Top News:
Josh Taylor / The Guardian:
In an Australian Senate hearing, a Google executive said that a law forcing Google to pay news outlets for links could prompt it to stop offering Search — As Google and Facebook face Senate committee, poll finds three in five Australians agree social media companies should prioritise news in feeds
Discussion:
CNN, New York Times, Business Insider, Sydney Morning Herald, New York Post, Forbes, @jrschlosberg, CNBC, The Verge, @lukebuckmaster, @katecrawford, BBC, @naamanzhou, @ajamesbragg, @ajamesbragg, @abcnews, @joshgnosis, @ajamesbragg, @joshgnosis, @joshgnosis, @nxjhxssxn, @ajamesbragg, @peterklages, @profpcdoherty, @ajamesbragg, @nicholasvinocur, @joshgnosis, @ajamesbragg, @benedictevans, @joshgnosis, @ajamesbragg, @ajamesbragg, @joshbbornstein, What's New in Publishing, Engadget, InnovationAus, @verumbellator1, Bloomberg, Crikey, Reuters, Daily Mail, The Australian and AdNews, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Michelle Toh / CNN: Google threatens to shut down search in Australia
Martin Coulter / Business Insider: Google might shut down its search engine in Australia but the government isn't backing down: 'We don't respond to threats.'
Lisa Visentin / Sydney Morning Herald: Google threatens to disable search in Australia if media code becomes law
Robert Hart / Forbes: Google Threatens To Shut Down Search Engine In Australia If Forced To Pay Publishers For News
Justin Schlosberg / @jrschlosberg: The real battle here is between media moguls and tech monopolies. As so often in media policy, the need to support genuinely independent journalism in the public interest is erased from the equation. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Sean Hollister / The Verge: Google threatens to remove its search engine from Australia if new law goes into effect
Luke Buckmaster / @lukebuckmaster: “Google has threatened to remove its search engine from Australia if a code forcing the company to negotiate payments to news media companies goes ahead.” Who predicts a backdown from @ScottMorrisonMP? https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Kate Crawford / @katecrawford: GOOGLE: if you pass a law that makes us pay media companies for journalism, we'll shut down search in Australia. PRIME MINISTER: “But we don't respond to threats” GOOGLE: “It's not a threat. It's a reality.” Last two are *checks notes* actual quotes. https://www.smh.com.au/...
Naaman Zhou / @naamanzhou: Funny that the biggest and most credible threat of China-style censorship in Australia is coming from a US private company https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Senator Andrew Bragg / @ajamesbragg: Now Google threatens to leave Australia by effectively blackmailing consumers and policy makers if they cannot use Showcase - which we have never seen. The dynamics in Australia are similar to other markets.
Senator Andrew Bragg / @ajamesbragg: The difference between media outfits and a coffee shop on Google is that the barista gets paid for their coffee whereas the media content is repurposed onto Google which collects advertising revenue instead of the media outfit.
@abcnews: Google Search to disappear from Australia if new government rules go ahead, company warns https://www.abc.net.au/...
Josh Taylor / @joshgnosis: Facebook: “We have not threatened, we have explained” they'll pull out news from the news feed if the code passes.
Senator Andrew Bragg / @ajamesbragg: The @AuSenate inquiry into the Big Tech / media bargaining code has already revealed that Big Tech organisations are in a monopoly position, pay a low rate of tax in Australia and face a very low level of regulation.
Josh Taylor / @joshgnosis: Guardian Australia MD @danstinton: “Opponents of the code are defending an open Internet that cease to exist years ago, and instead has become dominated by a small number of very, very large US tech companies. Google and Facebook are the internet for most Australians....”
Josh Taylor / @joshgnosis: Facebook confirms removing news means users themselves - not just news outlets - would not be able to share links to news articles.
Naj / @nxjhxssxn: Interesting approach by Australia to rebalance the perpetual growth in power of Google and Facebook. Regardless of it becoming law or not, they have certainly planted the seed of an interesting model. https://twitter.com/...
Senator Andrew Bragg / @ajamesbragg: The bottom line is that while Google's threats to consumers and policy makers sounds bad, their solution “Showcase” remains a column of smoke. This is the credibility gap. I have asked Google to provide details of Showcase on notice to the @auSenate.
Peter Klages / @peterklages: I tend to take a fairly simple view of these things nowadays. After they delivered us Brexit, Trump, Abbott and Morrison (among other atrocities), if Rupert & Lachlan Murdoch are in favour of something, then I'm against it. Go Google. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Prof. Peter Doherty / @profpcdoherty: That would be a massive problem, and be a massive negative on many, including economic, fronts. We would be shooting ourselves in the foot. Google threatens to shut down search in Australia if digital news code goes ahead https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Senator Andrew Bragg / @ajamesbragg: Google don't want to pay for “links and snippets” which is not mentioned in the legislation but seems to be central to the business model where media outfits have seen their advertising revenue move to Big Tech. This would appear to gut the code.
Nicholas Vinocur / @nicholasvinocur: Google threatens to yank search from Australia over news fees. Not the first time we see warnings of radical action over licensing and copyright, but this struggle seems particularly fierce: https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Josh Taylor / @joshgnosis: You can argue FB doesn't directly sell ads against types of content like new articles etc, but content is designed to keep people engaged on the platform longer to keep them on the website and seeing the ads they do put up.
Senator Andrew Bragg / @ajamesbragg: The whole basis of this reform is to ensure public interest journalism has a viable future in Australia. This is in response to the collection of advertising revenue by tech companies rather than media companies, thereby threatening the future of public interest journalism.
Benedict Evans / @benedictevans: Australia to Google and Facebook: “break how the entire Internet works or get out!” Google and Facebook: well then we'd have to get out. Australia: “stop threatening us!” https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Josh Taylor / @joshgnosis: Facebook said it doesn't monetise news content, and then was asked if it monetised fake news. “Fake news does not add any commercial benefits to Facebook.” Hmmmm
Senator Andrew Bragg / @ajamesbragg: Google says it wants to use “Google Showcase” to pay for journalism. This would obviate the need for the code as the legislation sets out but “Showcase” isn't available in Australia, which makes it a column of smoke. This doesn't appear to be a serious attempt to engage.
Senator Andrew Bragg / @ajamesbragg: Facebook, which is the home of fake news, told the committee that credible news from the ABC, Australian or Guardian had no commercial value!
Josh Bornstein / @joshbbornstein: They will use the same threats to avoid paying tax in Australia https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Monojoy Bhattacharjee / What's New in Publishing: Google agrees to pay French publishers for news, but threatens to exit Australia if media code becomes law
Mariella Moon / Engadget: Google says it will disable Search in Australia if it's forced to pay for news
James Riley / InnovationAus: Google will pull out of Aus if code is passed
Verum Bellator / @verumbellator1: Google and Facebook are BOTH going to stop users from sharing news in Australia. You read that correctly. https://twitter.com/...
