Top News:
Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
Some Politico staffers raised concerns internally about the decision to allow Ben Shapiro to guest-write Playbook; editor Matt Kaminski defended the move — Several staffers expressed dismay over handing the keys to the outlet's influential newsletter product to a pundit with a “long history of bigoted and incendiary commentary.”
Discussion:
@erikwemple, @erikwemple, @erikwemple, @benyt, New York Times, HuffPost, Mediaite, The Hill, @arifleischer, @wexler, @nycweboy, @futterish, @corb_the_lesser, @elienyc, The Federalist, @jeremypgordon, @grace_segers, @maxwelltani, @onlxn, @megynkelly, @russcanread, @jamisonfoser, @bernybelvedere, @gina_goldberg, @karlitaliliana, @zac_petkanas, @sethfriederman, @soledadobrien, @gabby_hoffman, @espiers, @sarahw, @willmcavoyacn, @libbycwatson, @erikwemple, @nberlat, @adotsad, @danpfeiffer, @eugene_scott, @jon_allsop, @blackamazon, @katiehill4ca, @maxwelltani, The Right Scoop, @alqabadai, @justin_higgins2, @imleor, @emorwee, @tpcarney, @clarajeffery, @senhorraposa, @wagatwe, @holmesjosh, @casmudde, @kimcrayton1, @elienyc, @susanbordson and Daily Truth Report
Discussion:
Erik Wemple / @erikwemple: Politico has released a statement on the backlash against using @benshapiro as a guest-writer for Playbook. It says, “we rise above partisanship and ideological warfare.” https://twitter.com/...
Erik Wemple / @erikwemple: There are now upwards of 225 people on the @politico Zoom call convened to hash out the decision to invite @benshapiro to guest-write an edition of Playbook. People are very mad, I am hearing.
Erik Wemple / @erikwemple: Just chatted with a pair of @politico staffers who dissent from the prevailing outrage over the @benshapiro guest-hosting gig. They say they didn't speak up on the call because the sentiment is so heated and one-sided.
Ben Smith / @benyt: Politico editor-in-chief Matt Kaminski told staff they're not going to apologize for having Ben Shapiro guest edit Playbook, then listened to staff complaints (esp from Congress team) on an internal call.
Katie Robertson / New York Times: Politico Staff Objects After Right-Wing Star Ben Shapiro Writes Newsletter
Nick Robins-Early / HuffPost: Politico Newsroom In Uproar Over Ben Shapiro's Guest Playbook Column
Marisa Sarnoff / Mediaite: Politico Editors Stand By Ben Shapiro as Playbook Guest Author
Jordan Williams / The Hill: Ben Shapiro stirs controversy by guest writing Politico newsletter
Ari Fleischer / @arifleischer: Good statement. But what does it say about the left that they became unglued because Ben Shapiro wrote something, which, if the critics read it, was quite thoughtful. It's stunning the only news rooms some reporters want are news rooms where everyone is just like them. https://twitter.com/...
Nu Wexler / @wexler: Politico can turn Playbook over to anyone they want, but amplifying Shapiro makes it harder for their reporters to criticize politicians and social platforms for spreading racist and anti-Muslim crap.
NYC Weboy / @nycweboy: I get that there's a lot of negative feeling about Shapiro. I think it might be more productive to focus on the content - the Playbook wasn't especially well written, contained little that was news, and didn't seem especially accurate. https://twitter.com/...
Mike Futter / @futterish: This minimizes the misogyny and racism that Ben Shapiro spews. It is Both Sidesism's ultimate form, and we should never forget this. https://twitter.com/...
@corb_the_lesser: @HolmesJosh Why not ask how conservatism got to the point of believing Ben Shapiro should speak for it?
Elie Mystal / @elienyc: MOREOVER, the fact that they think Chris Hayes is the “both sides” of Ben freaking Shapiro is, again, how white supremacists win. I look forward to the day @politico lets Louis Farrakhan and Mitt Romney edit dueling playbooks.
Tristan Justice / The Federalist: Politico Staff Uproar Over Ben Shapiro Playbook Cameo Proves Newsrooms Are The New College Campuses
Jeremy Gordon / @jeremypgordon: “The backlash is a little strange to observe since we're supposed to represent all respectable voices on the ideological spectrum.” Pretty damning indictment of a lot of things if Shapiro, who is 1000000% full of shit, is a “respectable voice” on the right https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...
Grace Segers / @grace_segers: @maxwelltani “mischief making” ?
Max Tani / @maxwelltani: Politico just said on this call that the plan is to announce the new Playbook team tomorrow https://twitter.com/...
Owen Ellickson / @onlxn: btw: the safest assumption here is Shapiro got Politico some oil money and they grabbed some other opeds to launder his byline in through “ideological diversity.” might not be what happened, but would love to hear that from Politico!
Megyn Kelly / @megynkelly: Grow up, people. https://twitter.com/...
Russ Read / @russcanread: @brianstelter I sincerely believe that there is a huge portion of Playbook readers who wouldn't even have realized Ben guest edited today if certain folks on Twitter hadn't made such a big deal about it.
Jamison Foser / @jamisonfoser: Saying “we rise above partisanship and ideological warfare” the same day you made Ben Shapiro your guest editor is like claiming to be a law and order president while the mob you incited seizes the Capitol. https://twitter.com/...
Berny Belvedere / @bernybelvedere: The most preposterous thing about this reply is it requires flattening conservatism into the person and work of Ben Shapiro. “Oh, you have a problem with Ben? You must want to cancel all of conservatism!” As if Shapiro is basically interchangeable with Ramesh Ponnuru or whoever https://twitter.com/...
@gina_goldberg: if this is considered mainstream conservatism count me out https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Karla Monterroso / @karlitaliliana: If they rise above ideological warfare so much, I wanna see the last 5 op-eds by Black progressive women. https://twitter.com/...
