The most profoundly depressing piece of journalism I engaged with last week wasn’t about war, public health or the rise of authoritarianism. It was about Disney World — or, rather, what Disney World says about how our culture has split in two, one for the shrinking middle class, the other for the rich. Daniel Currell … Continue reading "How two-tier Disney is helping to fuel the rise of middle-class anger and resentment"| Media Nation
For some years now, many newspaper analysts, including me, have predicted that most daily newspapers would eventually cut back to one weekend print edition and go all-digital the rest of the week. Print advertising still has some value, and steering all of it into a big Saturday/Sunday paper would seem to be a smart way … Continue reading "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will dump print despite lagging on its ambitious digital goal"| Media Nation
A photo editor for The Boston Globe was killed last Saturday when he was struck by a car while bicycling in rural Illinois. Lloyd Young, 57, had traveled to Illinois to visit family, according to the Globe. The driver, a 54-year-old woman, was not identified. According to 25News, a local television station, Young had worked … Continue reading "Boston Globe photo editor struck and killed by motorist in rural Illinois"| Media Nation
The Boston Globe has published an editorial favoring passage of a shield law that would protect journalists from being ordered to identify their anonymous sources or turn over confidential reporting materials. The editorial is a strong statement in favor of press freedom, but it would have benefited from some context. The Globe says that Massachusetts … Continue reading "Some context for The Boston Globe’s editorial endorsing a shield law to protect journalists"| Media Nation
Jennifer Peter, the longtime number-two editor at The Boston Globe, is leaving to become editor-in-chief of The Marshall Project, a highly regarded nonprofit news organization that covers criminal justice. Peter will start her new job on Sept. 29. The Pulitzer Prize-winning outlet was founded 10 years ago with former New York Times executive editor Bill … Continue reading "Longtime Globe managing editor Jennifer Peter is leaving to take the top job at The Marshall Project"| Media Nation
The Federal Reserve Board was set up to be free from political interference so that it could engage in the uncertain art of steering the economy without regard to the needs and desires of elected officials. Board members are appointed by the president to staggered 14-year terms and confirmed by the Senate. But now Donald … Continue reading "Andrew Jackson redux? Trump’s attacks on the Fed echo a predecessor’s ruinous bank veto."| Media Nation
The Bedford Citizen, which may be the oldest nonprofit local-news startup in Massachusetts, is back on track after losing its top two newsroom employees earlier this year. Bill Fonda is joining the…| Media Nation
At a moment when public broadcasters are staggering from the loss of $1.1 billion in federal funds over the next two years, Boston’s two leading public media executives say that rebuilding trust and community are the keys to survival. “I think the best way to build trust is from the local community up,” said Susan … Continue reading "Boston’s top two public media leaders argue that building community is the way forward. They’re right."| Media Nation
Major philanthropies are stepping up to offset some of the cuts to public television and radio, Benjamin Mullin reports in The New York Times (gift link). But will it be enough? And what possible d…| Media Nation
This may be the most important story you’ll read all month. Konrad Putzier and Rachel Louise Ensign report in The Wall Street Journal (gift link) that we are losing our economic dynamism. Ame…| Media Nation
Boston Globe reporter Bob Hohler carved out a unique beat for himself over the years. As an investigative reporter focusing on sports, he’s covered such high-profile stories as the Red Sox…| Media Nation
There was a time when it seemed like every other week I was writing about some terrible thing we had learned about Facebook or one of Meta’s other platforms. There was Facebook’s compli…| Media Nation
Because Jeff Bezos has taken a wrecking ball to The Washington Post’s opinion section, critics have become sensitive to any hint that the billionaire owner is paying obeisance to Donald Trump…| Media Nation
Duke Ellington performs for patients at Travis Air Force Base in 1954.Whether you’re a major news organization like NPR or a solo blogger like me, you know that converting readers into paid supporters is a major challenge. Since starting Media Nation in 2005, I have offered it as a free source of news and commentary, and that’s not going to change. I think folks working in academia have an obligation to freely distribute at least some of their work, and I’d lose a lot of reach if I put ...| Media Nation
The mayor of Burlington, Vermont, has rescinded a gag order that had prevented the city’s police department from issuing press releases without the approval of her office. The contentious ord…| Media Nation
By Dan Kennedy • The press, politics, technology, culture and other passions| Media Nation
2023 photo of Gaza war damage via Wikimedia CommonsPoynter media columnist Tom Jones has a thorough roundup of how news organizations covered Israel’s killing on Sunday of six Al Jazeera journalists, observing that Anas al-Sharif, who was apparently the target, had predicted his death.| Media Nation
Terrible news from The Associated Press. Media Nation correspondent J.A. passes along this note from Anthony McCartney, the AP’s global entertainment and lifestyle editor. AP to end its weekl…| Media Nation
