@melaniesill@mastodon.social
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melaniesill

@melaniesill@mastodon.social

#Journalism #democracy #community. Former top editor at The (Raleigh, NC) News & Observer (rock columnist, too), KPCC/Southern California Public Radio, Sacramento Bee. Helped start NC Local News Workshop.

Love digging, info and gardens. I tend to post on journalism and #localnews as part of society and culture. Will leave the paved path for #music, nature and #poetry.

If you like or appreciate posts, boost them. You are the algorithm.

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melaniesill, to journalism
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If you want to understand what is profoundly wrong at the #NewYorkTimes, this article offers answers. I heard Kahn interviewed at an event last fall, and when asked what they'd do differently on election coverage based on lessons of 2016 and '20, his response was, roughly, hire more reporters with regional accents. He does not understand that independent #journalism doesn't mean giving two sides equal weight. Don't just take my word, read what he says. (your take welcome) https://www.semafor.com/article/05/05/2024/joe-kahn-the-newsroom-is-not-a-safe-space

melaniesill, to journalism
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For examples of how political sees its main purpose as predicting outcomes, look no further than how major media cover arguments. Better journalism would focus and highlight what was argued and the context -- explaining, not predicting, would be the primary aim. yes that's you.

dangillmor, to random
@dangillmor@mastodon.social avatar

In Republican-controlled legislatures, cruelty is policy. Latest:

"A Louisiana House committee voted Thursday to repeal a law requiring employers to give child workers lunch breaks and to cut unemployment benefits — part of a push by Republicans to remove constraints on employers and reduce aid for injured and unemployed workers."

https://www.nola.com/news/politics/legislature/la-lawmakers-vote-to-remove-lunch-breaks-for-child-workers/article_ef234692-fd9e-11ee-99f5-771c7366107a.html

melaniesill,
@melaniesill@mastodon.social avatar

@dangillmor OMG. It might be hard to run against charismatic individuals, but it oughta be easy to campaign against people who do policies like this

melaniesill, to random
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There is nothing hidden about Trump's radical agenda for a second term . It's laid out clearly in the book and report. Expansive remaking of government and increased presidential power, rights reduced for many, with specific, detailed plans, backed by 100 right-wing think tanks led by the Heritage Foundation: https://www.project2025.org
https://mastodon.social/@uspolitics/112289299222949533

melaniesill, to journalism
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If you're going to report on people basing their presidential vote on policy, you really need to detail what each candidate is saying and doing. J-101

melaniesill, to journalism
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You really can't parody the ' framing of every national issue through its horse-race lens and obsession with handicapping the 2024 presidential election. This myopia distorts coverage (presidents don't control inflation) and misses the chance at broader, more accurate and more contextual coverage on all kinds of issues.

melaniesill, to journalism
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It's true that has reported on and partisan media's effects on people's knowledge and opinions, but promptly forgets that reporting when covering new public opinion surveys
https://mastodon.online/@protecttruth/112233256305644869

melaniesill, to journalism
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Highly recommend this. has a context, which @tzimmer_history lays out, and represents the many factions aligning around major plans and agendas for remaking federal government should Trump win another term — but goes far beyond him in its aspirations. Mainstream needs to do much more to report on, contextualize, etc. https://mastodon.social/

melaniesill, to journalism
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Even decades after the news industry began trying to recognize the hazards of language that lazily picks up the rhetoric of politics, major news organizations continue to parrot phrases like "tough on crime." All policing is tough on crime, conceptually. Focus on what policies have proven to work, where proof is missing -- I.e. avoid the rhetoric, focus on facts.

melaniesill, to journalism
@melaniesill@mastodon.social avatar

We don't need 15 reporters (more?) per outlet doing sideline commentary on . We need more journalists reporting independently on the realities of the issues that get aired in a speech like this, and explaining policy and governing in everyday terms (and on social platforms, broadcast and accessible summaries) so that when elections come around, people understand the stakes and choices.

dangillmor, (edited ) to random
@dangillmor@mastodon.social avatar

This poll from the NY Times demonstrates better than anything I've seen lately how thoroughly journalism has botched its job -- to inform the public about actual reality as opposed to giving equal weight to lies and thereby helping make the lies what the public then believes.

We're screwed.

melaniesill, (edited )
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@dangillmor Yes. So little coverage of governing and impact of either administration— ongoing or big picture. People know little, because how could they? I couldn’t see that they asked voters which policies they gained from.

jeffjarvis, to random
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The fucking Times. It follows up yesterday's awful poll with another. That they even asked this question is evidence of the bias--the agenda--in their poll. Who made age an "issue"? The credulous Times falling into the right-wing's projection. This is not journalism. Shameful.

melaniesill,
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@jeffjarvis @jinglepostman Incredibly bad journalism. Not polling, per se, but the play, the ageism in the coverage, lack of focus on what Trump and Biden are actually doing and saying on the trail (look elsewhere for reporting on Trump's crazy talk) and the reality of the issues. And so much more. No accountability. We need a corps of public editors of diverse perspectives and a platform for ongoing debate about media performance.

melaniesill, to random
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You just cannot parody the ' obsession with polls and use of them as the center of their political coverage.

