The big question about Mathias Döpfner is: What is this lying, right-wing billionaire telling Politico to do?
RECENTLY
Was Biden right? Or was Biden wrong? The national media won’t say
Our elite political reporters are too arrogant and afraid to answer.
Anonymous editors are a bigger problem than bylined reporters
Readers deserve to know who assigned, edited, and wrote the headline for political news stories. The should show themselves, instead of operating in anonymity – unaccountable, and also uncelebrated.
The best and worst political journalism of the week
My week in tweets: The New York Times dominates the best AND the worst; and how everyone whiffed on "the memo".
Coverage of Ron DeSantis shows the media has learned nothing from Trump
He is counting on mainstream journalists, once again, being so desperate to cast themselves as “impartial” that they will normalize what is effectively 21st-century American fascism.
The New York Times has a diversity problem
New evidence shows that New York Times management doesn’t just underappreciate diversity in its newsroom, but actively devalues it.
By firing Brian Stelter, CNN is capitulating to disinformation rather than fighting it
CNN’s latest big move is a huge victory for Fox. By firing Brian Stelter, CNN’s new management has rid Fox – temporarily, I hope – of one of its chief scourges.
MISSION STATEMENT
Press Watch mission statement: Political journalism needs a reset
No one can possibly argue that modern political journalism has fulfilled its essential mission of creating an informed electorate. Here's how it needs to change.
FOX IS NOT NEWS
By firing Brian Stelter, CNN is capitulating to disinformation rather than fighting it
CNN’s latest big move is a huge victory for Fox. By firing Brian Stelter, CNN’s new management has rid Fox – temporarily, I hope – of one of its chief scourges.
Replacement rhetoric is the litmus test the media has been waiting for
The concept of the intentional replacement of white people by nonwhite people, in any form, is a racist conspiracy theory that should be abhorrent to everyone.
THE BIDEN PRESIDENCY
EXPLAINERS
Anonymity for sources shouldn’t come cheap
The granting of anonymity in political journalism has always been a source of confusion and concern. But the dynamics are even more fraught when the White House is awash in chaos, misdirection, and lies.
Are reporters getting valuable information in return for the anonymity they grant? And what should they do when the people to whom they have granted anonymity lie to them?
Political journalists are doing voter interviews all wrong
How reporters go about interviewing voters, where they go, who they talk to, what they presuppose, and most importantly what questions they ask can make the difference between the stuff of parody and the best kind of political journalism. The key to doing it right is to explore not just voters’ political opinions, but their formative moments and their value systems.
REWRITE DESK
Not clear on who’s threatening democracy? Let me rewrite that for you.
Journalists should be making absolutely clear that Republican candidates for key state and federal offices are fully prepared to steal any future election that doesn’t go their way – making the conspiracy theory they spread about 2020 actually come true in 2024.
A “challenge” to Biden’s battle against racism? Let me rewrite that for you.
I would have written that the Buffalo massacre was a gruesome reminder of the importance of Biden’s desire to “restore the soul of America”.
‘Conservatives’ say teachers are ‘grooming’ kids? Let me rewrite that for you.
Instead of clearly debunking and critiquing this insane, divisive filth, the Washington Post does stenography and withholds judgment.