Top News:
Ben Smith / New York Times:
NYT says it will not restart its reporter-led trips after the McNeil controversy, as its personnel dramas attract broad attention, like public morality plays — Other news organizations have their own personnel dramas. But none attract the spotlight like The Times.
Discussion:
Latest, @asteadwesley, @mathewi, New York Post, @michelleinbklyn, @jonathanchait, @deggans, @wesleylowery, @karaswisher, @davewiner, @robdothutton, Press Pass, @wesleylowery, @benyt, @jessesingal, @ggreenwald, Mediaite, @joshtpm, @jbarro, @marcatracy, @bondhack, @edmundlee, @mattgarrahan, @lhfang, @yashar, @yascha_mounk, @virginiahughes, @pkafka, @asteadwesley, @lionelbarber, @mattyglesias, @nyttypos, @jackmirkinson, @goldietaylor, @virginiahughes, @emilyctamkin, @benyt, @bariweiss, @froomkin, @kerrymflynn, The Wrap, Washington Post, @nytimesguild, Make More Pie and ...in Progress
Discussion:
Clyde Bruckman / Latest: The Busiest Man In Journalism
Steadman&trade / @asteadwesley: still, journalists advocating for a workplace and a product that is free of racism aren't driven by left leaning ideology but by the ideals of the profession. It is asking the report to live up to its own stated values of truth and accountability, not run from it.
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: It's amazing to me how normal everyone seems to think it is that students paid $5,000 or whatever to travel to Peru with some bitter old Times journo with no relevant reporting experience. The whole thing seems bizarre
Michelle Goldberg / @michelleinbklyn: Wait is calling nepotism “affirmative action for white people” considered offensive now? https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Jonathan Chait / @jonathanchait: Given that the kids were privileged white teens, they probably found McNeil's anti-nepotism comments highly offensive! https://twitter.com/...
Eric Deggans At Npr / @deggans: I'm a Ben Smith fan and appreciate details on NYTimes Don McNeil scandal here. But this piece's casual diminishment of how McNeil shrugged off existence of racism reminds me how he once tiptoed around Andrew Sullivan's racist acts. Huge blind spot. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Wesley / @wesleylowery: Not sure I would make the argument, but there is certainly an argument to be made that someone who believes racism against black Americans is “over” shows too much contempt for factual reality to be a reporter for the New York Times
Kara Swisher / @karaswisher: I have to say the @benyt pulled off a nearly impossible task here, with a tough but fair column that you should read: Postcards From Peru: Why the Morality Plays Inside The Times Won't Stop https://www.nytimes.com/...
@davewiner: Funny thing I just realized. Donald McNeil is the Jeremy Lin of the NYT. The right person in the right place at the right time. The NYT is the Knicks. And they did the same thing! And I bet it was the same reason, after all is said and done.
Robert Hutton / @robdothutton: This is marvellous. In the UK, the equivalent is BBC News, which is called BBC News for a reason. https://www.the-fence.com/...
Celisa Calacal / Press Pass: What's going on at The New York Times?
Wesley / @wesleylowery: Lots of new reporting here: the NYT guild saved McNeil's job after he declares to a high school student that “racism is over,” after openly saying he'd take the next available buy out McNeil resigned rather than be moved to a less prestigious beat https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ben Smith / @benyt: Postcard From Peru: Why the Morality Plays Inside The Times Won't Stop https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jesse Singal / @jessesingal: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... Once more, we have a quote that can't possibly be the full account. What tradition did he denigrate? Was it a scientifically validated tradition? These kids are so whiny! Also, nepotism in many institutions IS affirmative action for white people. https://twitter.com/...
Glenn Greenwald / @ggreenwald: The description by @benyt of the NYT's current model & future trajectory — “beholden to the views of left-leaning subscribers” that “may yet push it into a narrower and more left-wing political lane”: a US version of the Guardian — seems true & important. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Marisa Sarnoff / Mediaite: NY Times Media Columnist Ben Smith: Don McNeil Told Student ‘Racism is Over’
Josh Marshall / @joshtpm: Very interesting piece. But to @benyt is the Times beholdeness to subs really different today than it has been at other points in its history? https://www.nytimes.com/...
Josh Barro / @jbarro: I would note, this has happened at least twice at the Post, and once at the Journal, but at the Journal they do it like a family of Connecticut WASPs. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Marc Tracy / @marcatracy: Those immersed in the chronology will want to note @benyt's reporting that Donald McNeil began composing an apology within a couple days of the eruption, not on his way out the door, as it might have seemed. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Robert Smith / @bondhack: @MattGarrahan @naomi_rovnick This was a fine parody I thought https://www.the-fence.com/...
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: Lots more reporting on the Don McNeil resignation from @benyt • a student on Peru trip recalled him saying “racism is over” • he prepared an apology note days after story broke • union played a role in his defense 2 yes ago • also...it's complicated https://www.nytimes.com/...
Matthew Garrahan / @mattgarrahan: It's so great the NYT has a correspondent who can write about the mad stuff that goes on at the NYT https://www.nytimes.com/...
Lee Fang / @lhfang: The white student who falsely accused famed science reporter Don McNeill of racism, effectively ending his storied career at the Times, was not only on a $5k field trip, but had just graduated from a boarding school that costs $58k a year. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@yashar: Lots of new reporting on the Don McNeil situation from @benyt in his latest column https://www.nytimes.com/...
Yascha Mounk / @yascha_mounk: .@benyt gets to the heart of the matter: Does the New York Times want to turn itself into The Guardian? On the current trajectory, the answer is yes. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Virginia Hughes / @virginiahughes: “The union, a person involved in the conversations said, was ready to take The Times to arbitration if the company attempted to terminate Mr. McNeil for his conduct on the trip.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Peter Kafka / @pkafka: Have been waiting for someone to talk to the students who spent time with Don McNeil, as well as context about his history at the paper. Important context here; still a mess. https://twitter.com/...
Steadman / @asteadwesley: genuinely appreciate the reporting after weeks of hackery https://www.nytimes.com/...
Lionel Barber / @lionelbarber: Very, ahem, brave: @benyt on managing the most high profile newsroom in America in the middle of the culture wars. It's a damned good read https://www.nytimes.com/...
Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias: The most important news in @benyt's scoop-rich take on his employer is that the NYT has widely decided that having journalists double as tour guides for rich teenagers is a bad idea and they're killing the program. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@nyttypos: This is a good and newsy piece on the McNeil contretemps from Ben Smith, but I don't get why the Times published this but killed the Bret Stephens column, supposedly on the grounds that they have a really high bar for publishing anything critical of a colleague. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Jack Mirkinson / @jackmirkinson: the nyt killing off the relatively niche public editor position and then hiring ben smith who now writes much more high-profile and damaging columns about the nyt for like 50 percent of his job is some kind of weird self-own
@goldietaylor: .@nytimes doesn't have to be “Elizabeth Warren or Joe Biden,” as @benyt suggests. It is a work environment that can and should be held to standards of fairness and decorum. Moreover, McNeil's reporting suffered from his myopic view of the world. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Virginia Hughes / @virginiahughes: There are many good lines in @benyt's latest, but this has to be the best: “The Times may contain multitudes, but running a travel agency that drops ornery 65-year-old journalists into the literal jungle with a pack of sharp teens is a bridge too far.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@emilyctamkin: The way you treat and view people out in life shapes the way in which you cover people out in the world https://twitter.com/...
Ben Smith / @benyt: A couple of people asked about one detail, and I wanted to clarify: the reference to James Bennet was to the suggestion his firing was about process and communications management of the Cotton column, rather than its substance; not that there was some other looming issue.
Bari Weiss / @bariweiss: Much of the outrage people are feeling about the NYT (inside and outside the paper) has to do with chasm between what it says it is (the paper of record) and what it actually is (print MSNBC). I suspect the noise will die down as this becomes undeniable. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: So sick of hearing people at the NYT say that “left-leaning subscribers” want to “push it into a narrower and more left-wing political lane”. My sense is they want it to advocate more forcefully for the truth. Is that the same thing? I don't think so. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@kerrymflynn: “Is The Times the leading newspaper for like-minded, left-leaning Americans? Or is it trying to hold what seems to be a disappearing center in a deeply divided country? Is it Elizabeth Warren or Joe Biden?” - @benyt's column on Donald McNeil's exit https://www.nytimes.com/...
Lindsey Ellefson / The Wrap: Student Says NY Times Reporter Donald McNeil Jr. Told Her on Peru Trip: ‘Racism Is Over’
Washington Post: A star reporter's resignation, a racial slur and a newsroom divided: Inside the fallout at the New York Times
@nytimesguild: “We needed transparency. Particularly for journalists who write about racism, racial inequality, for the New York Times, our own colleague is being accused of this and we don't have information...And we're just supposed to just trust you. That's not what journalists do.” https://twitter.com/...
