"powerful people (like Elmo) and big corporations (Skydance) don’t have much trouble getting their message out or addressing wrongs visited upon them. but vulnerable persons, by contrast, often have no voice" @sulliview.bsky.social margaretsullivan.substack.com/p/yes-elon-seeking-truth-is-the-most

Here's how @sulliview.bsky.social of @columjournreview.bsky.social wishes "happy new year to all:"

‘That old expression about comforting the afflicted is supposed to remind us that a part of the journalistic mission is to give a voice to the voiceless and to hold powerful people and institutions accountable.’ Via @sulliview.bsky.social margaretsullivan.substack.com/p/yes-elon-s...

After 30 years, today is the last day to buy a MetroCard. @matteowong.bsky.social mourns an underrated technological marvel.

Sending prayers to her family. She was an extraordinary young woman. If you haven’t, read her superb essay in @newyorker.com about her journey since her cancer diagnosis. A remarkable person. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

Media commentator Margaret Sullivan (@sulliview.bsky.social) on Bari Weiss of CBS News, who "isn't really a news person:" "The fact that she’s the top editor at one of the most storied newsrooms in the U.S. says a lot about media in this moment."

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"the vulnerable person, by contrast, often has no voice. That certainly includes the migrant who’s being treated as the worst kind of criminal — as an animal — and thrown in a mega-max prison with no recourse and no help." Provocative from @sulliview.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/margaret...

My new column here. Please consider subscribing to my newsletter, American Crisis, which you can do for free. https://open.substack.com/pub/margaretsullivan/p/yes-elon-seeking-truth-is-the-most?r=1yc91&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay

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Any left-leaning by front-line journalists is outweighed by owners and top execs of news outlets who lean right. You see this in their investment in business news vs. coverage of the environment and poverty, and in many other ways. It adds up to an over-all media picture that is NOT LIBERAL. 7/10 🧵

@sulliview.bsky.social on @60minutes.bsky.social, @cbsnews.com: "Weiss ought to cut her losses, green-light the piece, and try to start acting like an editor – not like a cog in the machine of authoritarian politics and oligarchy." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

There are a lot of hot takes out there about BW/ CBS including credulous pieces that maybe just maybe censoring news was a good idea. What?! But this from @sulliview.bsky.social is spot on. If she says you screwed up, you screwed up. Bari, take note. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Journalism is supposed to “afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted,” but Bari Weiss has it backwards. My new column https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/dec/23/bari-weiss-60-minutes-cecot-episode-censorship?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Journalism is supposed to “afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted,” but Bari Weiss has it backwards. My new column https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/dec/23/bari-weiss-60-minutes-cecot-episode-censorship?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

@sulliview.bsky.social insightful as usual This isn’t a business story! “Policies that strengthen independent news organizations…local journalism…public media & prohibit the concentration of media power are…necessary for a functioning democracy” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

A🧵 Who inspired you in 2025? Every month, The Media and Democracy Project honors exemplary individuals & publications for their commitment to journalism, democracy, & press freedom. We are grateful to and inspired by our 2025 heroes! We hope you are too. Who are they? Why are they heroes?👇

"Policies that strengthen independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, fund public media, and prohibit the concentration of media power in too few hands are not only possible – they are necessary for a functioning democracy." @sulliview.bsky.social on US media has universal relevance.

Excellent piece by @sulliview.bsky.social in @theguardian.com. Grateful that she references our recent @rooseveltinstitute.org report on the media crises facing US democracy. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

With one final complaint/plea ⤵️ 2/ www.cjr.org/laurels-and-...

"While the biggest and most influential [U.S.] news orgs are doing great reporting ... their politics and gov't coverage often feels like biz as usual. "Journalism should be communicating the still-raging five-alarm fire that’s burning up our nation’s purpose and history." -- @sulliview.bsky.social

@sulliview.bsky.social highlights a report in Foreign Affairs titled “The Price of American Authoritarianism.” Then shows how traditional news orgs have failed to meet the moment. open.substack.com/pub/margaret...

'Trump is covered... like all those other presidents — the ones who, despite their flaws, were not busy dismantling our democracy. Trump is covered with deference; with headlines and stories that often take him at face value.' Via @sulliview.bsky.social margaretsullivan.substack.com/p/america-ha...

"Amid America's fallk, the news media has largely failed to meet the moment," posts @sulliview.bsky.social of @columbiajournalism.bsky.social. "Trump is covered, for the most part, like all those other presidents . . . with deference; with headlines and stories that often take him at face value."

This. What journalism SHOULD be doing to respond to this moment of democratic crisis (from the always brilliant @sulliview.bsky.social):

Journalism should be communicating the still-raging five-alarm fire that’s burning up our nation’s purpose and history. Critically important read from @sulliview.bsky.social. open.substack.com/pub/margaret...

"...while the biggest and most influential news organizations are doing great reporting — like the excellent New York Times investigation into the Tate brothers — their politics and government coverage often feels like business as usual." The latest from @sulliview.bsky.social...

This has to be one of the greatest runs any director has ever experienced.

