DISRUPT THIS! TechCrunch Disrupt promises to be exciting this September 8-12, with a lineup that includes the always ebullient Marc Benioff and the gently wise Ben Horowitz. (Be warned: ticket price may provoke nose bleeds.) Joel Klein, fresh from helping Rupert Murdoch chop News Corp. into two (publishing and entertainment)--a feat that might have actually helped Microsoft way back then--is slated to talk about his work in education technology. Klein was freed from his role running News Corp.'s "Management and Standards Committee" in June to return to a full-time job as CEO of News Corp.'s Education division. His team is small but includes former Startl co-founder, Diana Rhoten, who recently celebrated her first anniversary with News Corp. In his 2011 letter to shareholders, Murdoch laid out his big edugoal: "to become the leaders in advanced digital solutions for the K-12 market, delivering highly engaging, content-rich interactive products that will allow teachers and schools to measure and improve student achievement, while alleviating one of the biggest constraints of our existing school systems--the unsustainable escalation in labor costs." At least the organization is politically aligned. See the WSJ piece in "He Said She Said," below.
