Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
I just wish folks who are spending so much energy and attention on
the "Nazi salute" controversy would give it a rest. It's the kind of
convenient distraction that sucks attention away from actions that
have real consequences. If there was any intention behind that
salute, it was probably a "flood the zone" move intended fill our
heads with outrage while Trump is pardoning rioters and drug dealers
and removing the US from the World Health Organization. Those are
the kinds of things we should focus on, not Musk's controversial
histrionics.
  

    
This bodes ill - posted by another Wellbeing in the <media.>
conference:


CNN Boss Warns Star Hosts to Avoid Trashing Trump’s Record

-----
“[Thompson] does not want them endlessly poking the eye of the
sitting president and believes that Trump should be shown some
deference,“ Darcy wrote. ”And he has made it clear that he wants the
MAGA movement to have a seat at the table when discussing political
topics... even if certain pundits do use the platform to make
incendiary and sometimes false claims."

More:
<https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/cnn-boss-warns-star-hosts-to-avoid-tra
shing-trump-s-record/ar-AA1xERjp>

The key here is what's "covering" and what's "trashing". Doing one
properly and transparently is going to sound an awful lot like the
other.

Meanwhile, the amount of content coming out of the Contrarian is
overwhelming, to say the least. Good content, from what I've been
able to check out, and they're clearly doing important work. But
there's no keeping out. I hope they go to a once-a-day model: a
daily release, all that content in one swoop. Would be more useful.
  

    
Also - for every Contrarian or Bulwark, there are dozens of smaller
publications that have been and are still doing the work. 

For instance, at DeSmog we are featuring a new investigation of
"Donald Trump’s Transatlantic Anti-Green Network" :
https://www.desmog.com/2025/01/21/mapped-donald-trump-transatlantic-anti-green
-network/
  

    
>I hope they go to a once-a-day model

I actually appreciate the steady drip, myself. It pulls focus
throughout the cycle and works to flood the zone with shinola. With
so much ill wind blowing from the new misadministration (and the
Vichy Press calling the stench a fragrance), a vigorous counterpoise
from the Contrarian (and others, pace Emily) promptly offers the
anxious citizen a refuge.
  

    
> steady drip
That is the expectation now..you must update as the news cycle
progresses through the day. Very expensive to do that, but seems
necessary.

My main news comes from the Guardian, supplemented by AP, SF
Chronicle and SF Gate and the Sonoma County Press Democrat.  In
addition I read Krugman's email newsletter, Amanda Marcotte from
Salon, headlines via email from the LA Times and Doctorow's
Plura-list.  Then I follow links here and there.

But if I had to go with just one it would be the Guardian.  They
keep their eye on the ball. Like today they reported on Trump's
usual BS in interviews and such, but also right up there above the
fold is a link to the real heart of the matter: "Republicans
reportedly ready to cut Medicaid funding to pay for Trump plans,"
and "Big oil spent $445m in last election cycle to influence Trump
and Congress, report says," as two examples.

Maybe because they are British-owned, but they are not intimidated
by whatever it is that intimidates outfits like USA Today as one
example, or that TV station that fired the weather person for
criticizing the Nazi salute on social media.

About that salute: there was never a "Roman Salute" such as seen in
movies. It came from the David painting "The Oath of the Horatii"
which hangs in the Louve.  It was adopted by Mussolini and later the
Nazis.  Maybe everyone knows that already. But to call it a Roman
Salute is essentially sanewashing it.  It is the salute of absolute
loyalty to a cause, sure, but here in the 21st century everyone
knows what that cause really is.  Saying otherwise is apologetic.
  

    
hell yes
  

    

---> I would bet serious money that people at major news outlets,
 including the NYT and ProPublica, are doing big investigative
 projects on Musk's business holdings, ventures and practices as we
 speak.

   I think yesterday's story on RFK Jr. retaining interest in a major
vaccine lawsuit suggests that they are diving into a lot of this stuff:

<https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/22/us/politics/rfk-hpv-vaccine-
merck.html?searchResultPosition=3>
  

    
Dan: what I mean is that Musk is trolling - setting the agenda by being
outrageous and "look over here". I'd rather look where he doesn't want me
to.

wg
  

    
Yes, what I was suggesting in <201>.
  

    
I agree that it was misdirection and preening for the flock (and
upstaging Bluto). I remain persuaded that it demands full throated
condemnation from every media property seeking to justify a
reputation for principle.
  

    
Just a note on Newspapers in Lake County -- population about 75,000
Area is somewhat depressed, large welfare / elder population. 
Wild guess : about 25,000 in the "newspaper" demographic

We have two daily print papers

- Record Bee  (Media News Group)  : been downsizing but still has an
active news staff of about four plus stringers. Syndicated
regional/national news.
- Santa Rosa Press Democrat (locally owned) : regularly covers
"bigger" Lake news, and is on news stands.

Online

- Lakeconews : general local news.  Regularly reports on local
government 
- The Bloom : arts, restaurants etc 

Media

- KPFZ 88.1 FM - community radio, nearly all local (3 or 4 feeds)
- KMOB-LP : one man operation
- Ch 8 : Community cable 

Other:

- Movie Theater with a summer drive-in!
- Theater with regular classic movies

I think they are all financially stable right now. 
  

    
I forgot to mention:

Facebook is very big for local news, particularly events.  Many
group pages, mostly well moderated.
  

