"Freelancers are the foundation of your industry, and the foundation is sagging."

Yatta-Tachi@yattatachi.com · 3w ago

American Manga Awards 2026: A Call for Change by @wendeego.bsky.social “Freelancers are the foundation of your industry.” yattatachi.com/american-man...

This is a longstanding problem with the Times specifically. All the legacy papers have really taken to yoinking independent journalists’ work with zest, though, and with so many pubs opening specifically to cover culture it sucks to see papers eliminating culture coverage and just stealing ours.

Fansplaining@fansplaining.bsky.social · 3w ago

On July 8th, we published a piece on AI in Heated Rivalry fic fandom. On July 30th, the New York Times ran a piece on the same subject. We weren't surprised—because we knew a Times reporter had read our coverage. A tale of two fandom articles, part of a longstanding dynamic in the media industry:

This happened to me last week! I wrote a story about a #trebuchet victim for @science.org based on in-person reporting at a conference in Berlin, it got a lot of attention online, the NYT has someone re-write the same story a week later. No new angle, no credit.

NYT did this to me too. A piece I wrote went super viral and days later the Times pub’d the same story. I put up such a stink and got my followers so riled up the Times was forced to link my story in their article. They do this CONSTANTLY. They believe it’s not a real story until they publish it.

Fansplaining@fansplaining.bsky.social · 3w ago

On July 8th, we published a piece on AI in Heated Rivalry fic fandom. On July 30th, the New York Times ran a piece on the same subject. We weren't surprised—because we knew a Times reporter had read our coverage. A tale of two fandom articles, part of a longstanding dynamic in the media industry:

We were planning to have a podcast episode up today talking more about Rascal's finances, plans for the future, and how you can help us survive long enough to realize them. Mysterious PC failure postponed that plan (tomorrow), but you can support us RIGHT NOW: www.rascal.news/state-of-the...

State of the Rascal: August 2026

An earnest appeal and radical honesty.

rascal.news

We stand by and reiterate our call to boycott the New York Times. Their role in enabling trans genocide is immense, and we cannot stand by idly. Additionally, we stand with those before us who have called to boycott the Times over their complicity in the genocide in Gaza. Boycott and Divest NYT!

The Objective@objectivejournos.bsky.social · 3w ago

@transnews.network calls for a public boycott of the New York Times: “No excuses, no exceptions... This boycott will no longer be necessary when the NYT stops pushing [the] genocide [of trans people]." Read the news story by @charliebloomer.bsky.social: objectivejournalism.org/2026/08/tran...

Fansplaining continues to delight me all the time. I had SUCH a good time copy-editing this piece, which involved stopping midway through and going "wait, this music is actually fun?! what do you MEAN this guy went to Berklee and their manager has six Grammys???" etc. You can't stop the throb! 🔥🔥🔥

Fansplaining@fansplaining.bsky.social · last mo.

Our latest is live! 💞 @kaytiburt.bsky.social writes about Boy Throb, who rose to fame partly via a quest to get member Darshan Magdum a U.S. visa. (Spoiler: he just got it!) For many fans, the immigration angle has been a core part of their Boy Throb fandom. Read or listen to an audio version:

When I write a feature like the one being discussed here, I am drawing on decades of experience in fandom and years of (unpaid or under-compensated) labor spent studying and writing about fan culture professionally. I do this work because I think fan culture merits earnest, thoughtful analysis.

Elizabeth Minkel@elizabethminkel.bsky.social · 3w ago

WELL. If you wondered why I had zero things to say about the NYT piece on the HR AI fic situation last month...I had zero things to say publicly then. 🥲 Thank you to everyone who discussed this situation with me and read a draft of this. I tried my best to illustrate these longstanding dynamics:

The Times should be better than this. They’ve always done stuff like this, but it hurts a lot more when they’re ripping off a freelancer who made $300 on a 5,000-word story than when they’re ripping off someone who at least gets a regular paycheck and health care. fansplaining.com/lessons-from...