Nancy Rommelmann / Make More Pie: Journalism AMA on Clubhouse Today!
RELATED:
Jill Abramson / New York Post:
Jill Abramson responds to unrest at NYT, saying “the constant harping and carping of media reporters” has made the “environment more poisonous” — I have been called by many reporters about the controversial departure of reporter Donald McNeil from The New York Times.
Discussion:
Slate, @davidgura, @byronyork, @oliverdarcy, @howardfineman, @elianayjohnson, @davewiner, @joshuahol, @mkarnitschnig, @maxwelltani, @cgasparino, @caro, @jayrosen_nyu, @colinflaherty, The Wrap and NBC News
Discussion:
Aymann Ismail / Slate: An Exhausting Week at the New York Times
David Gura / @davidgura: “I know what it feels like to be pushed out of an important job at The Times in a public manner, as was the case when I was fired as executive editor in 2014.” In a @nypost op-ed (https://nypost.com/...), @JillAbramson addresses Don McNeil's and James Bennet's departures: https://twitter.com/...
Byron York / @byronyork: A former executive editor of the New York Times takes to the pages of the New York Post to criticize current Times management. https://nypost.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Oliver Darcy / @oliverdarcy: @JillAbramson writes a piece about NYT's divided newsroom, lashing out at media reporters for the “the constant harping and carping” that has “only made the environment more poisonous.” https://nypost.com/...
@howardfineman: With utmost diplomacy and expressions of love and respect for the @nytimes, the paper's former editor, @JillAbramson, suggests that #DonaldMcNeil should not have been fired. https://nypost.com/...
Eliana Johnson / @elianayjohnson: .@nhannahjones with the non-apology apology: “I will say that tweeting the work cell phone of a journalist who gave it to you is not doxing. I did not dox him.” Nonetheless “I regret that” - https://slate.com/...
@davewiner: Brilliant: “Have readers been adversely affected by what's happened inside the NYT or by Mr. McNeil's behavior? Given what I know, and there is still information I don't know, I think not.” https://nypost.com/...
Joshua Holland / @joshuahol: Does @JillAbramson really not understand the degree to which whining about the NYT in Murdoch's NYPost undermines her credibility? We all assume that CJR wouldn't publish it. https://nypost.com/...
Matt Karnitschnig / @mkarnitschnig: Former NYT editor asks “Is there any news report that equals the Times in excellence?” I can actually think of several. But might it be that this attitude is at the core of the endless string of scandals at the paper? https://nypost.com/... via @nypost
Max Tani / @maxwelltani: “Stop caring so much about drama at the New York Times” is an interesting argument coming from a person who recently wrote a book partially about drama at the New York Times https://twitter.com/...
Charles Gasparino / @cgasparino: Great stuff by @JillAbramson — Ex-New York Times boss Jill Abramson responds to unrest at the paper https://nypost.com/... via @nypost
@caro: .@JillAbramson got screwed over by a sexist takedown that I thought was justified at the time, but the more I have learned about her and seen what she's had to say, the more I realize the NYT stupidly rid itself of someone incredible https://nypost.com/...
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: Former executive editor of the New York Times, Jill Abramson, gives her view of recent controversies. https://nypost.com/... The only question that really matters, she says: “Have readers been adversely affected by what's happened inside the NYT or by Mr. McNeil's behavior?”
@colinflaherty: Now this is the kind of bogus story, that reporters should rise up in anger about. https://nypost.com/...
Scott Alexander / Astral Codex Ten:
New York Times's recent article on Slate Star Codex was flawed and dishonest, and an attempt to punish the blog's author for embarrassing them last summer — There was recently a negative article about me and my blog in the New York Times. Most of you already know the history behind this …
Discussion:
My New Band Is, New York Times, Slow Boring, @mathewi, Noahpinion, @nickconfessore, @binarybits, @andizeisler, Finer Grains, Boing Boing, @taylorlorenz, Reason, The Zone, @anderssandberg, @hdxacademy, @juliagalef, @binarybits, @bryan_caplan, @robinhanson, @espiers, @primalpoly, @blakehounshell, @amandaaskell, @gmbutts, @jonathanchait, @jacobgrier, @mattyglesias, @mattyglesias, @mathewi, @stphnmaher, @nytimesbusiness, @richard_florida, @juliagalef, @s8mb, Insider, @jonst0kes, @tomchivers, @erratarob, @pescami, @esyudkowsky, @pegobry, @jason, @gaberivera, @taliaringer, @austen, @mattyglesias, @micsolana, @noahpinion, @davidafrench, @noahpinion, @sapinker, @molson_hart, @nfergus, @nachristakis, @timodc, @asymmetricinfo, @justinkan, @jessesingal, Alex Kaschuta's Garden …, The Anti-Apocalyptus … and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Cade Metz / New York Times: Silicon Valley's Safe Space
Matthew Yglesias / Slow Boring: In defense of interesting writing on controversial topics
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: Having read this NYT piece, the Astral Codex response, and all of the related posts, including from Matt Yglesias and Noah Smith, I've come to the conclusion that the Times piece should never have been published in its current form https://www.mediagazer.com/...
Noah Smith / Noahpinion: Silicon Valley isn't full of fascists
Nick Confessore / @nickconfessore: Deep cut here from @mattyglesias https://www.slowboring.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Timothy B. Lee / @binarybits: This is a remarkable level of dishonesty from the Times. Scott Alexander once expressed agreement with Charles Murray on a topic unrelated to race and IQ. The Times wrote a paragraph strongly implying Alexander endorsed Murray's views on race and IQ. https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Andi Zeisler / @andizeisler: Weird that so many groups devoted to an ideal of “rational” and “objective” dialogue mostly comprise white tech dudes chapped that they can't be more publicly racist and sexist https://www.nytimes.com/...
Elijah William Eby / Finer Grains: Scott Alexander Vs. The New York Times
Rob Beschizza / Boing Boing: Venture capitalist suggested getting far-right audiences to harass “vulnerable” journalists
Taylor Lorenz / @taylorlorenz: Please don't overlook this. The people who suffer the worst effects of these attack campaigns, the ppl who are most “vulnerable,” are women and POC. As you can see from this leaked Balaji email, this is intentional. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Robby Soave / Reason: What The New York Times' Hit Piece on Slate Star Codex Says About Media Gatekeeping
Anders Sandberg / @anderssandberg: The NYT article on @slatestarcodex seemed to have real trouble with the idea of broad intellectual discourse and interests, and that a wide range of people with different views could actually care. I think @mattyglesias got it roughly right in https://www.slowboring.com/...
@hdxacademy: “the way you learn things and get smarter is to read strong writers and try to understand what they're saying. Not try to pick it apart for clout or find ways to caricature and snark about it.” @mattyglesias https://www.slowboring.com/...
Julia Galef / @juliagalef: This is a great discussion of @slatestarcodex, the rationalist community, and norms of discourse I don't agree with 100% of it, but it's a lot more well-informed & perceptive than average, and even the criticisms of the rationalists are pretty fair IMO https://www.slowboring.com/...
Timothy B. Lee / @binarybits: I'm enjoying post-Vox Matt Yglesias. https://www.slowboring.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Bryan Caplan / @bryan_caplan: “I believe they [@nytimes] misrepresented me [@slatestarcodex] as retaliation for my publicly objecting to their policy of doxxing bloggers in a way that threatens their livelihood and safety.” https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ...
Robin Hanson / @robinhanson: “Predictably, the NYT piece came out soon after, and predictably, it was very negative. I want to respond to four main negative claims in the article - there are more, but these should give a general sketch of why I feel it was unfair” https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ...
Elizabeth Spiers / @espiers: I agree with some of what he writes in the post, but here, Matt might be projecting a bit. https://twitter.com/...
Geoffrey Miller / @primalpoly: You guys really need to read this, to understand how shamelessly vengeful & creepily unprincipled the @nytimes has become. https://twitter.com/...
@blakehounshell: Am I the only one who finds this guy Scott Alexander's blog really boring and desperately in need of editing, setting aside the controversy over this article and his views? https://twitter.com/...
Amanda Askell / @amandaaskell: I decided to go for a walk to the beach rather than engage in the New York Times kerfuffle this time around. Matt Yglesias has a pretty nice piece on it though. https://twitter.com/...
Gerald Butts / @gmbutts: I often disagree with @mattyglesias, but this is a strong piece. Worth your time. In defense of interesting writing on controversial topics - Slow Boring https://www.slowboring.com/...
