Election ’16: Lessons for Journalism

Lifestyles Lost

Lifestyles Lost

If you’re looking for something to explain President-elect Donald Trump’s unlikely victory, the signs were everywhere this fall in Millinocket, a northern Maine mill town now without a mill. Trump/Pence…
Closing Gaps in the Name of Democracy

Closing Gaps in the Name of Democracy

Everyone has a story along the lines of mine. At a family gathering in October, I was chatting with a cousin about the campaign, and, since we didn’t see it…
Let the Interlopers In

Let the Interlopers In

I remember the day the Los Angeles Times decided to hire me. I’d been freelancing for the paper out of California’s Central Valley. Ashley Dunn, then the metro editor, came…
A Tale of Two Filter Bubbles

A Tale of Two Filter Bubbles

As I sat down to write this, I heard a gunshot. Two seconds later, another shot. Two more seconds, another. Then silence.Six months ago, in Los Angeles, the sound of…
Lessons from Brexit

Lessons from Brexit

The failure of journalism and of polling to accurately reflect the electorate is not unique to this U.S. presidential election, or even to America.During the June referendum on Britain’s membership…
Looking for “Whitelash”

Looking for “Whitelash”

The signs that someone like Donald Trump was coming were right there, in online comments lousy with creatively spelled racial slurs that slipped past even the best filters. They were…

To Win Back Public Trust, Try Bipartisan Reporting and “Bias Editors”

It’s not news that a substantial segment of the American population despises the news media.We’ve heard allegations of elitism and bias since our industry’s infancy, though recently donned t-shirts advocating…
Responding to Our Oral Culture

Responding to Our Oral Culture

Sometime late last winter, I began to focus closely on what would happen in the primaries on Super Tuesday, March 1, 2016. I realized I really needed to get on…
How Collaborative Media Partnerships Can Help Rebuild Local and Regional Journalism

How Collaborative Media Partnerships Can Help Rebuild Local and Regional Journalism

The chasm between the coastal media centers and the country’s heartland is laid bare. Deep discontent, long simmering in the manufacturing Midwest and Appalachian coal country, went largely unrecognized until…