Lessons From a Heated Media Rivalry

How we learned that the New York Times has a Fansplaining account.

fansplaining.com

this is really interesting and infuriating. and a useful reminder to self to subscribe to fansplaining!

Fansplaining@fansplaining.bsky.social · 3w ago

On July 8th, we published a piece on AI in Heated Rivalry fic fandom. On July 30th, the New York Times ran a piece on the same subject. We weren't surprised—because we knew a Times reporter had read our coverage. A tale of two fandom articles, part of a longstanding dynamic in the media industry:

As a longtime fanfiction reader (and occasional fic writer), I am deeply concerned about the way AI is impacting fandom spaces. @fansplaining.bsky.social was the perfect place to explore this anxious curiosity in the context of the booming Heated Rivalry fandom.

Elizabeth Minkel@elizabethminkel.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I've been looking at AI in fic spaces since these tools were released to the public, and it's not surprising that HR—huge numbers of new readers & writers in fandom, a promise of Manacled-like deals in the air—was where this melted down. @kaytiburt.bsky.social does a fantastic job reporting this:

The muffling of critical voices compromises consumer choice. A dollar a word would help critics make a living wage. nwu.org/join Illustration by @colleentie.bsky.social

TCA EOY Spotlight | @kaytiburt.bsky.social "For this piece about Netflix docu-series 'Pop Star Academy: Katseye,' I spoke to director Nadia Hallgren about what it was like to get to know and follow the teen girls competing to be in one of the biggest musical acts of the year."

The TCA@tvcritics.org · 9mo ago

We once again invited TCA members to select their favorite piece of writing from the past 12 months. The entries listed represent a wide swath of journalism and criticism, and spotlight an impressive range of TV — from long-running series to the latest releases.👇 www.tvcritics.org/tca-2025-end...

Ranking the Best K-Dramas of 2025 for TIME is a near impossible task, but I tried my best. Here are the 10 dramas that had me thinking, feeling, laughing, and crying—in the best cases, all at the same time—this past year. time.com/7340988/best...

"The best of fandom isn't transactional. It’s moments of unlikely connection between strangers or friends who might not have crossed paths, let alone traveled them together, if not for loving the same thing." @kaytiburt.bsky.social on fan tourism—and how to make it collaborative, not extractive:

Can Fandom Make Us Better Tourists? — Fansplaining

In an era of overtourism, South Korea’s Jeju Island and international BTS fans are building bridges of mutual respect.

fansplaining.com

I continue to be grateful—as a writer, reader, lifelong fan—that Fansplaining exists as a space to properly wonder about how fandom shapes modern life. In this piece, I am wondering about how fandom can make us better and worse tourists, with the editorial guidance of @elizabethminkel.bsky.social.

Fansplaining@fansplaining.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Our final piece of 2025 is live! 💞 @kaytiburt.bsky.social writes about fan tourism: the good, the bad, and...the basis for deeper cross-cultural connection? On Purple Festa, an event that brings fans of Korean pop culture closer to traditional Korean culture. Read or listen to an audio version:

We're putting the finishing touches on the final Fansplaining article of the year, by the inimitable @kaytiburt.bsky.social! Out tomorrow—here's a sneak peak. 😘

This sucks SO HARD, and I am so sad to lose my criticism-writing home of nearly a decade. Solidarity to all my fellow Paste TV alumni!

Lacy Baugher Milas@lacymb.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Today, Paste Magazine shuttered all its non-music verticals, a choice I am both professionally and personally heartbroken about. Sadly, I am once again looking for a place that wants to let me write about Books and TV on the regular, so hit me up if that’s you or anyone you know.

Today, Paste Magazine shuttered all its non-music verticals, a choice I am both professionally and personally heartbroken about. Sadly, I am once again looking for a place that wants to let me write about Books and TV on the regular, so hit me up if that’s you or anyone you know.

thank you for all the support; the statement from our union is now live here with some more reporting. now that this is public I can confirm that the majority of today’s layoffs were women of color. there are no longer any Black women working at Teen Vogue.