melaniesill,
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It's like they don't read their own coverage (for instance, of the strong effect of coverage on people who watch the top-rated cable network) and thus they fail to contextualize going along (short thread)

melaniesill, to journalism
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There's no reason for the ' CEO to be insightful about , and he isn't, though this interview is worth reading. But Joshua Benton at Nieman Lab knows this territory well, and I agree with his assessment that if the Times "believes in its “core mission... it should be using its position of relative financial security to work harder on the biggest and most intractable part of the problem. And that’s local news." https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/02/weve-really-worked-hard-not-to-ever-have-a-pivot-at-the-new-york-times-a-g-sulzberger-on-ai-local-news-and-that-trump-bump/

dangillmor, to random
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If you aren't reading Josh Marshall's consistently on-point coverage of political journalism's consistent awfulness, you really should. In "More Angry Biden, Please" he adds essential context in ways Big Journalism refuses to do.

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/more-angry-biden-please/sharetoken/9RNtjSGGVxF9?utm_source=brevo&utm_campaign=Backchannel%20NEW%20TEMPLATE%20259&utm_medium=email

Needless to say, the New York Times is operating the garbage truck at the front of this media parade.

melaniesill, (edited )
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@dangillmor But the Times doesn't care -- it's indifferent to criticism. And as it keeps adding subscribers (many drawn by games and cooking) it can claim it's giving the people what they want.

arstechnica, to random
@arstechnica@mastodon.social avatar

Meta verification proved useless—and my family is still locked out of Instagram

Bottom-of-barrel support experience shows the company's true feelings for customers.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/01/meta-verification-proved-useless-and-my-family-is-still-locked-out-of-instagram/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

melaniesill,
@melaniesill@mastodon.social avatar

@arstechnica These platforms aren't built for users. Just look at Facebook's terrible UI. They're built to deliver targeted advertising.

melaniesill, to journalism
@melaniesill@mastodon.social avatar

While there are many failures of mainstream on , this isn't the worst. The worst is failing to report on what and actually did in office, vs. what is said. A news culture that evolved to foccus on rhetoric and polls produces systemic failure over time, not one headline or one day at a time. Biden has been an active and consequential , whether you agree or not with policies, but coverage is glancing and superficial. https://wapo.st/41T52Tz

melaniesill, to journalism
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I'd love to see research tracing the rise of predictive (vs. explanatory or revelatory) stories like this one (gift) https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/29/us/supreme-court-trump-election.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Jk0.XFXp.dwJUfykb-pCS&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare Predicting is a staple now especially for and other major outlets. Why not (instead) explain legal principles, precedent, etc.: use it to educate about how works. used to be how many learned to understand US and its processes, but now emphasis is on prognostication and appearing savvy.

tzimmer_history, to random
@tzimmer_history@mastodon.social avatar

The sole purpose of this bad-faith dreck - “Trump, the moderate!” - is to muddy the waters by laundering rightwing talking points and injecting them into the broader discourse as “legitimate” positions. And the New York Times is eagerly helping, in the name of “debate” and “neutrality.” Shameful.

Screenshot of a guest essay in today’s NYT by Matthew Schmitz, titled: “The secret if Trumps appeal isn’t authoritarianism”

melaniesill,
@melaniesill@mastodon.social avatar

@tzimmer_history Piece ignores so much, most prominently his ongoing radical messaging (channeling Hitler, currently) and maybe just as importantly, the people around hiim

melaniesill, to journalism
@melaniesill@mastodon.social avatar

Imagining/ dreaming of a whose journalism in the coming months focused on what and did in office -- not just what they said, or what polls show -- and what impact it had. We have two candidates for who have actually held the office of (has that ever happened before?). There could not be a better scenario for that shows versus tells. can prove independence with substantive reporting.

melaniesill, to random
@melaniesill@mastodon.social avatar

Robert Kagan responds to readers of his " dictatorship" WaPo piece by saying those who want a different outcome should organize and activate on many levels: https://wapo.st/3Rfoy7U "If every American who fears a Trump dictatorship acted on those fears, voiced them, convinced others, influenced their elected officials, then yes, that could make a difference. Another ship is passing that can still save us. Will we swim toward it this time, or will we let it pass, as we have all the others?"

melaniesill, to random
@melaniesill@mastodon.social avatar

Can you imagine being in this extremely difficult situation at all, and then, having to ask the government -- via a judge -- to allow you to make the medical decision that's right for your family and you, and then to have men like Ken Paxton attack your choice? https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/07/us/texas-abortion-ruling-exception.html?unlocked_article_code=1.EU0.Nstz.uOnEX5wgE59p&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

flexghost, to random
@flexghost@mastodon.social avatar

Round in the chamber

Safety off

Time for your MRI appointment

…Let’s play guess the state. GO!

melaniesill,
@melaniesill@mastodon.social avatar

@flexghost North Carolina?

melaniesill, to journalism
@melaniesill@mastodon.social avatar

As the report notes, NYT, WaPo and other major media campaign coverage remains little changed despite huge shifts in the culture, the political and media environment, and in how people get information. If anything, these institutions and their are more settled in their conventions and more resistant to criticism. We need not on what people say but on what candidates have done and will do; not predicting who'll win, but informing the vote. https://www.cjr.org/analysis/election-politics-front-pages.php

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