Angus Whitley / Bloomberg: Google Threatens to Remove Search as Australian Row Deepens
Kishor Napier-Raman / Crikey: Senators outraged as Google threatens to leave Australia. We did mention that last week...
Renju Jose / Reuters: Google says it will remove search function in Australia if media code becomes law
Charlie Moore / Daily Mail: Big tech is accused of ‘blackmail’ after Google threatens to remove search function and Facebook warns it will pull news from Australia if law forcing …
Mariam Cheik-Hussein / AdNews: Google threatens to turn off Search in Australia if media code passed
RELATED:
Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
Google signs an agreement with French media creating a framework for payment for publisher content and has reached agreements with three major newspapers
Google signs an agreement with French media creating a framework for payment for publisher content and has reached agreements with three major newspapers
Discussion:
Mathew Ingram / Columbia Journalism Review: Facebook asks its new oversight board to rule on banning Trump
Mathieu Rosemain / Reuters: Google and French publishers sign agreement over copyrights
Peter Lewis / The Guardian: Google's threat to withdraw its search engine from Australia is chilling to anyone who cares about democracy
Rasmus Kleis Nielsen / @rasmus_kleis: A deal! But what deal? We don't know. “Google and APIG did not say how much money would be distributed to APIG's members, who include most French national and local publishers. Details on how the remuneration would be calculated were not disclosed.” https://www.reuters.com/...
Mordy Oberstein / @mordyoberstein: I'm so confused. Google, in France, will pay for news content: https://techcrunch.com/... But in Australia, no. https://www.reuters.com/... @geochingu?!
Mark Little / @marklittlenews: The financial deal is a real precedent (although devil is in the detail). Important also the principle of prominence. Platforms (From Google to Netflix) assigning importance in a particular market to public media and publishers from that market. https://www.reuters.com/...
Vijay Shekhar Sharma / @vijayshekhar: One day, Google will treat Indian publishers equal to these French publisher and pay for content it uses to generate traffic. One day, just because we are Indian, we will not be treated unfairly by big tech companies. https://techcrunch.com/...
Soumyarendra Barik / MediaNama: Google strikes deal to pay French news publishers for preview snippets
Parker / @pt: Make tech giants stop linking to publishers with this one trick. https://twitter.com/...
@googlenews: Since we announced Google News Showcase last year, we've signed agreements with nearly 450 publications across a dozen countries. Today, we're announcing a new global deal with @Reuters. 1/ https://blog.google/...
@googlenews: News Showcase publications that are live in Brazil and Germany have already created tens of thousands of panels which have been seen by millions of users across Google News and Discover on Android and iOS. 3/ https://blog.google/... https://twitter.com/...
Glenn Gabe / @glenngabe: Google has reached an agreement w/an association of French publishers over how it will be pay for reuse of content snippets “It added that payments will go direct to publishers and terms will not be disclosed — noting they are strictly confidential.” https://techcrunch.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: Worth noting that Google thinks it can still use short snippets in search for free, but it looks like French publishers disagree, so this fight is probably not over. This is a good piece by @riptari https://twitter.com/...
Zach Carter / @zachdcarter: one way to regulate the tech giants is to make them pay publishers https://twitter.com/...
Jason Kint / @jason_kint: this statement from Google sends up major alarm bells. Note how they're effectively bundling payments for newly established neighboring rights into their “News Showcase” payoffs and then throwing out the $1B number from G news fund to shock and awe press. https://techcrunch.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Shoshana Wodinsky / Gizmodo: Google's Finally Giving the Little Guys a Cut
Rasmus Kleis Nielsen / @rasmus_kleis: Reuters latest publisher to sign deal for News Showcase. Google says nearly 450 publications across a dozen countries have signed up. (For comparison, last number of sources aggregated in Google News I've seen is 80,000. Search no doubt indexes many more) https://blog.google/...
Helene Fouquet / Bloomberg: Google Signs Deal With French Media to Pay for Content
April Glaser / NBC News:
Profile of Jessica Rosenworcel, the second woman to lead the FCC as acting chair and a big proponent of net neutrality and expanding broadband access — President Joe Biden has picked Jessica Rosenworcel to run the Federal Communications Commission in an interim position.
Discussion:
@aprilaser, Radio & Television …, Variety, @senatorlujan, @resistbot, @billinportland, @mckra1g, @willoremus, @marissarmoss, @aaaj_aajc, @ezranbc, @aprilaser, @aprilaser, @librarypolicy, @aprilaser, @wadhwa, @nbcnewstech, PC Gamer, Business Insider, CNET, Vox, nexttv.com, TechCrunch, Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, The Verge and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
April Glaser / @aprilaser: BREAKING: President Biden has selected @JRosenworcel to lead the FCC as acting chair. I dug into her history at the agency and what to expect for the future of hugely important issues like net neutrality and broadband access https://www.nbcnews.com/...
Adam Jacobson / Radio & Television Business Report: To Little Surprise, Rosenworcel Is Now Acting FCC Chair
Kevin Tran / Variety: Jessica Rosenworcel Named Acting FCC Chair
Ben Ray Lujn / @senatorlujan: Over the years, I've been proud to work with @JRosenworcel to tackle the homework gap and bridge the digital divide in New Mexico and across the nation. As Acting Chair of the @FCC, I know that she'll hit the ground running to better connect all Americans. https://www.nbcnews.com/...
@resistbot: “'Let's roar. Let's make a ruckus. Let's stop this plan in its tracks,' she tweeted in 2017, when Pai released his plan to rescind the net neutrality rules.” https://www.nbcnews.com/...
Bill Harnsberger / @billinportland: For those of you wondering if net neutrality is coming back...it seems likely. —> Biden picks Jessica Rosenworcel as acting FCC chief https://www.nbcnews.com/... via @nbcnews
Molly Cantrell-Kraig / @mckra1g: Great stuff in here abt #telehealth , broadband access & the transition to/of a digital landscape. #AcademicTwitter #MedTwitter #FCC https://twitter.com/...
Will Oremus / @willoremus: Biden's just-announced pick to lead the FCC is a big proponent of net neutrality, and of expanding broadband access, especially for families of kids who need the internet for school. She's also a podcaster. Good profile by @aprilaser. https://twitter.com/...
Marissa R. Moss / @marissarmoss: don't let the door hit you on the way out Ajit Pai but if it does, then I feel bad for that poor door https://twitter.com/...
