Quick question for you @brianstelter.bsky.social after reading David Ellison in his op-ed this morning. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/o... Are legends like Ted Turner and Edward R. Murrow known for their middleness?
Jay Rosen
@jayrosen.bsky.social
Let's see... 39 years teaching journalism at NYU. A critic who tries to be useful. PressThink: the name of my subject and my site. My book: "What Are Journalists For?" (1999, Yale University Press)
"Nothing moves the needle." craigunger.substack.com/p/nothing-mo... In case you missed it. Best thing I've read recently about the crisis in journalism.
Nothing Moves the Needle
Not that long ago, the press could root out corruption, topple presidents, and end wars. Now, even the biggest scoops have little impact. Here's how and why the media lost its mojo.
craigunger.substack.com
"I know, readers, that many of you have given up on the [Washington] Post. Understandably so. But I haven’t." I agree with her. margaretsullivan.substack.com/p/fare-thee-... "There is a bone-deep culture at the Post that goes back more than 50 years." "Bone-deep" means hard to kill. We need that.
Fare thee well, Adam O'Neal
At the command of Jeff Bezos, he wrecked the Washington Post opinion section but at least he's out
margaretsullivan.substack.com
"Nothing Moves the Needle." For me, this is one of the most successful attempts to explain what's happened to the fourth estate as Trump and his movement try to wreck it. The essay is long, but worth it for the way writer Craig Unger @craigunger.bsky.social redescribes the crisis in journalism.
Craig Unger@craigunger.bsky.social · 5d ago@noupside.bsky.social @jayrosen.bsky.social @froomkin.bsky.social The ground journalism was built to stand on stopped being solid under everyone at the same time. Find out why investigative reporting can't touch Trump the way Watergate touched Nixon! craigunger.substack.com/p/nothing-mo...
"Nothing Moves the Needle." For me, this is one of the most successful attempts to explain what's happened to the fourth estate as Trump and his movement try to wreck it. The essay is long, but worth it for the way writer Craig Unger @craigunger.bsky.social redescribes the crisis in journalism.
Craig Unger@craigunger.bsky.social · 5d ago@noupside.bsky.social @jayrosen.bsky.social @froomkin.bsky.social The ground journalism was built to stand on stopped being solid under everyone at the same time. Find out why investigative reporting can't touch Trump the way Watergate touched Nixon! craigunger.substack.com/p/nothing-mo...
Days ago I learned of an online dictionary with quotations from Marshall McLuhan themmm.marshallmcluhan.com As a test I put my favorite McLuhan quote into the machine and got a perfect result. Don't know who Marshall McLuhan was? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshal... Search term was "house on fire"
Today I learned of an online dictionary of quotations from Marshall McLuhan themmm.marshallmcluhan.com As a test I put my favorite McLuhan quote into the machine and got a perfect result back. My search term was: "hour on fire"
Some of the "industy veterans" at 60 Minutes who laugh or groan at each of these "no experience with what we do" appointments seem to be overlooking the possibility that what they do will be changed by Bari Weiss— radically and right in front of them. www.status.news/p/60-minutes...
Via @status.news With virtually no television experience at all, Ross Douthat, often described as an opinion columnist with The New York Times, will leave the newspaper and join “60 Minutes."
The "industy veterans" at 60 Minutes who laugh or groan at each of these no "experience with what we do" appointments seem to be overlooking the possibility that what they do will be changed by Bari Weiss— radically and right in front of them. www.status.news/p/60-minutes...
Via @status.news With virtually no television experience at all, Ross Douthat, often described as an opinion columnist with The New York Times, will leave the newspaper and join “60 Minutes."
"When I became [WHCA] president, last July, my goal was to restore and normalize the relationship with the White House." You succeeded, to a rotten core. Columbia Journalism Review: www.cjr.org/the_media_to...
WHCA: Where are the resignations, the public apologies, the talk of disbanding?
"Friction is part of the institution, WHCA leaders argue. “The presidency and the reporters who cover it are supposed to have a tense relationship, otherwise, neither side is doing its job.” www.politico.com/newsletters/... In other words: this is normal, and we should present it that way.
