The Swamp

One thing I learned at an old job about talking to reporters - you better know the differences between off the record, not for attribution, and on background. And you better be in complete agreement on which it is before you speak to the reporter.

From the always awesome Private Eye out of England...

From A Joke In a Facebook Group to a UK Wide Sensation!

You've got to read this.

I'm in Colorado Springs this week, visiting my parents.

They get the local paper, the Gazette , which has got to be the worst paper I've every seen. The editorial page this week has featured op-eds from Michelle Malkin (who is a local), and Cal Thomas (who wrote about how Sarah Huckabee Sanders was such a 'classy person'), among others.

The letters to the editors are insane, and included one that blamed the victims at Kent State for 'starting things' with the National Guard.

The editorial cartoons have been chock full of barely veiled racism directed towards Maxine Waters.

And...the worst part? Woody Paige is a featured sports writer.

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Fri Jun 29, 2018 2:32 pm I'm in Colorado Springs this week, visiting my parents.

They get the local paper, the Gazette , which has got to be the worst paper I've every seen. The editorial page this week has featured op-eds from Michelle Malkin (who is a local), and Cal Thomas (who wrote about how Sarah Huckabee Sanders was such a 'classy person'), among others.

The letters to the editors are insane, and included one that blamed the victims at Kent State for 'starting things' with the National Guard.

The editorial cartoons have been chock full of barely veiled racism directed towards Maxine Waters.

And...the worst part? Woody Paige is a featured sports writer.

Colorado Springs has always been a super-right-wing town. Air Force Academy, Fort Carson, NORAD, Super-Max prison, lots of military retirees, etc.

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Fri Jun 29, 2018 2:32 pm And...the worst part? Woody Paige is a featured sports writer.

Woody Paige is a good example of a guy who thinks he's a smart guy pretending to be dumb, but is actually just dumb.

sancarlos wrote: ↑Fri Jun 29, 2018 3:01 pm

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Fri Jun 29, 2018 2:32 pm I'm in Colorado Springs this week, visiting my parents.

They get the local paper, the Gazette , which has got to be the worst paper I've every seen. The editorial page this week has featured op-eds from Michelle Malkin (who is a local), and Cal Thomas (who wrote about how Sarah Huckabee Sanders was such a 'classy person'), among others.

The letters to the editors are insane, and included one that blamed the victims at Kent State for 'starting things' with the National Guard.

The editorial cartoons have been chock full of barely veiled racism directed towards Maxine Waters.

And...the worst part? Woody Paige is a featured sports writer.

Colorado Springs has always been a super-right-wing town. Air Force Academy, Fort Carson, NORAD, Super-Max prison, lots of military retirees, etc.

Oh, I knew that The Springs was conservative. Just a bit of surprise what one sees when you leave the happy Liberal bubble.

You probably saw that Tronc Inc., the parent company of the New York Daily News (who bought the News last September for $1), reduced newsroom staff by approximately 50 percent on Monday. The sports staff of roughly 35 people was reduced to nine, including just five writers.

Deadspin is all over some of the factors, including one huge one:

Deadspin wrote:This past spring, Michael Ferro resigned as chairman of publicly traded media-looting hell-company Tronc, Inc., just ahead of the publication of sexual harassment allegations against him. As a parting gift, Tronc paid him $15 million, voluntarily bundling up the total value of a three-year consulting contract into one lump payment expensed against the company’s earnings and putting itself $14.8 million in the red for the first quarter. Today, Tronc gutted the New York Daily News, laying off at least half of its editorial staff to cut costs...

...The journalists who lost their livelihoods today in effect had their salaries and benefits re-routed to Michael Ferro’s bank accounts. Against their wills, they were made to pay him for being a fucking pig.

Is the whole point of this Joeng backlash thing with the NYTimes thing that we're not allowed to say white people are the worst? Because I'll say it. White people are the worst.

ETA: And I realize it's a bad faith campaign by assholes like Cernovich just like with James Gunn, but I'll still say it. White people are the worst. It's not even close.

Democratic Party’s liberal insurgency hits a wall in Midwest primaries

For those keeping score at home, the "Insurgency" lasted for one primary.

I hate the horse race mentality to covering politics. El-Sayed lost in Michigan only because there's no way he was going to win in the general election in what is still a fairly racist state. Remember that a lot of Democratic voters in Michigan are not especially liberal, they're African-American and what's left of the unions and it was always going to be an uphill battle to elect a Muslim governor.

I don't think the "centrist" label has a lot of utility left considering Whitmer, the supposed "centrist" to El-Sayed's "Berniecrat" has called for abolishing ICE and a $15 minimum wage (yes, I agree those should be national policy positions for all Democrats, but we're a lot closer to that than 12 months ago.)

ETA: I think the bigger story in Michigan at least is that more Democrats voted in the midterm primary than in any other midterm primary in the state's history.

Village Voice, RIP.

EnochRoot wrote: ↑Fri Aug 31, 2018 1:15 pm Village Voice, RIP.

That's a shame. Back in my early-mid 20s, I bought the Voice just about every week. Great music and film writing, and I loved Michael Musto.

Having said that - haven;t even thought about it in 20 years or so.

While not journalism, this is an example of really, really bad writing.

Cited by Deadspin...

Did The Bills 3rd Super Bowl Loss Trigger Timothy McVeigh?

Just saw that on Twitter. Wow.

rass wrote: ↑Mon Sep 03, 2018 2:48 pm Just saw that on Twitter. Wow.