@aaaj_aajc: We hope to work with acting FCC chief Jessica Rosenworcel to continue prioritizing broadband access for AAPI communities. https://www.nbcnews.com/...
Ezra Kaplan / @ezranbc: A great primer on the new head of the FCC. Lots of questions about what this administration will prioritize, but the FCC will surely be at the center of some of the biggest tech decisions. Excellent work by @aprilaser https://www.nbcnews.com/...
April Glaser / @aprilaser: In the FCC's 96-year history, Jessica Rosenworcel is only the second woman chosen to run the agency as acting chair. She's also the first mother picked to run the FCC—a role that has had an impact on her policy priorities. Here's my profile of her: https://www.nbcnews.com/...
April Glaser / @aprilaser: ISPs have been careful to not overtly use the power granted under Trump's FCC to throttle internet traffic after public outcry for undoing net neutrality. In the 9 yrs Rosenworcel has been a commissioner at the FCC, she's been steadfast on the need for strong net neutrality rules https://twitter.com/...
@librarypolicy: Congratulations @JRosenworcel on your appointment as Acting @FCC Chairwoman! We're excited to continue working together to secure fast and fair internet for communities across the country, with libraries leading the way. https://www.nbcnews.com/...
April Glaser / @aprilaser: Commissioner Rosenworcel has been a massive champion of restoring net neutrality rules and also coined the term “The Homework Gap” back in 2014 to describe the gap between students who need the internet to do their homework but don't have access at home https://www.nbcnews.com/...
Vivek Wadhwa / @wadhwa: Wow, @JRosenworcel, congratulations! Our new president is making some great choices for people to lead government and rebuild competitiveness. https://twitter.com/...
@nbcnewstech: NEW: President Joe Biden has picked Jessica Rosenworcel to run the Federal Communications Commission in an interim position, making her only the second woman to lead the agency as acting chair. More about Rosenworcel from @aprilaser. ⬇️ https://www.nbcnews.com/...
Tyler Sonnemaker / Business Insider: Biden appoints FTC and FCC acting directors in move that signals a more aggressive approach to regulating big tech
Marguerite Reardon / CNET: President Biden names Jessica Rosenworcel as interim FCC chair
Sara Morrison / Vox: Biden picks his new acting FCC chair
John Eggerton / nexttv.com: D.C. Applauds Rosenworcel Pick as Acting FCC Chairwoman
Devin Coldewey / TechCrunch: The FCC has a new acting chairwoman in Jessica Rosenworcel
Tim Baysinger / The Wrap: Biden Picks Jessica Rosenworcel as Acting FCC Chairman
Makena Kelly / The Verge: Biden appoints Jessica Rosenworcel as acting FCC chair
Karissa Bell / Engadget: President Biden names Jessica Rosenworcel acting FCC chair
RELATED:
Margaret Harding McGill / Axios:
Biden designates Jessica Rosenworcel, currently a Democratic commissioner at the FCC, as acting chairwoman of the agency
Biden designates Jessica Rosenworcel, currently a Democratic commissioner at the FCC, as acting chairwoman of the agency
Discussion:
Gordon Chaffin / @gordonachaffin: This is a fantastic choice. I spend some of the 2010s in telecom land and she's been fighting for more equitable, faster broadband access since she was appointed to the Commission. She knows 5G wireless won't fix everything. She knows it's about fiber, rural, muni, etc. https://twitter.com/...
USAGM:
VOA Director Robert Reilly and Deputy Director Elizabeth Robbins are out; recently demoted exec Yolanda Lopez has been named acting VOA director — United States Agency for Global Media CEO Michael Pack resigned yesterday after being informed by the Biden Administration that he would be removed.
Discussion:
@davidfolkenflik, @jaketapper, @davidfolkenflik, @johnwhuey, @joshuahol, @farhip, @farhip, @markszaidesq, @defensebaron, @ariehkovler, Voice of America, @davidfolkenflik, NPR and The Hill
Discussion:
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: Biden Team drops hammer at US Agency for Global Media & Voice of America VOA Director Robert Reilly & deputy Elizabeth Robbins out New VOA chief: senior news exec Yolanda Lopez, recently demoted after one of her WH reporters asked Secy Pompeo abt Trump https://www.usagm.gov/...
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: Even since USAGM CEO Pack resigned, even in past 2 hours, his loyalists were trying to force out the execs & senior VOA staff he targeted. “The continuing, vindictive pettiness of these people still is amazing,” David Seide, atty for Government Accountability Project, tells NPR https://twitter.com/...
John Huey / @johnwhuey: Nice. When the other guy throws at your head your next turn on the mound is an easy call. Major League. https://twitter.com/...
Joshua Holland / @joshuahol: Good, this is the kind purge we voted for. https://twitter.com/...
Paul Farhi / @farhip: Notable here: @voanews' new acting director, @ylopezgamez, was demoted by the former director two weeks ago following a flap over a speech by Mike Pompeo. She was appointed by Chao, who was a whistleblower against her predecessor, Michael Pack. Tables turned.
Paul Farhi / @farhip: New: Director and deputy director of @VOANews pushed out by new Biden-appointed overseer @keluchao. VOA directors had been appointed by Trump administrator Michael Pack last month. Pack was forced out yesterday. https://www.usagm.gov/...
Mark S. Zaid / @markszaidesq: Absolute relief to see Reilly & Robbins leave @VOANews. They were vindictively trying to enforce personnel punishments & battling their parent agency @USAGMgov over it literally until the minute they left. I have never seen anything like it in my 29 years in DC. https://twitter.com/...
Arieh Kovler / @ariehkovler: Great work, fast work and necessary work. And congratulations especially to Yolanda Lopez. Sometimes doing the right thing pays off. https://twitter.com/...
Jessica Jerreat / Voice of America: New Acting USAGM Chief Begins Undoing Predecessor's Policies
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: Conservative Trump ally & journalist Jeffrey Shapiro departs post leading Radio/TV Marti as head of Office of Cuba Broadcasting
David Folkenflik / NPR: Trump Ally At Voice of America Replaced By News Executive He Recently Demoted
Jordan Williams / The Hill: Biden ousts controversial head of US Agency for Global Media
RELATED:
Jessica Jerreat / Voice of America:
Kelu Chao named acting CEO of USAGM; Chao has worked for VOA for 20 years+ and testified last year in a lawsuit over editorial interference by Pack
Kelu Chao named acting CEO of USAGM; Chao has worked for VOA for 20 years+ and testified last year in a lawsuit over editorial interference by Pack
Discussion:
Pin Young / @pinyoungactress: Congrats to my aunt, who's been named the acting leader of the U.S. Agency for Global Media!! 👏👏👏 https://www.whitehouse.gov/...
