New Talarico campaign theme song: "Girlfriend Is Better." www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK7h...

So, the Vivaldi browser ... good? bad? worth trying?

I try to reserve my complaining about tone-deaf headlines and social-media posts for special occasions. This is a special occasion. Dear @npr.org: What is this shit?

The revenue is still there, you just have to have people whose job is to get it.

📰 @masslive.bsky.social, which has expanded into Boston, holds a neighborhood visit in Jamaica Plain. www.masslive.com/opinion/2026...

Lawrence Welk has pulled out of Freedom 250.

We're all rooting for the Midcoast Villager of Camden, Maine, but yikes — six layoffs/buyouts, including the managing editor. It's an unusually ambitious project, and I hope it doesn't prove to be *too* ambitious. #journalism www.bostonglobe.com/2026/05/30/b...

No. Unacceptable. You don’t release *names* for privacy reasons. “Dr. Kathryn Himmelstein, medical director of the Boston Public Health Commission’s Infectious Disease Bureau, declined on Friday to share the number of cases in Boston for privacy reasons.” www.bostonglobe.com/2026/05/30/m...

Up With People has pulled out of Freedom 250. youtu.be/E5C1ML-ObY8?...

A Penn State photojournalism student has been documenting the ICE-created chaos at the Delaney Hall protests. @njspotlightnews.org is publishing his work. “I’ve covered hard news before, but this is the first time I’ve ever had tear gas and pepper spray directed toward me.”

Holy cow. @northeasternu.bsky.social's provost, Beth Winkelstein, has left after less than a year, according to the @huntnewsnu.bsky.social. No indication of what happened. I got to observe her up close during commencement season and found her to be relaxed, friendly and funny.

Starry-eyed in DC: Two entrepreneurs will compete against a diminished Washington Post as they spar over who gets to use the "Star" name. New at Media Nation. #journalism dankennedy.net/2026/05/29/s...

A lot of us are using LinkedIn more since the implosion of Xitter. (Exclusively? Hell, no.) It's just as bad as all the rest. krehbielgroup.com/2026/how-lin...

Can’t repeat this enough.

I don't know much about Nick Bilton, and I get that he's unqualified to work at a high level in television news, which makes him a perfect hire by Bari Weiss. But people seem to think he's just bad. Why? That's a legitimate inquiry.

In this week's newsletter for paid supporters of my free blog, Media Nation, dankennedy-dot-net: Jill Biden stokes the never-ending fury over 2024. Plus: The week's posts, photography, and a rocking tribute to the late Sonny Rollins. Join my Patreon for $5 a month. www.patreon.com/posts/suppor...

Dear local news: Here's why funders say no. #journalism www.poynter.org/business-wor...

The @wsj.com editorial page takes issue with public subsidies for #journalism. Yet it fails to consider journalism as a "public good" in economic terms — that is, it benefits everyone equally, including free riders. That's why we all have to pay for public schools, for instance.

The problem with frauds like Rosenbaum is that he's polluting the water for writers who have found ethical uses for AI: research *with links*, brainstorming interview questions, helping with organization. nymag.com/intelligence...

We need to talk about why @npr.org got $113m in two big grants and can't spend it on journalism. It's a tech investment. I get it, but the vast majority of people still listen to it on one of those electric radio machines. Meanwhile, layoffs and buyouts are under way. #journalism

Programmatic ads hurt your brand and reputation, and you make no more than fractions of pennies. "The American Prospect decided to do away with programmatic ads. A month later, people are spending nearly twice as much time on the site." #journalism www.cjr.org/analysis/dep...

Why is the state bureaucracy holding up a clean, unobtrusive commuter boat along the Charles from Watertown to Boston? @scottvv.bsky.social reports. #mapoli scottvanvoorhis.substack.com/p/proposed-c...

How graffiti detracts from bike paths: A spray-painted ride along the Tri-Community Greenway in Winchester, Woburn and Stoneham. New at Media Nation. dankennedy.net/2026/05/27/h...

Why would you even bother to quote this BS? I mean, pixels died. ‘“The name calling, it’s so beneath Republican politics,” said Chad Wilbanks, a Republican lobbyist and former executive director of the Republican Party of Texas. ”It’s so disheartening.”’ www.nytimes.com/2026/05/27/u...

Talarico got what he needed. God help us if he can’t take advantage of it.

Important sheep-related news. nemasket.theweektoday.com/article/shee...