Zac Petkanas / @zac_petkanas: There are just conservative voices who aren't openly pro-coup, homophobic, anti-trans and White supremacist. https://twitter.com/...
Seth Friedermann / @sethfriederman: @ElieNYC @politico I checked twice to make sure there wasn't some other Ben Shapiro. Feels like a cash grab by @politico to me.
Soledad O'Brien / @soledadobrien: ‘We are happy to platform racists and bigots and those who spew disinformation, if we think it will go viral but also not hurt our brand’ Anyway—as I keep telling you guys—Politico is mostly trash. https://twitter.com/...
Gabriella Hoffman / @gabby_hoffman: Kudos, @politico . Wish more news outlets would give consideration to other views. Discourse is healthy, debate is necessary, and we all benefit when we can freely read different views in major publications. https://twitter.com/...
Elizabeth Spiers / @espiers: @ElieNYC @politico Feel like I have some authority on the topic of journalistic mischief making and I don't think giving a pint sized squeaky racist the keys to the car qualifies.
Sarah Weinman / @sarahw: what a hill to die on https://twitter.com/...
Will McAvoy / @willmcavoyacn: “Which is why we gave our most visible column to a partisan, racist, sexist, xenophobic, homophobic zealot.” https://twitter.com/...
Erik Wemple / @erikwemple: Good piece by @maxwelltani on Politico erupting over @benshapiro guest-hosting Playbook. You know, if you want to hear Shapiro's opinions, there's a place to go for that. https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...
Noah Berlatsky / @nberlat: why does everyone think that platforming a rabid racist is “rising above” partisanship? maybe it's sinking below partisanship? https://twitter.com/...
@adotsad: One of the things conservatives do really well is take criticism of one of their millionaires/celebrities/politicians etc and pretending its a literal attack on the livelihood of every random conservative in the country. Same shit Trump does, but Shapiro et al do the same thing. https://twitter.com/...
Dan Pfeiffer / @danpfeiffer: This is a bizarre and non-sensical statement — saying that Politico's brand is being non-partisan is not a great explanation/defense for handing over your flagship product to a discredited partisan on one of the biggest news days in recent memory https://twitter.com/...
Eugene Scott / @eugene_scott: Given this, really interested in who they have lined up as future guest writers ... https://twitter.com/...
Jon Allsop / @jon_allsop: This criticism-proof logic is a big problem in media: if you criticize our conception of political evenhandedness, you are trying to politicize us, thus proving the merit of our conception https://twitter.com/...
@blackamazon: I would like coins for the years I spent watching these chuckle muppets do this and be told to calm down . Then I would like to fight some folks https://twitter.com/...
Katie Hill / @katiehill4ca: Perhaps if a publication wants to “rise above partisanship and ideological warfare” it shouldn't feature one of the worst perpetrators of said warfare. Just a thought. https://twitter.com/...
Max Tani / @maxwelltani: In response to staff concerns, Kaminski reiterated his perspective about the need for ideological diversity, and has rebuffed suggestions for Politico to apologize: “We're not going to back away from having published something because some people think it was a mistake to do so.”
The Right Scoop: Media staffers OUTRAGED after Ben Shapiro was chosen to write today's Politico Playbook
Travis Owen / @alqabadai: @RussCanRead @brianstelter That's not really a good thing. It just allows him to launder bullshit claims through the Politico brand with less pushback because people will assume it's reliable.
Justin Higgins / @justin_higgins2: @benyt They picked the worst time to do this with the recent launch of @PunchbowlNews. This will hurt them financially.
Emily Atkin / @emorwee: Love when a news outlet with half its content sponsored by Chevron brags about its “independent journalism” https://twitter.com/...
Clara Jeffery / @clarajeffery: not sure how you can rise above those things while handing your audience to a person who celebrates those things https://twitter.com/...
Drew Savicki / @senhorraposa: They should not have published Ben Shapiro. It does a disservice to Politico by publishing him. Shapiro is deeply Islamophobic and homophobic. He has a long history of racist statements. https://twitter.com/...
Wagatwe Wanjuki / @wagatwe: This is why Black folks didn't trust any of these white led organizations statements about doing better. Because it's just about not looking bad vs an actual, consistent commitment to not being active tools of white supremacy that'd require true overhaul. https://twitter.com/...
Josh Holmes / @holmesjosh: It blows my mind how journos insist on validating conservative criticism at every turn. https://twitter.com/...
@casmudde: There is nothing admirable about being “non-partisan” or “neutral” when one party is anti-democratic. @politico https://twitter.com/...
@kimcrayton1: “Mischief making has always been a part of @politico's secret sauce” @KaminskiMK this decision isn't mischief, it's harmful & ur dismissive response is an ex of the role u play in maintaining the systems, institutions & policies of white supremacy https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...
Elie Mystal / @elienyc: Can't make this up. @politico's official defense for promoting white supremacy is “mischief making.” This is how too many white people think. That allowing white supremacists to tout their views is just... impish. https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...
RELATED:
Leia Idliby / Mediaite:
Politico draws criticism for having Ben Shapiro serve as a guest writer of Playbook; he wrote about “the real reasons” most Republicans opposed impeachment — Politico has drawn heat for handing over the most recent edition of their Playbook newsletter to conservative radio host Ben Shapiro.
