RECENTLY
Online sleuths: Prepare to pull on the 1/6 committee’s loose ends!
There will be way more good bits ends in the supporting material than the press corps can handle on its own.
Just Like Elon Musk, the New York Times Can’t Stop Trolling the Libs
In an article that laid bare the pathologies of the Times newsroom, star reporter Jeremy Peters actually wrote that what Elon Musk stands for "remains largely unclear."
Donald Trump is not “embracing extremism.” He’s way beyond that.
Extremism is threatening to tank the world economy unless we cut Social Security. This is way, way beyond that. It is abhorrent conduct that shouldn't be considered acceptable in American society.
Here’s what political reporters care about, and it’s not you
Going against the conventional wisdom is a great way for political reporters to lose face with the people who matter to them.
I win an argument with Blake Hounshell
The author of the New York Times's marquee political newsletter seemed perplexed: Did I really think the Times hadn't done enough to warn the public of the threats to democracy?
It’s not a fluke, it’s a rot: Why the political media blew the 2022 election
Ever since they started handicapping the 2022 election, political journalists have refused to even consider that voters might reject extremism.
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.
EXPLAINERS
That thing that just happened didn’t just happen in a vacuum
The ultimate antidote to what ails political journalism today is context. And that doesn't necessarily mean doing a lot of extra reporting. It may mean just remembering.
Newsrooms are struggling to cover race
The role of race and racism in American politics has always been significant. These days, it is central to the political divide in our country. Understanding and being able to explain its complexities is essential to cover this moment coherently. And yet the gaze of our elite American newsrooms remains intractably white and male. So they fail.
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.