Irvin McCullough / @mcculloughirvin: Really incredible how the Biden administration is elevating whistleblowers across the government. From Dr. @RickABright on the COVID-19 Advisory Board to Kelu Chao at the US Agency for Global Media, whistleblowers are being recognized and trusted for their courage and compassion. https://twitter.com/...
Ethelred / @aethelred: There is a beautiful symmetry to replacing a Trump crony with a whistleblower who reported on his illegal acts. It's also great to see a whistleblower elevated instead of forced out of service. https://twitter.com/...
David McGuffin / @mcguffindavid: Hat-tip to @davidfolkenflik for his consistently excellent and persistent work reporting out this story, one that is at the heart of press freedoms in America. https://twitter.com/...
Matt Armstrong / @mountainrunner: Kelu is a terrific choice. She is experienced, highly respected, and committed to the mission of VOA and USAGM. I'm thrilled for her and for USAGM. https://twitter.com/...
Jeff Kabacinski / @swampudlian: This is extremely rare: a whistleblower story with a happy ending for the whistleblower. https://twitter.com/...
@jessicajerreat: At @POTUS request USAGM CEO Pack resigns. Kelu Chao, a veteran @VOANews broadcast journalist, steps in as acting director. She will inherit lawsuits and an IG investigation into alleged mismanagement and interference under Pack's short, tumultuous watch https://www.voanews.com/...
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: UPDATE: President Biden names senior VOA news executive Keli Chao as acting CEO over its parent agency, the US Agency for Global Media. Chao had been named whistleblower in lawsuit that successfully alleged illegal acts by Michael Pack, whom she replaces https://www.whitehouse.gov/...
Abby Schneekloth / Government Accountability Project: NBC News: Controversial Trump appointee overseeing VOA resigns at Biden's request
Reid Nakamura / The Wrap: Voice of America Boss Michael Pack Fired by Joe Biden
Dan De Luce / NBC News:
Michael Pack, the head of USAGM who oversaw VOA and the Open Technology Fund, has resigned at the request of the Biden administration
Michael Pack, the head of USAGM who oversaw VOA and the Open Technology Fund, has resigned at the request of the Biden administration
Discussion:
@davidfolkenflik, @senatormenendez, @senatormenendez, @ericgordy, Washington Post, @anneapplebaum, What The Fuck …, @raju, @alexwardvox, Forbes, Government Accountability …, @farhip, @muhammadlila, @waltshaub, @govacctproj, @wiczipedia, @zaccunningham, @npr, @kaedotcom, @kaedotcom, @albertomiguelf5, @davidfolkenflik, @b52malmet, @camjourno, @markos, @tonyfratto, @newsprof1, @etbrooking, @dfriedman33, @jonathanwpeters, @fridaghitis, @grahamdavida, @junaidmuhammadd, @kimmasters, @w7voa, @davidfolkenflik, @jackshafer, @vivian, @dburbach, @grahambrookie, Vox, @markszaidesq, @marcrod97, NPR and Associated Press
Discussion:
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: US Agency for Global Media Michael Pack resigns, effective 2pm, after waging war on his executives and the international news networks they oversee. A Trumpian legacy of ideological clashes, lawsuits and scandal. More to come.
Senator Bob Menendez / @senatormenendez: 1/ 👋🏽 Pack's short tenure will be remembered as a dire warning of the perils of politicized stewardship over broadcasting, media, and facts themselves. The work to rebuild brick by brick what you so brazenly tried to destroy at @USAGMgov begins.
Senator Bob Menendez / @senatormenendez: 2/ We must ensure people around the world will again view USAGM's products as reliable and trustworthy news sources.https://www.npr.org/ ...
Eric Gordy / @ericgordy: This is good news. VOA should be an outlet providing reliable journalism of high quality. Nobody benefits from a propaganda outlet. https://twitter.com/...
Paul Farhi / Washington Post: At Voice of America, a sweeping ouster of Trump officials on Biden's first full day
Anne Applebaum / @anneapplebaum: A man who did a really extraordinary amount of damage in a short period of time. https://twitter.com/...
Matt Kiser / What The Fuck Just Happened Today?: Day 2: “The gravest damage.” — 1/ Biden marked the start of his presidency by signing …
Raju Narisetti / @raju: The @VOANews nightmare is over https://twitter.com/...
Alex Ward / @alexwardvox: Biden already made a big foreign policy move: Ousting USAGM's Michael Pack https://www.vox.com/...
Alison Durkee / Forbes: Biden To Keep Trump's FBI Director Chris Wray
Abby Schneekloth / Government Accountability Project: Voice of America: USAGM Head Resigns Following Biden Request
Paul Farhi / @farhip: An update to this: Biden has named @keluchao, a veteran @VOANews journalist, as Pack's interim replacement. Senate must confirm a permanent replacement. Chao: https://www.google.com/...
Muhammad Lila / @muhammadlila: This is a big signal for how the Biden administration intends to conduct itself. Pack oversaw the exodus of some of the agency's top journalists, who refused to bow to the Trump administration's demands. Welcome news for journalists everywhere. https://twitter.com/...
Walter Shaub / @waltshaub: Good riddance to a Bannon associate who tried to create a nationalist propaganda network. https://twitter.com/...
@govacctproj: We've represented brave whistleblowers from the U.S. Agency for Global Media that have called out wrongdoing at the organization. CEO Michael Pack's resignation represents a major victory for these truth-tellers. https://www.vox.com/...
Nina Jankowicz / @wiczipedia: “He leaves the U.S. Agency for Global Media with a Trumpian legacy of ideological strife, lawsuits, and scandal, his departure effective just two hours after the swearing-in of President Biden, who requested him to leave.” https://www.npr.org/...
Zac Cunningham / @zaccunningham: “According to three people with knowledge, the new Biden team appears poised to bring suspended executives back into the agency fold, replace the network chiefs appointed by Pack last month, and to appoint new boards.” https://www.npr.org/...
@npr: NEW: Michael Pack, the Trump-appointed CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, has resigned at President Biden's request. “Pack seemed only to know how to destroy,” the agency's former general counsel said of his record. “It was wanton destruction.” https://www.npr.org/...
Kim Andrew Elliott / @kaedotcom: “Mr. Pack was asked by the incoming administration of President Biden to step down, despite having a three-year contract beginning in June 2020 as the first Senate-confirmed chief of the media agency.” https://www.washingtontimes.com/ ...
Kim Andrew Elliott / @kaedotcom: “he attacked the request for his resignation as ‘a partisan act,’ saying the leadership of the agency and its networks ‘is meant to be non-partisan, untethered to alternations in the political regime.’” #USAGM https://www.npr.org/...