Discussion:
@olivianuzzi, Politico, @mattnegrin, Media Matters for America, @lpdonovan, @juddlegum, @benshapiro, @sabrinasiddiqui, @charlesppierce, @taradublinrocks, New York Magazine, @mattnegrin, @mehdirhasan, @juddlegum, @barry, @lollardfish, @jonathanchait, @danahoule, @brianbeutler, @jbarro, @theplumlinegs, @jbouie, @mattzeitlin, @mattnegrin, @jeffsharlet, @ryanlcooper, @froomkin, @jbouie, @sabrinasiddiqui, @jbouie, @zackbeauchamp, @ravmabay, @abrowngaywrites, @zachwritesstuff, @pwthornton, @zackbeauchamp, @jeffhauser, @jbouie, @bridgeinit, @green_footballs, @lollardfish, @stevedeaceshow, @tomscocca, @zackbeauchamp, @meredithshiner, @joshsternberg, @slpng_giants, @breenewsome, @green_footballs, @mattzeitlin, @justkelly_ok, @lollardfish, @jbouie, @juddlegum, @mattnegrin, @chrisgeidner, @katearonoff, @jonfavs, @shotpooter, @gothamgirlblue, @soledadobrien, @marcformarc, @scottnover, @timodc and The Wrap
Discussion:
Olivia Nuzzi / @olivianuzzi: Personally I only want to hear from people I agree with so that I am completely caught off guard when my bubble is punctured by the reality of what others care about. I find it keeps life exciting to always be at risk of not knowing what the fuck is happening around me.
@mattnegrin: I got my start in news at @politico. I would quit on the spot today. Handing their newsletter to a proudly bad-faith Republican to spread this pure shit is the grossest thing I've seen happen there This isn't even part of the “is this journalism” debate. This is just sickening https://twitter.com/...
Jason Campbell / Media Matters for America: What Politico Playbook didn't tell its readers about Ben Shapiro
Liam Donovan / @lpdonovan: Tomorrow's Playbook guest editor—wrong answers only
Judd Legum / @juddlegum: 1. Here is some information you won't read about in Politico Playbook today. On Jan 5, @benshapiro turned over his “Daily Shapiro Action” email to Ted Cruz. Cruz used the opportunity to push his bogus allegations that the election was invalid. https://twitter.com/...
Ben Shapiro / @benshapiro: People losing their s*** over me writing @politico Playbook this morning are pretty much proving my point. So keep at it guys, you're doing great! https://www.politico.com/...
Sabrina Siddiqui / @sabrinasiddiqui: I would appreciate if someone from @politico would read all the racist things Ben Shapiro has said about Arabs and Muslims here and then explain why they chose to give him a platform https://bridge.georgetown.edu/ ...
Charles P. Pierce / @charlesppierce: Please tell me this is a prank gone terribly wrong. https://twitter.com/...
@taradublinrocks: Why are you giving that traitorous little shitbag any oxygen? There's a whole great big Internet where he can do that without your help, thanks (I'm available FYI) #DoBetter https://twitter.com/...
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine: Republicans Oppose Impeachment Because It Makes Them Look Pro-Riot
@mattnegrin: There's no doubt they defend this by saying they're letting Democrats write Playbook some days and Republicans on other days to get Both Sides. This is a fundamental misunderstanding—or willing buy-in of the lie—of the way the parties approach the truth (big thing in journalism)
Mehdi Hasan / @mehdirhasan: Politico handed over its Playbook today to Ben Shapiro, who used it to (falsely) accuse Bernie Sanders of inciting the shooting of Steve Scalise and to equate Bernie's rhetoric with Trump's. I kid you not. (h/t @MattNegrin) https://www.politico.com/...
Judd Legum / @juddlegum: @benshapiro 2. @benshapiro guest-edited Politico Playbook today, which was a coup for him because he likes to posture himself as an “intellectual” who rejects conspiracy theories and misinformation. But that's not what happens behind the scenes. And I have receipts. https://twitter.com/...
Barry Petchesky / @barry: Giving a platform to dishonest arguments from dishonest people makes readers less informed, not more https://twitter.com/...
David M. Perry / @lollardfish: you can either be an outlet whose reporters we respect, take seriously, share ... or you can publish Ben Shapiro. you can't do both.
Jonathan Chait / @jonathanchait: I'm fine with Ben Shapiro guest-writing Playbook and providing this absurd specimen of anti-anti-Trump illogic https://nymag.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Dana Houle / @danahoule: I like hearing from people I don't agree with about ideas, opinions, why some facts are more important or relevant than other facts, & such. But if they don't respect facts I don't respect them & I assume just about everything they say is bullshit. https://twitter.com/...
Brian Beutler / @brianbeutler: Real reporting was that many Republicans voted no because they're scared of being murdered. Politico responded by lending a huge platform to a propagandist to claim the real reason is they were triggered by Dems, and now influential journos are amplifying that b.s. uncritically. https://twitter.com/...
Josh Barro / @jbarro: The more I think about it, the more I want Politico to invite James Comey to guest-edit Playbook. 1) He'd totally do it (he loves a soapbox) 2) Everyone would hate it 3) The reactions would be really funny https://twitter.com/...
Greg Sargent / @theplumlinegs: Some performative cursing here but no conceptual work. The point is not to suppress all differing points of view. It's that sometimes particular arguments are rendered in such naked bad faith that there's no *actual* value in platforming them. If you think it has value, say why. https://twitter.com/...
B-Boy Bouiebaisse / @jbouie: my favorite part of this is how shapiro speaks as if this is simply something happening in the air and not a sense of siege that he's dedicated his life to stoking and cultivating https://twitter.com/...
Matthew Zeitlin / @mattzeitlin: @LPDonovan Tiffany
@mattnegrin: When we say the news industry is broken beyond repair we mean that decisions like this are made by people once thought of as titanic geniuses but have somehow been poisoned by a desire to so blindly trust a party of strategic liars that they give them full editorial control
Jeff Sharlet / @jeffsharlet: Politico giving space to Shapiro — who among many, many attacks on Muslims has said “Arabs”—he conflates them with Mulsims—"like to bomb crap and live in open sewage."—is a deeply disturbing sign of its willingness to normalize the now explicitly fascist wing of the GOP. https://twitter.com/...
