Those of us who report the news to those reliant on the AP for new are very alarmed as well.

Statement from the News Media Guild on AP's actions today.

... www.seattletimes.com/business/ap-...

I think one of the things about bluesky is that for a lot of its users, it represents a kind of retirement from social media. Like I’m tired and I want to get out of the game

Whenever we return from a trip, I tell the kids that it’s nice to go away but it’s always a pleasure to come back home… Gonna make an exception for this one. Coulda stayed out there - and oblivious to the news - forever.

Same!

Vote vote vote, obvs—but I also had a little time today to reread these @marchxness.bsky.social essays, & y'know what? I recommend doing it. It's a very different experience than the firehose-drinking of Round 1.

Celine's heart will go on, while Axl goes walking in the cold November Rain. A heart March Sadness salute (passing of the Kleenex) to @mfitejohnson.bsky.social for winning our Final Four match. It was truly an honor to get this far — my first time in the Final Four! marchxness.com#/finalfour-d...

There's a term agencies can use when you file public records requests in New Mexico, and it never fails _ I always take it personal... But this is the first time I've been hit with the all caps.

With thanks to Tiff Fehr who's helping score brackets this year, we have 14 brackets with teams still in play! That's more than we expected given the carnage early on in this tourney. Congrats to those who have one or more final four songs in the final!

"Now Michael, don't go spending it all in place ... be sure to save some money so you can come back to Seattle and visit your mom and dad."

The thing is, you need this book. Even if you don't think you need it yet. Just hide it when your parents come over if you're like me and you don't want your mom going "you know something I don't?!"

Sending our condolences to @thejasonthayer.bsky.social and @jamcharlesworth.bsky.social for deep tournament runs and excellent essays. Well fought games today. This tournament remembers you.

But Mayor McDermott all about getting those Bears to move to the region though.

Collective Soul & I are still way behind & NEED YOUR VOTE in the Elite Eight of @marchxness.bsky.social! ICYMI Last week my wife, Laura, & I did a cover & I'm unearthing it again to spur the comeback! READ & VOTE "THE WORLD I KNOW" BY NOON ET TODAY!! 👇 marchxness.com#/elite8-coll...

UNM to the NIT final four!

Collective Soul & I are down big at the half but hope still lingers on! We've been here before & have shown we're a 2nd half team--still plenty of time for a comeback! Still plenty of time to READ & VOTE "THE WORLD I KNOW" by Noon ET Wednesday! @marchxness.bsky.social marchxness.com/elite8-colle...

If you find yourself mourning Round Here’s @marchxness.bsky.social loss today and need a little more Counting Crows content (plus a good dose of Third Eye Blind, and driving around Midwestern back roads, and plenty of sadness), here’s a little something else! kenyonreview.org/piece/drivin...

I am once again asking you to read and vote for Brick-Cicily Bennion. TW: She writes about the sexual abuse and grooming she experienced as a teen from an older man in her LDS ward. I can’t punch that mother f-er in the throat, but I can try to get people to vote. marchxness.com/elite8-folds...

Eager for the analysis that shows whether Alex Van Halen's drum sound from album to album is the most consistent of all drummers cause to my ear ... that snare and tom sound is pretty steady over the years.

It's the ELITE 8 baby, and my essay about Ani DiFranco's song "You Had Time" is up today. In the interest of securing the vote, I honored the tradition of performing a cover of my selected song. Please enjoy. Or don't. But either way, vote for me? @marchxness.bsky.social

I do not miss driving the Bishop Ford, and I feel for all those who do, but this project is overdue by like 17 years.

Gonna need to scale up the X-axis on this one...

Posting for the night crowd! I had a big lead earlier today and now I’m 25 votes down. What a wild ride. I am up against a beautiful essay about a beautiful song, and if it’s my time, I’m really proud I made it this far. But there are still 12 hours of voting left, so I’m not giving up yet!

Currently on the horn with convention delegates... asking them to consider voting one more time...

March Xmas has such a ring to it… Oasis’ cover of Slade’s Merry Christmas Everybody or Same Old Lang Syne by Father Folgerberg please.