    
Way off topic ... but some friends came up with a "salute" graphic

<https://www.facebook.com/lisabagel/posts/pfbid0GPREZb8sGBFsT6BL1eRTDmPsYDuwr7D
TjsKwbsMHAzx3tKvs4HyGHMZ8HJKVGm4kl>

Angle of arm:

Down: rest
Rising : pet dog, pet children
Horizontal: call taxi
45 degrees up : Nazi
   Maybe : roman, mussolini, hitler
Up: call waiter
  

    
> sanewashing
!!!
  

    

Dan, John, Paula and others who teach - What are your students
interested in pursuing after they graduate? Are they more
beat-oriented (business, environment, labor, science, local vs
national or international and so on), or medium-oriented:
newspapers, magazines, radio stations, TV news? 

How interested are they in working via the newer news ecosystem of
newsletters, podcasting, straight-to-social reporting (YouTube
channels, say) or entrepreneurial ventures?
  

    
I'd like to piggyback onto that: what's their take on - what are
their beliefs about - the employment landscape they'll step into? Do
they see a path to getting a dream job, or distinguish between what
they want and what's possible?

I'm thinking about the radio world I joined and what happened to it,
and wonder what I'd be willing to aspire to today without seeing
myself up for heartache. 
  

    

  My students understand they are looking at a very tough business, but the
ones who are most eager to get into journalism are already too busy
producing journalism to worry too much about it. One of my better students
has been writing for the Austin American-Statesman while carrying a full
course load; his byline is there and in other publications. He liked
writing about the environment and climate change in my course, but
recognizes that he's got to be able and willing to do everything, and so he
is. A surprising number of my journalism students plan to go to law school
but want to be able to write clearly about complicated things. They like the
fact that I went to law school and passed the bar; I give them shit about
betraying me, but they know I just want them to succeed in whatever career
they choose. And I write a lot of law school recommendations.

   The ones who expect to work in journalism are trying everything — we
have a great podcasting training program, and it gets very enthusiastic
students; there's broadcast and courses in newsletters and social media
work. They want to be able to say they can sit down at just about any desk
and get to work.

   I tell them that when I was finishing up my law degree I asked my wife if
she minded if I tried being a journalist first. "If at the end of 5 years
I've got a real job with a dental plan, I'd like to stick with it. If I
don't, I can always do cheap divorces." She said yes, and I had the job two
years later. My point to the students is that if they want to do this, they
owe it to themselves to try. But they should also be ready to do something
else if it doesn't work.
  

    
One thing the rickety structure of contemporary journalism has done
is to eliminate students who weren't serious about journalism.
Anyone who thought it was a lark, thought it was glam, didn't know
what else to do so figured how can it hurt to get a master's degree
in a year -- those folks don't show up any more. They don't even
apply. 

The ones who are left -- and there are fewer -- are serious about
the mission. Like John's students at UT, the Columbia group (grad
students only) will pretty much try anything to get in the door. 

The program sort of encourages that. We used to have these
concentrations -- newspaper, magazine, broadcast, photojournalism. 
No more. It's understood that you have to be flexible and
self-starting and sometimes entrepreneurial, willing and able to
work in a variety of media in a variety of places. 

So I don't hear a lot of "Im gonna write about climate for The
Atlantic" or "I'd like to cover the auto industry for Bloomberg."
They just want to work, to get started, and they'll figure out
specializations later or maybe beats will find them. Meanwhile,
they'd better learn how to report and write and take photos and do
audio and know the law and have some data skills and get some on the
ground practice, because they're in New York in August and they're
out mid-May. 

They're pretty awesome, too. They give you hope. 
  

    
That's great to hear. 
  

    
It is. With some fascinating nuggets in there - law school
ambitions, and eliminating concentrations in favor of bestowing a
larger skill set. Both smart.
  

    
It's good training for political occupations, too.
  

    
Any folks here have thoughts on how the big wire services, AP and Reuters
are doing? I read their stuff a lot and AP in particular appears to be
super robust, but what do I know?
  

    
John mentioned his student that's writing for the Austin
American-Statesman, and it occurred to me to wonder just how much
local staff AAS uses, and how the content they produce is leveraged
along with the USA Today content included as a Gannett publication.
The word on the street is that Gannett has destroyed local coverage
by acquiring local papers and turning them into USA Today clones,
but it appears to me that there's quite a bit of good local
reporting in the Statesman, quite a bit of local staff. And
apparently the Statesman still publishes a half dozen satellite
weeklies: The Bastrop Advertiser, Smithville Times, Westlake
Picayune, Lake Travis View, Round Rock Leader, and Pflugerville
Pflag. Is the Statesman an exception within the Gannett properties?
  

    
Back to students for a moment: I just sent off a recommendation for
a former student to Report for America, the second in two weeks
(applications due next month). 

It reminded me of this innovation, which began in 2017 and thus far
has placed more than 650 reporters in almost 400 newsrooms around
the country, usually the small ones that most need bolstering. 

RFA pays half their salaries, the local newsrooms and donors pay the
other half. The reporters commit for two years.  They get serious on
the ground training and experience, and the news organization gets
to report on important stuff they may lack the staff and time to
undertake otherwise. 
https://www.reportforamerica.org/about-us/

It's another hopeful development, and I admit to looking for those
amid the alarming developments for the news biz. A number of
Columbia grads go this route. Probably some at UT, also. 
  

    
I should add that when you look at the reporters selected last year,
it's clear that Report for America also helps diversify the nation's
newsrooms.