Ryan Cooper / @ryanlcooper: Ben Shapiro is a racist liar, but he also arranged for an oil company to give Politico a massive bribe, so, it;s impossible to say if hes bad or not, https://twitter.com/...
B-Boy Bouiebaisse / @jbouie: @Olivianuzzi Yes Olivia, this is about ideological bubbles and cancel culture. https://twitter.com/...
Sabrina Siddiqui / @sabrinasiddiqui: This is not about a range of views. It's about downplaying and normalizing bigotry toward black, brown, Muslim and LGBTQ people. Understanding that is fundamental to how we got here. And to dismiss it as “mischief making” is as offensive as it is absurd. https://twitter.com/...
B-Boy Bouiebaisse / @jbouie: @SabrinaSiddiqui @politico Here's hoping they didn't know versus they did know and just didn't care.
Zack Beauchamp / @zackbeauchamp: 15. Coda: there is an argument that Playbook is helping its more left-leaning readers understand the right better by publishing this. That's false, for reasons @AsteadWesley, @AdamSerwer, and @cjane87 explain here: https://twitter.com/...
Depressed & Incredulous / @abrowngaywrites: POLITICO publishing a Ben Shapiro piece is a pitch-perfect example of “treating white supremacy as an idea to debate rather than a movement to be defeated.” (Quote attributable to @RottenInDenmark) https://twitter.com/...
Zachary Siegel / @zachwritesstuff: Definitely think the guy who said “normal people” walk around everyday with zip ties in the shape of handcuffs contributes meaningful ideas to the discourse. https://twitter.com/...
Patrick Thornton / @pwthornton: @jbouie @SabrinaSiddiqui @politico To not know that Ben Shapiro is racist is to not know who Ben Shapiro is. They knew. Just didn't care.
Zack Beauchamp / @zackbeauchamp: 14. So the real problem with today's Playbook isn't Ben Shapiro's identity. It's that the piece itself is poorly reasoned and outright dishonesty in a way that was predictable given his past work — and that no editor fixed the piece. It's just below decent journalistic standards.
Jeff Hauser / @jeffhauser: @MattZeitlin @LPDonovan Liam specified “wrong.”
B-Boy Bouiebaisse / @jbouie: @jonathanchait “if you criticize my bad takes you are hysterical” is typical for this guy
@bridgeinit: In June 2007, Shapiro wrote that the “Palestinian Arab population is rotten to the core” and that “Palestinian Arabs have demonstrated their preference for suicide bombing over working toilets.” https://bridge.georgetown.edu/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Charles Johnson / @green_footballs: And they'll do it again, because they want those sweet, sweet right wing clicks. https://twitter.com/...
David M. Perry / @lollardfish: @politico There's plenty more to be said about Shapiro, but it's not necessary. That tweet does it. And you're damn right @politico that it undermines the work your reporters are doing. It's a choice. https://twitter.com/...
Tom Scocca / @tomscocca: @jbouie @Olivianuzzi There is some real value in creating the chance for other people to tell the world they consider a gutter racist a worthy part of their discourse community though
Zack Beauchamp / @zackbeauchamp: 1. The problem with the Ben Shapiro Playbook isn't primarily the author. It's that the *content* of the piece is bad, in a way that was eminently predictable given the author. I'm going to go through the entire piece and explain why.
Meredith Shiner / @meredithshiner: this is honestly a worse and more deranged justification—and in a more chef's kiss context—than I imagined it would be. https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Josh Sternberg / @joshsternberg: I don't recall; did Chris Hayes turn his tv show over to Bernie Sanders or AOC to push their bogus allegations that people deserve a living wage and health care? https://twitter.com/...
@slpng_giants: There are plenty of great thinkers across the political spectrum. Ben Shapiro is a podcaster who raised money from fracking tycoons to do their bidding by starting a network of other podcasters to push racial grievance, xenophobia and transphobia to make ad dollars off of anger. https://twitter.com/...
@breenewsome: This is how the vast majority of white society operates on a daily basis tho & giving Ben Shapiro a platform is not an exception https://twitter.com/...
Charles Johnson / @green_footballs: If I didn't already think Politico was hot garbage, this would make it appallingly clear. https://twitter.com/...
Matthew Zeitlin / @mattzeitlin: @jeffhauser @LPDonovan Oh, ok, Barron
Kelly Ellis / @justkelly_ok: Politico just lost all credibility by publishing Ben Shapiro. https://twitter.com/...
David M. Perry / @lollardfish: This tweet is enough evidence to end Shapiro's access to respectable publications. @politico published a vile bigot as if this kind of thing is just a matter of debate. Which I guess for that outlet's leaders it is. https://twitter.com/...
B-Boy Bouiebaisse / @jbouie: @Olivianuzzi Shapiro is a liar and a bigot who is simply not a reliable source of information and does not even provide an especially interesting or penetrating look into what Republican politicians think or believe. So I am interested to know what you think is his value in the discourse.
Judd Legum / @juddlegum: 3. In July, I reported how there was “an undisclosed financial relationship between The Daily Wire, the website founded by Ben Shapiro, and Mad World News, a notorious outlet that exploits fear and bigotry for profit.” https://popular.info/...
@mattnegrin: Ben Shapiro lying about Republicans' role in the terrorist attack as the author of Playbook is an extreme result of that false belief. Platforming Republicans is already a huge issue but this is something else entirely. And if I worked there now I would have quit immediately
Chris Geidner / @chrisgeidner: @Olivianuzzi It's almost impossible to more intentionally misread Ben Shapiro's history in order to be able to imagine that this is the issue presented by this.
Kate Aronoff / @katearonoff: The American Petroleum Institute sponsoring Ben Shapiro's edition of Politico Playbook is about as strong an indictment of the media establishment as I can imagine https://twitter.com/...