Jonathan Chait / @jonathanchait: The important takeaway from @mattyglesias is that there's too much pressure for ideological conformity and not enough value on learning from writers with whom we disagree https://www.slowboring.com/...
Jacob Grier / @jacobgrier: It's debatable whether I qualify as a west coast nerd, and I'm not particular immersed in rationalist discourse or SCC, but this is a good post (especially the last section, which gets at how Twitter encourages users to unproductively engage with writers they disagree with). https://twitter.com/...
Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias: Some thoughts on the NYT @slatestarcodex article, but more broadly on the need for antidotes to conformism and mediocrity enforced via Twitter dunk. https://www.slowboring.com/...
Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias: Don't normally post articles at 11:15 PM on a Saturday night, but I figure most of the people interested in this topic are west coast nerds so.... https://www.slowboring.com/...
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: Scott Alexander responds to what he says was a bad faith attack by the New York Times, which cherry-picked blog posts to make him look bad https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ...
Stephen Maher / @stphnmaher: Hard to avoid the conclusion the Times sought to create a false impression here https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@nytimesbusiness: “It is the one place I know of online where you can have civil conversations among people with a wide range of views.” For a while, it vanished. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Richard Florida / @richard_florida: Until yesterday I had no idea who these people were. I find the whole thing so very interesting ... https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ...
Julia Galef / @juliagalef: For no particular reason, today seems like a good day to remind people about the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect Nice explainer by @heyitsnoah: https://www.noahbrier.com/...
Sam Bowman / @s8mb: Here's Scott's response, which highlights a few examples of distortions the piece makes to make him sound like a racist and misogynist. https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ...
Victoria Cavaliere / Insider: Venture capitalist Balaji Srinivasan reportedly suggested doxxing a journalist who reported on narratives he didn't like
@jonst0kes: No, Scott, they misrepresented you because you are in the enemy camp and they are at war. They are not playin' with you, man. They're out for scalps. https://twitter.com/...
Tom Chivers / @tomchivers: Given that 1) the @nytimes has published its long-awaited story about @slatestarcodex and the rationalist community, and 2) it's kind of weak and uninformative and mean-spirited, perhaps now is the time to read my book on the subject! https://twitter.com/...
@erratarob: This hit piece by the NYTimes against the “Slate Star Codex” is strangely self-unaware, exactly the demonstration why people don't trust mainstream media outlets like the NYTimes. https://twitter.com/...
Mike Pesca / @pescami: That's it? That's the story? Did I miss a page? its a bunch of guilt-by association charges and then...the consequences of reporting the actual name of the blogger who used a pseudonym. Oof. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Eliezer Yudkowsky / @esyudkowsky: This is an unremarkable level of dishonesty from the NYT and must be expected from their other articles too. This article was a Big Deal, and it represents the best work the NYT can put forth when their remaining editors are paying lots of attention. https://twitter.com/...
Peg / @pegobry: “I have 1,557 other posts worth of material he could have used, and the sentence he chose to go with was the one that was crossed out and included a plea for people to stop taking it out of context.” https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ...
@jason: Interesting to see so many @nytimes reporters come out this strongly in support of one story 🤔 https://twitter.com/...
Gabe Rivera / @gaberivera: Ok, this post is a more effective and measured response than relying on the old sic-dark-enlightenment-on-vulnerable- reporter-and-dox move: https://twitter.com/...
Talia Ringer / @taliaringer: So I disagree with Scott Alexander on most things (though he writes well), and I think Rationalism is a bizarre hypermasculine cult aspiring for an impossible and undesirable goal, progressing poorly at this goal. But the NYT article is hilariously bad. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Austen Pompliano / @austen: In which Scott Alexander is a better writer and clearer thinker than the folks who wrote about him and far, far too nice to those people who are blatantly lying about him in a sad attempt to destroy him https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ...
Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias: This is good. https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ...
Mike Solana / @micsolana: slate star codex thoroughly dismantles the nyt hit, though expresses justifiable concern that on account of the times' power and reach far more people will read the distortion than will read his response. let's make sure that doesn't happen: https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ...
@noahpinion: My response to the Times article about Slate Star Codex: 1. There's no evidence it was very popular or influential in the tech world 2. Techies (including founders) are OVERWHELMINGLY liberals 3. Rationalists care mostly about esoterica, not politics https://noahpinion.substack.com/ ...
David French / @davidafrench: Please read. The NYT has some explaining to do. Again. https://twitter.com/...
@noahpinion: I read the NYT article about Slate Star Codex, and I don't like it. It traffics in a certain inaccurate, worn-out stereotype of Silicon Valley and the tech industry, and doesn't do a good job of describing the Rationalist subculture. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Steven Pinker / @sapinker: National treasure Scott Alexander on the uncomprehending New York Times article about him. https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ...
Molson Hart / @molson_hart: It apparently has become fashionable to criticize and discredit big media (NY Times, WSJ, etc.). I'm not a journalism expert, but in my experience it makes more sense to criticize particular journalists than their employers. There are good and bad journalists at every paper. https://twitter.com/...
Niall Ferguson / @nfergus: The @nytimes has become wholly unscrupulous in its efforts to police the public sphere on behalf of the “Blue Tribe.” Scott Alexander destroys their hit piece here. https://twitter.com/...
Nicholas A. Christakis / @nachristakis: “I don't want to accuse NYT of lying, exactly, but if they were truthful, it was in same way as Wizard of Oz review: ‘Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first person she meets and then teams up with three strangers to kill again.’ https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ...
Tim Miller / @timodc: The Times letting these types of smears get through fact checking in a piece they've been working on for ages is just crazy. https://twitter.com/...
Megan McArdle / @asymmetricinfo: I assume it wasn't deliberate, but that paragraph is extremely misleading, and should be corrected. https://twitter.com/...
Justin Kan / @justinkan: NYT's coverage on Slate Star Codex is depressing. This HN comment articulates it better than I can. https://news.ycombinator.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Jesse Singal / @jessesingal: Scott Alexander's response to the New York Times hit piece against him just went live: https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ ...
Alex Kaschuta / Alex Kaschuta's Garden …: The Pot-O-Gold #5 - The SSCeaquel — The most riveting conversations this week happened …
Felix Holtwell / The Anti-Apocalyptus Newsletter: Issue 25: the rationalist row
Daniel D'Addario / Variety:
Claudia Conway's American Idol appearance, the worst sort of exploitation of a minor, should prompt deep reflection among ABC executives — Claudia Conway faces challenges that evoke real and powerful sympathy, and not just because of her tender age. First, this 16-year-old emerged onto …
Discussion:
@americanidol, @soledadobrien, @dpd_, @erinbiba, @ichadlowe, @aymanm, The Wrap, UPROXX, @cmclymer, @alexburnsnyt, @mmpadellan, @richarddeitsch, @eekshecried, @mattnegrin, @gretchenpeters, @tayylmao, @annewheaton, @mspackyetti, @dohamadani, Insider, Between Rock and a Hard Place, @mariemyungoklee, @variety, Mediaite and @sethabramson
Discussion:
American Idol / @americanidol: Claudia gets a surprise from her mother, @KellyannePolls! “Remember, honey. Winners are people who are willing to lose.” @claudiamconwayy | #AmericanIdol https://twitter.com/...
Soledad O'Brien / @soledadobrien: Good work by American Idol in their efforts to rehab the reputation of horrible human @KellyannePolls https://twitter.com/...
Daniel D'Addario / @dpd_: Claudia Conway's appearance on “American Idol” — the worst sort of exploitation of a minor that reality TV has done in memory — ought to prompt real soul-searching among ABC executives. My column: https://variety.com/...
Erin Biba / @erinbiba: You know how we've been having a reckoning w/media treatment of Britney and countless other young women in the 90s? And we've been reliving horrific interviews, sick to our stomach? Now remember that Claudia Conway is currently 16 years old and think before you comment about her
Chad Lowe / @ichadlowe: This is unconscionable. Never mind the endless lying Mrs Conway did to the American people on a daily basis. What's truly shocking is that this young girl has posted videos alleging abuse at the hands Mrs. Conway, her own mom. https://twitter.com/...
Ayman Mohyeldin / @aymanm: America's ability to rehabilitate the image of its leaders who lie, mislead, destroy, steal and cheat the public is uncanny. https://twitter.com/...
Tony Maglio / The Wrap: ABC's ‘American Idol’ Season 4 Premiere Ratings Drop From Last Year Despite Claudia Conway Audition
Kimberly Ricci / UPROXX: ‘American Idol’ Is Being Dragged For Giving Kellyanne Conway A Chance To Portray Herself As A Doting Mother In The Wake Of Abuse Allegations
@cmclymer: Claudia Conway is 16 years-old and at the center of an abusive family situation playing out very publicly. Let's not pretend ABC and American Idol aren't exploiting this. They're commodifying the unresolved trauma of a child. It's really gross. That's all there is to it.
