This is an outrage— Hegseth forbidding the reporting of admittedly unclassified info without his permission. But I am not sure it is or should be framed as a legal problem. Could it be time for the independent press to pull its reporters and cameras out of the Pentagon unless this move is withdrawn?

I agree that it is important to remember Charlie Kirk. He deserved to live. I am very sorry he was killed, and mourn for his family. If you want to remember him also for his views, here is one sampling: youtube.com/watch?v=6oVc...

Devastating, detailed review of the interlocking corruption of Eric Adams and Donald Trump www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/o...

Breaking: the FBI filmed Trump’s border czar accepting $50,000 in cash to help get federal contracts. Kash Patel dropped the case. www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/t...

Trump’s private lawyers in his latest ridiculous lawsuit against the New York Times have just had a dunce cap placed on their heads and been told to sit in the corner by a federal district judge appointed by a GOP president. Complaint dismissed; try again. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

“CBS News and the First Moves of its Nepo Baby Owner Learning about the limits of billionaires” By @dicktofel.bsky.social dicktofel.substack.com/p/cbs-news-a...

If you hate what ABC did to Kimmel, just refuse to watch #Grey’sAnatomy tonight. Don’t buy tickets to Disney movies. And spread the word. That seems to be the only currency Bob Iger cares about.

Bob Iger has just surrendered editorial control of ABC to a federal bureaucrat. Message: he won’t permit anything on air which the White House is willing to threaten. Certainly hope creatives will disassociate themselves from Disney. Need to hear from Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts, Quinta Brunson

Je suis Jimmy Kimmel

I deplored the impending rise of Bari Weiss at CBS News on my blog last week, but @dicktofel.bsky.social got at the real problem better than I did. substack.com/home/post/p-...

The latest billionaire in the news business. This week’s (early) Second Rough Draft newsletter open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...

Robert Redford didn’t just help bring one of journalism’s finest hours to film, he also donated this request for public support of @propublica.org when most people had never heard of it. RIP www.propublica.org/article/plea...

If I sue somebody for a trillion dollars, are you really going to put that in your headline?

“.. The document appears to counter other documentation that Cook’s critics have cited in support of their claims that she committed mortgage fraud ..” @reuters.com www.reuters.com/world/us/fed...

What’s most notable here is how common seven-figure settlements are becoming in libel cases. The number here would have been shocking not long ago. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/12/b...

On working at the Journal on 9/11 - "…clear assignment and delineation of responsibility, instilling of common purpose and understanding of mission, empowering human beings to do their best work and motivating them to want to do it" @dicktofel.bsky.social on dicktofel.substack.com/p/the-journa...

The Journalism Lesson I Learned on September 11 by @dicktofel.bsky.social, former president of @propublica.org dicktofel.substack.com/p/the-journa...

Here's why @dicktofel.bsky.social is on my @bsky.app List called EveryDay, so I never miss a post. open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...

Why empowerment is the key for newsrooms during a crisis. This week’s Second Rough Draft newsletter open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...

In the 8th graf of this story: Mamdani leads among Jewish voters www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/n...

Even Ross Douthat thinks there’s another shoe to drop for Trump on Epstein www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/o...

That leering Trump letter to Epstein reported by WSJ that Trump said didn’t exist— and over which he sued them? The Congress now has it, and the Journal published an image. It’s gross. www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...

Amazing yarn from @propublica.org of the DOGE chaos at Social Security, based on 15 hours of interviews with Trump’s eccentric first commissioner of the agency www.propublica.org/article/insi...

Speculative, but interesting talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/is-th...

Is the GOP Senate majority so craven that Eric Adams could be confirmed as ambassador to Saudi Arabia? He’s not only a crook, he knows nothing about the Kingdom

Breaking from @propublica.org That horrible thing Lisa Cook at the Fed has allegedly done? Trump’s Secretary of Labor, Secretary of Transportation and Environmental Protection Administrator have all done the same thing www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Smart @dicktofel.bsky.social guidance, for reporters & all trying to find and follow real news: stay on life-impacting, enduring stories, not daily noise.