Dinner with a side of ‘vicious’
politico.com
The press dinner with Trump as the guest is tonight. The anonymous journalist below... kinda says it all for me. www.cnn.com/newsletters/...
One thing to keep in mind about leak stories is that they're often — not always, but often — about the losers in an internal conflict who don't accept the final decision, and so they try to alter the politics of the thing by going public with a rejected argument. www.status.news/p/cecilia-ve...
One thing to keep in mind about leak stories is that they're often — not always, but often — about the losers in an internal conflict who don't accept the final decision, and so they try to alter the politics of the thing by going public with a rejected argument. www.status.news/p/cecilia-ve...
In the battle to be heard, video has never been my strength. The culture's periodic shifts to it are usually sad moments for me— or comic. Here's an exception, 18 years old. www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIMB... You'll notice that it's not a "show," just a panel discussion that caught me on a good day.
Ethics of Linking: Jay Rosen
YouTube video by Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs
youtube.com
When it is published, the piece about this instantly becomes criticial to understanding the demise of the Washington Post. Read the comments.
Gillian Brockell@gillianbrockell.com · 9mo agoWhen I worked in WaPo Opinions in 2017-2018, senior editors specifically told junior editors not to factcheck Marc Thiessen and other MAGA columnists, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to publish anything by them at all, and “we need them for intellectual diversity.”
When it is published, the piece about this instantly becomes criticial to understanding the demise of the Washington Post. Read the comments.
Gillian Brockell@gillianbrockell.com · 9mo agoWhen I worked in WaPo Opinions in 2017-2018, senior editors specifically told junior editors not to factcheck Marc Thiessen and other MAGA columnists, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to publish anything by them at all, and “we need them for intellectual diversity.”
I bet you didn't know that Dave Winer and I had a podcast in 2009-2011. It was called "Rebooting the News," and it sat at the insection of journalism and tech. Here is a sample. rebootnews.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/r...
Rebooting the News #93
Dave’s report on traveling to Amsterdam for the Next Web conference. Mike Arrington: “These people, the tech press, just disgust me.” Kara Swisher of The Wall Street Journal’…
rebootnews.wordpress.com
Suppose you wanted to know what Rosen had to say about truth sandwiches. He too had helped publicize the phrase— and concept. Now you can go to "Jay Rosen's Internet Archive" and enter the phrase "truth sandwich." See what you get. pressthink.org/j/rosen-arch...
Jay Rosen's Internet Archive
A curated public collection of the works, critiques, and teachings of Jay Rosen, professor of journalism at NYU. 25,000+ records spanning four decades of journalism criticism, media theory, and public...
pressthink.org
Here's something I post from time to time. My answer to a reader who asked me: what could journalists do NOW to break with some of their more corrosive habits.
For years I have been advocating the "Citizens Agenda" approach to election coverage, built around asking the voters a key question, "what do you want the candidates to be talking about as they compete for votes?" Here's an example from Cascadia Daily News: www.cascadiadaily.com/2026/jul/16/...
Citizens Agenda '26: Help CDN pin down candidates on issues that matter to you | Cascadia Daily News
Submit your questions for candidates to CDN by Aug. 3
cascadiadaily.com
To everyone who ever argued that it was a bad practice to let the president of the United States spread disinformation and lie to the public in a live setting... Take a victory lap. Then get back to work.
Suppose you wanted to know what Rosen had to say about truth sandwiches. He too had helped publicize the phrase— and concept. Now you can go to "Jay Rosen's Internet Archive" and enter the phrase "truth sandwich." See what you get. pressthink.org/j/rosen-arch...
Jay Rosen's Internet Archive
A curated public collection of the works, critiques, and teachings of Jay Rosen, professor of journalism at NYU. 25,000+ records spanning four decades of journalism criticism, media theory, and public...
pressthink.org
Last night, writes Brian Stelter, most of the networks used a “truth sandwich” approach to presidential lying. Stelter coined the phrase back in 2018, inspired by linguist George Lakoff. www.cnn.com/newsletters/...
What I'm watching for: Don't be party to his claims of voter fraud but do report the hell out of them. Treat it as a big story, but not the one he wanted. The main character is the American voter, not a renegade president. For the free press we're entering a danger zone. Use it or lose it.