Alex Burns / @alexburnsnyt: is this real life https://variety.com/...
BrooklynDad_Defiant / @mmpadellan: American Idol is gross for allowing an abusive creature like Kellyanne Conway to rehab her image on the show, and using Claudia Conway's pain to make a quick buck. Disgusting.
Richard Deitsch / @richarddeitsch: The Sean Spicer and Dancing with the Stars playbook. You'll see this again. The guiding principle: “It may not be good for America, but it's damn good for CBS.” https://twitter.com/...
Erin Keane / @eekshecried: Cruelty, carelessness, malpractice, wrong. Solid analysis from @DPD_ https://variety.com/...
@mattnegrin: Now that they've helped rehab mendacious behemoths like Kellyanne Conway and Sean Spicer it's only a matter of time before ABC casts the QAnon shaman as the next Bachelor https://twitter.com/...
Gretchen Peters / @gretchenpeters: When you see shit like this, it's hard to argue that as a culture we don't deserve everything we get. https://twitter.com/...
Tay / @tayylmao: can we please stop making teenage girls have therapy on national television PLEASE https://twitter.com/...
Anne Wheaton / @annewheaton: I'd forgotten that in addition to the videos she posted of her mom being verbally abusive, that her mom also posted a topless pic of her teenage daughter. Shame on @americanidol for doing this to a child. How ‘American Idol’ Used Claudia Conway - Variety https://variety.com/...
Brittany Packnett Cunningham / @mspackyetti: This. This is what you get when you don't hold seditionists, insurrectionists and white supremacists accountable: They remake their image and re-enter polite society through singing competitions on prime-time network TV. https://twitter.com/...
Doha Madani / @dohamadani: The situation around Claudia Conway has been so troubling, and I am by no means an expert in child welfare, but we really need to consider takes like this one. Especially as we revisit the media abuse of Britney Spears. Interesting read by @DPD_ https://variety.com/...
Mia Jankowicz / Insider: Claudia Conway passed her ‘American Idol’ audition singing Adele and was quizzed about her strained relationship with her mother
Greg Mitchell / Between Rock and a Hard Place: Tumbling Dice — Back to our regular format today after yesterday's video tributes to Leonard Cohen.
@mariemyungoklee: parents doing the opposite of protecting their children was pretty blergh to see so soon after the Britney doc https://twitter.com/...
@variety: “With the problem of Claudia Conway's parents seemingly beyond anyone's ability to solve for now, television took up the case of redefining her in the public eye, on the new season of #AmericanIdol,” writes @DPD_ https://variety.com/...
Joe DePaolo / Mediaite: ABC Draws Heat for Putting Claudia Conway, Daughter of Kellyanne and George, on American Idol: ‘The Worst Sort of Exploitation of a Minor’
Seth Abramson / @sethabramson: Kellyanne Conway enabled a monster for years—and in doing so almost caused the collapse of our democracy. She doesn't get to whitewash her complicity in that treachery against America by appearing on American Idol with a daughter who's accused her of abuse. RETWEET if you agree. https://twitter.com/...
Post and Courier:
South Carolina's Post and Courier launches Uncovered, a collaboration with community newspapers to expose corruption by local officials as news deserts expand — 1. LIGHT — Corruption festers when people aren't looking, when the spotlight doesn't shine.
Discussion:
@scmitchp, Post and Courier, @melaniesill, @spj_tweets, @bobbymagill, @david_wren_, @ericgeller, @barilladanielle, @cericconnor, @postandcourier, @kaitlinstansell, @emilykdaily, @timmcguire, @pcgreenville, @ajasonlenar, @wardjolles, @jaredrutecki, @mudkevin, @deftlyinane, @averygwilks, @buddjenn, @markberman, @johnffarrell and The Rural Blog
Discussion:
@scmitchp: Corruption has flourished in South Carolina as newspapers close and shrink, creating news deserts and ghost papers across the Palmetto State. @postandcourier and its local news partners hope “Uncovered,” will fill some of that void. Read more here: https://www.postandcourier.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Melanie Sill / @melaniesill: I like this approach connecting state and community level journalism and expertise for public service / accountability reporting in South Carolina, from @postandcourier https://twitter.com/...
@spj_tweets: “That's why @postandcourier has launched ‘Uncovered,’ a project to cast new light on questionable government conduct, especially in smaller towns.” The outlet will work with community newspapers and reporters who know their towns inside and out. https://www.postandcourier.com/ ...
Bobby Magill / @bobbymagill: Great work from @postandcourier. The collapse of local news has fueled widespread corruption in SC. https://twitter.com/...
David Wren / @david_wren_: It's damn near impossible for the public to find anything about local officials on the S.C. “ethics” commission's convoluted database. Almost like it's designed that way. Now the @postandcourier is shining a light on abuses of public trust and making those abuses easier to search https://twitter.com/...
Eric Geller / @ericgeller: Dog-whistle warnings about “urban corruption” have always been terrible, but they're especially dumb when you consider that the most corrupt places in America seem to be small rural communities. https://twitter.com/...
Danielle Barilla / @barilladanielle: We've watched P&C really invest in GOOD journalists when they were already (by far) the best org in the state. It's paid off. Here's to hoping others take note. https://twitter.com/...
Eric Connor / @cericconnor: Deep within this, a former county treasurer spoke a truth: “I just want to be forgotten.” And that's kind of the mentality, isn't it? This project will prove to be an impactful one. https://twitter.com/...
@postandcourier: $1,545 for a zipline adventure. $357 for glass blowing lessons. $2,600 for a wine tasting party. These are just a few expenses the gas utilities in York and Lancaster counties chalked up at a conference in Vermont. https://www.postandcourier.com/ ...
Kaitlin Stansell / @kaitlinstansell: Incredible journalism coming out of @postandcourier right now with their new series looking into public corruption and how the news industry's decline has hindered accountability over these entities. Proud to call these journalists colleagues. You've got to read this! https://twitter.com/...
@emilykdaily: Since I started at @postandcourier last summer, I think this has been one of the most important investigative projects they've launched. It's eye-opening and cleverly written - not surprising given this team of journalists. It's also free to read, so share away! https://twitter.com/...
@timmcguire: This is sensational. This is what Newspapering must be about in 2021. Somebody has to fill in the holes. I hope every other substantial news organization follows your lead. This makes the old editor proud. Congrats https://twitter.com/...
@pcgreenville: Roughly half of all journalism jobs disappeared during the past 15 years, and most ethics cases are virtually hidden from the public. When no one's watching, corruption soars. Read our latest investigation into the crisis in South Carolina: https://www.postandcourier.com/ ...
Aj Lenar / @ajasonlenar: The @postandcourier is a national treasure. If you live in SC (and even if you don't) this is worth your time. https://twitter.com/...
Jared Rutecki / @jaredrutecki: South Carolina has all but abandoned its ethical oversight of local officials, and year after year they quietly help themselves to questionable or illegal perks of holding public office https://www.postandcourier.com/ ...
@mudkevin: This is about corruption in South Carolina government, but more broadly it is about the circumstances that are allowing corruption to flourish across the country, i in n small towns and state agencies everywhere. https://twitter.com/...
Jeremy Markovich / @deftlyinane: if you live in south carolina, this story quite literally has something for everybody https://www.postandcourier.com/ ...
Avery Wilks / @averygwilks: NEW: At @postandcourier, we have spent months investigating government corruption and misconduct by local officials, especially in news deserts where no one else is looking. The early findings are staggering. Our first installment of UNCOVERED: https://www.postandcourier.com/ ...
Jenn Budd / @buddjenn: Wow. This is also what is going on federally. Corrupt politicians want you to think it's a right vs left or Republican vs Democrat fight, but it's not. It's corruption plain and simple. https://twitter.com/...
Mark Berman / @markberman: This is a stellar idea from the @postandcourier: Alongside community newspapers, it will dig into questionable govt conduct, particularly in small towns. Among early findings: News deserts make it easier for public officials to get away with corruption https://www.postandcourier.com/ ...
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
Clubhouse, which centralizes creation and consumption into a feedback loop, will do for audio what Twitter, Stories, and TikTok did for text, images, and video — To what extent are new companies, particularly those in new spaces, pushed versus pulled into existence? Last week I wrote about how Tesla is a Meme Company:
Discussion:
Bari Weiss / @bariweiss: This, from @benthompson, is the first thing that really helped me understand why @joinClubhouse is a game-changer: https://stratechery.com/...
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: Good piece from @benthompson about how Clubhouse is doing to podcasts what Twitter did to blogs https://stratechery.com/...
Renee DiResta / @noupside: We've seen this dynamic happen across other platforms: zero-cost publishing for content creation, aggregated massive audiences & nudges to assist distribution. But then comes the next phase: curation. And this is where IMO Clubhouse is going to have to work to avoid past mistakes
Promeet Mansata / Dozen Worthy Reads: Clubhouse : The newest (audio) unicorn kid on the block
Farzad Mostashari / @farzad_md: Key @benthompson insight- 3rd wave “social” apps (twitter, tiktok, instagram) democratize creation dramatically + steer the creator/audience to what's Interesting Clubhouse is doing that to podcasts (though the algo part is 🤷) Clubhouse's Inevitability https://stratechery.com/...
Vivian Schiller / @vivian: .@benthompson nails it: “Difference btwn Clubhouse & podcasts is how much dramatically easier it is to both create a conversation & to listen to one..inline with shift from blogging to Twitter, from website publishing to Instagram, from YouTube to TikTok” https://stratechery.com/...
Ben Bajarin / @benbajarin: I'm surprised more people aren't making the connection to Clubhouse and talk radio. Seems more an evolution of that than some other audio mediums.
Renee DiResta / @noupside: Curation is how the platforms suggest, promote, or push users things they are likely to want to see (or in this case, listen to). The discovery process can be proactive - users search and the platform returns ranked results - or somewhat passive, via pushes. It's powerful.
@alexcartaz: I usually end up agreeing with Ben on most things but I don't think CH is going to transform podcasts. They will just introduce a more viable “live” podcast (think live radio vs recorded radio) and lower bar for creation in general https://twitter.com/...
Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life: As Twitter killed blogging by being lower friction and fixing discovery, Clubhouse could do the same for podcasts. Key question is if Clubhouse can build out interest graph & discovery faster than Twitter can scale their Spaces product. Who do you bet on? https://stratechery.com/...
David C. Baker / @davidcbaker: The audio infrastructure for ClubHouse is hosted in the PRC. That's going to have to change if this takes off. https://stratechery.com/...
Ashley Carman / @ashleyrcarman: Interesting @benthompson piece on clubhouse. He posits that if clubhouse and social audio take off, Spotify's investment in podcasts might look like betting on blogs in the 2000s, only for Twitter to come along and kill them https://stratechery.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Cristian Nyari / @cnyari: I've been trying to put my finger on the Clubhouse phenomenon for weeks now but @benthompson nailed it in his analysis. Analogy w Stories/Video is apt “combined the customized nature of the feed with the ephemerality inherent in digital's abundance” https://stratechery.com/...
Roberto Kusabbi / @rktweets: An astounding long read on all things social really. But also so much more. A one-stop social history plus an eye on the future. Clubhouse's Inevitability https://stratechery.com/...
Mark Stenberg / @markstenberg3: really interesting hypothesis from @benthompson that makes the case for @joinClubhouse as the logical evolution of audio writing —> blogs —> Twitter photos —> Instagram —> IG Stories video —> YouTube —> TikTok audio —> podcasts —> Clubhouse https://stratechery.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Renee DiResta / @noupside: Goodread by @benthompson on how Clubhouse fits into the democratization trend that has reshaped content distribution for numerous content types over the last 15 years. (SIO got a shout-out for our work this wk on the Agora relationship...link in tweet 2) https://stratechery.com/...
Sparrow Advisers / Sparrow One: Clubhouse and the new platform generation
Meredith Shiner / New Republic:
The Capitol riot should end “both sides” reporting by Beltway journalists, which was devised as a way to avoid specious accusations of bias by Republicans — On January 6, terrorists—encouraged by former President Donald Trump and enabled by his Republican supporters in Congress—attacked the United States Capitol.
Discussion:
@meredithshiner, @newrepublic, @cbellantoni, @froomkin, @svdate, @edbott, @brfreed, @jayrosen_nyu, @omriceren, @newrepublic, @mehdirhasan, @brianstelter and @meredithshiner
Discussion:
Meredith Shiner / @meredithshiner: In @newrepublic, I ask, if an attempted mass execution at the Capitol—where reporters could have died and Republicans were both accomplices to the crime and rejected for history that their lives mattered—doesn't end both sides journalism, what will? https://newrepublic.com/...
@newrepublic: If reporters have to contort themselves into a sanitized, “objective” view of what happened on January 6, either because that has become their comfort zone or because newsroom leaders coerce them to do so, we all lose. https://newrepublic.com/...
Christina Bellantoni / @cbellantoni: It is both a damning of the worst journalistic habit and a somber call to action for change. Read this important @meredithshiner piece I'll be teaching my students this week. https://newrepublic.com/...
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: What I would really like to read is @meredithshiner describing (with names) the internal and external pressures she experienced at Politico, etc., that led her to feel “constrained by the orthodoxy of separating morality from regular coverage of Congress.” https://twitter.com/...
S.V. Dte / @svdate: A veteran political reporter told me years ago that one side says one thing, the other side says the opposite and the truth is almost always in the middle. Which was stupid then and is still stupid now. The truth is where it is. Your job is to find it. https://newrepublic.com/...
Benjamin Freed / @brfreed: This is such an important point by ex-Politico writer @meredithshiner. The deadly Capitol riot—that could've killed reporters—is definite proof the banality of “both sides” journalism needs to end. https://newrepublic.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: “After years of the... ‘view from nowhere’—in which ‘objectivity’ is performed by reporters as a ‘he said, she said’ dance without regard to either news value or truth—they have had their once-comfortable performance space invaded by the rioters.” https://newrepublic.com/...
Omri Ceren / @omriceren: For all the sharpness of their political and philosophical sensibilities, and even as they drew upon a 1700 year conversation on this specific issue running from Livy through Machiavelli, the Founders still fell short of sketching how stone cold dumb the Late Republic would get. https://twitter.com/...
@newrepublic: The media's powerbrokers should confront the way their decisions in the Trump Era brought us here, and the signal it sends to the reporters they employ if they continue to stay this broken course. https://newrepublic.com/...
Mehdi Hasan / @mehdirhasan: “If reporters have to contort themselves into a sanitized, “objective” view of what happened on January 6, either because that has become their comfort zone or because they have been coerced by newsroom leaders... we all lose.” https://newrepublic.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: “The Capitol Riot Killed “Both Sides” Journalism,” @meredithshiner writes: “Trump's acquittal notwithstanding, these violent events have forever changed the way Beltway reporters should do their jobs.” https://newrepublic.com/...
Meredith Shiner / @meredithshiner: Editors and outlets have an obligation to protect their reporters. This used to mean from bullying sources who were unhappy with stories. We are now asking Capitol Hill journalists to divorce their humanity from their reporting, which is dangerous both for them and for the public
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
ViacomCBS aims to prioritize streaming with Paramount+, but its launch has been hampered after the company sold off top movies and TV shows to competitors — The new Paramount+ has some holes after ViacomCBS pursued an ‘arms dealer’ strategy, hampering its effort to play catch-up with Netflix and Disney
Discussion:
Lucas Shaw / @lucas_shaw: Paramount offered all the movies on its slate to All Access/P+, but the service turned all but of them down. So now Amazon will release Coming 2 America the same month P+ launches. https://www.google.com/...
Lucas Shaw / @lucas_shaw: I wrote about ViacomCBS' ambitious plans for Paramount+, and the many challenges from its recent past. https://www.google.com/...
Andrew A Rosen / The PARQOR Substack: PARQOR Monday AM Briefing #36
Sarah Rumpf / Mediaite:
T.J. Ducklo announces his resignation on his personal Twitter account, saying he “embarrassed and disappointed” his White House colleagues and President Biden — White House Deputy Press Secretary TJ Ducklo has resigned after his controversial harassment of a Politico reporter came to light.
Discussion:
@grace_panetta, The Daily Beast, @jerseydeanne, New York Post, @tangentsafari, @weijia, @jaketapper, @kylegriffin1, @joeconchatv, @jdiamond1, @kurtbardella, Fox News, CBS News, Bloomberg, CNN, New York Times and Insider
Discussion:
Grace Panetta / @grace_panetta: .@PressSec: “We accepted the resignation of TJ Ducklo after a discussion with him this evening. This conversation occurred with the support of the White House Chief of Staff.” https://twitter.com/...
Blake Montgomery / The Daily Beast: Deputy Press Secretary TJ Ducklo Resigns After Threatening Politico Reporter: ‘I Will Destroy You’
@jerseydeanne: Biden's deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo resigns for threatening to ‘destroy’ reporter if she revealed details of his secret relationship with an Axios journalist - after White House only suspended him for a week https://jerseydeanne.com/...
Amy Hayes / @tangentsafari: Thank goodness! I was going to muster some phone calls from folks into the WH public comment line about this on Monday. @tarapalmeri should not have been treated like that. https://twitter.com/...
Weijia Jiang / @weijia: NEW: @PressSec announces @TDucklo has resigned after using sexist and threatening language with a female reporter. The President had said he would fire someone on the spot for being disrespectful, and that he wanted to restore decency to the White House. https://twitter.com/...
Kyle Griffin / @kylegriffin1: Jen Psaki: “We accepted the resignation of TJ Ducklo ... We are committed to striving every day to meet the standard set by the President in treating others with dignity and respect, with civility and with a value for others through our words and our actions.”
Joe Concha / @joeconchatv: WH Press Secretary Jen Psaki announces the resignation of Deputy TJ Ducklo: “We are committed to striving every day to set the standard set by the president in treating others with dignity and respect.” Note: Psaki was aware of the Palmeri harassment for 3 weeks and did nothing. https://twitter.com/...
Jeremy Diamond / @jdiamond1: TJ Ducklo has resigned from the White House, 1 day after he was suspended without pay for a week for comments he made to a reporter. Here is his statement on the incident & his resignation: https://twitter.com/...
Kurt Bardella / @kurtbardella: No one believes in second chances more than I do. @TDucklo is a fighter, a surviver, supremely talented. He made a mistake. It happens. He's accepting responsibility for it and I believe will bounce back and be better than ever. Lord knows I've been there and then some. https://twitter.com/...
Bradford Betz / Fox News: WH aide resigns after demeaning reporter despite Biden's warning of firing
Li Cohen / CBS News: “Abhorrent, disrespectful, and unacceptable”: White House aide TJ Ducklo resigns after reports he threatened reporter
Jennifer Epstein / Bloomberg: Biden Aide Ducklo Resigns Over Report He Threatened Reporter
Oliver Darcy / CNN: White House suspends deputy press secretary for one week for threatening reporter over story about him
RELATED:
Oliver Darcy / @oliverdarcy:
Jen Psaki says T.J. Ducklo has been placed on a one-week suspension without pay and will no longer be assigned to work with any Politico reporters
Discussion:
@presssec, @presssec, Columbia Journalism Review, @marcistook, @calebecarma, @oliverdarcy, @film_girl, @kerrymflynn, The Week, @lizmair, @scotttaylorva, @slaternfl, @911corlebra777, @jaketapper, @iamsophianelson, @andrewfeinberg, @seanspicer, @stevekrak, @warondumb, @nealrogers, @presssec, @therriaultphd, @abbydphillip, @justinbaragona, @roon0292, @genepark, @jaketapper, @hansmahncke, @chriscillizza, @nathanwurtzel, @oliverdarcy, Reuters, Washington Post and Mediaite
Discussion:
Jen Psaki / @presssec: TJ Ducklo has apologized to the reporter, with whom he had a heated conversation about his personal life. He is the first to acknowledge this is not the standard of behavior set out by the President.
Jen Psaki / @presssec: With the approval of the White House Chief of Staff, he has been placed on a one-week suspension without pay. In addition, when he returns, he will no longer be assigned to work with any reporters at Politico.
Jon Allsop / Columbia Journalism Review: Balancing procedure and politics in coverage of Trump's impeachment
Marc Istook / @marcistook: I get the point Tapper is trying to make. But I'm not sure reporters are considered a press official's colleagues. And Ducklo has stage IV lung cancer. Keeping his job means keeping his health insurance. Feels like there's more to the story. https://twitter.com/...
Caleb Ecarma / @calebecarma: worth re-upping this zero tolerance policy re: unprofessional behavior that Biden made during his staff's swearing in https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Oliver Darcy / @oliverdarcy: The note from Ducklo to Palmeri: “Last night on the phone with you I lost my temper in a way that was unprofessional, and I apologize for that. I should have done a better job at keeping my emotions in check during our conversation. It won't happen again.” https://www.cnn.com/...
Christina Warren / @film_girl: @kerrymflynn Any other communications professional would be fired on the spot for this. I cannot believe he is still employed and I'm even angrier people are defending him.
@kerrymflynn: This was sexual harassment. The consequence from his employer: A one-week suspension https://www.vanityfair.com/... https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Tim O'Donnell / The Week: 10 things you need to know today: February 13, 2021
Liz Mair / @lizmair: By Biden's own standards, he should have been fired. I get that maybe that standard was untenable, but ONE WEEK SUSPENDED WITHOUT PAY? That is serious weak sauce. https://twitter.com/...
Scott Taylor / @scotttaylorva: Is this a joke? He needs to be fired. Where are Democrat women and reporters' voices on this? https://twitter.com/...
Pete Evans / @911corlebra777: Good on Jake for pointing this out. Biden is definitely an improvement on Trump, but reporters aren't there to be sycophants and drink the kool aid blindly cc @thespybrief @JamesFourM @lauferlaw https://twitter.com/...
Jake Tapper / @jaketapper: Btw this isn't just a violation of the Biden pledge, or his broader promise of decency. I've had verbal fights with press secretaries for more than 20 years and no one has ever spoken to me like this. It's misogyny and emblematic of the double standard women reporters face. https://twitter.com/...
Sophia A. Nelson / @iamsophianelson: Heated conversation or threat? https://twitter.com/...
Andrew Feinberg / @andrewfeinberg: One of your deputies went on a screaming tirade at me in front of a bunch of reporters and staffers in the lower press office because he didn't like my answer to a survey question about your boss calling reporters “the enemy of the people.” You did nothing about it. Sit down. https://twitter.com/...
Sean Spicer / @seanspicer: Did he see this? “I am not joking when I say this: If you are ever working with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I promise you I will fire you on the spot. No ifs, ands, or buts,” President Biden https://twitter.com/...
Steve Krakauer / @stevekrak: So Ducklo is banned from working with any reporters at Politico, because of his misogynistic insults aimed at a Politico reporter, but he can still work with reporters at Axios, where his girlfriend is employed as a reporter covering the VP. https://twitter.com/...
Kyle Whitmire / @warondumb: No good enough, @POTUS. Are you a man of your word or not? https://twitter.com/...
Neal Rogers / @nealrogers: This is weak sauce. Ducklo's behavior was completely unprofessional and unacceptable. He failed to live up to the “treat colleagues with respect” standard Biden mandated just weeks earlier. He should be — as Biden said — “fired on the spot.” https://twitter.com/...
Jen Psaki / @presssec: In addition to his initial apology, he has sent the reporter a personal note expressing his profound regret.
Andrew Therriault / @therriaultphd: He literally has one job, which is to maintain healthy and productive relationships with the press, and he's clearly incapable of doing that. There are many better people for that job, and they deserve a first chance far more than he deserves another one. https://twitter.com/...
Abby D. Phillip / @abbydphillip: Keep in mind the WH has known about this since January. https://twitter.com/...
Justin Baragona / @justinbaragona: This is, of course, not what Biden promised just three weeks ago. He said specifically at that time he would fire “on the spot” anyone who treats “another colleague with disrespect” or talks “down to someone — no ifs, and or buts.” https://twitter.com/...
Jim Rooney / @roon0292: TJ has stage 4 cancer. While what he did is inexcusable, firing him now would basically be a death sentence. https://twitter.com/...
Jake Tapper / @jaketapper: President Biden on Jan 20: “I'm not joking when I say this: If you ever work with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I will fire you on the spot. No ifs, ands or buts.” President Biden on Feb 12: https://twitter.com/...
Hans Mahncke / @hansmahncke: Turns out this was just virtue signaling bluster. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Chris Cillizza / @chriscillizza: One week? Didn't Biden say he had a “zero tolerance” policy for this sort of behavior. https://twitter.com/...
Space Lazar Wolf / @nathanwurtzel: So it appears there are ifs ands or buts. FWIW, I never believed him. https://twitter.com/...
