Even with a tepid catch-up piece from the NYT, the storm clouds here for Simon and Schuster are gathering

Richard Tofel@dicktofel.bsky.social · 3d ago

Quite a story from the progressive @theguardian.com, likely somewhat constrained by UK libel laws. Worth watching reaction from Simon and Schuster, due to publish the subject’s book next week. www.theguardian.com/education/ng...

One of the lessons of the Michigan Senate primary is something we are seeing pretty often these days: You need enough money in politics to compete, but having the most money, even by a lot, is not determinative

This would amount to conditional surrender— by the United States of America www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/u...

An Emerging Deal Between Iran and Oman to Reopen Hormuz Would Come at a Cost for Trump (Gift Article)

The deal would address President Trump’s most urgent political problem by allowing ships to move again. But it would give Iran strategic leverage it did not have before the war.

nytimes.com

Quite notable that @ashishkjha.bsky.social has now said, apparently for the first time publicly, that things he saw while in the Biden White House changed his mind and convinced him that a lab leak of COVID is more likely than natural origin.

Devastating story on the capitulation of Paul Weiss includes revelation that its current leader pushed its only trans partner into leaving, and paid them $3.5 million to go. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/u...

How a Top Law Firm Went From Standing Up to Trump to Bending the Knee (Gift Article)

Paul Weiss was a progressive stalwart for decades and led the legal resistance against President Trump in his first term. Then it surrendered without a fight. This is the inside story of its transform...

nytimes.com

Quite a story from the progressive @theguardian.com, likely somewhat constrained by UK libel laws. Worth watching reaction from Simon and Schuster, due to publish the subject’s book next week. www.theguardian.com/education/ng...

Playbooks, plagiarism and a pig’s head: new claims surrounding a star Cambridge professor

Jason Arday was regarded as an academic superstar, but then questions about his work prompted scrutiny of his backstory and counterclaims of racism

theguardian.com

Maybe we could just make the midterms a referendum on inflation, and the war but also the reflecting pool: -complete waste of taxpayer money -cronyism in contracting -abuse of power -lying to the people -debasement of DOJ

Every word Trump said about vandalism of the reflecting pool was false. His own DOJ now admits that the problems were “contractor error,” the contractor having been personally selected by you-know-who. Maybe he can take some of the money he has extorted from favor seekers and pay back the taxpayers.

Looks like someone figured out the remake of @postopinions.bsky.social was a disaster, measured in lost influence (the key measure of such a section), verging on irrelevance. Will be interesting to see what’s next.

Missed it in June but love the top of @dicktofel.bsky.social newsletter linked here. Brand said 'Information wants to be free' at a Hacker's Conference and it has been wildly misunderstood by journalism. I feature it in my chapter on 'The Business of Content.' dicktofel.substack.com/p/on-ai-pred...

The declines in audience for news go beyond search and AI. Many of us are just putting too much food on our information plates. This week’s Second Rough Draft newsletter open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...

Thinking Aloud About the Quiet Crisis in Audience for News

It’s not just search and AI

open.substack.com

A cry from the heart of public health, very much worth your time and consideration open.substack.com/pub/yourloca...

It's time to leave the man alone.

One day in 2020, I went to a coffee shop.

open.substack.com

Center right opinionator Bari Weiss has center right opinionator Ross Douthat named to the news team at 60 Minutes. Maybe they can open the season with a hard hitting colloquy with Mike Pence.

Who is trying to pressure whom to do what by leaking this story? www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Trump Turns Up the Heat on RFK Jr. to Cut Back Childhood Vaccines

​The president is focused on the shots’ alleged tie to autism, even though White House advisers wanted to tone down attention to the issue ahead of the midterms.

wsj.com

Can someone explain to me how Mayor Mamdani’s criticism of the Prime Minister of Israel caused a Latino man to stab an Asian American?

This from @wired.com is how you respond to a BS libel case. links.wired.com/e/evib?_t=9a...