“People who study #misinformation … aren’t engaged in ‘censorship,’” says @knightcolumbia.org's @carriedecell.bsky.social. “They’re engaged in activities that the First Amendment was designed to protect.” More from @sulliview.bsky.social in @theguardian.com. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

"Certainly, at minimum, there should be public statements of mission that acknowledge that things have changed"; "certainly, there should be an absolute end to the 'both sides' coverage that equates truth and falsehood in the name of fairness" - @sulliview.bsky.social bluevirginia.us/2025/12/mond...

I only needed to read the headline to know @sulliview.bsky.social was dead on. When she called the coverage of Trump “stenography” I said to myself “yep.” And I applauded when she outlined 3 changes on how to respond to Trump. Follow them please, journalists. open.substack.com/pub/margaret...

➡️ @sulliview.bsky.social agrees with us: The White House media “bias” tracker is a gimmick and most people aren’t going to buy whatever it is selling. “Trashing the media is not going to help Trump get out of the trouble – or the bubble – that he’s in,” she writes in @theguardian.com.

"I also feel deeply disappointed by flawed decision-making that makes me question whether news organizations have lost their way or even forgotten their mission. So much of what gets attention seems —is— driven by 'engagement.'" @sulliview.bsky.social ⬇️ margaretsullivan.substack.com/p/do-better-...

"Much of the reality-based press is doing a poor job of even acknowledging that they have a role in saving democracy, much less doing anything about it." Thank you, @sulliview.bsky.social. Yes, we need the media to do better! open.substack.com/pub/margaret...

“And, as it also turns out, much of the reality-based press is doing a poor job of even acknowledging that they have a role in saving democracy, much less doing anything about it.” @sulliview.bsky.social brings the receipts. open.substack.com/pub/margaret...

Margaret Sullivan discusses the abysmal ethics of NYT's Epstein coverage, including the paper's radio silence following disclosure of the fact that its lead Epstein correspondent was seeking money from Epstein. The corruption goes far in explaining NYT's editorially deranged Epstein coverage.

Interesting exchange between @sulliview.bsky.social and James Risen over the NYT’s inexplicable and indefensible opacity regarding their (now former) reporter who was soliciting $ from Jeffrey Epstein. margaretsullivan.substack.com/p/three-ugly...

Between “piggy”, “bamboo” & NYT’s refusal to come clean, there’s more than ample reason to distrust 🇺🇸journalists, to think they’ve never heard the word “ethics” much less could ever act ethically, but @sulliview.bsky.social also offers reasons to take ♥️ margaretsullivan.substack.com/p/three-ugly...

"What ties these situations together is the utter lack of critical distance from sources on the part of these writers [and] the apparent disregard for the primary journalistic mission of representing the public" @sulliview.bsky.social on ethics failure. margaretsullivan.substack.com/p/three-ugly...

For those of us who teach journalism students about ethics, we've had some astonishingly clear lessons recently, including one from a former NYT reporter. Great stuff from @sulliview.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/margaret...

“This raises so many questions,” Risen told me. “Did this guy tell his editors he might have stuff on Trump and Epstein? What did they do about it? Did they ignore @sulliview.bsky.social #TrumpCrimeFamily #EpsteinFiles #MainstreamMedia #Journalism #Lies #Billionaires

“Don’t ever do that“ @sulliview.bsky.social with a timeless reminder about journalism standards & practices re “Situations involving the best-selling author Michael Wolff, a former New York Times reporter named Landon Thomas Jr., & political writer Olivia Nuzzi…” open.substack.com/pub/margaret...

@sulliview.bsky.social 🎯 on normalization of Trump’s aberrant, deviant behavior “it only worsens—because Trump gets away with it… Will this ‘quiet, piggy’ moment make a difference? Only for those who care about decency in public officials & in 🇺🇸society” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

As usual, @sulliview.bsky.social nails it. @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

NEW: The White House intervened in a DHS investigation. The target? Sex offender Andrew Tate. The WH person? Paul “Nazi Streak” Ingrassia. Who was previously also Tate’s lawyer. A banger from @robert-faturechi.bsky.social & Avi Asher-Shapiro www.propublica.org/article/andr...

And hats off to @sulliview.bsky.social for using her column to correct a misstatement she made on a podcast about @latimes.com owner Patrick Soon-Shiong — and using it as a teaching moment about the dubious accuracy of artificial intelligence margaretsullivan.substack.com/p/two-opposi...

…and then the rest of the White House press corps pushed back against the president’s gratuitous insult aimed at one of their colleagues? Oh wait! There’s no sign that anything like that happened! Because access beats out solidarity, every day of the week. people.com/donald-trump...

This isn't the primary point of @sulliview.bsky.social's excellent column, but its point about AI strikes me as important. She is correcting an error she made in a podcast in which she said Patrick Soon-Shiong as at Trump's inauguration. He wasn't. margaretsullivan.substack.com/p/two-opposi...

Check out today's newsletter from the great @sulliview.bsky.social on two very different views of the Epstein emails Spoiler alert: One of them is mine! The other is the "lost world" heralded by the NYT margaretsullivan.substack.com/p/two-opposi...

@sulliview.bsky.social walks the talk, she tells @pkrugman.bsky.social: "I'm taking some of my Substack royalties and plowing it back into continuing subscriptions at basically all of the major news organizations. . . . I [also] think it is really important to foster and support local news." [1/2]