As for yesterday’s post about young people and their news consumption habits. Bruce Koon reminded me that our generation, the Baby Boomers, also had our own ways to access the news when we were aged 18-29.
It was called alternative media and places like SunDance, Rolling Stone, the Center for Investigative Reporting, Mother Jones were right in the middle of it.
Just like today’s youth, we distrusted mainstream media and so sought other ways to stay informed.
Maybe the single most important event that brought us back to the conventional media was the Washington Post’s coverage of the Watergate scandal. But equally significant was the success of our alternative channels in broadening the range of outlets devoted to uncovering the stories that mattered.
In today’s context, I’m not aware of very much serious news reporting yet within TikTok, Instagram, etc., but such efforts are probably underway.
One way or another the news will find people. And that truth is a major problem for authoritarians who would vastly prefer to ban any news outlets they cannot co-opt. The current wave of controversies surrounding Pete Hegsmeth are a case in point.
It has been solid reporting that has brought the drug boat strikes and Signalgate to light, and in response Hegsmeth has gone to great lengths to ban honest journalists from the Pentagon.
In the fight to resist the further centralization of power by Trump, Hegsmeth and company, two great American institutions — the press and the military — are allies. Today’s top link matters, as it’s the latest salvo in the battle between a petty warlord and a determined fourth estate.
HEADLINES:
New York Times Sues Pentagon Over First Amendment Rights — The lawsuit said the Defense Department’s new set of rules for journalists “violates the Constitution’s guarantees of due process, freedom of speech and freedom of the press.” (NYT)
‘New York Times’ lawsuit creates a new headache for Pentagon chief Hegseth (NPR)
Lawmakers see video of second strike on boat survivors, say admiral testified there was no kill order (CBS)
Accused DC pipe bomber told FBI he believed the 2020 election was stolen, sources say (CNN)
Who is Brian Cole? FBI identifies suspect in Jan. 6 DC pipe bomb case (USA Today)
Anxiety grips Minneapolis’s Somali community as immigration agents zero in on the Twin Cities (CNN)
Most immigrants arrested in Trump’s D.C. crackdown had no criminal records (WP)
Republican Anger Erupts at Johnson as Party Frets About Future (NYT)
How a Man Convicted of Running a Latin American Narco State Landed a Pardon (WSJ)
Trump has waged an unprecedented campaign against the International Criminal Court, seeking to end its work on the war in Gaza. Events this week have suggested his pressure campaign is falling apart. [HuffPost]
America’s peace initiative has stalled in Moscow (Economist)
America’s Magical Thinking About Ukraine (Foreign Affairs)
As global negotiations continue for a peace deal in Ukraine, the country is facing another battle: who will still be there to rebuild the war-torn nation? (Reuters)
‘Never seen anything like this’: alarm at memo from top US vaccine official (Guardian)
The Man Who Was Supposed to Kill Martin Luther King Jr. (Slate)
Drunk raccoon found passed out on liquor store floor after breaking in (BBC)
OpenAI in open panic over Gemini’s sudden dominance (Boing Boing)
The Chatbot-Delusion Crisis (Atlantic)
Crying Sounds Coming From Inside Suit Of Armor (Onion)
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