"Yes, we live in an age where the pace of news is set by social media. Yet, in accepting that pace, we need not defer to, or worse mimic, that attention span." Accepting the pace of social media need not mean embracing its transience by @dicktofel.bsky.social dicktofel.substack.com/p/how-to-wre...

The perils of “thank you for your attention to this matter.” This week’s Second Rough Draft newsletter open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...

A real trans-Atlantic sign of the times. Congrats to all involved. pressgazette.co.uk/the-wire/med...

If Trump makes the NYC mayoral election a referendum on him, some numbers to recall: While he did better in NYC in ‘24 than previously, he got Less than 40% in Queens Less than 30% in Brooklyn and the Bronx Less than 20% in Manhattan And he’s less popular in NYC (as elsewhere) than he was then

Fact for today: The murder rate (factoring in population) is lower than Chicago in the red state cities of St. Louis New Orleans Indianapolis And in the purple state city of Atlanta

Great choice for CUNY Journalism. Congrats to all.

The revolution begins to consume its own. A smart story from @wsj.com www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

It’s apparently now Trump’s policy to make us all pay taxes on goods bought from countries whose leaders won’t nominate him for the Nobel Prize. Seriously. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/30/u...

It’s starting to look like claims of multiple homes as primary residences on mortgages is pretty common. Now that Trump has weaponized this data, isn’t it just a matter of time before a staffer with access starts leaking lists of GOP offenders? apnews.com/article/paxt...

Atlanta’s newspaper, one of the best run metros in the country, will go out of print at year end. A milestone, and a harbinger of much more to come— maybe soon. www.ajc.com/business/202...

This resignation letter from CDC is important reading— worth your time in full. x.com/dr_demetre/s...

Turns out it may be easier for the current DOJ to indict a ham sandwich than a man who throws one.

Important column from WSJ on the the inflation and instability ahead www.wsj.com/economy/cent...

The Democratic Party has a image problem. But Democratic candidates keep performing better than recent historical norms vs. Republican candidates in special elections. That’s not only a possible harbinger of midterm results, it means the image problem will be “solved” when a nominee emerges in ‘28.

🗣️ New york did not eliminate cash bail 🗣️ Bail reform has not led to increases in crime or recidivism 🗣️ Pretrial detention increases likelihood of rearrest Trump Targets Bail Reform in Latest Threat to New York’s Federal Funding nysfocus.com/2025/08/26/t...

If Lisa Cook had been charged and convicted of mortgage fraud, Trump might have the right to remove her. Without either charge or conviction, he’s simply illegally trying to destroy the independence of the Fed. If this doesn’t tank the market it’s only because they don’t yet understand.

A story of what Trump is really doing to Jews at Harvard. www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...

At some point the WSJ editorial page just needs to admit they were wrong to support Trump’s re-election www.wsj.com/opinion/john...

A great day for readers, in Memphis and everywhere, to have Wendi Thomas back reporting

How is it possible that @nytimes.com reporters saw people at the Mayor’s campaign events give cash to Chinese language reporters three times starting more than five weeks ago, but didn’t tell readers until someone tried to give cash to an English language reporter? www.nytimes.com/2025/08/21/n...

"I, for one, am concerned about the fact that 14 deep red states continue to supply almost $150 million annually to public broadcasting—there may be another shoe to drop here," GPB's state funding was cut significantly in 2023. Some of the budget cutters are now running for Gov. and Lt. Gov. #gapol

Speaking of nonprofit journalism and funding, here's a great read from @dicktofel.bsky.social talking about the state of things. (I don't think the AI art was necessary)

From an early verdict on Press Forward to a focus on major donors and progress on membership, this week’s Second Rough Draft newsletter open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...