Jon Favreau / @jonfavs: One thing about Ben's analysis for the last four years is how boringly predictable it always is. Oh, you think Republicans defended Trump because the mean Democrats made them do it? Tell me more! https://twitter.com/...
@shotpooter: @tomscocca @jbouie @Olivianuzzi We're at most 5 or 6 years from Shapiro getting Bret Stephens' job, aren't we?
@gothamgirlblue: Not even a white supremacist insurrection will keep white journalists from insisting that we should give white nationalists and their enablers a “fair” hearing. Surprised but not shocked. https://twitter.com/...
Soledad O'Brien / @soledadobrien: I think she's saying “let's hear from Ben, darn it” but framing it as somehow there's a bubble around the misinformation he's been spewing forever. Which is bs. I always enjoy the doubling down on errors and as i've long said: a lot about Politico has long been bad. https://twitter.com/...
@marcformarc: Ben Shapiro has 3.3M followers on Twitter before you get to his other media platforms. Your point about echo chambers isn't bad but using Ben Shapiro to make it is intellectually dishonest and a boring analysis of what it would mean to seriously engage with alternative views https://twitter.com/...
Scott Nover / @scottnover: What in the world were they thinking? Complete own goal. https://twitter.com/...
Lindsey Ellefson / The Wrap: Politico Under Fire for Letting Ben Shapiro Guest Edit Newsletter
Laura Poitras / Praxis Films:
Laura Poitras says she was fired from First Look Media in November 2020 after speaking to the press about The Intercept's failure to protect Reality Winner — I was fired from First Look Media, an organization I co-founded. My termination came two months after I spoke to the press …
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Times, The Hill, @snowden, @timothys, @dalemaharidge, @doctorow, @doctorow, @ggreenwald, @sarahellison, @doctorow, @snowden, @sarahellison, @froomkin, @jesselynradack, @zenjournalist, IndieWire, @snowden, @farhip, @bgrueskin, @trevortimm, @iwelsh, @aaronjmate, @jennycohn1, @doctorow, @doctorow, @froomkin, @amyargetsinger, @william_fitz, @doctorow, @kgosztola, @ggreenwald, @ggreenwald, @doctorow, @ggreenwald, @doctorow, @runasand and @joshsternberg
Discussion:
Sarah Ellison / Washington Post: Laura Poitras says she's been fired by First Look Media over Reality Winner controversy. Now she's questioning the company's integrity.
Edward Snowden / @snowden: This is Laura's statement: https://www.praxisfilms.org/ ...
@timothys: I don't know why anyone trusted this billionaire-funded publication in the first place. Omidyar always had close ties to the national security state. He was hanging out at NSA as a private investor in 2004. The writing was always on the wall. This is no surprise whatsoever. https://twitter.com/...
Dale Maharidge / @dalemaharidge: What is happening here with the @theintercept is retaliation. Laura is all about source protection, and the intercept blew it. https://twitter.com/...
@doctorow: First Look says Poitras's dismissal was “natural,” and the result of her “stepping away” from her duties at the company to do “her own projects.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... 4/
@doctorow: Despite all that, I have no personal knowledge of any of the underlying facts. Here's what I do know, though: Laura Poitras is one of the bravest, most talented filmmakers and journalists I know. She is both a good person and very good at what she does. 7/
Glenn Greenwald / @ggreenwald: The reality is top Intercept editors never provided any accounting of what happened in the Winner case - who fucked that up and why? - because they knew I was being widely blamed, despite having *zero involvement in the story and were happy about that & didn't want to come clean.
Sarah Ellison / @sarahellison: Laura Poitras says she's been fired by First Look Media over Reality Winner controversy. Now she's questioning the watchdog's integrity. My latest https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
@doctorow: When you put those two facts together, here's what you get: profound sadness. A media entity that means a lot to me has fired one of their best journalists, who also helped found the organization. This is not a good day. Poitras's work is critical to this ghastly moment. 9/
Edward Snowden / @snowden: Nobody outside the story understood how much pressure we were under. It is not an exaggeration to say that a single mistake could have sent everyone involved to prison—or worse. And during the most sensitive period of the reporting, Laura had the hardest part of it.
Sarah Ellison / @sarahellison: This piece is something of a bookend to one I wrote in 2014 at Vanity Fair, about the turmoil at First Look, back when @ggreenwald @mtaibbi @johnjcook were still there. Holds up: https://www.vanityfair.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: Laura Poitras is a brave, principled and heroic journalist. And what she describes here is, indeed, a tragedy. https://www.praxisfilms.org/ ...
@jesselynradack: @theintercept fired Laura Poitras bc she (correctly) criticized their burning #RealityWinner. Another alleged source, #DanielHale, goes on trial soon. Accused of leaking to @jeremyscahill. “SourceProtection” must be more than a slogan. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Andrew MacGregor Marshall / @zenjournalist: What a disaster @theintercept and @firstlookmedia turned out to be. They had so many talented people and funding on a scale most journalists could only dream about, but are imploding due to epic mismanagement https://www.praxisfilms.org/ ...
Chris Lindahl / IndieWire: Laura Poitras Says She Was Fired From The Intercept Over Reality Winner Controversy
Edward Snowden / @snowden: I've said before that of all the journalists I worked with to break the mass surveillance story, none of them took operational security or source protection as seriously as Laura. I never once saw her cut a corner or break a rule. She was the only one who could make me feel lax.
Paul Farhi / @farhip: One of @theintercept's co-founders, Pulitzer Prize winner Laura Poitras, says she's been fired for...talking to the news media. @sarahellison reports: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin: One more reverberation from the botched story that led to Reality Winner's imprisonment https://twitter.com/...