Once again, @dicktofel.bsky.social’s newsletter is required reading for people thinking about doing journalism in 2026. open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...

The Big Bias in AI Is Economic

What's really driving the algorithms

open.substack.com

The relentless drive for AI profits and the increasing importance of algorithmic accountability. This week’s Second Rough Draft newsletter open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...

The Big Bias in AI Is Economic

What's really driving the algorithms

open.substack.com

Trump’s new talking point is that his war is still much shorter and less deadly than Afghanistan, Vietnam or Korea. Next up, that his inflation is less than the 1970s. Helluva midterm message.

Whether or not you agree with Mamdani on Netanyahu’s responsibility for genocide, we should all respect and admire Mamdani accepting that he lacks the power of arrest in this case. That is how the rule of law works, and other political executives could take an important lesson here.

This is an extraordinary story, well worth your time, and deeply troubling given the power now held by its subject. www.wsj.com/finance/bank...

The Man Who Runs the IRS Spied on Colleagues When He Worked at JPMorgan

Frank Bisignano directed staff to use software to snoop in email of rivals and surveil work of employees; Bisignano, who also heads Social Security, denied he ever spied on co-workers.

wsj.com

It appears the Secret Service has prevailed, and the retrofitting of the Qatari version of Air Force One will be completed before Trump’s next overseas trip, which is currently scheduled for November. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/19/u...

Trump Says New Air Force One Will Be Taken Out of Service to Be ‘Maxed Out’ (Gift Article)

The Qatari-donated plane has been under scrutiny over whether it is fitted with sufficient defensive capabilities to adequately protect a U.S. president and others traveling on it.

nytimes.com

Those Subpoenas to Reporters May Not Be Quite What You Think Signs of Trump's weakness, not strength by @dicktofel.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...

Those Subpoenas to Reporters May Not Be Quite What You Think

Signs of Trump's weakness, not strength

open.substack.com

This story is truly amazing. The teleprompter guy -- who has been w/ Trump since 2016 -- would allegedly "back out of certain bets mid-speech when Trump skipped over a portion of the speech that included a word he had previously bet would be mentioned."

Jamie Dupree@jamiedupree.bsky.social · 3w ago

The story of the day - abcnews.com/US/white-hou...

Subpoenas of reporters over highy embarrassing leaks are a sign of weakness not strength …

Richard Tofel@dicktofel.bsky.social · 3w ago

Unpacking the fight over those “national security” subpoenas to reporters. Including an old Harrison Ford movie clip revealing the big “secret.” This week’s Second Rough Draft newsletter open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...

Unpacking the fight over those “national security” subpoenas to reporters. Including an old Harrison Ford movie clip revealing the big “secret.” This week’s Second Rough Draft newsletter open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...

Those Subpoenas to Reporters May Not Be Quite What You Think

Signs of Trump's weakness, not strength

open.substack.com

This is a good look at what Bari Weiss gets so terribly wrong. She is undermining CBS' greatest strength: "accountability reporting and context and sense-making." Every actual news pro knows that you build on your top assets, you don't destroy them. But I suspect CNN will now suffer a similar fate.

Richard Tofel@dicktofel.bsky.social · 4w ago

Running both CBS News and CNN effectively should hinge on understanding what makes each distinctive. This week’s Second Rough Draft newsletter open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...

Running both CBS News and CNN effectively should hinge on understanding what makes each distinctive. This week’s Second Rough Draft newsletter open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...

How to Run CBS News and CNN Under Common Ownership

Not what will happen, but what should

open.substack.com

So Platner withdraws on the same day Trump is finally ordered to immediately pay $5 million for denying the sexual assault allegations against him. Only difference between them: a jury of his peers, in the town where he lived for 70 years, confirmed the allegations against Trump.

Trump came to one Knicks game. They lost. Trump intervened in one USMNT game. They lost. Can he please just stick to stealing money and building monuments to himself?