One of the things I like about the news is that it doesn’t stick around. It comes and goes rather quickly; once it loses its shock value, it’s a lot like fish — best when fresh; later on not so much so.
But even though the news itself may come and go, the people who bring it to you remain.
Nieman Reports is out with an opinion piece by HuffPost editor-in-chief Danielle Benton that points out that “The press can’t afford to fall into disarray and depression while reporting on the collapsing world around us.”
This has always been true of journalists but the present context is notable because our own profession — journalism — is stuck in a prolonged state of depression from which some may reasonably conclude it will never recover.
The problem is not just that there are very few jobs for reporters and editors; it is also that the world is flooded with disinformation, lies, conspiracy thinking and outright attempts to undermine those who do seek to tell the truth about important matters.
In public life, virtually no one has enough credibility to be respected as an authority on anything any longer. There really are no “experts” left with a few exceptions here and there.
In addition, the very companies that employ journalists who seek to get to the root of these issues often seem to not have a clue about just how much the world around them has changed, especially the digital world. Or if they do, they don’t know what to do about it.
Thus, these “legacy” media organizations are seen by many people of all political persuasions as part of the problem rather than a solution. When I curate the news, I rely on what are considered the leading journalism organizations I can locate to pass on each day’s headlines.
But at the same time, I am constantly struck by how little any of those organizations are doing about the Big Story themselves.
Tuesday Headlines
Afghanistan: Taliban unveil new rules banning women in TV dramas (BBC)
How Journalism Moves Forward in an Age of Disinformation and Distrust —They say, if you’re going through hell to keep going (Nieman Reports)
Germany and Netherlands face fresh Covid rules as Austria enters lockdown (Guardian)
Stubborn Covid surges signal bleak winter (Politico)
Countries call for net-zero emissions in shipping (NHK)
Could One Shot Kill the Flu? (New Yorker)
Barcelona tackles roaming wild boar problem (BBC)
Nasa to slam spacecraft into asteroid in mission to avoid future Armaggedon (Guardian)
Work From Home Works Until You Need Time Off (Atlantic)
The Pentagon needs a new AI strategy to catch up with China (Financial Times)
White House: About 95 percent of federal workers have complied with vaccine mandate (Politico)
Why schools are failing children on climate change (BBC)
‘Covid has formed the person I am’: young people on how the pandemic changed them (Guardian)
How many teachers are needed to make universal pre-K possible? (Politico)
Australia's richest man helps publishers strike deal with Google, Facebook (TRT)
Remote Work Is Failing Young Employees — Unless carefully designed, pandemic office culture risks hurting the least experienced workers in our organizations. (NYT)
The U.S. has been added to an annual list of “backsliding” democracies for the first time, with the intergovernmental organization behind the analysis citing election disinformation, voter disenchantment and the coronavirus pandemic among the reasons for the decline. Lies about 2020 election fraud by Trump were “a historic turning point” that's had "spillover effects" in other countries, the report said. [HuffPost]
House Panel Subpoenas Roger Stone and Alex Jones in Capitol Riot Inquiry — Investigators summoned five more allies of former President Donald J. Trump as they dug further into the planning and financing of rallies before the Jan. 6 attack. (NYT)
Children skipping meals in majority of families in Lebanon, UNICEF says (Reuters)
Poet Robert Bly, anti-war activist and 'men's movement' leader, dies at 94 (NPR)
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo engaged in "multiple instances of sexual harassment," used state resources for a book and was "not fully transparent" on the number of COVID-19 deaths at nursing homes, state lawmakers said, summarizing the results of an investigation. (Reuters)
How organized retail crime is challenging police (SFC)
Tackling the Information Crisis: Why News is Essential to Sustainability — By bringing newsrooms closer to their communities we can create business models that tie social impact to financial success (Nieman Reports)
National Park Service Releases Detailed Guide On What Visitors Should Do Upon Encountering Squirrel (The Onion)
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