* US MAKING PREPARATIONS FOR POTENTIAL GROUND TROOPS IN IRAN: CBS @bloomberg.com

Headed out to check on rumors of an ICE checkpoint in Albuquerque.

I’m gonna go ahead and tip my cap and give a big freakin’ high five to @mlfaliveno.bsky.social on her @marchxness.bsky.social win. Melissa has inspired me more than a social media post can convey, and what a time for our hometown to have 24 hours in a spotlight. 🎸🎉🤘🧌

Out playing hoops this morning… Do buckets I make in real life translate to #MarchSadness votes? marchxness.com#/sweet16-cro...

Wilco fandom is so Misunderstood, and others are constantly Trying to Break Your Heart. But here's a Shot in the Arm: You Shouldn't Be Ashamed of voting for my essay about Via Chicago ... except that I have Round Here winning the whole bracket. marchxness.com#/sweet16-cro...

"I found one diary a few years back that somehow survived the house fire that took my dad's life. ... A couple of times a year, I pick it up and read through it. Each time I find some new detail that brings me some comfort." Read & vote for the saddest essay here: marchxness.com#/sweet16-cro...

It’s March so I must make free throws. It’s March so I must make free throws. It’s March so I must make free throws.

Less than 12 hours left to vote for @wilcohq.bsky.social's Via Chicago, but it's not #MarchSadness without an obligatory photo of the car you drove in the 90s that allowed you to drive around & feel things very deeply ... instead of watching for all deer lurking on south central Wisco highways.

Beautiful writing in both essays that will especially grab you if you were also a sad 90s teen who listened to a lot of sad 90s music. (I agree the Counting Crows first 3 albums are wonderful and I'm also so far away from the sad girl who loved Round Here that it's hard to believe I was her.)

What's fun is Nov. Rain, Round Here & Vince Gill's Trying To Get Over You all caused me to shed a lot of tears as a 90s teen. But writing about a 90s song that brought me tears as an adult helped put a lot into perspective. Hopefully, it resonates with you. marchxness.com/sweet16-crow...

Some great tunes and even better essays up for voting today with a bid to the Elite Eight on the line. I'd love your vote, but more so, please tip your cap to the writers featured today. Being vulnerable isn't easy, but the insight that comes out of the process can help make us all better people.

Guys, this is gonna be epic. The first time in @marchxness.bsky.social history that two writers who grew up in the single-stoplight town of Mount Horeb, WI go head to head. Whatever happens, the Trollway wins. See you out there tomorrow, sad 90s kids!

Vote for my Kate Bush essay today! marchxness.com/sweet16-bush... @katebushmusic.bsky.social

Six years ago today, I talked to my dad for the last time. As the uncertainty about an emerging virus swirled around us all, we talked about whether he had enough food on hand. We talked about washing our hands. We talked about our recent move to a new state. By noon the next day, he was gone.

Thursday's @marchxness.bsky.social Sweet 16 matchup... Two essays recounting aspects of the same Midwest town by writers who may have burned through — combined — a thousand gallons of gas and Mountain Dew while traversing the backroads & fumbling around to change the CD in the Discman.

Well, went and got me put in the role of chair for a News Media Guild working group on artificial intelligence...

I don't have a lot left in my @marchxness.bsky.social bracket, but my championship match-up remains intact and that could be enough...

And when it’s done Win or lose You always did your best Cuz inside you knew…

biting our nails

Kinda can't help but wonder what the world could be if more people learned to process and expose sadness and disappointment — and happiness and achievement, for that matter — through writing like the pieces created for this year's @marchxness.bsky.social bracket.

Two things I keep coming back to in @emilylauracosta.bsky.social's wonderful essay. One: Fear. Makes me think of Victoria Williams' Crazy Mary: "That what you fear the most, could meet you halfway." Two: How many children go missing on any given day? By choice or by force. It's heartbreaking.

Returning home used to bring me down a bit, and as an adult, I came to realize it's because returning home— as a changed person —you're forced to confront your past self. Down to the last couple of hours or so... It doesn't matter which essay or song or band you vote for, as long as you vote...

Last call for "the kids are really the thing about the song, the reason for its cultural and personal impact, but also the reason it is so, so sad." vs "what happens when someone passes through different places, among different people, long enough to be changed." @marchxness.bsky.social