Alberto Miguel Fernandez / @albertomiguelf5: Hey, that Biden guy ain't all bad! 😂 https://twitter.com/...
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: Trump's CEO over Voice of America et al - his seven month tenure defined by crisis and scandal - resigns at Biden's request. My post for NPR https://www.npr.org/...
Barbara Malmet / @b52malmet: I'm old enough to remember when the regime of cruelty and corruption took over Voice of America. https://twitter.com/...
Camilla Schick / @camjourno: Trump USAGM CEO out: Michael Pack writes “The new admin requested my resignation”,"I continue to admire & praise USAGM's journalists" in internal emails given to CBS. He branded @VOANews' foreign journos ‘spies’, refused to renew their visas leaving them vulnerable to deportation https://twitter.com/...
Markos Moulitsas / @markos: Petulant to the end. https://twitter.com/...
Tony Fratto / @tonyfratto: Fantastic news. And big thanks to @davidfolkenflik for his dogged coverage of the attempted destruction of this important institution... https://twitter.com/...
Dr. Kate Wright / @newsprof1: Hey students on ‘Media and Politics’ @EdinburghPIR. The first big head has rolled following #Inauguration2021 To understand what this means, watch my lecture on soft power and propaganda, esp the section on @VOANews https://twitter.com/...
Emerson T. Brooking / @etbrooking: Pack never summoned a fraction of this self-righteous indignation for the USAGM reporters he endangered nor the norms he stupidly sought to destroy. https://twitter.com/...
Dan Friedman / @dfriedman33: Confused about whether Pack and retains his position as s chairman of the boards of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia and how much that matters if so. https://www.npr.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Jonathan Peters / @jonathanwpeters: And not a moment too soon. Michael Pack dishonored in countless ways the missions of the media organizations he was putatively leading. A necessary step to safeguard such outlets as VOA and RFE/RL. https://twitter.com/...
Frida Ghitis / @fridaghitis: First firing of the Biden administration. Welcome back Voice of America! @VOANews https://twitter.com/...
David A. Graham / @grahamdavida: PACK MAKES TRACKS, HACKS RELAX https://twitter.com/...
Muhammad Junaid / @junaidmuhammadd: What a great news. Racist Michael Pack gone! https://twitter.com/...
Kim Masters / @kimmasters: Another monster gone. Kudos to @davidfolkenflik for great work on this story. https://twitter.com/...
Steve Herman / @w7voa: The @USAGMgov CEO is leaving this afternoon at the request of @POTUS. https://twitter.com/...
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: @jackshafer Firings, investigations, accusing them of laxity agst never specified spies, attacking his own people as deep staters, forcing foreign employees to return to home lands run by hostile regimes... rhetorical warfare but you know
Jack Shafer / @jackshafer: @davidfolkenflik War?
Vivian Schiller / @vivian: Fired by the President in his first hour on the job.
David Burbach / @dburbach: Pack was an unethical partisan hack who was abusing his employees and destroying his agency, under both IG investigation for that plus *criminal* investigation by DC for pre-govt fraud. Glad Biden wasted no time in ousting. https://twitter.com/...
Graham Brookie / @grahambrookie: Pack's words never matched his actions, but this is beyond. I hope he finds facts and a little less relevance in private life. Every one of his moves at USAGM were nakedly partisan, & he actively sought to remove protections & journalistic independence from our public media. https://twitter.com/...
Mark S. Zaid / @markszaidesq: In order to combat our representation of USAGM senior managers, agency spent $2 mil in hiring outside legal counsel! Where it found these unappropriated funds is darn good question, and possibly creates legal liability for Trump officials. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Marc Rod / @marcrod97: Michael Pack has resigned as the head of USAGM at the request of the Biden administration
David Folkenflik / NPR: Defined By Scandal At Voice of America, CEO Resigns At Biden's Request
Scott Alexander / Astral Codex Ten:
The pseudonymous writer behind ‘Slate Star Codex’ blog, who deleted it over concerns NYT was going to name him, has relaunched on Substack and revealed his name — I. … No, seriously, it was awful. I deleted my blog of 1,557 posts. I wanted to protect my privacy …
Discussion:
@jeffspross, @tomgara, @omgjjd, @dangillmor, @tolles, @jeremy_gans, @ellenhuet, @benyt, @kirkegaardemil, @cjgbest, @kph3k, @jeffspross, @jeremy_gans, @prigoose, @kevinakwok, @sarthakgh, @ellenhuet, @jeremy_gans and @trevmckendrick
Discussion:
Jeff Spross / @jeffspross: I'm glad Slatestarcodex is back, but for the love of God, can he not write more concisely? https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ...
Tom Gara / @tomgara: A pretty fun welcome back post from Slate Star Codex https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Justin Donaldson / @omgjjd: “Sometimes you have to be a crazy bastard so people won't walk all over you” - One of the best articles of the year so far. https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ...
Dan Gillmor / @dangillmor: Every journalist should read this Slate Star essay — and reflect on the casual indifference the journalism craft often displays in ho it affects the lives of those who are covered. https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ...
Chris Tolles / @tolles: The best argument about why journalism ethics should preclude doxxing I've read in quite some time Still Alive - Astral Codex Ten https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ...
Jeremy Gans / @jeremy_gans: [Stops. Scrolls to the end of the post. Recalls why I never had time to read most of the SSC posts.]
Ellen Huet / @ellenhuet: if, like me, you're wondering how long someone waits to see if a NYT story about them might eventually run before being pretty sure it won't, this is one data point in favor of six months
Ben Smith / @benyt: Slate Star Codex, who deleted a popular blog because he didn't want to be named by the Times, is back many many reflections and a Substack https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ...
Emil O W Kirkegaard / @kirkegaardemil: So Big Scott makes his return. Now with a new weirder title, Astral Codex Ten. I guess another almost anagram. https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ...
Chris Best / @cjgbest: Delighted to finally subscribe. Welcome to Substack, @slatestarcodex https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ...
Dr. Paige Harden / @kph3k: The thing (other than Bernie memes) that made me laugh out loud (& then ruefully reflect on my life choices) today: https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Jeff Spross / @jeffspross: Every time I read one of his posts, it's this race between the declining returns of “huh, okay, this is pretty interesting” and the dawning realization of [scrolls down to the bottom of the post, which takes several seconds to do] “OMG how much longer does this go on for?!”
Jeremy Gans / @jeremy_gans: “I wanted to protect my anonymity, but I Streisand-Effected myself, and a bunch of trolls went around posting my real name everywhere they could find. I wanted to avoid losing my day job, but ended up quitting so they wouldn't be affected by the fallout.”: https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ...