Caleb Ecarma / Vanity Fair:
Sources: Biden deputy press sec T.J. Ducklo threatened Politico's Tara Palmeri after finding out she was reporting on his relationship with an Axios journalist
Discussion:
@tducklo, CNN, Mediaite, Washington Post, Digital Digest, Ian's Newsletter, Poynter, Dynamics of Writing, @firstpost, Close Tabs, @_jacquelyn2020, NPR, @olivianuzzi, @carrasquillo, @dougheye, @davidfolkenflik, Al Jazeera, The Week, Slate, Politico, @alexburnsnyt, @kaitlancollins, @nbcnews, @joshdcaplan, @nbcnews, TVNewser, New York Times, @wesleylowery, Fox News, @timalberta, The Independent, New York Post, Deadline, The Wrap, Insider, The Sun, @calebecarma, @jbarro, @oliverdarcy, nexttv.com, @marymargolohan, @mattyglesias, Axios, ABC News, @clayaiken, Between Rock and a Hard Place, @soledadobrien, @goldietaylor, Raw Story, @maggienyt, @charles_gaba, @connieschultz, @asteadwesley, @lollardfish, @brianstelter, @edasante77, @oliverdarcy, @gormogons, @rezaaslan, @piersmorgan, @cfanderegg, @jaketapper, @meghanmccain, @edasante77, @byronyork, @zachdespart, @ggreenwald, @aidachavez, @espiers, @byrdinator, @espiers, @wakeup2politics, @alyssafarah, @mattdizwhitlock, @kenvogel, @nkulw, @rizzotk, @kairyssdal, @glennkesslerwp, @ericmgarcia, @rodericka, @reesetheone1, @jamesrbuk, @katieglueck, @mccarthyryanj, @lissandravilla, @jerrydunleavy, @eoinhiggins_, @nycsouthpaw, @chrishongtu, @susanferrechio, @davidfolkenflik, Washington Post, NBC News, Washingtonian, Overtime, Newser, USA Today, Boing Boing, The Daily Dot and CNBC
Discussion:
Josh Feldman / Mediaite: Politico Editor on Ducklo: Biden ‘Set a High Bar’ for Staffers and ‘They Will Be Held to It’
Washington Post: Deputy White House press secretary resigns amid fallout from contentious phone call with reporter
Ian Bamford / Ian's Newsletter: Monday Newsletter — Happy Monday! — For the first time since the election …
Vffilak / Dynamics of Writing: Reporter/source dating, on-the-record/off-the-record and Filak's First Rule of Holes: A look at “The Biden White House's First Media Scandal”
@firstpost: In a statement, #TJDucklo said he was “devastated to have embarrassed and disappointed my White House colleagues and President Biden.” https://www.firstpost.com/...
Hanaa' Tameez / Close Tabs: This might be a lot for Valentine's Day
@_jacquelyn2020: Let's help lift up @TDucklo He did what any HUMAN would do, WE sometimes make mistakes and an apology and change is the best way to go! Nothing but the highest respect and Honor for this man and his success. God bless us all! ❤️❤️ #Apologyaccepted 🤓 https://twitter.com/...
Olivia Nuzzi / @olivianuzzi: Didn't see this earlier: Psaki claimed Ducklo's apology to Palmeri had been “profound,” but @oliverdarcy obtained a copy of the apology. It's profoundly half assed. https://www.cnn.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Adrian Carrasquillo / @carrasquillo: Ahh reminds me of an operative who calmly asked if we could go off the record circa 2015 and when I said yes laid into me, yelling about my questions. For the rest of that campaign I conducted our communication via email but we're cool now! https://twitter.com/...
Doug Heye / @dougheye: I so respect this as a real apology, not a “I regret if my words were misinterpreted.” This shows character. I wish TJ well. https://twitter.com/...
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: WH spokesman TJ Ducklo resigns - publicly offering the profound apology he failed to provide at outset https://twitter.com/...
Tim O'Donnell / The Week: 10 things you need to know today: February 14, 2021
Alex Burns / @alexburnsnyt: I've been a reporter for 13 years, had many adversarial and even hostile conversations with spokespeople and have never been spoken to like this or anything close. And it's not hard to figure out why. This sexist bullying is unacceptable. https://www.vanityfair.com/...
Kaitlan Collins / @kaitlancollins: The White House says TJ Ducklo has resigned. “We accepted the resignation of TJ Ducklo after a discussion with him this evening,” Jen Psaki says. Says it was with support from chief of staff and they are “committed to striving every day to meet the standard set by the President.”
@nbcnews: JUST IN: Deputy White House Press Sec. TJ Ducklo has resigned, White House says. “We are committed to striving every day to meet the standard set by the President in treating others with dignity and respect, with civility and with a value for others,” Press Sec. Psaki says. https://twitter.com/...
Josh Caplan / @joshdcaplan: WHITE HOUSE: Deputy White House Press Sec. TJ Ducklo has resigned https://twitter.com/...
@nbcnews: Deputy White House Press Sec. TJ Ducklo statement: “I am devastated to have embarrassed and disappointed my White House colleagues and President Biden, and after a discussion with White House communications leadership tonight, I resigned my position” https://twitter.com/...
Chris Ariens / TVNewser: Deputy Press Secretary TJ Ducklo Resigns, Expresses ‘Regret’ Over Comments to Tara Palmeri
Michael D. Shear / New York Times: White House Press Aide Resigns Over Call to Reporter
Wesley / @wesleylowery: For the record: if we're talking off the record and you begin threatening me we are no longer talking off the record
Bradford Betz / Fox News: WH aide TJ Ducklo resigns after demeaning reporter despite Biden's warning of firing
Tim Alberta / @timalberta: Imagine if a male Trump staffer threatened a female reporter, leveled obscene sexualized insults against her, and then, after the WH failed to sweep it under the rug, he received a *one week* suspension. The outrage would be universal and unrelenting. Justifiably so. https://twitter.com/...
Alex Woodward / The Independent: White House aide resigns after suspension for sexist comments to reporter
Kathianne Boniello / New York Post: WH spokesman TJ Ducklo resigns after allegedly threatening reporter: Psaki
Ted Johnson / Deadline: White House Deputy Press Secretary Resigns After Report He Threatened Politico Journalist
Umberto Gonzalez / The Wrap: White House Deputy Press Secretary TJ Ducklo Resigns After Threatening Reporter
Michelle Mark / Insider: A top White House press staffer has resigned after threatening to ‘destroy’ a reporter
Kassidy Vavra / The Sun: Biden's deputy press sec TJ Ducklo RESIGNS after ‘threatening reporter’ who asked about his fling with journalist
Caleb Ecarma / @calebecarma: scoop by me: WH comms aide TJ Ducklo threatened to “destroy” Politico's Tara Palmeri for reporting on his relationship with an Axios reporter and accused her of just being “jealous” of his girlfriend. Jen Psaki and Kate Bedingfield then defended him https://www.vanityfair.com/...
Josh Barro / @jbarro: yeah I'm not sure how tenable it is to have a high-ranking press official who isn't allowed to work with one of the most prominent outlets. https://twitter.com/...
Oliver Darcy / @oliverdarcy: An update to this: I am told that Ducklo wrote *another* apology note just today. In that second note he expressed his regret in more personal terms, per people briefed on it. https://twitter.com/...
John Eggerton / nexttv.com: TJ Ducklo, Biden Assistant Press Secretary, Resigns
Mary Margaret Olohan / @marymargolohan: “It feels like she is punishing us more than him,” one of the staffers said, noting that her solution is for Politico reporters to lose access to one of the highest ranking officials in the White House communications department. https://www.cnn.com/...
Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias: They're gonna have to try again on this one. https://twitter.com/...
Ben Gittleson / ABC News: White House suspends deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo for threatening reporter
Clay Aiken / @clayaiken: Your move @PressSec and @POTUS https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Greg Mitchell / Between Rock and a Hard Place: The Fools on the Hill — Some last-minute revelations about Trump's behavior on January 6 emerge …
Soledad O'Brien / @soledadobrien: Lol. This happened to me only once. I said: hang on. Let me roll on this so I can play it back for folks. https://twitter.com/...
Maggie Haberman / @maggienyt: Imagine the (justifiable) reaction if someone working at the Trump White House had done this https://twitter.com/...
@charles_gaba: Ugh. From the story, it sounds like @TDucklo isn't denying the conversation or what he said. Unless there's some other factor to this, he should step down today. https://twitter.com/...
Connie Schultz / @connieschultz: I may have some thoughts about this. In summary, disclose, disclose, disclose — and be transparent in your efforts to avoid ethical conflicts. Also, never threaten journalists. It seldom goes the way you planned. https://twitter.com/...
Steadman&trade / @asteadwesley: you don't say stuff like this overnight, you do it because the behavior has been tolerated and even encouraged. too many press aides think off the record is grounds for disrespect https://twitter.com/...
David M. Perry / @lollardfish: Going off the record is a two-way agreement that doesn't go into effect until both parties agree and any one party can end it any time. https://twitter.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: There will be Q's about this at today's @PressSec briefing, and rightly so: https://twitter.com/...
EdAsante / @edasante77: For the record I don't want the guy fired. It's just amusing these standards Biden and the Left put up as some sort of cudgel against Republicans that end up ensnaring themselves.
