Our founders, though deeply flawed, understood that democracy requires an informed citizenry and a government accountable to it people. That’s why the press is the only profession protected by the Constitution. It’s also why autocrats and oligarchs seek to control and destroy it.

#BREAKING: SCOTUS keeps California's Democrat-friendly map redraw in play for midterms @kelseyreichmann.bsky.social www.courthousenews.com/scotus-keeps...

BREAKING: Supreme Court DENIES California GOP request to nix Dem-friendly maps in midterms The decision aligns with Dec ruling that Texas’ new maps couldn’t thrown out “on the eve of an election” @courthousenews.bsky.social

as wapo gets dismantled for sport and grievance, @muckrack.com is surveying journalists on the state of journalism in 2026 and offering a shot at a $50 giftcard for respondents, which is ironically a better picture of the state of journalism in 2026 than any survey could possibly paint

Facts. —> 51st.news

you’ll miss us when we’re gone

journalists are workers who deserve to be paid fairly for our labor and I think that far too few consumers of media recognize or even care about this fact

I expected the cuts would be bad but I'm honestly stunned and sickened seeing how many great journalists the Washington Post just lost. People who nailed huge investigations, documented war zones, exposed horrific crimes, dropped all at once for failures they did not cause.

"Those who were laid off include Caroline O’Donovan, the Post’s beat reporter covering Amazon"

what a godawful day for journalism, following a great many other godawful days for journalism

A publisher who lays off a reporter whose pen is freezing because she's covering a frigid war zone while dodging missiles is not an editor you want to work for, in a more perfect world

NEWS: The cuts were so severe that at least one department head asked to leave The Post rather than be included in the planning. Peter Finn, The Post's international editor, requested that he be laid off once he learned about the scope of the cuts to his section. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...

To be clear: a zoom call with the employee’s webcams disabled so they didn’t have to see any of their faces while they laid them off.

I've been through some shitty times in my 20 years as a journalist but today just might take the shit cake

Where are the swifties

The Washington Post (Mackenzie Scott's version)

a city is a hard thing to kill but they're trying.

It’s important to keep in mind the existence of a lot of antipathy toward D.C. specifically, and its limited capacity to protect itself because of its relationship to the federal government.

New from 404 Media: the FBI has been unable to get into the iPhone of raided Washington Post journalist because the phone had Lockdown Mode enabled. Apple markets Lockdown Mode mostly to stop spyware like NSO. Here, a real world example of it stopping access too www.404media.co/fbi-couldnt-...

Democracy dies in broad daylight under billionaire ownership

For all the reasons you are thinking of (and maybe some you're not), this has been a HARD year for many people who live in Washington. That's making the decision to gut the parts of the Post (metro, sports) that cover the region as a place that people *live* extra hard to take.

A staggering statement from former Washington Post editor Marty Baron: "This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world's greatest news organizations."

Seven years ago yesterday, this ad ran during the Super Bowl.

At what point will billionaires stop blaming employees for the failures of AI?

I am thinking of everybody at the Post who’s going to be affected by this. It’s awful. (It’s easy to say “they should have quit,” but given the state of journalism jobs and the connection between employment and health insurance, that’s more complicated than it sounds.)

Trump, late last week: Kristi Noem’s many critics are “going after” her “because she is a woman.” Trump, four days later: CNN’s Kaitlin Collins — one of several women in media he’s targeted — needs to smile more. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

If you have such contempt for the paper, just sell. Reckless disregard for journalism, a wonderful city and the people who live there.

The Post killing its Books section (one of the best around) is so fucking bleak

I personally do not think some rich man should be able to buy an institution like this like a toy and then break it when he doesn’t want to play with it anymore. bsky.app/profile/benm...

What’s the logic behind forcing everyone into the office regularly but calling for a virtual (presumably) layoff call?

HERE WE FUCKIN GOOOOOOOOO do it Leo. do it. you want to. you can. these guys were excommunicated in 1988 for doing this and they just did it again. you have the opportunity to do the coolest and funniest thing in the world

Who can get me an interview with the baby elephant

He literally pulled a "you should smile more" IN RESPONSE TO AN EPSTEIN QUESTION.

I know we’ve gotten used to it, but this type of behavior is disgusting and people should speak up about it

It's incredibly discouraging to see zero solidarity within the press corps

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile." Triggering fight or flight for women nationwide 🙃

"There is no check, no parental guidance, no time out, no requirement, such as with the young son of a good friend, that the son pay for a new TV after throwing a baseball through the old one," Courthouse News editor Bill Girdner writes. www.courthousenews.com/teenager-in-...

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained body cam footage of the FBI raid on Fulton County's elections hub. In one video, Fulton police and the FBI spar over the search warrant to seize the 2020 ballots. "One way or another, the records are coming with us today," an agent said.

Periodic reminder: When someone shares news with "BREAKING" and they aren't a journalist and don't link to a news story, it's probably not the best source for people to be resharing. It might be trying to get rage reposts, even! Better to find a news article that is accurately describing facts.

Spotted by @fixthecourt.com The author of the Fox News story defending Justice Alito has a pending cert petition at SCOTUS (Skinner v. Louisiana 25-1)

NEWS via @benjaminweiss.bsky.social House Dems are demanding that DHS rescind a leaked 2025 memo authorizing federal agents to forcibly enter homes without a judicial warrant, accusing DHS of taking a “battering ram” to the Fourth Amendment. www.courthousenews.com/house-democr...

Small point but I know very few people who didn't have some kind of job right out of high school. I think it's fair to say the majority work all the way through college.

lol

Teslas being Teslas

Exclusive: A U.S. official has alleged wrongdoing by U.S. spy chief Tulsi Gabbard in a complaint that is so highly classified it has sparked months of wrangling over how to share it with Congress, according to people familiar with the matter.

"Four hours after his arrest, he was taken to a hospital emergency room in Edina with swelling and bruising around his right eye and bleeding. A CT scan revealed at least eight skull fractures and life-threatening hemorrhages in at least five areas of his brain..." apnews.com/article/immi...

Unacceptable www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...

🚨Don Lemon is being charged under the FACE Act, which has historically been used to prosecute those who impede access to abortion clinics. But it also criminalizes interference @ houses of worship. Days into 2nd term, Trump pardoned 24 anti-abortion activists convicted under FACE 🧵

Supreme Court scheduled arguments for Trump’s birthright citizenship appeal for the last sitting of March