Priya / @prigoose: “For the first ten or twenty years of its history, the Internet had a robust norm against doxxing. You could troll people, you could Goatse or Rickroll them, but doxxing was beyond the pale.” - Astral Codex Ten (Slate Star Codex) https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ...
Kevin Kwok / @kevinakwok: From Slate Star's substack announcement Featuring @balajis haha https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Sar Haribhakti / @sarthakgh: such a damn good writer this is gold https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ...
Ellen Huet / @ellenhuet: Slate Star Codex is back, on Substack (I'm kind of surprised he didn't set up his own system himself) the welcome post, in which the author ruminates on the nature of modern public figures and also names himself https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ...
The NewsGuild of New York:
New Yorker Union announces 24-hour strike over management's response to pay negotiations; the union asked for $65K/year starting salaries and annual increases — Today, the New Yorker Union is undertaking a twenty-four-hour work stoppage. Between 6 A.M. on Thursday, January 21st …
Discussion:
@newyorkerunion, New York Times, WWD, @drejones, @hollyotterbein, @amandapetrusich, @asteadwesley, @mckinneykelsey, @hctrudo, newslaundry.com, @thrasherxy, @chick_in_kiev, @lam_barrett, @kierafeldman, @alyssabereznak, @kathrynschulz, @susanarendt, @tanvim, @tanvim, @lbyock, @jennyvrentas, @schwartzesque, @kstromquist, @jason_koebler, @ellievhall, @mcwm, @alexjamesfitz, @sara_bee, @timmarchman, @jessicaschulb, @cassandrajar, @satchelprice, @alicesperi, @brendengallager, @scoutstout, @dphiffer, @iamjadejackson, @berniesanders, @27khv, @fahima_haque, @crystalbell, @bethoniebutler, @andrewfeinberg, @nickconfessore, @mattdpearce, @s_m_i, @ggreenwald, Business Insider, @techinsider and New York Post
Discussion:
@newyorkerunion: Today, the New Yorker Union is undertaking a twenty-four-hour work stoppage in protest of @newyorker management's egregious wage proposal. Our statement: https://newyorkerunion.com/ https://twitter.com/...
Katie Robertson / New York Times: The New Yorker Magazine Union Employees Stage Daylong Walkout
Kathryn Hopkins / WWD: The New Yorker Staffers Stage 24-hour Virtual Walkout Over Pay Battle With Condé Nast
@drejones: I subscribe, I buy Merch. Pay 👏🏽 Your 👏🏽 People 👏🏽I love the New Yorker and I certainly don't read it because of the CEO of Condé Nast. 45K in NY? What a joke. https://twitter.com/...
Holly Otterbein / @hollyotterbein: 👏 👏 👏 We badly need more diversity in class backgrounds in journalism, and insufficient starting pay at many outlets is a big part of the reason we don't have it. https://twitter.com/...
Amanda Petrusich / @amandapetrusich: Much love & support to my colleagues in @newyorkerunion as they fight for a wage commensurate with the extraordinary & necessary work they do. https://twitter.com/...
Steadman / @asteadwesley: u start ppl in your fancy nyc newsroom at 45k a year and you're not interested a diversity or new voices or anything like that. you're interested in rich kids https://twitter.com/...
Kelsey Mckinney / @mckinneykelsey: Fuck it: I once worked in a rare books library and had to spend a full three work days working with a lovey New Yorker fact-checker who fixed more than 50(!!!) mistakes for a print magazine story by a prominent writer. Those writers need to speak out in support of this!!! https://twitter.com/...
Hanna Trudo / @hctrudo: Yes. Without working a paid job at the same time as an unpaid internship and living with 2 roommates in a 1 bedroom apartment, I wouldn't have been able to get my foot in the door. It shouldn't be this way. https://twitter.com/...
Dr. Steven W. Thrasher / @thrasherxy: I think about this kind of thing a lot. When I started at the Voice, I earned $35K/yr (2009). In NYC. At a union mtg 2 yrs later, found a white writer 10 years younger than me started at 55K. Worked many jobs & went w/o saving to subsidize a company that eventually laid me off. https://twitter.com/...
Talia Lavin / @chick_in_kiev: watching the highest paid, biggest platformed new yorker writers stay totally mum on the people who copy edit, fact check, illustrate & print them https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Lindsey Barrett / @lam_barrett: this is extremely correct and emphatically not limited to newsrooms. https://twitter.com/...
Kiera Feldman / @kierafeldman: Management at the New Yorker proposed that the salary minimum be $45k with no annual increases. To live in NYC. hell yes to @newyorkerunion on work stoppage today. https://twitter.com/...
Alyssa Bereznak / @alyssabereznak: it's a long-held conde tradition to underpay its hardest-working staffers. my entry-level permalancer job at VF paid tens of thousands of dollars *less* than this insulting 45K minimum and it made living in ny very very hard. solidarity with @newyorkerunion https://twitter.com/...
Kathryn Schulz / @kathrynschulz: We're a @NewYorker family and a union family, so of course @cncep and I wish our talented and hard-working colleagues well in their fight for fair wages. https://twitter.com/...
Susan Arendt / @susanarendt: “Management also proposed retaining the right to decrease any union member's salary by up to 20% at any time.” https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Tanvi / @tanvim: Also imagine being a person trying to get a work visa sponsored on that salary, and paying for lawyers and application fees out of that. Unthinkable. https://twitter.com/...
Lila Byock / @lbyock: Oh *now* somebody's standing. https://twitter.com/...
Jenny Vrentas / @jennyvrentas: New Yorker management should listen to Bernie and ... pull up a chair https://twitter.com/...
Mattathias Schwartz / @schwartzesque: @ggreenwald I know your colleagues @theintercept will always be grateful for the valiant stands you took on equitable compensation.
Kat Stromquist / @kstromquist: 1) Totally agree 2) $45K would be a significant pay jump for many of my local media colleagues Doesn't matter if it's New York — reporters need a raise. https://twitter.com/...
Jason Koebler / @jason_koebler: i made between 36 and 45k for my first four years in journalism, which helped plunge me into 10 years of credit card and student loan debt. 45k as a salary floor in NYC (at the new yorker!!!) in 2021 is not close to enough https://twitter.com/...
Ellie Hall / @ellievhall: If I didn't have a safety net in the form of my family, I doubt I would have been able to afford to be a reporter. https://twitter.com/...
Mike Murphy / @mcwm: Yep. I wouldn't have been able to move to NYC to work in journalism if I hadn't been able to live with family on Long Island for nearly a year https://twitter.com/...
Alex Fitzpatrick / @alexjamesfitz: 100%. the only reason I could afford a career in journalism in NYC was because I had a small inheritance that helped me afford to move, pay rent and eat. without that, it was never gonna happen for me. https://twitter.com/...
