology industry.
Benioff reiterated a point he made in the past where he believes that “Facebook is the new cigarettes for our society.”
“It’s something that badly needs to be regulated. It is something that is not good for us. It’s something that the company is out for our kids. And they’re certainly not exactly about truth in advertising. Even they have said that. That’s why we’re really in squarely a crisis of trust… when the core vendor themselves cannot say that trust is our most important value,” Benioff added.
You can watch the interview below:
