Top News:
David Leonhardt / New York Times:
Analysis finds 87% of COVID-19 coverage in the national US media last year was negative, compared to 51% in international media and 64% in scientific journals — The U.S. media is offering a different picture of Covid-19 from science journals or the international media, a study finds.
Discussion:
@dleonhardt, @dkthomp, @jjmccluskey, @cgasparino, @mims, @soljourno, @rogerpielkejr, @bmorrissey, @jonfavs, @halsparks, @elaberwarren, @neilcybart, @mallarytenore, @raju, @asymco, @dleonhardt, @kushal_mehra, @mpolikoff, @mulvihill79, @chrisvanderveen, @ericboehlert, @jayrosen_nyu, @picardonhealth, @jeromeadamsmd, @natesilver538, @sapinker, @jayrosen_nyu and @alisciaandrews
Discussion:
David Leonhardt / @dleonhardt: National U.S. publications and TV networks cover Covid news much more negatively than foreign media, scientific journals or regional media within the U.S. Why? 🧵 https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Derek Thompson / @dkthomp: The media's negativity bias deserves more attention, not because it's subtle, but because it's ubiquitous. Bad news bias is the nitrogen of the media ecosystem. You can go years without seeing or thinking about it but its implications are weird and important and worth theorizing https://twitter.com/...
Jill McCluskey / @jjmccluskey: .@Jo_Swinnen & I have published on the bad news bias in media. The bias is demand driven because people want to avoid negative events more than they want to experience positive events. The economic explanation is diminishing marginal utility. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Charles Gasparino / @cgasparino: A very important story via @DLeonhardt. My brother is on the front lines of the pandemic as a ICU doc. Covid is certainly NOT over — a friend and colleague of mine just died from it — but things are getting much better. Bad News Bias https://www.nytimes.com/...
Christopher Mims / @mims: “Sometimes, [journalists'] healthy skepticism can turn into reflexive cynicism, and we end up telling something less than the complete story.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@soljourno: We would like to thank everyone on Earth for telling us about this. Read. Every. Word. https://twitter.com/...
Roger Pielke Jr / @rogerpielkejr: Bad News Bias “If we're constantly telling a negative story, we are not giving our audience the most accurate portrait of reality. We are shading it.” Now do climate @DLeonhardt https://www.nytimes.com/...
Brian Morrissey / @bmorrissey: Deaths are down 40% and likely will continue that trajectory and US is at herd before summer starts. It's ok to acknowledge, even celebrate, that brighter days are ahead. https://twitter.com/...
Jon Favreau / @jonfavs: “The most well-read U.S. media are outliers in terms of their negativity.” Our media is addicted to making us feel bad about everything. Great piece and study. https://twitter.com/...
Emily Laber-Warren / @elaberwarren: We US health journalists should do a little soul searching about this. Interesting study on the negative skew of many Covid-19 stories, even as the vaccines surprised us with their speed of development and efficacy https://www.nytimes.com/...
Neil Cybart / @neilcybart: Good thread on why COVID coverage here in the U.S. is too negative. Summary: People are drawn to bad news and too many journalists have let skepticism turn into cynicism in their search for truth. https://twitter.com/...
Mallary Tenore / @mallarytenore: The U.S. media is offering a different picture of Covid-19 from science journals or the international media, a study finds: https://messaging-custom-newsletters.ny times.com/ ...
Raju Narisetti / @raju: Bad News Bears The U.S. media is offering a very different picture of Covid-19 from that in science journals or the international media, a new study finds. https://www.nytimes.com/...? via @nytimes
Horace Dediu / @asymco: Betting against media coverage on COVID sounds super lucrative. https://twitter.com/...
David Leonhardt / @dleonhardt: ... our healthy skepticism can turn into reflexive cynicism, and we end up telling something less than the complete story because we don't weigh positive news and negative objectively. I worry that has sometimes happened with Covid. More here: https://www.nytimes.com/...
@kushal_mehra: Bad News Bias “If we're constantly telling a negative story, we are not giving our audience the most accurate portrait of reality. We are shading it.” Read this article. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Morgan Polikoff / @mpolikoff: A really interesting read (with education implications, I'd say) // Bad News Bias https://www.nytimes.com/...
Michael Mulvihill / @mulvihill79: Viewership growth during the pandemic year vs. prior 52 weeks: CNN +96% MSNBC +36% Fox News +18% https://twitter.com/...
Chris Vanderveen / @chrisvanderveen: When we, as journalists, fail to pursue context and good news as vigorously as anecdotes and bad news... ...we fail our audience and lead them to believe some things that simply aren't true. Crime, w/o context, is a perfect example. So too is COVID. https://twitter.com/...
Eric Boehlert / @ericboehlert: Trump's handling of Covid for all of 2020 was the most effing negligent and deadly govt action in modern American history and folks are wondering why the news coverage in US was “negative”?? https://twitter.com/...
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: COVID coverage by U.S. publications with a national audience “has been much more negative than coverage by any other source that the researchers analyzed, including scientific journals, major international publications and regional U.S. media.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Andr Picard / @picardonhealth: Bad News Bias: The U.S. media is offering a different picture of #Covid19 from science journals or the international media, a study finds, by @DLeonhardt https://www.nytimes.com/... via @nytimes #PandemicJournalism
Jerome Adams / @jeromeadamsmd: “91% of stories by U.S. media are negative in tone vs 54% for non-U.S. & 65% for science journals. The negativity of U.S. media is notable even in areas w/ positive developments eg school re-openings & vaccine trials...” Bad News Bias - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/...
Nate Silver / @natesilver538: Is it the Pfizer vaccine results that's the inflection point here—when COVID media coverage begins to become less negative—or is it the presidential election on 11/3? Hard to tell but if anything, the election would seem to line up slightly better with this data. https://twitter.com/...
Steven Pinker / @sapinker: Bad News Bias: I've argued (see linked tweet) that the media's negativity bias has poisoned people's commitment to liberal democratic institutions. I haven't pressed the point in 2020 because Covid truly was bad-but the bias is making things worse. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
Sources: HuffPost has picked Danielle Belton as its new EIC; Belton is currently the EIC at G/O Media's Black-focused news and culture outlet The Root — The left-leaning digital media pioneer will be helmed by The Root's current top editor Danielle Belton, The Daily Beast has learned.
Discussion:
Axios, New York Times, CNN, The Wrap, Variety, The Hill, @blacksnob, @hilella, @lpolgreen, @nytimes, @raju, @stephentotilo, @jawnita, @ryanjreilly, @yeshacallahan, @huffpostunion, @pressgazette, @reignofapril, @sfreynolds, @alexckaufman, @maxwelltani and @jeremymbarr
Discussion:
Sara Fischer / Axios: BuzzFeed names Danielle Belton editor-in-chief of HuffPost
Katie Robertson / New York Times: HuffPost Names Danielle Belton as New Top Editor
Todd Spangler / Variety: BuzzFeed Appoints New HuffPost Editor in Chief, Danielle Belton of The Root
Thomas Moore / The Hill: HuffPost picks Danielle Belton as new editor-in-chief
Danielle C. Belton / @blacksnob: When life comes at you fast ... but it's the best news ever!!! It's true, I'm leaving my wonderful friends and team @TheRoot next month to join another news site as its EIC! So honored and excited to be part the award-winning @HuffPost team! https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...
Hillary Frey / @hilella: Congratulations, @blacksnob! @Huffpost has the best editorial leaders, editors, reporters, producers and business-side partners I've ever known. So excited to see what's next for all of you! https://twitter.com/...
Lydia Polgreen / @lpolgreen: Huge congratulations to @blacksnob!! https://twitter.com/...
@nytimes: Danielle Belton, the editor in chief of The Root, will be the new top editor of HuffPost. She was the first editor in chief of The Root and has written and edited for publications including theGrio, Essence, The Washington Post and The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Raju Narisetti / @raju: Congratulations to @TheRoot EIC Danielle Belton @blacksnob, named new Editor-in-Chief of @HuffPost. She has had a remarkable run in revitalizing The Root and making it a must-read in the last five years. Onward and upward, Danielle. https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...? via @thedailybeast
Stephen Totilo / @stephentotilo: Danielle is incredible and, given her penchant for being disturbingly productive, will probably write three novels on the side, between now and when she starts the new job https://twitter.com/...
J. Escobedo Shepherd / @jawnita: EXCLUSIVE: @blacksnob fuckin rules https://twitter.com/...
Ryan J. Reilly / @ryanjreilly: And now, some good news. https://www.buzzfeed.com/...
@pressgazette: Buzzfeed names Danielle Belton (@blacksnob) as HuffPost editor-in-chief. She is currently editor-in-chief of The Root https://www.buzzfeed.com/...
Samuel F. Reynolds / @sfreynolds: Go, cuz, go! Congratulations! @blacksnob https://twitter.com/...
Alexander Kaufman / @alexckaufman: Big welcome to @blacksnob! Looking forward to working together and having you at the helm. https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...
Eric Levitz / New York Magazine:
Substack is only a “scam” in the same way that modern media is, where star pundits profit and talented reporters go underemployed — If you aren't sufficiently broken inside to be an extremely-online journalist — or, worse, a non-journalist who diligently monitors the beefs within …
Discussion:
@sacca, @amywestervelt, @cameronwilson, @ericlevitz, @milehighrobert, @hannahrkeyser, @thrasherxy, @jowrotethis, @sethwemerson, @davidubben, @benpopper, @rachelmetz, @goldietaylor, @lindseyadler, @davegershgorn, @adavidhalejoint, @alec_lewis, @thelincoln, @howelloneill, @bdhowald, @annaleen, @lizzieohreally, @karaswisher, @sacca, @karaswisher, @frankicookney, @ntavakolifar, @ninabernstein1, @hkesvani, @annacod, @amywestervelt, @amywestervelt, @amywestervelt, @amywestervelt, @annanowo, @amywestervelt, @danismcnally, Trashberg, @rachelconnoll14, @sadydoyle, Jen the Libertarian, Crème de la Crème, @michellemanafy, Persuasion, @alex, The Hybrid Review, @tomnamako, @wudanyan, @amywestervelt, @hkesvani and @rklein90, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
@sacca: Even if the Substack/newsletter economics are a wash, a lot of reporters will make the jump just so they don't have to deal with their shitty editors. (Employed journalists: Be sure to switch to your burner account before hearting this.)
Amy Westervelt / @amywestervelt: The individual superstar brand thing is the measure of success. So if you don't want to do that, if you stick to the work, it's possible, but you'll never make as much money. And you'll routinely have your work cribbed by the people who focus on brand-building.
@cameronwilson: my favourite thing is venture capitalists pontificating about how journalism should work, fundamentally misunderstanding the industry, but also knowing that they're just going to keep spending millions of dollars to shape it that way regardless :)
Eric Levitz / @ericlevitz: Between 2008 and 2019, the number of newsroom jobs in the United States fell by 26,000, according to the Pew Research Center. Over that same period, roughly 50,000 journalism majors were graduating into the U.S. labor market every year. https://nymag.com/...
Robert Sanchez / @milehighrobert: The journalists I've known who think their copy doesn't need to be touched (or thought through better) are usually the worst journalists, BTW. https://twitter.com/...
Hannah Keyser / @hannahrkeyser: that's what they always say about working in journalism: that full-time employment is burden people are eagerly opting out of to go it alone. https://twitter.com/...
Dr. Steven W. Thrasher / @thrasherxy: This is a major goal of Substack: “disrupt” the concept of a journalist as a “job” with “colleagues” and a “union” and a “pension” and “healthcare,” and to be replaced by the Avon/Uber/Cutco model of everyone going it alone, w/o the burden of “editors” or “health insurance” https://twitter.com/...
@jowrotethis: I love my editors. I know that's not the case everywhere but I just want to shout out the hardworking, wise, great editors out there. They exist! And are very necessary! https://twitter.com/...
Seth Emerson / @sethwemerson: I know very few if any writers who don't want an editor. We need the editing. We need the feedback. We need smart people to bounce story ideas off, to prevent us from pursuing and posting bad stories, and to make our good stories even better. https://twitter.com/...
David Ubben / @davidubben: I'm sure some writers feel this way. Show me a writer who thinks they would be better off without editors and I'll show you a writer who's deeply immature and overconfident. https://twitter.com/...
Ben Popper / @benpopper: I miss having an editor TBH. Not a shitty one, but the good ones push you to pursue better pieces, abandon stale ones, and craft something great. Plus, they make you seem like a great writer and rarely get a byline! https://twitter.com/...
Rachel Metz / @rachelmetz: wow, no. nope nope. i have worked with some bad editors, but i have mostly worked with great editors (and occasionally amazing editors) who make my reporting sharper, my storytelling smoother, and my mistakes fewer(er). it's a difficult job and i detest this type of criticism. https://twitter.com/...
Lindsey Adler / @lindseyadler: Editors are the line of defense between raw work and readers. They see a story forensically after you've completely lost track of what it says. My editor basically serves as the bumpers that keep me on track. Writers who hate editors are self-important buffoons. https://twitter.com/...
Dave Gershgorn / @davegershgorn: agree, all my editor ever wants is pictures of spiderman and its absolutely unacceptable https://twitter.com/...
@adavidhalejoint: My words are perfect and beautiful the instant they are formed. But I work with editors to protect readers who simply aren't ready for so many mind blowing truth bombs. https://twitter.com/...
Alec Lewis / @alec_lewis: Oh, heck no, Chris. A writer is nothing without their editor. They're the confidant. The mentor. The friend. The motivator. The true wordsmith. The support. The inspiration. https://twitter.com/...
Lincoln Michel / @thelincoln: This is complete nonsense. Almost every writer I know would die for their editors. Editors protect and help writers in countless ways. The problem with journalism isn't too many editors it's... no jobs! https://twitter.com/...
Patrick Howell O'Neill / @howelloneill: journalism without strong editors is so, so much worse https://twitter.com/...
Brian Howald / @bdhowald: “The implication is that contrarians feign unorthodox belief to gain a following. In other words, they're hoodwinking their followers for money.” The biggest grift is pretending to be a contrarian: “My idea is (something my followers agree with, but presented as controversial).” https://twitter.com/...
@annaleen: So these muscular “independent writers” at Medium will be supported by non-union editorial staff. I see. So if you make your labor invisible, everything magically becomes rugged individualism. https://twitter.com/...
Lizzie O'Leary / @lizzieohreally: @sacca I would be absolutely nowhere without an editor. Well, I would be on twitter, sounding like a lunatic. So, editors. A good thing.
Kara Swisher / @karaswisher: @om @sacca Gotta go with Om here, Chris. More shitty writers than editors by FAR.
@sacca: @karaswisher @om No argument. It's the shape of the pyramid and always has been. But now they have options and the market will be more efficient. It'll also tell us how much/if copyediting matters to readers at scale. Fascinating times, but too many replies read like relics.
Kara Swisher / @karaswisher: @sacca @om Yes but the first libel case will ruin someone's day. It's just a mixed bag as is all journalism, except the latest gang thinks they hung the moon. They didn't and as someone who did this long before most of them did, I don't recall needing to abandon the good parts like editing.
Franki Cookney / @frankicookney: This is a good analysis imo. My newsletter is on Substack (although I don't charge for subscriptions yet) and I have been thinking a LOT about what it is vs what it could be vs what I actually WANT to produce and how tf to make any money from that. 😬 https://nymag.com/...
Nastaran Tavakoli-Far / @ntavakolifar: Strong piece by @EricLevitz on Substack which mirrors podcasts: a few already established stars rake in big money for opinions whilst everyone else barely makes anything but is told they can make it big. Proper reporting and society ultimately lose. https://nymag.com/...
Nina Bernstein / @ninabernstein1: “America does not have more competent journalists than it needs. But it does have far more of them than media firms are capable of profitably employing.” @EricLevitz https://nymag.com/...
@hkesvani: I think ‘scam’ isn't the correct word. Rather, it's the inevitable outcome of a 2010s media boom that paid in exposure, demanded new entrants to build personalised, identity heavy but corporate friendly personal brands, and shell out trauma stories for £120 if they were lucky
Anna Codrea-Rado / @annacod: @amywestervelt This is so key! Freelance doesn't fix work-based problems. This is true everywhere but especially in the media. Also, hi 👋 from an editor who used to commission you and has since gone freelance because they got laid off 🥲
Amy Westervelt / @amywestervelt: and honestly? i would rather work for someone else! i would be thrilled to sit in a corner reading documents with a highlighter all day. I currently have a fucking STACK of reporting waiting to be turned into stories while I manage a company I never intended to start
Amy Westervelt / @amywestervelt: There's this weird idea in a lot of media writing that if you are independent, you are an opinion writer. Henh? I mean, yes, that describes a lot of people with newsletters, but I had to create my own small multimedia outlet to be able to do accountability journalism on climate
Amy Westervelt / @amywestervelt: The point is that a lot of people leave staff jobs to go it alone thinking they're gonna escape the system that way but it's not so easy. You have to actually intentionally behave and work differently, knowing there's no reward. That's how we build different (imho better) systems
Amy Westervelt / @amywestervelt: And again that's hard to do and wildly disincentivized. So once again we are relying on the sacrifices and/or superstar talents of a few individuals to solve a systemic problem. Notice a fucking pattern here? Gahhhhh
Anna Nowogrodzki / @annanowo: @amywestervelt A-fucking-men to this whole thread. The most important things in journalism are WILDLY disincentivized. And that interacts with class/family money/race to keep journalism wildly unrepresentative of the country, which means as an industry we're really biased
Amy Westervelt / @amywestervelt: I keep noticing this in a lot of the recent media scandals — caliphate, reply all, now substack — there's a lack of awareness around how much all the options suck. You either go along with shitty media systems or you go it alone and grind it out, and in either scenario...
Danielle McNally / @danismcnally: This is very upsetting to me: “There are apparently a great many journalism consumers who aren't willing to pay $5 a month to support the work of dozens of journalists at a single publication but are eager to pay $8 a month to patronize a single blogger.” https://nymag.com/...
Ashley Feinberg / Trashberg: Welcome to Trashberg — Last August, Substack approached me about writing a newsletter under …
Rachel Connolly / @rachelconnoll14: I really liked this piece and I'm glad someone wrote it, but I do also sort of find it alarming that someone needed to write it bcos that scam piece was not at all convincing and people shouldn't have been taken in by it ! https://nymag.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Jude Ellison S. Doyle / @sadydoyle: It's disappointing, but not unsurprising, that “media news” coverage of the Substack issue specifically bypasses the fact that (1) the writers protesting Substack are mostly trans and queer and (2) their critiques center on structural transphobia. https://nymag.com/...
Aminatou Sow / Crème de la Crème: Tomorrow is a place we are together
Michelle Manafy / @michellemanafy: “The resurgence of labor organizing in media has mitigated the industry's exploitative treatment of entry-level workers and the class bias inherent to it. And this is one of the many reasons why unionizing newsrooms is a vital project.” @EricLevitz https://nymag.com/... @NYMag
Geoff Shullenberger / Persuasion: I Beg to Differ — If you (like me) spend too much time on social-media platforms …
William Shaw / The Hybrid Review: Goodbye Substack, Hello Patreon
Tom Namako / @tomnamako: “There are apparently a great many journalism consumers who aren't willing to pay $5 a month to support the work of dozens of journalists at a single publication but are eager to pay $8 a month to patronize a single blogger.” https://nymag.com/...
Wudan Yan / @wudanyan: This thread makes an excellent point AND people turn up their noses at “journo-preneurs” - a term that I guess describes me and one that I hate, but guess what, that's because we're all swimming in the same stuff, trying to make our own way https://twitter.com/...
Amy Westervelt / @amywestervelt: So... I agree with a lot of this except one thing: it seems to assume that investigative accountability reporters can't be independent. Hi, meet me. https://nymag.com/...
@hkesvani: Has some similar points to the zerohedge blog and ultimately, the question is, what's the point of going to journalism school when the news business is heading to the patronage economy? https://nymag.com/...
Rebecca Klein / @rklein90: “It's easier for social-media-addicted daily commentators to cultivate loyal fandoms than it is for investigative journalists or state-level political reporters. And yet the latter's work is generally more indispensable to journalism's civic function.” https://nymag.com/...
Steven Perlberg / Insider:
Leaked memo: NYT is creating a system to approve outside work by its journalists, including newsletters, podcasts, book deals, or consulting on film projects — - A committee of Times leaders are expected to review outside work for journalists. — Both paid and unpaid newsletters may require approval from The Times.
Discussion:
@caseynewton, @kellyannepolls, @joshconstine, @lowenaffchen, @benthompson, @esportsguy, @ryanlawler, @jamesivings, @perlberg, @josephpalbanese, @nathanblawrence, @kantrowitz, @bendifrancesco, @mdekuijper, @scottbelsky, @mattyglesias, @edzitron, @mattdpearce, @yongfook, @errrica, @ranjanxroy, @jason, @whatthebit, @adamdavidson, @jacobwolf, @jarroddicker, @joshsternberg, @jamesfdennin, @wetcasements, @oliviasolon, @simonowens, @adriana_lacy, @loudmouthjulia, @baekdal, @mathewi and The Hill
Discussion:
Casey Newton / @caseynewton: Hearing that the New York Times just dropped the hammer on any new newsletters from staff, paid *or* free, unless they get prior approval from a committee. Paid I get; free I don't. Every reporter ought to have an email distribution list they can take wherever they want.
Kellyanne Conway / @kellyannepolls: What do we do about the reporters' Twitter feeds that read like newsletters? https://twitter.com/...
Josh Constine / @joshconstine: My #1 recommendation to journalists: negotiate having your own newsletter signup link in all your articles. I learned this tens of millions of page views too late. https://twitter.com/...
@lowenaffchen: the bernie campaign proved pretty conclusively that the organization suffers when a good chunk of the employees are there to harvest emails for their bullshit newsletter https://twitter.com/...
Ben Thompson / @benthompson: Welp, got this prediction out just in time 😅 https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Avi Bhuiyan / @esportsguy: Legacy media corporations have strong incentives to try blocking talented individual writers from discovering their value in the market. Individual creators empowered by tech to disrupt corporations they once would have worked for is a trend that's not going away anytime soon. https://twitter.com/...
Ryan Lawler / @ryanlawler: Someone in management read the stratechery on substack I guess https://twitter.com/...
James Ivings / @jamesivings: Ugh, this is like the media equivalent of your boss telling you you're not allowed to work on your own side projects in your free time. Thanks, I hate it. https://twitter.com/...
Steven Perlberg / @perlberg: Weeks after the David Brooks mess, the New York Times is creating a new system to approve outside work, including paid and unpaid newsletters, books, podcasts, TV/film consulting. Here's the memo sent to staff today https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...
Jpa / @josephpalbanese: we built the @presubscribe bc we saw this coming. i think we'll just see more of this as media orgs have to compete with independence. support your favorite creators before they go independent. (they keep the email list and they can't shut it down 😉) https://presubscribe.me/ https://twitter.com/...
Nathan Lawrence / @nathanblawrence: I honestly assumed this was already a rule. Interesting. I mean, probably not good, but interesting. https://twitter.com/...
Alex Kantrowitz / @kantrowitz: “The Times has been expanding its business in a wide array of multimedia activities, raising the chances that outside projects may compete with The Times itself.” https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...
Ben DiFrancesco / @bendifrancesco: This reminds me of companies that don't let their developers have side projects or contribute to open source. Massive negative selection bias. Guaranteed to filter out all the best talent. https://twitter.com/...
Martijn de Kuijper / @mdekuijper: What's the next step? Twitter accounts? Surely your subscriber list is more portable, but the audience is still your audience on Twitter. Weird decision by NYT. https://twitter.com/...
Scott Belsky / @scottbelsky: content is king/queen. and the future of creative economy is owning relationship with your own audience. platforms in the middle are not going to make this too easy... https://twitter.com/...
Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias: I think this is smart. Frankly if I were the NYT I'd be moving sooner rather than later to start clamping down on my journalists' Twitter feeds too. https://twitter.com/...
Ed Zitron / @edzitron: All this to stop @MikeIsaac from having more ways to post https://twitter.com/...
Jon Yongfook / @yongfook: I'm glad I left my job and now run my own small business, so I don't have to hear the words “approval” and “committee” ever again. https://twitter.com/...
Erica Palan / @errrica: Interesting thread. Not sure where my opinion is yet but can't stop thinking about early days of social media at publications. It was the Wild West of people starting accounts using brand names. Not a direct comparison but ultimately individuals over brands won the day there. https://twitter.com/...
Ranjan / @ranjanxroy: Does anyone recognize it's the NYT platform that plays a huge role in growing that personal brand? https://twitter.com/...
@jason: Clearly the @NYTimes management is feeling the sting of @a16z's relentless efforts to use Substack and Clubhouse to compete against them. writers need permission for newsletters now — which makes total sense for the NYT! https://twitter.com/...
Stefan Constantine / @whatthebit: imagine your employer controlling every facet of your creative output https://twitter.com/...
Adam Davidson / @adamdavidson: This is part of the existential fight between publishers and writers. My guess: both lose overall. But many individual writers thrive. https://twitter.com/...
Jacob Wolf / @jacobwolf: This is really unfortunate. Agreed on paid — very much disagree on free. If NYT isn't going to give them a first-party newsletter (which would require staff help) and I'd like to hear more than their 280 character thoughts, I'd subscribe. Also, some use it to promote books. https://twitter.com/...
Josh Sternberg / @joshsternberg: @CaseyNewton i love how moments after this tweet i got taylor's newsletter linking to her most recent nyt story lol
James Dennin / @jamesfdennin: pretty cool that david brooks was doing undisclosed pay for play with facebook and now every nyt staffer who makes 1/4 of what he makes has to get their newsletters approved by a committee https://twitter.com/...
James / @wetcasements: @CaseyNewton I mean, David Brooks was cynically double-dipping all while giving lectures on how to be a good, moral person...
Olivia Solon / @oliviasolon: This makes sense to me, TBH. It's not about paid v free but about potentially expressing opinions about companies that might leave the media org open to accusations of bias. There are such strict rules governing accuracy and fairness in what we publish at work. https://twitter.com/...
Simon Owens / @simonowens: What's the material difference between a writer having a free newsletter and, say, a Twitter account or a Facebook page? This is absurd. https://twitter.com/...
Adriana Lacy / @adriana_lacy: I get newsletters about something you cover(I guess), but if you are a politics editor and moonlight as a free weekend cooking newsletter writer, who cares? https://twitter.com/...
Julia Alexander / @loudmouthjulia: This will happen at other newsrooms and it sucks. I've had people find out about my Verge stories because of the newsletter. If you're a beat reporter, and you want to write more -often for free- it's good business for everyone. Also!! A key way of developing sources. https://twitter.com/...
Thomas Baekdal / @baekdal: I had a discussion about this very thing with @MarcelaKunova @iroughol @penelopejones @qinxiesays about independent publishers. The best thing to do would be to start building up your direct audience now, but actions such as these makes it nearly impossible. https://twitter.com/...
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: What about blogs? Oh right, no one has those any more. Never mind. Instagram account? TikTok? https://twitter.com/...
Thomas Moore / The Hill: New York Times committee to review staff's outside work
Ev Williams / Medium:
Medium announces buyout offers to everyone in its editorial division and the departure of Siobhan O'Connor, VP of editorial, as it adjusts publication strategy — We announced a buyout and leadership change to the Medium editorial team today. Below is the email I sent to the company. — Team,
Discussion:
VICE, New York Times, Medialyte, @joshsternberg, @benyt, New York Post, Today in Tabs, The Hill, @ev, @jkottke, @melissaryan, @raju, @carnage4life, @constar24, @stokel, The Muffin por Mauricio …, @yaelwrites, @jasonhowell, Goodwill factories, @brookeobie, @benyt, @jason_koebler, @waywardwinifred, @alexeheath, @smashdawg, @alexeheath, @adamwren, @timmaughan, @ryanlawler, @themadstone, @ryanlawler, @iankar_, @jayrosen_nyu, @harrymccracken, @thecitywanderer, @bigblackjacobin, @readdanwrite, @lmatsakis, @benedictevans, @peterbale, @mbaram, @rmac18, @hshaban, @rmac18, @vice, @alexckaufman, @bdeskin, @dansinker, @sarthakgh, @katie_robertson, @hcmarks, @jfagone, @helaineolen, @jathansadowski, @tamigraph, @robpegoraro, @rvoronacote, @devindra, @navalang, @parismarx, @ow, @davezatz, @stephaniemlee, @anthony, @tomkrazit, @grahamstarr, @mrmisocainea, @micahsingleton, @lukeepplin, @pierce, @kerrymflynn, @thekenyeung, @warmoth, @thekenyeung, @caseynewton, @kerrymflynn, @thekenyeung, @thekenyeung, @alex, @caseynewton, @alexeheath, @lanceulanoff, @aarieff, @mcwm, @s_m_i, @clarajeffery, Insider, The Wrap, Boing Boing, Jezebel and The Information, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Edward Ongweso Jr / VICE: Medium Tells Journalists to Feel Free to Quit After Busting Union Drive
Katie Robertson / New York Times: Medium Offers Buyouts to Editorial Employees
Mark Stenberg / Medialyte: The Medium pivot is the message
Josh Sternberg / @joshsternberg: @benyt one could also say it's also why ad-supported media exists? medium never went in on ads. it looked great for readers (which i wish more outlets did) and had great journalism, but subscriptions can't support what they were trying to do.
Ben Smith / @benyt: This is the big challenge for existing publications — do you try to block it, or find ways to capitalize on it: https://twitter.com/...
Keith J. Kelly / New York Post: Medium offers buyouts to its entire editorial staff
Rusty Foster / Today in Tabs: Our Incredible Gyre — Medium has already pivoted so many times that billionaire CEO Ev Williams …
Thomas Moore / The Hill: Medium offers entire editorial staff buyouts
Jason Kottke / @jkottke: https://kottke.org/ Editorial Team Update. I will continue to forgo publishing on platforms with ever-shifting strategies, morals, and agreements in favor of my patchwork “system” of publishing tools held together with chewing gum. At least it's *my* chewing gum.
Melissa Ryan / @melissaryan: I hate this all so much. I've always liked Medium as a platform but this is no way to treat people. And it keeps happening. Also, union-busting is disgusting. https://www.vice.com/...
Raju Narisetti / @raju: The sixth pivot? @Medium is offering all editorial employees the option to “get off this crazy ride” in the form of a voluntary severance program: ‘voluntary exit’ offer comes weeks after failed union drive https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...? via @businessinsider
Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life: Working in digital media is like working at a Blockbuster store in 2010, the writings on the wall. Some can go work at GameStop (NYT/WaPo) but even that just buys a few years before they're significantly disrupted as well (see Substack). https://www.nytimes.com/...
Constance Vigilance / @constar24: Wow. WOW. Medium is awful for this on so many levels. https://twitter.com/...
Chris Stokel-Walker / @stokel: Yikes. Huge sympathies to those doing amazing journalism on Medium, including many I've worked with https://www.vice.com/...
Mauricio Cabrera / The Muffin por Mauricio Cabrera: ¿Por qué Medium es un fracaso?
@yaelwrites: Medium canceling all of its great publications in what's likely a retaliatory move in response to union organizing is pretty depressing. https://ev.medium.com/... 1/6
Jason Howell / @jasonhowell: I am incredibly bummed about this news. @ozm has a lot of incredibly talented people contributing to it and as a reader and a fan, I thought it was working. This feels incredibly shortsighted. https://ev.medium.com/...
Brent Jensen / Goodwill factories: Let's Talk About Medium
Brooke Obie / @brookeobie: Please take care of yourselves because these companies will choose themselves over and over and leave you in the dust and frame it like theyre doing you a favor. https://www.vice.com/...
Ben Smith / @benyt: This is really about the triumph of individual stars/"talent" over publications/brands/bundles https://twitter.com/...
Jason Koebler / @jason_koebler: an all-time bad email https://www.vice.com/...
Fred / @waywardwinifred: Ev should be honest and admit that he's a union buster and that he's overhauling the business model to more effectively compete with @SubstackInc. https://twitter.com/...
Alex Heath / @alexeheath: During a virtual meeting with editorial staffers on Tuesday, company leaders acknowledged that the plan to offer buyouts wasn't in place before the drive to form the union, and that they wanted to give employees who weren't happy with their roles an option to leave
Jeremy Kaplan / @smashdawg: Another unfortunate chapter in the steady collapse of the online media industry https://www.vice.com/... via @vice
Alex Heath / @alexeheath: Deets on the Medium buyouts: Edit staffers were told today that the decision was the result of a failed effort by them to unionize. CEO Ev Williams said those who decide to stay could shift to support and edit individual writers on the platform. https://www.theinformation.com/ ...
Adam Wren / @adamwren: “Some staff members wept on the video call, according to two people with knowledge of the meeting, who were not authorized to speak publicly.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Tim Maughan / @timmaughan: yeah I didn't want to say anything about the union busting there b/c I've only heard it from colleagues, but read this: https://twitter.com/...
Ryan Lawler / @ryanlawler: For a short period of time, Medium allowed custom domains and I was so excited about the possibility of using it as a CMS and web host with just a small amount of customization, and for whatever reason they just... never went there.
Maddie Stone / @themadstone: starting to feel like Silicon Valley's plan to disrupt journalism might, in fact, destroy it, and maybe that was the plan https://www.vice.com/...
Ryan Lawler / @ryanlawler: Medium's decision not to go the picks and shovels route, when there was white space in the market and it was clearly the best publishing platform out there, is one of the most confounding things about it https://twitter.com/...
Ian Kar / @iankar_: How many times has this happened at medium now? and how many times will they get to try, hire a bunch of writers, and fail? IMO Medium is an incredible piece of technology trying to figure out a business. Selling the CMS tech B2B would be a great one /1 https://twitter.com/...
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: I am thankful I listened to @davewiner in 2004, who taught me to always keep my independent place on the web — PressThink — at an address I owned. No matter what the enticement. https://ev.medium.com/...
Harry McCracken / @harrymccracken: Is this the end of OneZero? Hope not—it's a gem. https://ev.medium.com/...
Rebecca Baird-Remba / @thecitywanderer: @bigblackjacobin I guess offering buyouts is better than just giving people the axe, at least
Edward Ongweso Jr / @bigblackjacobin: Ev Williams' pivot to a Substack model has NO connection to the recently busted union drive! It is NOT the latest example of a rich media owner who thinks he understands the industry better than workers inside it! https://www.vice.com/...
Louise Matsakis / @lmatsakis: It's hard to overstate how much I have admired what @ozm built. An amazing team of journalists that pushed the boundaries of tech coverage, regularly published stories I was intensely jealous of, and innovated in ways other tech pubs couldn't or wouldn't
Benedict Evans / @benedictevans: It's kind of weird how Medium has been both hugely successful and a serial failure, and had both had a really clear vision of what it wanted to do and no idea at all. https://ev.medium.com/...
@peterbale: @benedictevans Very well put. As with many platforms it was never satisfied with being a platform and tried to gravitate to being a publication. In the process it lost its way and irked all those publishers who switched to it as a platform.
Marcus Baram / @mbaram: @RMac18 he's such a tool how about stop being an impatient brat and let your new publications like @ozm keep pumping out great content and build an audience? sometimes that takes time it's not about instant gratification or success
@rmac18: That Ev Williams statement is a performance in corporate jargon uselessness masquerading as empathy.
Hamza Shaban / @hshaban: The inability of media bosses to communicate clearly, multiplying the cruelty... https://twitter.com/...
@rmac18: Be up front with people. Are they going to lose their jobs and if so, why? And what mistakes did you make as a leader and majority shareholder?
@vice: New: After what workers describe as a successful union-busting campaign, Medium's Ev Williams has announced to journalists who work for him that they should feel free to go. https://www.vice.com/...
Alexander Kaufman / @alexckaufman: Medium publications like @ozm and @GENmag did such exceptional reporting. What a shame to see @ev pivot away from original work. I have to imagine the staff's narrow union defeat just a few weeks ago had something to do with this, which is gross. https://ev.medium.com/...
Blake Eskin / @bdeskin: “This is, it should be noted, the second time Williams has destroyed all of Medium's publications.” Didn't expect it would be unions, but I did expect this #foolmetwice https://www.vice.com/...
@dansinker: How many times has Medium tried and then walked back in-house publications? Is this the third? The fourth? Maybe, hear me out here, they're just really bad at it? https://ev.medium.com/...
Sar Haribhakti / @sarthakgh: Medium's continuous pivot into becoming a version of Substack continues https://ev.medium.com/...
Katie Robertson / @katie_robertson: Medium editorial staff were told they did not have to accept the voluntary buyouts, but their jobs were not likely to stay the same https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jason Fagone / @jfagone: How many times has this guy hired teams of talented journalists, and made them promises, only to get bored and fire them a short time later when he couldn't “figure out the model” or whatever? https://ev.medium.com/...
Helaine Olen / @helaineolen: At some point, the new biz will run out of people who are convinced they can make a buck on it. Then what? https://twitter.com/...
Jathan Sadowski / @jathansadowski: A lot of Silicon Valley bullshit here just to say “As owners, we fear that professionalized and unionized workers threaten our power and profits. So we're nipping it in the bud by firing them.” https://ev.medium.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Tamara Kneese / @tamigraph: Medium is becoming Substack to crush their union, got it https://ev.medium.com/...
Rob Pegoraro / @robpegoraro: It takes a lot to make Facebook start to look like a more reliable platform for journalism, but Medium CEO Ev Williams is well on his way to doing that with his latest pivot, that word here being corpspeak for “leaving a lot of journalists out on the street.” https://twitter.com/...
Rachel Vorona Cote / @rvoronacote: This announcement stinks of greed and caprice and union-busting. https://twitter.com/...
Devindra Hardawar / @devindra: Absolutely heartbreaking https://twitter.com/...
Navneet Alang / @navalang: This sucks. And it especially sucks to see tech ppl with money cycle through people and publications like they're apps https://twitter.com/...
Paris Marx / @parismarx: medium workers: we're gonna unionize! @ev: no you're fucking not https://twitter.com/...
@ow: Medium seems to be pivoting AGAIN to the Substack model? This is a huge bummer, they assembled a bunch of the best writers for their in house publications and seem to be just....giving up (again?) https://ev.medium.com/...
Dave Zatz / @davezatz: These guys have pivoted the same number of degrees as Tony Hawk's final Ollie 540. https://twitter.com/...
Stephanie M. Lee / @stephaniemlee: time for yet another Major Medium Pivot... the great journalists there don't deserve such a destabilizing environment https://ev.medium.com/...
Anthony DeRosa / @anthony: “the Medium subscriber base has continued to grow, while our publication's audiences haven't” - @ev https://ev.medium.com/...
Tom Krazit / @tomkrazit: There's no reason for any editorial person to ever trust this company again, especially with the rise of new options for self-publishing. How many times do you have to watch the same cycle play out? https://twitter.com/...
Graham Starr / @grahamstarr: This is the 3rd (?) time in what feels like the same number of years that Ev Williams has decided to once again hard pivot Medium and hurt hundreds of journalists, employees and stakeholders in the process. https://ev.medium.com/...
Stephen Randall / @mrmisocainea: “I think a significant factor is that the role of publications — in the world, not just on Medium — has decreased in the modern era. I don't mean the role of professional editorial, but the idea of an imprimatur that establishes credibility or trust.” https://ev.medium.com/...
Micah Singleton / @micahsingleton: This is bad and awful for all the journalists involved. This is the second time Medium has gutted its editorial team. Those journalists deserve far better than this https://ev.medium.com/...
Luke Epplin / @lukeepplin: Paragraphs like this one, from Medium's announcement that it's breaking up its publications, makes my heart hurt. https://ev.medium.com/... https://twitter.com/...
David Pierce / @pierce: There are so many good journalists doing so much good work at Medium, and it really sucks to see it reduced to “not every story paid for itself so we're shutting it down” https://ev.medium.com/...
@kerrymflynn: Medium spokesperson statement that summarizes what @ev wrote today: https://ev.medium.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Ken Yeung / @thekenyeung: This is awful. I'm sorry for Medium's editorial team. If you're looking to hire editors and writers, I'm sure there will be some folks looking soon.
Brian Warmoth / @warmoth: Editorial strategy getting re-baked at Medium https://ev.medium.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Ken Yeung / @thekenyeung: On Medium's pubs: “we had no illusion these publications were going to pay for themselves in the short term. The bet was that we could develop these brands, and they would develop loyal audiences that would grow the overall Medium subscriber base.”
Casey Newton / @caseynewton: 🤔 https://twitter.com/...
@kerrymflynn: @ev Hi @ev, read through your post but a bit confused. Can you clarify what this actually means for the editorial jobs and the publications? For those who don't choose the voluntary buyouts, what happens?
Ken Yeung / @thekenyeung: A good point from @kerrymflynn, there's nothing in Ev's post about what happens to those that don't voluntarily part ways with Medium...will there be mass layoffs? https://twitter.com/...
Ken Yeung / @thekenyeung: “What's happened, though, is the Medium subscriber base has continued to grow, while our publication's audiences haven't. There are many potential reasons for this, which we could debate.”
@alex: I don't know what this means - are the great medium pubs I like being slimmed? Shut down? https://twitter.com/...
Casey Newton / @caseynewton: It's very rare to see a Silicon Valley company managed as poorly as Medium for such a long time. I feel awful for all the great journalists who have worked there over the years, who deserve so much better than this https://ev.medium.com/...
Alex Heath / @alexeheath: Medium pivots again, this time by offering buyouts to all of the journalists it has hired over the past few years to focus on a more Substack-like model. VP of Editorial Siobhan O'Connor is leaving too. https://ev.medium.com/...
Lance Ulanoff / @lanceulanoff: Wow, a big shift a @Medium, a platform where the majority of my new content now lives. If I'm reading this correctly, the topic pub/brands they've built are being deprecated as O/O editorial entities, but will live on with contributions from, I think, writers like myself. https://twitter.com/...
Allison Arieff / @aarieff: Isn't this the 3rd or 4th time @Medium failed to figure out how to fund journalism? (at the expense of really smart editors & writers who put their trust in it) https://twitter.com/...
Mike Murphy / @mcwm: time is a flat circle https://twitter.com/...
Stacy-Marie Ishmael / @s_m_i: has anyone done the definitive timeline of how many times Medium has changed its editorial strategy and what the messaging was each time https://ev.medium.com/...
Clara Jeffery / @clarajeffery: .@medium is pivoting, and tossing pubs in the bin, again: https://twitter.com/...
Tyler Sonnemaker / Insider: Medium offers employees ‘voluntary exit’ weeks after failed union drive as it abandons yet another business model
Ross A. Lincoln / The Wrap: Medium Pivots Again, Offers Voluntary Buyouts to Editorial Staff
Rob Beschizza / Boing Boing: Medium shutters media sites, pivots to Substack model
Axios:
Ahead of House hearing, Mark Zuckerberg calls for Section 230 reform that makes protections conditional on platforms' ability to identify and remove content — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will tell lawmakers his plan for “thoughtful reform” of a key tech liability shield rests …
Discussion:
NBC News, @dylanbyers, MediaPost, CNBC, Techdirt, AppleInsider, @pkafka, @dylanbyers, @matthewstoller, @reckless, @baekdal, @notjessewalker, @matthewstoller, @pkafka, CNBC, @margarethmcgill, The Verge, @mathewi, @reckless and The Week, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Dylan Byers / @dylanbyers: NEW @NBCNews: In House testimony tomorrow, Mark Zuckerberg will propose Section 230 revisions that would require platforms to have systems in place for identifying unlawful content and removing it. The changes could further shore up Facebook's power. https://www.nbcnews.com/...
Lauren Feiner / CNBC: Facebook's suggestion to reform internet law is a ‘masterful distraction,’ says Silicon Valley congresswoman
Mike Masnick / Techdirt: Beware Of Facebook CEOs Bearing Section 230 Reform Proposals
Mike Peterson / AppleInsider: Google, Facebook CEOs testifying before Congress on Section 230 on Thursday
Peter Kafka / @pkafka: These systems already exist for copyright claims. But copyright is (relatively) straightforward. Figuring out which content is “unlawful” is... not. https://twitter.com/...
