Sunday sillies: State of the art for using audience data in journalism. There's an explanation in the AltText if you want it.

Grad school in Ithaca winter outfit for the 15-minute hike from the parking lot to my office: Tights, long underwear, wool pants, wool socks, boots Undershirt, long underwear, turtleneck, wool sweater Long coat, mittens, scarf (over face, too) ear band, hat

Even thick tights under jeans help.

Me. Or Keanu Reeves.

Well, this stinks. www.cia.gov/stories/stor...

Friends, I am curious about your thoughts on this. It's true that there are well-understood hallmarks of autocracy, and it's good for people to know that. It's one reason we study history in school. But is a 12-part scale like this useful? www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Meanwhile, back on campus (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/u...

The frame of Alex Pretti as a domestic terrorist died out pretty quickly in all but the most conservative outlets. Why was that? Find out in this week's Unspun podcast. Here or where you pod. bit.ly/UnSpunPod

Resistance choirs are apparently becoming a thing.

I think this is likely true. I also think there are many ignored audiences. HOWEVER, I am also so sad that we seem to have just accepted that facts are partisan.

🧵Here's some thoughts on this story.

Good morning. To break your doomscroll, here's a gift link to a little joy. Enjoy this multimedia article on baby giggling. Featuring real baby giggles. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/o...

Really reminds me of what happened to @altimmi.bsky.social in the early days of the #AltGov... Similar elements - tech company pressure, ACLU representation, absolute fear for someone targeted for speech. newrepublic.com/post/206088/...

The government tried to push a storyline. The media pushed back. New #UnSpun episode on how rights-based questioning changed everything in the coverage of the Minneapolis protests. Find it here or where you pod. bit.ly/4a6GJWg

Quick, someone call these guys! To cogitate and solve. (iykyk)

Holy number crime, Batman!* *see the AltText if you need an explanation

Let's be careful of how the word riot is used. And remember, sharing someone's untrue or misleading post to dunk on it still shares their idea.

I wish there was a SuperLike button.

Fun with euphemisms: Perhaps it is time to stop saying "problematic" when what you mean is "bad" or "wrong"

"Scan the QR code to turn your words into an image with Microsoft Ai" Um, no thanks?

To see this as a headline in @nytimes.com is truly quite something. This is a gift link. You might want to read it and pass it on. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/31/o...

To see this as a headline in @nytimes.com is truly quite something. This is a gift link. You might want to read it and pass it on. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/31/o...

Presidents used to say eloquent things. Inspiring even.

Presidents used to say eloquent things. Inspiring even.

So I suppose saying a killed person's "stock has gone way down" is a way of reversing victim and offender (DARVO), but seems like a strange one.

Hey proffies that follow me here: I have a new honors thesis student who wants to work on the relationship between misinformation and civic actions. What are your favorite review articles?

GIFT link - Facial recognition putting people on a list. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/t...

Fun with words. The AP stylebook has some good advice sometimes, because word choice can be manipulative.

Fun with words. The AP stylebook has some good advice sometimes, because word choice can be manipulative.

Video has a short clip from the speech.

Service articles are sure looking different these days...

For the morning crowd - be smarter in fewer than 10 minutes 😉

First UnSpun journal club episode is live! Efforts to stop misinformation focus on helping people recognize it. New research suggests sometimes people share fake news on purpose. @danieleffron.bsky.social & colleagues tested a way to reduce that. Find it here or where you pod. bit.ly/UnSpunPod

AI video will make this worse. Don't have to convince someone something IS false for them to dismiss it. Just have to convince them that it MIGHT be. When political leaders who aren't online themselves refer to videos that show the opposite, I sometimes wonder what their staff are showing them.

🤣

People who are shocked that volunteers could organize semi-complicated things have never organized a Girl Scout cookie sale or PTA carnival.

Note from my learnings in crisis communications: If you don't have transparent, fair assessment of fact, people will make up their own facts to fit what they already believe. Sometimes, this will work in your favor. A lot of times, it won't. That won't can be catastrophic.

Very common after a major news event to have a second-day lede that begins "Authorities are investigating..." Today, that feels inadequate, so I appreciate this story clarifying which authorities. Biggest headline on website reads Videos appear to contradict Federal accounts of fatal shooting.

Re-upping for the Sunday shows. One more tip: A question based in analysis from a group your guest disparages WILL lead to it being blown off with a personal attack. You can do better.

Hey media pals, If you know someone is likely going to lie, but they are a public figure so you feel a need to report what they say, here's a pro-tip: Don't carry it live. That way, if you must share what they say, you can add the context (it's not true) at the same time, instead of after.

I always recommend getting news from local outlets. They have better context and sources and tend to be more accurate.

Holy cow! That's a little over 95,000 Tootsie Pops!

Performative communication can be 🤢. Looking at you LinkedIn and televised congressional hearings.

So...AI has broken search as a source of information, and is further breaking a common method of interpersonal knowledge sharing too. Awesome. /s

I noticed her skin is also darker. Shades of the OJ Simpson cover scandal from 1994, which I still use as an example of unethical behavior in class. www.ebsco.com/research-sta...

Another nail in the coffin of source credibility.

If you don't have them, think about how you can get more humans in your life - talk to the neighbor when you are both walking dogs or the person you always see at the coffee shop or the elevator at work. Start with what's in common (dogs/coffee, etc.) You won't persuade people who don't know you.

Good morning! Working on a new mini-project: UnSpun journal club. Basically, a short piece that breaks down an interested piece of research on how misinformation affects people and spreads.

👀 [GIFT LINK] www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/b...

In journalism class today, we looked at few recent news events: *The FBI confiscating things from a WaPo reporter's home *The FCC pressuring ABC to take Jimmy Kimmel off air *CBS closing a news broadcast with "Marco Rubio, we salute you." Then