Just think how different history would have been if Osama Bin Laden hadn't got that flat tire that one time.

I had the misfortune of reading what must be the most sycophantic/self-serving/moronic column in this morning's Seattle Times, by Hugh Hewitt.

Trump is our combatant in chief. And he keeps getting better at it.

How many errors can you find in the very first paragraph?

President Trump will win reelection. Anyone who watched Wednesday’s presser after Trump’s big night Tuesday knows in his or her bones that it will happen, because the president is getting better and better at the job. We in the media are rightly upset that the White House has suspended the press credentials of CNN’s Jim Acosta, but I suspect the public is with the president on that move and generally admiring of his disdain for those of us with microphones and keyboards.

Getting better at his job? Trump had a big night on Tuesday?

He then goes on to say that Trump is the best interview in the Country, with Lyndsey Graham as #2, and gives lots of self-serving plugs for his radio show.

This may not be the best thread for this really, but it's worth reading.

How being named the best burger in America destroyed a Portland institution.

List of threads most appropriate for that (thought provoking, really) article:

1. The Random Rankings Thread
2. (The End of) Journalism Thread
3. Long Reads
4. The Fast Food Thread: Not just about assholes anymore

Good article.

Talk about unintended consequences

brian wrote: ↑Fri Nov 16, 2018 12:23 pm This may not be the best thread for this really, but it's worth reading.

How being named the best burger in America destroyed a Portland institution.

Details (some ugly) on the personal/legal problems of the owner of the shuttered burger joint.

Hey, if the Thrillist reporter knew about all of that stuff, he never should have wrote the piece. It's pretty obvious why the place shut down and it has almost nothing to do with the review.

I couldn't figure out actual guilt versus "me as key player in the story!!!" before yesterday's stuff came out so now its even weirder.

Eric Bischoff Ted Talk!

The headline from the Washington Post reads...

This NFL firing cycle is disproportionately affecting minority head coaches

Article starts -

The NFL’s recent efforts to strengthen its minority hiring practices by bolstering enforcement of its longstanding Rooney Rule have been followed by a firing cycle that has disproportionately affected the league’s African-American head coaches, significantly dwindling their ranks.

Further hints that the recent firings are indicative of a racial bias.

Yet every quote from members of the "Fritz Pollard Alliance" (the diversity group that works closely with the NFL on its minority hiring practices) indicates that race is not an issue at all.

“I would say that this is primarily a phenomenon of just how competitive this process is and how short the timelines for teams [to judge coaches] are,” Cyrus Mehri, counsel for the Fritz Pollard Alliance, said by phone Monday.

What a horseshit article.

My takeaway is that Jay Gruden and Jon Gruden also deserved firings.

sancarlos wrote: ↑Tue Jan 01, 2019 1:07 pm My takeaway is that Jay Gruden and Jon Gruden also deserved firings.

Yeah, but when the article includes stats like these...

Wilks just had completed his first season with the Cardinals, who had a record of 3-13. Joseph coached the Broncos for two seasons with a combined record of 11-21.

It is hard to make a case that the firings were race-based.

I agree with you. I was just making a smart remark.

Pruitt wrote: ↑Tue Jan 01, 2019 1:11 pmIt is hard to make a case that the firings were race-based.

Wouldn’t you just have to show that white coaches with those similar shitty records aren’t getting fired?

Consider the Marvin too.

sancarlos wrote: ↑Tue Jan 01, 2019 1:12 pm I agree with you. I was just making a smart remark.

Oh I know that.

I honestly don’t think the firings were race based but it’s hard to argue that Wilks or Joseph were given a fair shake. Marvin is a different story of course

brian wrote: ↑Tue Jan 01, 2019 1:53 pm I honestly don’t think the firings were race based but it’s hard to argue that Wilks or Joseph were given a fair shake. Marvin is a different story of course

Wilks was 3-13 but what was the best-case scenario for a team starting a rookie Josh Rosen at QB and having a combined 6 games against the Rams, Seahawks, Chiefs and Chargers?

Aside from theses specific firings, I do think there’s some ingrained bias where black coaches in all sports almost never get the “genius” label and instead are viewed as motivators or team chemistry guys. Because of this, black coaches who are not demonstrative are often viewed as bad coaches even if their results clearly indicate otherwise (see: Jim Caldwell).

16 years for Marvin wasn’t long enough?

tennbengal wrote: ↑Tue Jan 01, 2019 3:05 pm 16 years for Marvin wasn’t long enough?

No one is saying that.

It's scary to contemplate how many stories are buried simply because of fear of frivolous lawsuits from litigious billionaires like Donald Trump and Sheldon Adelson. The only attacks on the First Amendment are not coming from Donald Trump's fear-mongering. It's also worth mentioning that it was reporting from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post amongst others that was the impetus for the special council to investigate Donald Trump's ties to Russia. Without a healthy media, this country is doomed. (Fortunately this story has a mostly happy ending as the story was published, but it's something we need to be vigilant about protecting. Not just freedom of the press, but freedom to publish.)

And don't forget, during the campaign, Trump kept saying the first thing he would do is make it easier to sue the media for saying bad things about him. FFS, if only he showed some signs of what his Presidency would be like...

Pruitt wrote: ↑Thu Feb 14, 2019 8:14 am Bad Times at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

There are accounts by some of the newsroom staffers here:
https://pghguild.com/2019/02/13/newspap ... son-block/

The Blocks have done some dumb stuff over the years but this is a new, albeit unsurprising, level.