As Condé Nast Folds Teen Vogue Into Vogue’s Website, NewsGuild Condemns the Plan

The union, which reps staffers, says the move was "clearly designed" to blunt the journalism of the brand, which has leaned in to progressive politics.

hollywoodreporter.com

Lex McMenamin (they/them)@lexmcmenamin.com · 11mo ago

I was laid off from Teen Vogue today along with multiple other staffers, and today is my last day. certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.

I was laid off from Teen Vogue today along with multiple other staffers, and today is my last day. certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.

We talk to the PD and writer of #TheFirstNightwiththeDuke about the challenges and pleasures of adaptation, why we’ve fallen in love with isekai stories lately, and what it’s like to work with stars Taecyeon and Seohyun: open.substack.com/pub/dramasov...

Q&A with the production team of The First Night with the Duke

Director Lee Woong-hee and screenwriter Jeon Sun-young answer our questions about the isekai web novel adaptation starring Taecyeon and Seohyun

open.substack.com

Highlights of the #KpopDemonHunters interview: 😈 👩‍🎤 Insight into Korean folklore that informed #SajaBoys & #Huntrix ⚔️🔪✨ A breakdown of Huntr/x's weapons and characters (yes, there was more Mira & Zoey backstory) 🚦Lorde's song that inspired "What It Sounds Like" 💞The inspiration for Romance Saja

👩🏻‍💻 Hanhonymous@hanhonymous.bsky.social · last yr.

Obsession unlocked! #KpopDemonHunters has been my personality for the past week. In my interview for @salonnewsroom.bsky.social w/ the filmmakers, we discuss how this film understands K-pop fandoms. Also, I found out one director's #SajaBoys bias! Guess which www.salon.com/2025/06/29/k...

I think I'm probably in the minority of really liking the third and final season of SQUID GAME, partially because I'm a sucker for the "Battle Royale" genre and partially because Lee Jung-jae's whole run as Gi-hun is one of the all-time great TV performances. decider.com/2025/06/27/s...

'Squid Game' Season 3 Review: The Netflix hit gets a twisted, poetic ending (that also teases a new beginning)

What Lee Jung-jae has accomplished this season, and throughout Squid Game’s entire run, is one of the greatest television performances of all-time.

decider.com

‘My journey to get aid in Gaza was like Squid Game’ - https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/my-journey-aid-gaza-like-squid-game

‘My journey to get aid in Gaza was like Squid Game’

Going to the US-backed aid distribution centre was the hardest day of my life. I’ve never felt humiliation like that

middleeasteye.net

If we were living in a better timeline, Hwang Dong-hyuk would have had less inspiration for the final seasons of Squid Game: time.com/7298235/squi...

if you need me this weekend, i'll be listening to the lost in starlight ost. www.denofgeek.com/movies/netfl...

Netflix's Lost in Starlight: Korea Makes an Animated Sci-Fi Romance for Adults

Netflix’s slice-of-life sci-fi love story is a visually stunning animation about human connection.

denofgeek.com

anyway here's the email I sent to jim bankoff last week. i'm still heartbroken. I have been insanely, destructively angry for weeks, and I think I will be for a long time.

I've really been getting a lot out of these exit interviews Pete has been doing with the laid-off Polygon staff, including this piece, in which copy editor Kallie talks about the immense work and skill that goes into games/entertainment journalism.

Kallie Plagge@inkydojikko.bsky.social · last yr.

I had a great time chatting with Pete for this!! please also enjoy this picture of me that I have no recollection of taking but I happened to be wearing my Polygon hoodie in it

Here's the extremely delayed fifth and final week of my blog series on Naoko Yamada, covering her latest film The Colors Within (2024). The upside of this being so late is that the movie is now on demand and I highly recommend you watch it, it's so good!

[Week 5] The Colors Within

For the final installment in our Yamada series, we watched The Colors Within (2024).

nowwearealltom.com