Robert Allbritton approached Jeff Bezos about buying The Washington Post. He was turned down and decided to launch NOTUS, which will be rebranded The Star next week. #journalism www.cjr.org/feature/star...

The @redsox.com go full Barbra Streisand, killing a Graham Platner ad that blames private equity for the sorry state of a once-winning team. You can watch it here. awfulannouncing.com/politics/nes...

On the new @whatworks-nu.bsky.social podcast, Ron Mitchell tells us how The Bay State Banner is serving Greater Boston's communities of color. Plus: New @northeasternu.bsky.social journalism graduate Sanjana Mishra talks about her paper on private equity and the local-news crisis. #journalism

Important fallen-horse-related news. (Happy ending.) nemasket.theweektoday.com/article/resc...

How private equity and corporate ownership are killing local journalism and American democracy: A well-wrought article at @whatworks-nu.bsky.social on the local-news crisis by newly minted @northeasternu.bsky.social #journalism graduate Sanjana Mishra. whatworks.news/2026/05/24/h...

New at Media Nation: Why did Tulsi Gabbard resign? You can't tell from the media's contradictory anonymous sources. #journalism dankennedy.net/2026/05/23/w...

A chain of autism clinics, owned by private equity, unregulated and paid through Medicaid. Good Lord. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/23/h...

Reuters relies on one unnamed source to report that Tulsi Gabbard is lying about why she's resigning as DNI. www.reuters.com/world/white-...

Hearst, generally regarded as among the better newspaper chain owners, is accused by union workers of trying to bust them. #journalism www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

The Daily Herald, which covers Chicago's suburbs, falls into the hands of Alden Global Capital. #journalism www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/padd...

Tim Walz was a leader in getting Ken Martin named DNC chair. I mean, everyone loves Coach Tim, but the guy couldn't even win a debate against the loathsome JD Vance. And now this.

We really need to know more about the misconduct that resulted in charges being dropped against these innocent defendants. The U.S. attorney sounds terrified over what could happen to him. talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/hand-...

Legacy media outlets that believes blocking @archive.org will somehow prevent their further decline are just digging a mass grave for themselves, with ample space for its role protecting American democracy to fill the margins.

The single most important reason that Kamala Harris lost was that she was caught up in a rising worldwide tide of right-wing authoritarianism. Note to Ken Martin: DM me and I'll give you my address so you can send the consulting fee to me.

Did you miss our @whatworks-nu.bsky.social webinar for local-news folks on "Audience, AI and Events"? We've got you covered with videos from every session. #journalism whatworks.news/2026/05/22/d...

J-school prof turns PTSD into a mission to reform #journalism training. www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/prof...

Great line: Lee Hill of @gbhnews.bsky.social just said at our @whatworks-nu.bsky.social webinar that he sees his job as "connecting the movers and the shakers with the moved and the shaken."

📰 @reportforamerica.bsky.social announces the placement of 78 journalists in 73 newsrooms across the country. Notably, 46% are people of color and 60% are women. #journalism www.reportforamerica.org/2026/05/20/2...

On campus early to get ready for our free @whatworks-nu.bsky.social webinar on "Audience, AI and Events." The fun starts at 8 a.m., and it's not too late to register. See you in a bit! #journalism www.eventbrite.com/e/audience-a...

Good people who care about the future of newspapers, local news, democracy, AI, audience engagement, events and say AMERICA? Tomorrow @dankennedy.net & @ellenclegg.bsky.social host a fab online conference. FREE tix here: www.eventbrite.com/e/audience-a...

I have wondered for a while about the NYT's polling model, which currently has Trump at minus-20, even though the most recent polls that it assesses as high-quality has him at minus-24, minus-25, minus-28, minus-22, minus-27 and minus-20. They're letting lower-quality polls skew the average.

New at Media Nation: A new financial crisis may be brewing — and, this time, there isn't a Barney Frank in sight. #mapoli dankennedy.net/2026/05/20/a...

🎆 Final reminder! Our free, all-day webinar on "Audience, AI and Events" will be held tomorrow, May 21. Sponsored by @whatworks-nu.bsky.social, a project based at @northeasternu.bsky.social. #journalism Please register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/audience-a...

Great reporting, but it drives me crazy when the press — in this case, the @nytimes.com — passes along these non-response responses. It would be more accurate to say the White House declined to comment. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/19/u...