Oliver Darcy / @oliverdarcy: Politico staffers are outraged about @PressSec's solution here: “It feels like she is punishing us more than him,” one tells me, noting the outlet will lose access to one of the highest ranking White House comms officials. https://www.cnn.com/...
@gormogons: GP Don't forget that the White House knew this occurred for several weeks and only suspended Mr. Ducklo when his behavior leaked. https://twitter.com/...
Dr. Reza Aslan / @rezaaslan: Fire him now https://twitter.com/...
Piers Morgan / @piersmorgan: First test of President Biden's zero tolerance policy on this kind of behaviour.... https://twitter.com/...
Caroline Anderegg / @cfanderegg: What I can't get over: his female bosses giving him a gentle slap on the wrist for berating and harassing another woman. And y'all wonder why we roll our eyes when women on the Left lecture us about having the moral high ground. https://twitter.com/...
Jake Tapper / @jaketapper: What's described in here is misogynistic, deranged, and absolutely unacceptable behavior. @tarapalmeri was doing her job. https://twitter.com/...
Meghan McCain / @meghanmccain: I cannot tell you how angry misogynists who speak this way towards women makes me - this is disgusting, blatant sexism and it's beneath the Biden administration. @tarapalmeri is one of the best journalists out there and deserves better than this. https://twitter.com/...
Byron York / @byronyork: How a Biden press aide dealt with a reporter pursuing an uncomfortable story: ‘I will destroy you.’ From @VanityFair: https://www.vanityfair.com/...
@zachdespart: Glad the White House suspended him but if anyone ever talks to my female colleagues like this they can go to hell. https://twitter.com/...
Glenn Greenwald / @ggreenwald: Not even a month into the Biden Administration and a very senior WH official is explicitly threatening a reporter and subjecting her to degrading, misogynistic abuse for trying to do her job as a reporter. Democracy dies in darkness. https://www.vanityfair.com/...
Ada Chvez / @aidachavez: I love how Axios pulled a reporter off the White House beat because she's dating a Biden press secretary, and instead assigned her to cover progressives in Congress and the Vice President — subjects that famously have nothing to do with the President. https://twitter.com/...
Elizabeth Spiers / @espiers: 👇 Off the record is an *agreement* between a source and a reporter, not something a source can just demand. It's not a magic word. And if you threaten a reporter, your OTR privileges are moot. https://twitter.com/...
Haley Byrd Wilt / @byrdinator: Can you imagine saying this to someone unironically and thinking it is a normal, well adjusted thing to do as part of your job https://www.vanityfair.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Elizabeth Spiers / @espiers: Also: when I was still a full time working journo, nothing motivated me more than a hostile subject or source threatening to destroy and / or ruin me. This does not have the effect on journalists that people think it will. https://twitter.com/...
Gabe Fleisher / @wakeup2politics: Two examples of male operatives attacking female reporters, surfacing within 24 hours of each other. As @espiers writes here, this kind of stuff does not often end up reflecting well on the operative! https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Alyssa Farah / @alyssafarah: Yikes. This is wildly unprofessional & deeply misogynistic. No woman should be subjected to this kind of bullying and berating on the job. Also, @tarapalmeri is a pro. https://twitter.com/...
Matt Whitlock / @mattdizwhitlock: “If you ever work with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I will fire you on the spot. No ifs, ands or buts.” -President Biden https://twitter.com/...
Kenneth P. Vogel / @kenvogel: Having been on the receiving end of aggressive (& personal) pushback from BIDEN press team, I can tell you it's not fun, but this seems like another level entirely. https://www.vanityfair.com/...
Noah Kulwin / @nkulw: Don't even think the inauguration had even happened yet when a WH reporter told me that Biden ppl were far more privately aggressive w press than Trump https://twitter.com/...
Kai Ryssdal / @kairyssdal: Soon to be Former WH Deputy Press Sec'y, I'll wager... https://twitter.com/...
Glenn Kessler / @glennkesslerwp: Possibly a firing offense but at the very least it looks like someone should be reassigned from ever dealing with reporters. Curious to see how this WH handles this. https://twitter.com/...
Eric Michael Garcia / @ericmgarcia: The really noxious thing here is that it looks like Ducklo went after Palmeri even though she wasn't the reporter pursuing the story. That just reeks of misogyny. https://twitter.com/...
Rodericka Applewhaite / @rodericka: If someone in Trump's orbit talked to a reporter like this we would call for their head and they would deserve it. Let's not excuse stoops to their level just because the previous administration maintained a standard of classlessness. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
James Ball / @jamesrbuk: This is well, well beyond the bounds of okay. And no-one should try to let the behaviour of the last administration change what's within the boundaries for this one. https://www.vanityfair.com/...
Katie Glueck / @katieglueck: “instead of calling the male reporter who initially contacted,” per the story https://www.vanityfair.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Ryan McCarthy / @mccarthyryanj: Biden WH: so that conversation in which a male aide threatened to “destroy” a female Politico reporter, called her “jealous” and made misogynist comments? That was off the record. Unbelievable stuff. https://www.vanityfair.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Lissandra Villa / @lissandravilla: There's always a way to make a bad story worse, and speaking so inappropriately to a reporter, is one: https://www.vanityfair.com/...
Jerry Dunleavy / @jerrydunleavy: How it started vs. How it's going https://people.com/... https://www.vanityfair.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Eoin Higgins / @eoinhiggins_: Hey @PressSec has @tducklo46 been fired yet, and if not, why not? https://www.vanityfair.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Southpaw / @nycsouthpaw: “Off the record, I will destroy you.” https://www.vanityfair.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Christopher Hong / @chrishongtu: Terrible treatment of the media has always been, and always will be, a bipartisan problem. https://www.vanityfair.com/...
Susan Ferrechio / @susanferrechio: I've experienced this kind of crap from “aides” and “officials.” Believe me, THEY MEAN IT. “I Will Destroy You”: Biden Aide Threatened a Politico Reporter Pursuing a Story on His Relationship https://www.vanityfair.com/... via @VanityFair
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: If confirmed, this would not build back better Biden WH-press relations VF reports that WH deputy press secy @TDucklo threatened @tarapalmeri as she reported on his relationship w a reporter - and made vile & misogynistic remarks to boot 👇🏼 https://twitter.com/...
Paul Farhi / Washington Post: White House suspends senior press aide accused of threatening reporter
Lauren Egan / NBC News: White House deputy press secretary suspended after allegations of verbally harassing a reporter
Andrew Beaujon / Washingtonian: The White House Response to the TJ Ducklo Story Should Remind Reporters: Press Staff Are Not Your Friends.
Jim Swift / Overtime: Reforms to Repair Our Democratic Guardrails
Bob Cronin / Newser: Biden Press Aide Suspended Over Threat
Rebecca Morin / USA Today: White House deputy press secretary suspended for 1 week after threatening reporter over story
Rob Beschizza / Boing Boing: White House aide threatens reporter: “I will destroy you”
Shriya Ramakrishnan / Reuters:
Seven West Media says it has struck a licensing deal to supply content to Google's News Showcase, the first major Australian news outlet to do so — (Reuters) - Seven West Media Ltd on Monday entered into an initial deal with Alphabet Inc's Google to form a long-term partnership …
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
A look at the challenges of podcast moderation: the difficulty of finding infringing content, the plethora of players, and philosophical objections to the idea — When former White House adviser-turned-podcaster Steve Bannon called for the beheading of Dr. Anthony Fauci and FBI director Christopher Wray, the tech platforms reacted.
Discussion:
Podcast Movement, @markamesexiled, Insider, @ashleyrcarman, @bergmayer and @bergmayer, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Mark Ames / @markamesexiled: Stories like these are signaling the long, slow rollout of clampdown on podcasts. It starts by announcing there's an urgent problem that threatens us all—and then, surprise! The solution turns out to be the same state+oligarch-funded disinfo warrior NGOs. https://www.theverge.com/...
Lucia Moses / Insider: Private equity buyers are circling ad agencies
Ashley Carman / @ashleyrcarman: is podcast moderation possible? i wrote about what it would take to moderate and whether doing so is feasible with podcasting's open ecosystem. i also dont know if moderation is something people want, especially if it means crowning one platform king https://www.theverge.com/...
John Bergmayer / @bergmayer: Anyway the way Apple handles podcasts is pretty good. There is no denying the importance of its directory but there is a significant difference between being a index of links and being a hosting platform like YouTube or Spotify when it comes to moderation
Nikkei Asia:
Netflix will financially support young Japanese animators, with tuition for an anime academy and a monthly stipend, to counterbalance a shortage of animators — US streaming company to pay tuition and living costs to expand original content — TOKYO — Netflix will financially support young animators …
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