Trevor Timm / @trevortimm: There's no one I admire more than Laura Poitras. So lucky to have her as a friend and colleague at @FreedomofPress. https://www.praxisfilms.org/ ...
Ian Welsh / @iwelsh: The Intercept does some good work, but Poitras is a legend who has put her ass on the line repeatedly. https://twitter.com/...
Aaron Mat / @aaronjmate: The Intercept co-founder Laura Poitras says she has been fired following her criticism of TI's handling of the Reality Winner leak. A damning letter about TI's editorial leadership. Those who defend them ought to reflect on whether the money is worth it. https://www.praxisfilms.org/ ...
Jennifer Cohn / @jennycohn1: Poitras says she was fired in retaliation for speaking to the media re: First Look's failure to protect #RealityWinner “who is now serving 5 years in prison 4 leaking confidential intelligence documents to one of First Look's publications, the Intercept.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
@doctorow: And I also know that The Intercept publishes some of the best investigative journalism today. Their work has been hugely important to me and my understanding of the world. Not a day goes by that I don't learn something profound from its work. 8/
@doctorow: First Look is much poorer without her. Image: Katy Scoggin https://commons.wikimedia.org/ ... CC BY: https://creativecommons.org/ ... eof/
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: No one involved with @theintercept's irresponsible outing of Reality Winner has been fired or demoted. But lots of other people have. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Amy Argetsinger / @amyargetsinger: NEW from @sarahellison Laura Poitras says she was fired from First Look Media over her criticism of the Reality Winner debacle. Now only one of the original founders remains. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
William Fitzgerald / @william_fitz: NEWS: First Look Media fired Laura Poitras, the co-founder and Oscar winning film director. Today Laura is speaking out about huge gulf between the organization's purported values and its practice. https://www.praxisfilms.org/ ...
@doctorow: I have an interest here. I have sincere, deep admiration for Poitras. I contributed to the program book for her one-woman show at the Whitney, reported out a Snowden leak with her team, and one of my proudest moments was the cameo my book HOMELAND got in her doc CITIZENFOUR. 5/
Kevin Gosztola / @kgosztola: Intercept co-founder Laura Poitras says she was fired for speaking out against the media organization's failure to protect whistleblower Reality Winner. Singles out editor-in-chief Betsy Reed and First Look Media CEO Michael Bloom. https://www.praxisfilms.org/ ...
Glenn Greenwald / @ggreenwald: Here's Laura Poitras' post-firing letter, with a focus on the key role of the top Intercept editors - Betsy Reed and Roger Hodge - in the Reality Winner debacle. https://www.praxisfilms.org/ ... I explained what happen in my article announcing my resignation. https://greenwald.substack.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Glenn Greenwald / @ggreenwald: Many people (including myself & Laura) spent months demanding that accounting. Their original excuse was they didn't want to help DOJ in its prosecution. But that prosecution has been over for 2 1/2 years. Where is that accounting? Provide the transparency you demand of others.
@doctorow: The Intercept investigated its handling of the Winner leaks, and concluded that it made mistakes. But Poitras says that the internal investigation was never independent, and allowed people who were implicated in the failures to oversee the postmortem on those failures. 3/
Glenn Greenwald / @ggreenwald: This @WashingtonPost article today on Laura Poitras' firing from First Look Media (parent company of @TheIntercept) again notes that Intercept editors *still* refuse to provide any public accounting of the newsroom fuck-up on the Reality Winner story. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
@doctorow: And I have worked with First Look; I worked for months on a video project with them, and then they optioned my novella UNAUTHORIZED BREAD. Everyone I've worked with there was bright, committed, passionate and good at their jobs. 6/
Runa Sandvik / @runasand: I've always admired Laura Poitras for her integrity, her determination to protect her sources, and her courage to speak up about wrongdoing. Bad move by @theintercept. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Josh Sternberg / @joshsternberg: Laura Poitras, co-founder of The Intercept, was fired in November for talking to the media about the outlet's “failure to protect whistleblower Reality Winner and the cover-up and lack of accountability that followed” https://www.praxisfilms.org/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
VOA staffers circulate a petition seeking resignations of execs Robert Reilly and Elizabeth Robbins, saying they failed to be independent of political influence — Simmering tensions between journalists and managers at Voice of America grew into open rebellion Thursday …
Discussion:
Voice of America, @w7voa, The Hill, @w7voa, @brianstelter, Government Accountability …, @reinlwapo, @egkaur and @farhip
Discussion:
Jessica Jerreat / Voice of America: Whistleblowers Demand VOA Director Resign Over Pompeo Speech, Staff Moves
Steve Herman / @w7voa: “As the incoming Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I join the dozens of brave VOA employees who have openly called on Director Reilly to resign—his actions have no place at the VOA, nor in the United States of America,” says @SenatorMenendez in statement. https://twitter.com/...
Joseph Choi / The Hill: Voice of America journalists demand director's resignation over Pompeo event
Steve Herman / @w7voa: Twenty-six @VOANews journalists are demanding their director resign after a series of alleged retaliatory measures and firewall violations culminated in the reassignment of one of the network's most high-profile reporters, @pwidakuswara. https://www.voanews.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: VOA reporting on itself: “26 journalists have demanded that Voice of America's director resign after a series of alleged retaliatory measures and firewall violations culminated in the reassignment of one of the network's most high-profile reporters.” https://www.voanews.com/...
Abby Schneekloth / Government Accountability Project: ShadowProof: Making US Propaganda Exceptional Again: Mike Pompeo's Voice of America Speech
Lisa Rein / @reinlwapo: Some great reporting these past months on the mess at @VOANews by @farhip https://twitter.com/...
