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Every week I gather notable links and articles that I think are worth discussing. In today's roundup, why building platforms to support communities and build trusted relationships is important in a world where AI and bad business practices are eroding trust in news and journalism.

Chicago Public Media is launching a region-wide social platform as a way to bolster its journalism. I believe it represents a path to the future. werd.io/communities-...

I just think this is the coolest freaking thing. chicago.suntimes.com/media/2026/0...

Long-form LinkedIn posts are 41% slop. Other social networks are not far behind. werd.io/as-social-ne...

House goes on the market tomorrow. Gulp.

“I hope Count Binface doesn’t milkshake duck,” is a legitimate political thought I just had.

We're hiring a new support specialist to join @propublica.org's enterprise technology team. ProPublica investigates abuses of power and betrayals of the public trust; you'd help to support an incredible mission with some unique technical challenges. It's a meaningful place to make a difference.

Genuinely, what happens if Binface wins? I'm not at all against it; very curious how he'll play it.

One of those days where a quadruple espresso has juuuuuust brought me up to equilibrium.

I've rarely seen newsroom business teams discuss metrics like LTV, CAC, and even ARR outside fundraising or finance. They should be commonly known.

I love that @propublica.org is spending time investigating 401(k) plans. The whole space is scammy, and the thing itself is a far worse deal for savers than a real pension. In that context, regulatory rollback is a real problem: www.propublica.org/article/401k...

Some newsrooms are making money from deals with prediction markets. It will only serve to further destroy the public's trust in news. werd.io/cnn-and-cnbc...

Dua Lipa seems like someone who uses her fame incredibly well. This is cool (as is her book club): www.euronews.com/culture/2026...

Like many of you, I am shocked that the guy who lied about his Nazi tattoo and said that assault victims should take some responsibility could not be trusted.

The apparatus to cement centralized, undemocratic power has already been built. Regulations have a part to play, but they can't just be recommendations. werd.io/governance-c...

Most Fridays, I share a handful of pieces that caught my eye at the intersection of technology, media, and society. This was this week's roundup, about AI, surveillance, open tech, and news as a business. werd.io/notable-link...

Trump seems suddenly excited to use 1950s rhetoric about communists. Mate, there aren't any significant communists in the United States. There are some people who want healthcare, equitable justice, and for poverty not to be a death sentence. Social democracy is not communism. You moron.

For a couple of years now, I've obsessively closed my Apple Fitness rings every day. It's arbitrary but enough to prompt me to do some extra exercise. For the last two nights running, I've taken a late-night walk directly after a thunderstorm, while lightning still danced across the sky. Magical.

All snark aside, I do love America. The Declaration of Independence - 250 years ago! - was genuinely important. Most places you go, the people are kind, community-minded, and optimistic. One day, eventually, they will have an equitable government that redresses wrongs and provides real support.

Is this the holiday where we do Peeps? It feels like it should be the holiday where we do Peeps.

Celebrating the 250th anniversary of a declaration that had a passage decrying slavery removed because southern states complained by eating carcinogenic mass produced meat tubes while the President tells half of us we’re evil Marxists in a man made heat wave is incredibly American. Happy 4th!

I'll summarize this: Mamdani asked NYers to keep air conditioning at 78 degrees. A wave criticism hit online. A MSNBC broadcast pointed out the US Department of Energy recommends that 78 degree figure. Immediately after, the US Department of Energy deleted 6,000 web pages related to energy saving.

Eating at John Parson’s BBQ, about 30 mins north of my house. Easily the best BBQ I’ve ever had, and I’ve spent a lot of time in Texas. Just absurdly good. And there’s a 0% chance I would have found it were it not for the @inquirer.com. Local journalism works!

My Great Grandfather, David Monas, was General Manager of the Pennsylvania Joint Board of the Amalgamated Shirt Workers. I grew up with union songs. To this day, I believe being anti-union is one of the worst things you can be.

Every week I gather notable links and articles that I think are worth discussing. In today's roundup: why OpenAI's offer of 5% is a bad deal, how news needs to get real about its business value, and the effect of surveillance on human rights organizations. werd.io/notable-link...

We need to see more technical collaborations between public service media organizations. It's also really important that they're based on open technology that doesn't lock them in. werd.io/a-new-media-...

Newsrooms like to spend their time on the journalistic process and assume that the value of their work will speak for itself. They need to start selling themselves. werd.io/newsrooms-ne...

My entire information diet relies on your site having a functional RSS feed, so it would be awesome if it did.

I know they say be the change you want to see in the world, but sometimes the change I want to see is that there isn’t a punk cover of Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine’s Conga, and I just don’t think this is my calling

Today I learned that my mother’s master’s thesis, for the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, was an equity lens on women’s role in the tech industry. Circa 1982. I cannot believe I’ve never read this before. I wish I could ask her about it.

A wealth fund that shares 5% of AI success with government and voters is either based on hype or not nearly enough to cover the damage. Either way, the incentives are perverse. werd.io/openai-wants...

I'm spending the next year exploring innovation at the intersection of technology, journalism, and community. You can follow along with me by subscribing for free, either via email or RSS: werd.io#/portal

Help me find this person for @trustfnd.com — a person to help us - INSPIRE journalists about collaborative growth - SUPPORT them in building growth systems - BUILD our voice and community, including in the product If you *are* this person, hit me up. If you *know* this person, send them my way.

I was taken in by a fake AI news site. I think it may be an attempt to poison LLMs with propaganda. werd.io/i-have-a-the...

Packing up my office and carefully storing the various mementos I keep on display.

Thinking about writing a long-form piece taking a fact-based approach to immigration (and in turn why blood and soil is stupid, immigration is generally good, etc). How ill-advised is this?

Me think this hilarious sign of times. werd.io/ais-costs-ar...

Truly don't know why I'm raising my child in America www.kuow.org/stories/tran...

Civil society actors in nearly every region of the world now operate under the assumption that they are being surveilled. The result is a less democratic world for everyone. werd.io/they-tell-us...

Can you imagine what it must be like to be called Claude in any office right now?

If it's not on your radar already, @kleinmatic.bsky.social's Open Journalism is a fantastic resource for tracking open source code releases by newsrooms. I deeply appreciate what he's doing here. Here's the roundup from the last two weeks: openjournalism.news/2026/06/29/o...

A new site to help newsrooms cover disasters is refreshing in its concrete practicality. Wouldn't it be great if these existed for every aspect of running a newsroom? werd.io/a-concrete-t...

This made me realize that there’s an amazing Best in Show / A Mighty Wind style movie to be made about these people and I would watch the hell out of it

Hey, if you're wondering why VC is so eager to enter all levels of our government, consider - 1. It's power and influence, obviously 2. VC funds are financial vehicles for Limited Partners that are usually secret but can include large corps and the sovereign wealth funds of other nations

"Head to Miami if you want to scam people with crypto, or San Francisco if you want to scam people with AI. If you’re scamming people the old-fashioned way, stick with New York." www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/how...

Now with a rather important caveat up top. The newsroom I referenced appears, in itself, to be AI-generated. What is going on?!

A right-wing media chain bought local papers, replaced their journalists with AI, and died. Now their communities are left to plug the gaps. werd.io/a-right-wing...

Don't 👏 replace 👏 your 👏 workers 👏 with 👏 AI No, not them. Not *them*, either. None of them. There isn't a single human being that can be replaced by these systems. They can be great tools - for humans to use. Don't 👏 replace 👏 your 👏 workers 👏 with 👏 AI

As far as I can tell based on my social media feeds, 50% of the population of the world have visited Amsterdam so far this year. Me included!