Dylan Byers / @dylanbyers: Key line from Zuckerberg: “Platforms should not be held liable if a particular piece of content evades its detection... but they should be required to have adequate systems in place to address unlawful content.” https://www.nbcnews.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Matt Stoller / @matthewstoller: Mark Zuckerberg: We are only a “small part of the electoral ecosystem.” Also Mark Zuckerberg: “We ran the largest voting information campaign in American history.” https://docs.house.gov/... https://twitter.com/...
Nilay Patel / @reckless: “Take 230 away from most of the small sites on the internet” is quite an idea from Facebook. https://www.theverge.com/...
Thomas Baekdal / @baekdal: Yep. Existing platforms will be the only companies who could even do this. If this became law, nobody would ever be able to start anything new that could compete with Facebook. https://twitter.com/...
Jesse Walker / @notjessewalker: Facebook to Congress: We've put a lot of money and effort into building a content moderation system. Could you please require social media companies to have content moderation systems? https://www.nbcnews.com/...
Matt Stoller / @matthewstoller: Zuckerberg proposes an absurd micro-management system for Section 230 that will confuse and annoy everyone. F'ing ridiculous. Just repeal the whole thing. It's a bad law, admit it and let's move on. https://www.axios.com/...
Peter Kafka / @pkafka: If you were... cynical, you might suggest that what Facebook is really doing here is asking the government to do the very difficult task of spelling out what kind of “unlawful” content should be removed from Facebook, knowing that it's very unlikely it will ever do so.
Lauren Feiner / CNBC: Here's what the CEOs of Facebook, Google and Twitter will tell Congress about fighting misinformation
Margaret Harding McGill / @margarethmcgill: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will tell lawmakers his idea for “thoughtful reform” of a key liability shield at hearing, w/ @ashleyrgold https://www.axios.com/...
Russell Brandom / The Verge: Mark Zuckerberg proposes limited 230 reforms ahead of congressional hearing
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: Zuckerberg's proposed changes to Section 230 protection would make it easy for Facebook, Google, etc. and hard for everyone else. In other words, it would deepen the moat IMO https://www.axios.com/...
Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
LA Times says it has received a $10M PPP loan, its first during the pandemic, to help cover payroll and other costs amid a plunge in advertising revenue — The Los Angeles Times has received a $10-million loan through the federal Paycheck Protection Program — money that will help cover payroll …
Discussion:
@chadterhune, @logan_ratick, @politicsreid, @adriana_lacy, @dicktofel, @jessicamartinez, @adater, New York Post, @megjameslat, @dtohl, The Hill and The Wrap
Discussion:
Chad Terhune / @chadterhune: LA Times, owned by billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, receives $10-million federal #PPP loan. One of his hospitals was approved for similar #COVID aid last year #journalism https://www.latimes.com/...
Logan Ratick / @logan_ratick: “The Los Angeles Times revealed late Tuesday that it is receiving a $10 million loan from the Paycheck Protection Program — the maximum allowed under a series of federal bailouts.” https://nypost.com/... via @nypost
Reid Wilson / @politicsreid: LA Times has received a $10m PPP loan to cover payroll costs amid big drop in ad revenue (subscribe!) https://www.latimes.com/...
Adriana Lacy / @adriana_lacy: The Los Angeles Times has received a $10-million loan through the federal Paycheck Protection Program — money that will help cover payroll and other employee-related costs amid a dramatic plunge in advertising revenue https://www.latimes.com/...
Richard Tofel / @dicktofel: The real news here is at the end: even with all the cutbacks last year and with a macroeconomic recovery possible, it's already clear the LA Times will lose more than $10 million this year https://www.latimes.com/...
Jessica Martinez / @jessicamartinez: Almost a year later, this still really sucks: “The Times sold three community newspapers that it had shut down in April, laying off staff.” https://www.latimes.com/...
Adrian Dater / @adater: LA Times is owned by a multi-billionaire, takes government money https://www.latimes.com/...
Meg James / @megjameslat: Los Angeles Times receives $10-million PPP loan, which will bolster the paper's finances amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has devastated local news organizations. https://www.latimes.com/...
Danielle Ohl / @dtohl: Wonder if any @tribpub papers applied https://twitter.com/...
Ross A. Lincoln / The Wrap: Los Angeles Times Discloses $10 Million PPP Loan
Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
Sources: WaPo is looking for a “Journalistic Unicorn” to replace Marty Baron, someone with his stature but a stronger connection to “journalists of tomorrow” — The most buzzed-about candidate isn't on the short list, as a trio of Times editors' names make the rounds.
Discussion:
Hamza Shaban / @hshaban: Earlier this month, the Post's union sent a letter to Publisher Fred Ryan, signed by ~200 people, requesting a forum for staff to ask questions and offer guidance on the search for a new editor. “That request has so far not been granted” Via @joepompeo https://www.vanityfair.com/...
Hamza Shaban / @hshaban: Vanity Fair reports that these are some of the people that have had at least preliminary conversations with management about the executive editor job at the Washington Post: https://www.vanityfair.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Joe Pompeo / @joepompeo: A few people who I can confirm have had at least preliminary conversations about the job: Marc Lacey, Rebecca Blumenstein, Cameron Barr, Steven Ginsberg. Also talk in the air of Carolyn Ryan and Susan Goldberg. https://www.vanityfair.com/...
Joe Pompeo / @joepompeo: There was major early buzz around Kevin Merida, but while LAT was vigorously courting him and Disney was trying to keep him, WaPo was “passive,” as one source put it, so Merida decided not to enter the application process: https://www.vanityfair.com/...
Matt Donnelly / Variety:
Jay Leno apologizes for jokes told over his career targeting Asian communities, saying it is not “another example of cancel culture but a legitimate wrong” — Late night host and comedian Jay Leno has issued an apology for a series of jokes told over his career targeting Asian communities.
Discussion:
Mediaite, E! Online, Metro.co.uk, @yashar, Hollywood Reporter, The Week, The Guardian, @lovesthewords, @l4nguyen, IndieWire, @erichaywood, @mattdonnelly and @j_m_wood
Discussion:
Andrew Shuster / Mediaite: Jay Leno Apologizes for Past Jokes About Asians: Not ‘Cancel Culture’ But a ‘Legitimate Wrong ... On My Part’
Nola Ojomu / Metro.co.uk: Jay Leno issues apology after decades of making jokes about Asian people: ‘A legitimate wrong that was done on my part’
Yashar Ali / @yashar: I'm glad Jay Leno has apologized but I'm old enough to remember when @itsgabrielleu was labeled as “difficult” by Simon Cowell and others for objecting to Jay's racist jokes about Asians. My Story from 2019: https://www.vulture.com/... Leno Apology: https://variety.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Sharareh Drury / Hollywood Reporter: Jay Leno Apologizes for Past Racist Asian Jokes: “In My Heart I Knew It Was Wrong”
Brendan Morrow / The Week: Jay Leno apologizes to Asian American community for years of offensive jokes
Benjamin Lee / The Guardian: Jay Leno apologises for history of anti-Asian jokes: ‘A legitimate wrong’
@lovesthewords: You were an adult making Asian jokes @jayleno This is late. Play with your car collection some more https://twitter.com/...
Linh Nguyen / @l4nguyen: an apology after a near 15-year campaign from activist group Media Action Network for Asian Americans. no fucking thank you. https://variety.com/...
Zack Sharf / IndieWire: Jay Leno Apologizes for History of Racist Asian Jokes: ‘I Thought Them to Be Harmless’ at the Time
Eric Haywood / @erichaywood: “Decades of jokes.” DECADES. https://twitter.com/...
Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:
Politico Playbook criticized for an item that cast Trump's administration as having been more transparent than Biden's on migrant detention at the border — Journalists, progressives, and others hammered Politico for a Playbook item that cast the Trump administration as having been more transparent …
Discussion:
New Republic, @cam_joseph, Media Matters for America, Columbia Journalism Review, @lizcgoodwin, @fritschner, Discourse Blog, Media Matters for America, @jbendery, @dlind, @froomkin, @thetoddschulte, @juliancastro, @bjoewolf, @cam_joseph, @beijingpalmer, @fritschner, @eclecticbrotha, @jackmirkinson, @dlind, @jdawsey1 and @donmoyn
Discussion:
Alex Shephard / New Republic: Why the Media Wants a Crisis at the Border
Cameron Joseph / @cam_joseph: Do... do the Playbook authors remember Trump barring reporters (and, hell, lawmakers) from child detention centers two years ago? https://twitter.com/...
Matt Gertz / Media Matters for America: A new analysis shows no migrant “surge” or border “crisis.” Here's how often broadcast news has said there is one.
Liz Goodwin / @lizcgoodwin: Odd to hold up the Trump administration as a beacon of media transparency on immigration. If you covered child separation in '18 you likely have angry emails from Trump officials denying that policy existed. There's no video of separations for a reason. From playbook https://twitter.com/...
Aaron Fritschner / @fritschner: Trump's family separations exploded on the national scene in June of 2018, precipitating events included implementation of zero tolerance in April, the ORR “lost children” story in May, and a denied attempt by Senator Merkley to visit the Brownsville detention facility on June 3. https://twitter.com/...
Jack Mirkinson / Discourse Blog: There Is No Reason to Hand Stephen Miller a Microphone
Eric Kleefeld / Media Matters for America: Politico quoted Stephen Miller on immigration issues without noting his white nationalist background
Jennifer Bendery / @jbendery: this is so bad https://twitter.com/...
Dara Lind / @dlind: There was also the time when @mollyhf got yelled at for, IIRC, writing things down during a tour of a kids' facility?? Biden admin is being opaque, sure, but “Stephen Miller always wanted the press to cover the border as a crisis” didn't translate into actual access
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: This thread provides a powerful example of how our most influential political reporters are so easily manipulated into rewriting history and rehabilitating fascists if they think it makes them look like they're tough on both sides. https://twitter.com/...
Todd Schulte / @thetoddschulte: 2nd time in a week Playbook has pushed out paragraphs with huge, clear factual inaccuracies on which they hang there thesis. Here they quote the architect or zero tolerance family separation; it's 100% false. This isn't me saying I disagree with premise. Clear facts are wrong. https://twitter.com/...
@juliancastro: Transparency at the border is something every administration should achieve. So it's ridiculous to let Stephen Miller cast himself as a paragon of this. He helped create the conditions we see today, and his claims here are just false. Embarrassing, @playbookdc. https://twitter.com/...
Brandon Wolf / @bjoewolf: Stephen Miller is a xenophobic bigot and a key architect of the hell that immigrants are living right now. Giving him column space to gaslight America is inexcusable. Do way better @playbookdc . https://twitter.com/...
Cameron Joseph / @cam_joseph: The story they're linking to shows the opposite of what they're saying. Trump said he'd start allowing press into detention centers after the CBP BARRED THEM for years. They'd allowed press into ONE facility, after immense pressure. https://www.cnn.com/...
James Palmer / @beijingpalmer: I'm sorry, is this self-parody or are Politico really boasting about how cool it was being besties with Miller to see border propaganda? https://twitter.com/...
Aaron Fritschner / @fritschner: Hi @RyanLizza @EugeneDaniels2 @tarapalmeri @rachaelmbade, this is unmitigated bullshit, it just isn't true and it's astounding to see in print. Talk to your colleagues who covered this story at the time — what you have written here is just wildly false. https://twitter.com/...
Ragnarok Lobster / @eclecticbrotha: I still remember the vicious mockery heaped on AOC when she was photographed outside a detention center she and her group were barred from entering. https://twitter.com/...
Jack Mirkinson / @jackmirkinson: Stephen Miller going from “leading government fascist” to “trusted Politico source” in the span of about 8 weeks is a pretty great lesson in how the American establishment works
Dara Lind / @dlind: ::stares in @Haleaziz being barred from a DHS reporting trip by the White House:: https://twitter.com/...
Josh Dawsey / @jdawsey1: During one trip to the border in 2019, Trump administration officials screamed at me — and other outlets — for disseminating photos of migrants we saw cramped in one smelly, packed, outdoor center in McAllen, Tx. Remember that @PamelaBrownCNN? https://twitter.com/...
Don Moynihan / @donmoyn: People are dunking on Playbook for running this easily debunkable quote by Stephen Miller about media access, but TBF Trump DHS officials were illegally disclosing immigration status of criminals to Fox/Breitbart to bolster their “immigrant crime” coverage https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Kevin Roose / New York Times:
NYT turns one of its articles about NFTs into a NFT and puts it up for auction, with proceeds going to NYT's Neediest Cases Fund — Why can't a journalist join the NFT party, too? — Normally, I'm not allowed to make sales pitches in my columns. — But this time is an exception, because what's for sale is the column itself.
Discussion:
Kevin Roose / @kevinroose: The NYT made a NFT! My new column is about NFTs, and I also turned the column into a NFT and put it up for auction on @withFND, with proceeds going to charity. Bid away, and you could own the first NFT in the paper's 170-year history. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Taylor Lorenz / @taylorlorenz: .@kevinroose column about NFTs is an NFT and is up for auction on @withFND with proceeds going to charity. You could own the first NFT in the paper's 170-year history https://www.nytimes.com/...
@halhod: NYT about to straight up double its all-time carbon emissions with this auction. cool cool cool https://twitter.com/...
Bella Rubin / Bella's Bulletin: NFTs for Newbs - Part II
Robert Channick / Baltimore Sun:
Filings: Stewart Bainum Jr. offered $650M to purchase all of Tribune Publishing even as its board endorsed a $630M offer from Alden Global Capital — A Maryland businessman has offered $650 million to purchase all of Tribune Publishing, the parent of The Baltimore Sun …
Discussion:
MediaPost, Poynter, @benestes, @lizbowie, @friscojosh, @mattdpearce, @mcallguild, @bencjacobs and @ssdance
Discussion:
Ray Schultz / MediaPost: Tribune Board Approves $630 Million Alden Bid, But Allows Bainum To Pursue Counter Offer
Rick Edmonds / Poynter: Despite a potential higher bid, Tribune Publishing recommends shareholder approval of Alden's offer for the company
Ben Estes / @benestes: Seriously, doesn't the board have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of its stockholders? https://twitter.com/...
@lizbowie: There's likely to be a lot more to this story. Maryland businessman bids $650 million for all of Tribune, including The Baltimore Sun https://www.baltimoresun.com/ ...
Josh Hermsmeyer / @friscojosh: Tough to choose a side here...More $ per share -> nonprofit, or less $ and sell to hedge fund ghouls. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Matt Pearce / @mattdpearce: “The deal's success hinges on securing the votes of California biotech billionaire and Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong.” Our union, @MediaGuildWest, has urged Soon-Shiong to support any deal that would restore Tribune papers to local ownership. https://www.baltimoresun.com/ ...
@mcallguild: Alden Global Capital wants to ram through its deal even though its short-changing shareholders. Stewart Bainum's deal would pay more to shareholders AND set up the company for long-term sustainability and a model we support, not-for-profit. #savelocalnews https://twitter.com/...
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