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
Axios will launch AxiosHQ, its internal company communications service, starting at $10K a year with $1M already booked and Delta and AT&T among its clients — AxiosHQ communications platform to launch with Delta Air Lines and AT&T among early customers
Discussion:
@benmullin, @roylschwartz, @thekendallbaker, @bigblackjacobin, @mattdpearce, @caseynewton, @mattyglesias, @martinsfp, @moorehn, @pkafka, @alex, @stevesi, @nickwingfield, @binarybits, @film_girl, @jbenton, @joshsternberg, @zackkopplin, @ajs, @studyhallxyz, @dellcam, @ourobororoboruo, @sarafischer and @sarafischer, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Ben Mullin / @benmullin: Remember that $10,000-a-year subscription @JimVandeHei talked about when he was launching @axios? The company is launching its first paid product next month, a communications tool, with prices starting at $10,000: https://www.wsj.com/...
Kendall Baker / @thekendallbaker: Only 5% of staff make it past the first few lines of any internal update. AxiosHQ will change that. This is how we communicate ourselves at Axios, and it's amazing how helpful weekly company/team newsletters can be for keeping everyone in the loop — especially when we're remote. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Edward Ongweso Jr / @bigblackjacobin: Honestly? Good for Axios for convincing companies to just hand over money for this https://twitter.com/...
Matt Pearce / @mattdpearce: and all this time I've been sending my powerful emails for free https://twitter.com/...
Casey Newton / @caseynewton: I'm giving up a lot of revenue by tweeting this, but you can create a bulleted list in Google Docs by hitting ⌘+Shift+8 https://twitter.com/...
Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias: Be smart: I will do this for $5k https://twitter.com/...
Martin Sfp Bryant / @martinsfp: Interesting. Basically a version of Axios' CMS for internal comms at businesses. Although I wonder how much of Axios' unique value is really in the skill of writing ‘smart brevity’ rather than the software they use to publish it. https://twitter.com/...
Heidi N. Moore / @moorehn: Congratulations to Axios on inventing PowerPoint. https://twitter.com/...
Peter Kafka / @pkafka: This is the roll-your-own-Axios we told you about a year ago. https://www.vox.com/... “a sort of white-label version of Axios, which they could stock with their own content and messages and distribute on their own.” https://twitter.com/...
@alex: this is good https://www.wsj.com/... happy that Axios is making the news/software hybrid work — here's hoping that they also drop a prosumer version
Steven Sinofsky / @stevesi: Axios Wants to Help Companies Write Like Its Reporters—for $10,000 a Year, or More // all memos will be less than 1000 words and 4 minute reads https://www.wsj.com/...
Nick Wingfield / @nickwingfield: Axios is finally launching a newsletter platform that @jtoonkel first wrote about back in 2019 in @theinformation https://www.theinformation.com/ ... https://www.wsj.com/...
Timothy B. Lee / @binarybits: If anyone needs me to convert their memos into one-sentence paragraphs with bullet points or bolded words in front of them I will happily provide this service for less than $10,000 per year. https://www.wsj.com/...
Christina Warren / @film_girl: This from @axios is brilliant. Productizing some of their own tools/style guides to sell to businesses who can find value, while also acting as ancillary revenue to support the core journalism https://www.wsj.com/...
Joshua Benton / @jbenton: Hey, go make money, and there's plenty I like and admire about Axios, but...is the secret sauce all that secret here? https://twitter.com/...
Josh Sternberg / @joshsternberg: @BenMullin @JimVandeHei @axios Journalism-as-a-service
@zackkopplin: This will end with Axios turning into a military contractor. No joke. I'm calling it now https://twitter.com/...
Alyson Shontell / @ajs: I'm confused. Is Axios charging companies $10,000 to essentially have a CMS with a word count limit? https://www.wsj.com/...
Study Hall / @studyhallxyz: we'll teach u to write like study hall for $1 https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Frankie Huang / @ourobororoboruo: Lol isn't this kind of like a supermodel selling lingerie that promises to make the wearer look like a supermodel? https://twitter.com/...
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: NEW: Write less. Say more. AXIOS HQ. https://www.axios.com/hq https://twitter.com/...
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: I want this as a T shirt
Gerry Smith / Bloomberg:
A look at Judd Legum's Popular Information newsletter, which helped push companies to suspend donations to politicians who objected to election results — - Companies stop contributions after Popular Information article — Judd Legum's newsletter has amassed 138,000 subscribers
Discussion:
Judd Legum / @juddlegum: Popular Information is profiled this morning in Bloomberg @business https://www.bloomberg.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Ben Smith / @benyt: A good rule for all sorts of reporting: “My guiding principle is to find something that's so monotonous and boring that it's unlikely to be duplicated,” he said in an interview https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Lucas Shaw / @lucas_shaw: The Popular Information newsletter is likely making more than $300,000 a year for @JuddLegum. @gerryfsmith on a newsletter that supports investigative journalism. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Gerry Smith / @gerryfsmith: Popular Information has 138,000 subscribers, with between 5% and 10% paying. That adds up to at least $300,000 a year. “It's a very good living.” https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Nick Turner / @newsynick: Having an influential Substack newsletter is the new golden ticket of journalism https://twitter.com/...
Simon Owens / @simonowens: It really is amazing how much political impact Judd Legum has achieved using nothing but a Substack newsletter. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Brian M. Rosenthal / @brianmrosenthal: This. This is so much of what truly impactful journalism is. It should be drilled into every journalism student: https://twitter.com/...
Soledad O'Brien / @soledadobrien: A very good read. And good insight on modern day reporting: https://twitter.com/...
Eli Rosenberg / @emrosenberg: Nice piece on Judd Legum, whose style of reporting has had real impact but might have run into real institutional barriers at many traditional publications https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Jesse Lehrich / @jesselehrich: great story on @JuddLegum's tour de force to get corporations to stop funding Trump's anti-democratic enablers in Congress: https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@slpng_giants: Would argue that no one in this time has had such a dramatic effect on the environment of corporate and institutional dollars flowing to media and politics than @JuddLegum. He's an absolute beast and you should subscribe to https://popular.info/ to support his important work. https://twitter.com/...
