Uh, no, by any rational measure, only Trump has had respect for the forum.

Televised debates aren't about 'debate' but charisma and media training, where they craft an answer regardless of whether they believe it.

Trump is the only candidate who gives sincere answers.

Jay Rosen is usually wrong, but not today.

On presidential debates I am marooned.

Yes, it's vital to get the candidates into one space. It would be a huge loss if the practice went away. But that practice requires a modicum of respect for the forum, and only the opposite can be expected of Trump. cjr.org/the_media_toda…

Like 'objectivity' — the term it replaced in the discourse of the New York Times about itself — I doubt that 'independence' can bear the weight it is being given.

But you can judge for yourself with this The Wall Street Journal article about the tumult at the Times. [gift] wsj.com/business/media…

'I think it’s good that you can express your opinions a little more, as long as they are based in evidence and not in political predisposition.' politico.com/news/magazine/…

Axios Sees A.I. Coming, and Shifts Its Strategy. nytimes.com/2024/04/11/bus…

'The only way for media companies to survive is to focus on delivering journalistic expertise, trusted content and in-person human connection.'

I'd add: 'here's where I'm coming from' acts of transparency.

This story is wild, with so many threats and implications. nytimes.com/2024/04/10/bus… If you care at all about the future of investigative reporting under American law, put it on your reading list.

[gift link]

'In my four-decade career as a daily newspaper editor, I assigned reporters to cover plenty of stories, and I wasn’t objective. I chose stories I thought would benefit our audience and our community.' By Mark Jacob

stopthepresses.news/p/when-media-o…

'Strict balance in this context would be self-annihilating. It would give equal voice to those who want to destroy democracy and those who want to protect it. But if the former are victorious, there will be no ability to hear ‘both sides’ in the future.' pressthink.org/2020/11/two-pa…

That is a great way to put it, Kim. I could not agree more. 'Their own conditions of existence are at stake.' Exactly so.

If you missed it the previous week: For me the most encouraging news about election coverage since 2024 began. Colorado newsrooms of every size will collaborate in a shift away from the horse race toward surfacing voters' priorities and getting candidates to address them. Thread:

With thanks to Jay Rosen, in a lot of corners of the press there's no sense of the 'stakes.' Here The New York Times political writer Jess Bidgood talks about how much 'fun' covering the '24 campaign will be.

How Spotlight PA will cover Pennsylvania’s 2024 election. (Jan. 30, 2024)

'The goal of Spotlight PA’s 2024 election coverage is to cast aside the horse race, the talking heads, and the cable news shouting matches, and instead amplify the facts and context voters will need to…

If you missed it the previous week: For me the most encouraging news about election coverage since 2024 began. Colorado newsrooms of every size will collaborate in a shift away from the horse race toward surfacing voters' priorities and getting candidates to address them. Thread:

From 'Trump’s bizarre, vindictive incoherence has to be heard in full to be believed' by Rachel Leingang in The Guardian.

I still say no need to take it live, but I am coming around to the view that Americans need to hear more of unedited Trump, not less.
theguardian.com/us-news/2024/a…

Amazing stuff going on this thread, in which a top Fox anchor screenshots the 2020 Arizona call to show that it was made after 73% of the vote was counted and reply guys say “no, it just 1% counted, I remember it.”

Meanwhile, Dan Froomkin (PressWatchers.org) took a break for a while, then he came back to a curious hire in the politics team at the New York Times. Read on...

Huge development in my world this week, ably described by Corey Hutchins in this Substack post: coloradomedia.substack.com/p/could-colora…

The gist: 30 or so newsrooms in Colorado are collaborating to shift their election coverage away from the horse race and toward the voters and their concerns.