The Knight Foundation is Betraying its Mission

“By sponsoring a journalism event featuring Tucker Carlson, the philanthropy is mistaking openness for strengthening democracy.” [Link]

When truth is another casualty: Why Ukraine is losing ground in the war by not telling the whole story

“John Mair, co-editor of the book, says we should not confuse the proximity of this war with ease of access to information, saying: “The challenge for British journalists… is not just safety but keeping the right side of the so far invisible Ukrainian censorship machine.”” [Link]

Wisconsin School District Bans Book on Japanese-American WWII Internment

“Ann Zielke, a parent of a student in the district, told NBC News that School Board Vice President Terri Boyer claimed the book offered an "unbalanced" account of historical events. "What she said to me was that we actually need an 'American' perspective,'"

Google will start auto-deleting health clinic location data

“Jen Fitzpatrick, SVP of Core Systems at Google, wrote in a blog post that the company will start deleting visit data from facilities like abortion clinics, fertility centers, counseling centers, domestic violence shelters, addiction treatment facilities and weight loss clinics "soon after" the visits take place when its

My text editors

A text editor is just a text editor, right? Well, not really - and it turns out I use a variety of text editors for different purposes. iA Writer is how I draft and publish my blog posts and short stories. It’s a beautiful, minimalist markdown editor that knows

California late start law aims to make school less of a yawn

“Beginning this fall high schools in the nation’s most populous state can’t start before 8:30 a.m. and middle schools can’t start before 8 a.m. under a 2019 first-in-the-nation law forbidding earlier start times. Similar proposals are before lawmakers in New Jersey and Massachusetts.” This

Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' bill isn't the only anti-LGBTQ+ bill taking effect today

“Collectively, the bills build toward an atmosphere of silence around LGBTQ+ people and restrict how LGBTQ+ youth can learn about themselves and participate at school, advocates say.” [Link]

Social Media Can Be Reimagined for the Good of Society

“Yet what well-meaning regulatory proposals lack is a vision of social media that could be good for society. At best, these regulatory approaches seek to make existing social media less awful. But an emerging movement that we might call “the Good Web” envisions the possibility of social media that has

‘It’s Scary’: Students Fear Going to College in Red States After Roe

“After the overturning of Roe, millions of college students found themselves attending institutions where they would no longer have access to certain types of reproductive healthcare. Now, students who had committed to attending colleges or universities in majority conservative states are rethinking their decisions. Meanwhile, rising high school seniors say

Reading, watching, playing, using: June, 2022

This is my monthly roundup of the books, articles, and streaming media I found interesting. Here's my list for April, 2022. Books Reap3r, by Eliot Peper. A page-turner set in a very familiar world to me - I had fun recognizing the scenery, the interpersonal dynamics, the cultural

Reap3r, by Eliot Peper

A page-turner set in a very familiar world to me - I had fun recognizing the scenery, the interpersonal dynamics, the cultural references. There was adventure, plausible near-future science fiction scenarios mined for tension; I had trouble putting it down, and that's exactly what I wanted from it.

Twitter is the go-to social media site for U.S. journalists, but not for the public

“More than nine-in-ten journalists in the United States (94%) use social media for their jobs, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey of reporters, editors and others working in the news industry. But the sites that journalists use most frequently differ from those that the public turns to for