Josh Sternberg / The Media Nut: Research finds world's biggest brands have no idea where their ads run
Pup Vidhra / @shitthepupsays: “Legum said he looks for angles to stories that he thinks media outlets are unlikely to pursue. Last week, he and his research assistant spent four days finding the corporate donors for senators who objected to the election results, then contacted all 144 companies for comment” https://twitter.com/...
Dr. Reza Aslan / @rezaaslan: I'm one! https://twitter.com/...
Kerry Flynn / CNN:
Medium is acquiring Glose, a digital platform for buying, reading, and discussing books; Glose's 20 employees, most of whom are based in Paris, will join Medium — New York (CNN Business)Substack has become synonymous with writers looking to go independent.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, 3 min read, @thebolditalic, @sandeeroston, @calexity, @mason, @caseynewton, @yambhands, @alex, @jadagomez, @keccers, @martinsfp, @henrikberggren, @alexislloyd and @whatthebit, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Romain Dillet / TechCrunch: Medium acquires social book reading app Glose
Sandee Roston / 3 min read: Medium acquires social ebook platform Glose
@thebolditalic: Proud to be owned by @Medium and excited to see this news. If you don't subscribe yet, it's only $5/month, y'all. You get your fav local pub (US!) + thousands of other pubs and content from writers around the world. https://twitter.com/...
Sandee Roston / @sandeeroston: With the integration of Glose, @Medium will have 1.5M books in its ecosystem https://twitter.com/...
Lex Roman / @calexity: .@Medium once asked me to put one of my blog posts in their publication. They pay me 8 cents for it every couple months no joke https://www.cnn.com/...
Bryan Mason / @mason: So excited to share the news of this big project I've been working on at Medium! A great collaboration! https://twitter.com/...
Casey Newton / @caseynewton: My main takeaway from this is that Substack is already distributing more money to writers after three years than Medium is after 9. https://www.cnn.com/...
Yamini Bhandari / @yambhands: So excited to finally announce a project we've been working on. @Medium has acquired @Glose and is expanding into books 📚 🎉 https://www.cnn.com/...
@alex: re: the CNN piece on Medium, has any indie writer had M and Substack kinda bid for their custom? https://www.cnn.com/...
Jada Gomez / @jadagomez: .@Medium is expanding into books. Translation, I'm super elated at work today! https://www.cnn.com/...
Katherine Champagne / @keccers: 👀 could this light a fire under goodreads or does Amazon truly not give an f about that platform https://twitter.com/...
Martin Sfp Bryant / @martinsfp: Medium the Goodreads rival is a twist I didn't see coming. https://twitter.com/...
Henrik / @henrikberggren: I met with @ev to discuss @Readmill and how books/annotations could work with @medium back in 2013. Excited that they finally made an acquisition in the space! Congrats to team Glose! https://twitter.com/...
Alexis Lloyd / @alexislloyd: Exciting day at work today! “If I'm reading a book and some particular passage speaks to me, I can very seamlessly take that to my blog, maybe write about it, maybe have a discussion about it.” https://www.cnn.com/...
David Cohen / Adweek:
TikTok debuts TikTok for Black Creatives, a three-month incubator program for investing in and supporting 100 Black creators and musical artists — The video creation platform teamed up with multiplatform media company Macro
Discussion:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
App Annie: app usage in the US surpassed time spent watching live TV in 2020 and consumers spent 40% more hours YoY streaming on mobile devices — Mobile adoption continued to grow in 2020, in part due to the market forces of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to App Annie's annual …
Discussion:
Efstathios Intzeidis / @stathis65: “Livestreaming shopping grew, too, led by China. Downloads of live shopping TaoBao Live in China, Grip in South Korea and NTWRK in the U.S. grew 100%, 245% and 85%, respectively.” https://techcrunch.com/...
Bloomberg:
Netflix diversity report: women make up 47.1% of its global workforce; 8% of US staff are Black, more than 2x the share in 2017; 8.1% of employees are Hispanic — Netflix Inc. has made gains in adding women and minorities to its workforce over the past three years, vaulting it past Silicon Valley peers …
Discussion:
Emily Chang / @emilychangtv: Netflix has vaulted over tech on diversity — women make up almost half of workforce AND leaders. How? -17 ppl focused solely on inclusion -hire ppl who don't like you -create pipeline, don't blame it -no “fancy parties” Chat w/ Netflix's @VernaMyers https://www.bloomberg.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@business: Netflix has added more women and minorities to its staffing ranks in a companywide diversity push. Female employees now make up almost half its workforce, up from 40% in 2017 https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Paul J. Boyle / News Media Alliance:
News Media Alliance and National Newspaper Association join a legal challenge to an order that would eliminate the cap on postal rate increases for periodicals — Postal Regulatory Commission Order Could Lead to Postage Increases of 45 Percent Over Five Years, Representing Existential Threat to Newspapers
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
Ampere: Netflix is Europe's second largest TV group with 6.1% market share by revenue, second only to Comcast, which owns Sky, and has 12% market share — Comcast, which owns pay TV operator Sky's European operations, remains the leader with a 12% market share by revenue.
Discussion:
TVEUROPE, Digital TV Europe, Broadband TV News, Media Play News and Advanced Television
Discussion:
Kristin Brzoznowski / TVEUROPE: Netflix Becomes Europe's Second-Largest TV Group
Jonathan Easton / Digital TV Europe: Netflix overtakes ARD to become the second largest TV group in Europe
Chris Dziadul / Broadband TV News: New European milestone for Netflix
Erik Gruenwedel / Media Play News: Netflix No. 2 TV Group in Europe in Revenue
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