Sara B. / @sara_bee: If you expect people to work in the most expensive city in the country and don't pay them enough to live there with dignity, you end up with the problems plaguing the media industry at large: a monochrome pool of rich kids growing up to run things https://twitter.com/...
Tim Marchman / @timmarchman: Early in my career I was only able to get by on income in that range by moving out of my home town of New York (and having editors who supported me working remotely), and that was close to two decades ago. https://twitter.com/...
Jessica Schulberg / @jessicaschulb: it's shameful, and frankly humiliating, for bosses at one of the most prestigious magazines in the country to propose a salary floor of $45k solidarity with @newyorkerunion https://twitter.com/...
Cassandra Jaramillo / @cassandrajar: Yep. If I get out of journalism, it will be for this reason. It's also important to consider the economic environment that millennial&gen z journalists are trying to navigate. A lot of us are in a hell hole of debt from college(which newsrooms require), medical reasons, etc. https://twitter.com/...
Satchel Price / @satchelprice: Nobody should go into debt working at one of the most respected publications in the country https://twitter.com/...
Alice Speri / @alicesperi: When I interned at the New Yorker many years ago I got paid $12 a WEEK (they called it a “lunch stipend") https://twitter.com/...
Brenden Gallagher / @brendengallager: People go into serious debt pursuing careers in journalism, film and television, and other creative/high-minded pursuits. The low wages are justified by “exposure,” potential, and the competition just to get there. Much of that promise never materializes. This has to end. https://twitter.com/...
Kelly Stout / @scoutstout: I loved working at The New Yorker more than I could possibly say, which is I why I stayed for 6 wonderful years. But it took me years to dig myself out of the credit card debt I took on while I worked there, just so I could live. Solidarity with these incredible workers! https://twitter.com/...
Dan Phiffer / @dphiffer: This is about equity and representation. Who can afford to work in New York City on $45k? The contract is about salary floors, but it's also social privilege minimum. Don't click on any newyorker dot com links today, please. https://twitter.com/...
Jade Jackson / @iamjadejackson: Every year the number of working professional journalists goes down. With wage & diversity gaps when will we see nothing but a certain group attempting to tell stories of people vastly different than them? In a world where “the media” is already not trusted? https://twitter.com/...
Bernie Sanders / @berniesanders: I stand with @newyorkerunion workers walking out today and fighting for a first union contract. The New Yorker should sit down with its workers and negotiate a fair contract in good faith. https://twitter.com/...
Bryan MacDonald / @27khv: It's not a “subsidy,” it's increasingly the business model. It essentially means that only people from large cities, from at least middle class families, or ‘provincials’ with wealthy parents can build journalism careers. That's why so few working class voices in media nowadays. https://twitter.com/...
Fahima / @fahima_haque: $45K starting salaries all but insures journalism remains an exclusive club for those with family/spousal wealth + extensive support systems. coverage will never improve if the same people are the gatekeepers. https://twitter.com/...
Crystal Bell / @crystalbell: My first salary in the media industry was $36K. My title was associate editor. I didn't negotiate because I didn't know how and I didn't think I could. I had just graduated and wanted any opportunity I could get. I made just enough to cover rent and rack up credit card debt. https://twitter.com/...
Bethonie Butler / @bethoniebutler: I am 36 and have never taken a real vacation because of this👇🏾 and unpaid internships (which required me to take on one, sometimes two, other jobs) https://twitter.com/...
Andrew Feinberg / @andrewfeinberg: This is depressing for a whole host of reasons... https://twitter.com/...
Nick Confessore / @nickconfessore: Point of reference: When I joined The Times, the minimum salary for a junior reporter in the probationary program was $79,000. That was 15 years ago. https://twitter.com/...
Matt Pearce / @mattdpearce: 🔥There part where Condé Nast proposed to cut anybody's pay anytime it wants, after two years of bargaining, is egregious and unserious. And $45,000 is not enough for anybody in New York, no matter the job. I'm glad @newyorkerunion is drawing the line. https://twitter.com/...
Stacy-Marie Ishmael / @s_m_i: An interesting side effect of media unionization is visibility into just how much media orgs depend on generational wealth as a subsidy. https://twitter.com/...
Glenn Greenwald / @ggreenwald: Always interesting when there's a massive gap between the political values people flamboyantly claim to support and their actual behavior. Judge people by how they live their lives - their conduct - not by the symbols they put in their social media bios and slogans they chant: https://twitter.com/...
Tyler Sonnemaker / Business Insider: Salaries at The New Yorker magazine reveal major pay disparities, with women of color making significantly less than their coworkers across the board
@techinsider: Salaries at The New Yorker magazine reveal major pay disparities, with women of color making significantly less than coworkers and others with 20 years experience make $57,000 https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...
Keith J. Kelly / New York Post: The New Yorker's editorial union workers stage one-day walkout
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Podcasters say Anchor's sponsorship feature seems to be seriously lacking in sponsors, and they've received few, if any, ads beyond Anchor or Spotify itself — John Newman is the type of person companies like Spotify want to get involved in podcasting. He has a niche interest …
Discussion:
Jonathan Christensen / Timber's Newsletter: Industry Analysts Are Wrong About Apple Podcasts+
Etan Vlessing / Hollywood Reporter:
Bloomberg Media signs with WME, which will look to convert its journalism into film and TV projects for third-party platforms like streaming services — The agency will look to convert the global media brand's journalism and news franchises into film and TV projects.
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Preliminary Nielsen ratings: CNN's audience for the president's swearing-in reached an average of 9.9M, up over 196% from 2017; Fox's audience fell 77% to 2.74M — Approximately 39.87 million people watched the half-hour swearing-in ceremony over the nation's six major TV-news outlets …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Deadline, Axios, @aaronbrazell, Newser, UPROXX, @thejidetaiwo, @wajahatali, @aprildryan, @scalzi, MediaPost, Mediaite, The Wrap, Business Insider, The Hill, Ad Age, TVNewser, Variety and Deadline
Discussion:
Lindsey Ellefson / The Wrap: Biden Beats Trump Again! Inauguration Draws 30% More Viewers Than 2017
Deadline: Joe Biden Beats Donald Trump Again As 2021 Inaugural Viewership Tops 2017; CNN Leads Cable Newsers & Big 4 - Update
Sara Fischer / Axios: Biden inauguration TV ratings top Trump's
@aaronbrazell: @Variety with a headline that is serious... but surely an exquisite troll. https://variety.com/...
Evann Gastaldo / Newser: Biden Inauguration Beats Trump's in the Ratings
@aprildryan: Size Matters! @JoeBiden's #Inauguration Captures Bigger Audience Than Donald Trump's by almost double digits in early ratings reports. Details... https://variety.com/...
