This winter in the Boston area has been much colder and seen more snow than any of the five years I lived there. Apologies to my friends and former Globe colleagues for saying your winters are weak 😬

We can do more with AI. We can do it faster. And, apparently, without intention, we may lose our sense to just stop. Instead of responding passively to how AI tools reshape workplaces, this @hbr.org piece suggests that humans should adopt an “AI practice” to avoid burnout.

Counterpoint: Journalism schools are teaching students how to think critically about the words they publish and to make audience-focused decisions. Those skills are incredibly important when dealing with AI.

This feels like an updated and way more intense version of a board game on my shelf called "The Gazette." The board game has tiles that say things like: "Your Linotype is out of lead. Take another drink." And "You purchased all new Macs. Pay $5,000 and go forward 5 spaces."

Issue No. 3 of Help Desk Monthly was sent yesterday. This month, we focus on the value of scenario planning for local news. Our newsletter also highlights journalism resources for protecting sensitive information, covering immigration raids and protests, and dealing with stress and trauma.

I love that @apnews.com published the Bad Bunny halftime review in English and Español 💕

Great podcast overview of “social media’s big tobacco moment” on The Daily this morning. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/29/p...

Legal experts explain what ICE can do in public, when agents need a warrant and how recent Supreme Court rulings may be changing the rules. via @poynterinstitute.bsky.social

What happened when I tried to hire a remote engineer - me, for @themarkup.org themarkup.org/hello-world/...

SCOOP: In testimony from a CBP official obtained by 404 Media, the official described how Mobile Fortify returned two different names after scanning a woman's face during an immigration raid. ICE has said the app's results are a “definitive” determination of someone's immigration status.

The next Help Desk Monthly issue comes out tomorrow! Subscribe to get it sent to your inbox 📨 mailchi.mp/newsmediahel...

Google has removed some of its AI health summaries after a @theguardian.com investigation found people were being put at risk of harm by false and misleading information.

I will never be over how bad Outlook email is 🫠

I love the recent @newsmediahelpdesk.org case study looking at how Digital Trends is using TollBit to monitor AI traffic on its website. It's a great example of a free, low-risk experiment having to do with AI that won't cause harm to a news publisher.

NPR published a visual archive of January 6, 2021, using footage from those who were at the Capitol riot.

Subclade K is making its impact felt — why flu seems to be everywhere — even if ‘super flu’ is not a thing www.statnews.com/2026/01/06/f...

New today: A look at how Ghost’s all-in-one publishing platform helped propel @404media.co to profitability within a year of launch

Merry Christmas! And, I guess, happy Stranger Things episodes release day?? #rolledaone 🫠

Human editors at @merriam-webster.com have chosen slop as the 2025 Word of the Year. Slop (noun): Digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.

The latest episode of the Small Press, Big Ideas podcast featured Help Desk Product Director @leahbecerra.com and RJI Executive Director @randypicht.bsky.social talking about our new project!

xAI’s chatbot Grok is spreading misinformation about the Bondi Beach shooting.

🚀 News Media Help Desk is live!

After more than a decade working in newsrooms, I've seen firsthand the passion and resilience of journalists. I've also seen the immense pressure they face, often with limited time and resources. That's why I've spent the last nine months building something I truly believe the news industry needs.

I can't wait to share this project publicly next week! Check the 🧵 to learn more about @newsmediahelpdesk.org's mission to support local media news organizations.

the listener-member model that public radio has turned to after decades of government underfunding conflicts with its goal to reflect and serve all Americans. spoke with @lauragarbes.bsky.social about her book LISTENERS LIKE WHO? www.niemanlab.org/2025/11/fund...

Northern Lights in Columbia, Mo.

Kansas county agrees to pay $3 million and apologize over a police raid on a small-town weekly newspaper in August 2023. The paper’s editor told The AP he’s hoping the size of the payment is enough to discourage similar actions against news organizations in the future.

Happy Halloween and you’re welcome for the perfect playlist

My very healthy reaction to not getting in to the Sydney Marathon for 2026 was entering the lottery for Chicago and Berlin

I love how much love there is for @bsky.app at #NPASummit

AWS Outage #itwasdns

AI is ruining Pinterest

I used an anonymous survey to ask my students how they were doing this morning. They said: TIRED SLEEPY unmotivated melancholic slow exhausted 💀 excited hopeful So this is just a reminder to check in on your people. They may need some support.

Today is the first day of the semester at Mizzou! I’ll be teaching the School of Journalism’s Multimedia Planning and Design class. My students will learn about digital news design, they'll code (HTML, CSS, Javascript) and they'll learn how to make intentional UI/UX decisions that serve audiences.

🙃 www.404media.co/age-verifica...

Bluesky has chosen to block access in the state rather than risk potential fines of up to $10,000 per violation. www.wired.com/story/bluesk...

Do you work for a news organization? If so, I want to hear from you! 🫵 Tell me about your favorite digital tools that help your media outlet succeed. And tell me how you go about picking new tools. Reply to this post or fill out this (very short!) survey: missouri.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Raise your hand if you were practically raised by Corporation for Public Broadcasting content ✋ Today, the corporation announced its closure.

🚩🚩🚩

Today, @freedom.press uncovers a Google vulnerability that was exploited to de-index legitimate news stories from search results. Read our article: Censorship Whac-A-Mole: Google search exploited to scrub articles on San Francisco tech exec

The Trump White House is pressing Missouri Republicans to redraw the state’s congressional map, which was just redrawn three years ago. Story via @missouriindependent.com

As worldwide search traffic to news publishers keeps falling, AI summaries are now live on Google Discover. "This is not a test," TechCrunch reports.

The US government has added the DNA of approximately 133,000 migrant children and teens to a criminal database, which critics say could mean police treat them like suspects “indefinitely.” www.wired.com/story/dhs-an...

Just like they said they were going to in project 2025 www.nytimes.com/2025/07/13/c...

FEMA Didn’t Answer Thousands of Calls From Flood Survivors, Documents Show - NYT www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/c...

Many Americans received an email from the Social Security Administration applauding the megabill's passage. Experts say it was misleading.

Texas summer camp says 27 dead after catastrophic flooding

Who else got this propaganda?

BIG news out of Massachusetts. Governor Healey will effectively end the practice of tenant-paid broker fees.

Consumer-grade AI tools have supercharged a Russian-aligned disinformation campaign known by many names including Operation Overload and Matryoshka.