Opinion

Why News Organizations Should Buy Twitter

Why News Organizations Should Buy Twitter

Since its founding, Twitter has always lost money—more than $2 billion since 2011 alone. Oddly enough, Twitter now faces the same problem as newsrooms did back in the day when…
When Is A Remark Racist?

When Is A Remark Racist?

In an increasingly polarized world, journalists need to write with context and precision about race
Why BuzzFeed Was Wrong to Publish the Trump Dossier

Why BuzzFeed Was Wrong to Publish the Trump Dossier

A discussion of journalistic ethics is supposed to involve journalism, so maybe I’m on thin ice writing about BuzzFeed’s decision to publish the dossier about Donald Trump – because that…
Should Newsrooms Follow Where WikiLeaks Leads?

Should Newsrooms Follow Where WikiLeaks Leads?

James Comey’s reputation may never recover from a few decisions he made during the 2016 election cycle, and maybe it shouldn’t. His choices, though, weren’t materially different from the thinking…
The challenge Trump poses for Jewish media

The challenge Trump poses for Jewish media

Donald Trump poses a challenge to all media, because he, well, loathes us and also can’t live without us. In everyday terms, his badgering media for attention and simultaneously calling…
Journalists Need to Better Explain What Journalists Do … Including Me

Journalists Need to Better Explain What Journalists Do … Including Me

Donald Trump’s precedent-breaking refusal to allow a small pool of journalists to cover his travels as president-elect has revealed some common ground in our otherwise fractured republic.Good, Trump supporters tell…
Bring Back Retail Campaigning

Bring Back Retail Campaigning

From 1980 through 2008, when I was editor of the Concord (N.H.) Monitor, most presidential candidacies began long before the campaign went national. From fringe to favorite, candidates came to…
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…

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…