John Scalzi / @scalzi: You can hear the angry teeth grinding all the way from Florida. https://variety.com/...
Wayne Friedman / MediaPost: Biden Inauguration, With 40 Million TV Viewers, Tops Trump's 2017 Results
Marisa Sarnoff / Mediaite: Inauguration Day Ratings: Biden's Audience Beats Trump's, CNN Tops All Television
Lindsey Ellefson / The Wrap: How Biden Inaugural Team Pulled Off That Starry Production - Without Mentioning Trump
Joseph Choi / The Hill: Biden inauguration tops Trump's in TV ratings
Ethan Jakob Craft / Ad Age: Biden draws bigger inauguration ratings than Trump
A.J. Katz / TVNewser: Inauguration Day 2021 Ratings: CNN Is the No. 1 Network During the Inauguration of Joe Biden
Mónica Marie Zorrilla / Variety: TV Ratings: Biden Inauguration Special ‘Celebrating America’ Draws in 10.56 Million Viewers
Harold Brubaker / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
The Philadelphia Inquirer names Peter Doucette as chief revenue officer — The Philadelphia Inquirer has hired Peter Doucette, who spent more than a decade in sales and marketing jobs at the Boston Globe, as chief revenue officer, the newspaper's publisher and chief executive, Elizabeth H. Hughes, said Thursday.
Discussion:
Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
A look at the journalists covering domestic extremism in the US and the differing approaches the NYT and WaPo are taking to the topic — Newsrooms are shifting resources to deepen coverage of homegrown radicals in the wake of the storming of the Capitol. — To watch Joe Biden's inauguration …
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
The media should hold power to account and resist the adversarial-seeming approach to politics it took pre-Trump, like when it focused on Obama's tan suit — White House press secretary Jen Psaki was prepared. She was professional. She was noncombative.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Washington Post, Politico, Poynter, @sulliview, @paulhrosenberg, @ericmgarcia, @ijbailey, @theplumlinegs, @bonnie_honig, @timobrien, @meekwire, @dmedin11, New York Post, @danlamothe, @andypierrotti, @brinstar9, @byronyork, Fox News, @nicdawes, The Daily Beast, The Sun, The National Pulse, Columbia Journalism Review, Mediaite, NPR, Complete Music Update, The Week, Business Insider and CNN
Discussion:
Erik Wemple / Washington Post: Speak up, Bret Baier. Speak up, Chris Wallace.
Jack Shafer / Politico: How About a Little Sobriety, Please?
Tom Jones / Poynter: Jen Psaki's White House press conferences feel like ‘a return to normalcy.’ But let's be careful.
@sulliview: The media can be glad for the Biden White House's return to normalcy. But let's not be lulled. My column — on true accountability and holding fast to the press's hard won lessons of recent years. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Paul Rosenberg / @paulhrosenberg: GOP: It worked with Obama, why not with Biden??? Press: We're stupid, but not THAT stupid. OK, we ARE that stupid. But couldn't you wait 24 hours??? https://twitter.com/...
Eric Michael Garcia / @ericmgarcia: The return to a somewhat normal relationship between the press and the White House can feel good for reporters. But it can also be a trap that allows reporters to miss big stories. always read @sulliview. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
@ijbailey: Is the press dumb enough to fall for the crazy claim that “unity” means ignoring all we've experienced and the definition of which must be determined by Republicans who enabled Trump and extremists the past four years? https://twitter.com/...
Greg Sargent / @theplumlinegs: This is rhetorical extortion: “You aren't truly seeking to unify the country until you refrain from holding us accountable for tearing it apart.” They are betting the media will place the full onus of “unity” on Biden. We don't have to play this game: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Dr. Bonnie Honig / @bonnie_honig: “Republicans want to cast our problem as one of generalized division. In fact, it's that anti-democracy forces have waged sustained warfare, sometimes violent, on pro-democracy ones.” It is not that hard to say it. Why can't all of them? https://twitter.com/...
Tim O'Brien / @timobrien: Some advice from @Sulliview, “now that the comfortable norms have returned”: - Resist false equivalency. - Clearly call out lies. - Stay tough and judicious https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
James Gordon Meek / @meekwire: Just a reminder, one of the first executive orders signed by President Obama in 2009 was a FOIA transparency directive. But his administration never enforced it to my knowledge, and institutions including military commands completely ignored it — as if it never had been issued. https://twitter.com/...
Daniel Medina / @dmedin11: @Sulliview (refreshingly) doesn't pull punches on yesterday's inauguration TV coverage in her new column: “The commentary from TV broadcasters across the board, all day long, was at times embarrassingly complimentary.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Dan Lamothe / @danlamothe: An early suggestion for the Biden team: A commitment to transparency hopefully comes with a promise to fix the FOIA system. Already badly backlogged at many institutions, it in many cases screeched to a halt during to the pandemic. @Sulliview https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Andy Pierrotti / @andypierrotti: Fellow Journalists: we can ask tough questions without grandstanding for the sake of a good “TV moment.” The public is too smart for it and they see right through it. Let's do better moving forward. https://twitter.com/...
@brinstar9: “But there's a difference between truly holding power to account and grandstanding. It's the latter that gave rise to ridiculous dust-ups like the one over President Barack Obama's wearing of a tan suit...” Yup, along with President Biden's Peleton. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Byron York / @byronyork: The attack-dog-to-lapdog cycle. WP media columnist: ‘The national press—battered by four years of abuse by [Trump]...is in a precarious position. We run the risk of being seduced by an administration that, in many cases, closely reflects our values.’ https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
David Rutz / Fox News: Chinese state newspaper shares left-wing supercut praising Biden press secretary
Nicholas Dawes / @nicdawes: We can celebrate the return of some basic norms, but to return to normal, for the press, would be a disaster. @Sulliview, with a just-in-time warning. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Jessica Kwong / The Sun: CHURCHILL SNUB Joe Biden removes bust of Winston Churchill from Oval Office and replaces it with union leader Cesar Chavez
Natalie Winters / The National Pulse: Biden Removes Churchill Bust From Oval Office
Ken Meyer / Mediaite: TIME Marks Day One of Biden's Presidency With Cover of Him Standing in the Oval Office Trashed by Trump
Domenico Montanaro / NPR: 6 Takeaways From President Biden's Inauguration
Damon Linker / The Week: Joe Biden needs to get real
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
YouTube rolls out “hashtag landing pages” which will take users who click on a hashtag to a page with only videos that use it, enabling easier discovery — YouTube is embracing the hashtag. The company has been quietly working on a new feature that allows users …