Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Bert Etling

@bertling.bsky.social

I’m threeming of a white Christmas

Wordle 1,651 3/6*

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
🟨⬛⬛⬛🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

December 26, 2025 at 8:46 AM

Bert Etling

@bertling.bsky.social

“The determination with which Mr. Colbert (aided by his fine writing staff) is currently parsing love and grief under the cover of off-the-headlines jokes and celebrity interviews has been breathtaking.” t.co/u9tujHV9ZP

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/24/opinion/stephen-colbert-late-show-canceled.html?unlocked_article_code=1._U8.ZDRB.TXfECajEAY39&smid=nytcore-ios-share

t.co

December 25, 2025 at 5:55 AM

Bert Etling

@bertling.bsky.social

Asante’s announcement that it plans to close the Asante Ashland Community Hospital birth center and inpatient surgery has sparked pushback, including an online petition to appeal the decision that’s gaining traction with more than 2,750 signatures. ashland.news/more-than-27...

More than 2,750 have signed petition to appeal closure of Asante Ashland Community Hospital - Ashland News - Community-Supported, NonProfit News

Asante’s announcement that it plans to close the Asante Ashland Community Hospital birth center and inpatient surgery in May 2026 has sparked pushback in a number of ways, including an online petition...

ashland.news

December 25, 2025 at 3:13 AM

Bert Etling

@bertling.bsky.social

O Christmas three

Wordle 1,649 3/6*

🟨🟨⬛⬛⬛
🟩🟨⬛⬛🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

December 24, 2025 at 8:48 AM

Reposted by Bert Etling

Anna Bower

@annabower.bsky.social

Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:

News Team,
Thank you for the notes and texts. I apologize for not reaching out earlier.
I learned on Saturday that Bari Weiss spiked our story, INSIDE CECOT, which was supposed to air tonight. We (Ori and I) asked for a call to discuss her decision. She did not afford us that courtesy/opportunity.
Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices. It is factually correct. In my view, pulling it now-after every rigorous internal check has been met is not an editorial decision, it is a political one.
We requested responses to questions and/or interviews with DHS, the White House, and the State Department. Government silence is a statement, not a VETO. Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed
to kill the story.
If the administration's refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we

have effectively handed them a "kill switch" for any reporting they find inconvenient.
If the standard for airing a story becomes
"the government must agree to be
interviewed," then the government effectively gains control over the 60 Minutes broadcast.
We go from an investigative powerhouse to a stenographer for the state.
These men risked their lives to speak with us.
We have a moral and professional obligation to the sources who entrusted us with their
stories. Abandoning them now is a betrayal of the most basic tenet of journalism: giving voice to the voiceless.
CBS spiked the Jeffrey Wigand interview due to legal concerns, nearly destroying the credibility of this broadcast. It took years to recover from that "low point." By pulling this story to shield an administration, we are repeating that history, but for political optics rather than legal ones.

We have been promoting this story on social media for days. Our viewers are expecting it.
When it fails to air without a credible
explanation, the public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship. We are trading 50 years of "Gold Standard" reputation for a single week of political quiet.
I care too much about this broadcast to watch
it be dismantled without a fight.
Sharyn

December 22, 2025 at 3:37 AM

Bert Etling

@bertling.bsky.social

“He has never had the support of a majority of Americans, not in any of his three presidential elections and not for a single day of either term in Gallup surveys.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/u...

Trump Takes America’s ‘Imperial Presidency’ to a New Level

www.nytimes.com

December 21, 2025 at 10:02 PM

Bert Etling

@bertling.bsky.social

four play

Wordle 1,645 4/6*

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛🟩⬛🟨
⬛⬛🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

December 20, 2025 at 10:00 AM

Bert Etling

@bertling.bsky.social

In rapid sixcession

Wordle 1,642 6/6*

🟨⬛⬛🟨⬛
⬛🟩⬛🟩⬛
⬛🟩⬛🟩⬛
⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩
⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

December 17, 2025 at 9:05 AM

Bert Etling

@bertling.bsky.social

Air Fourdens

Wordle 1,639 4/6*

⬛⬛⬛🟩🟩
⬛⬛🟩🟩🟩
🟩⬛🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

December 14, 2025 at 8:30 AM

Bert Etling

@bertling.bsky.social

"As the information landscape grows more complex, so does our responsibility to help people navigate it. Strengthening media literacy isn’t just an educational goal. It’s a democratic imperative." —@jboren4507
#journalism #news #LocalNews
open.substack.com/pub/jimboren...

From Monterey Bay, journalists renewed their commitment to media literacy and the defense of truth

The gathering underscored a shared resolve to counter misinformation with stronger tools, clearer standards, and renewed public engagement.

open.substack.com

December 12, 2025 at 10:04 PM

Bert Etling

@bertling.bsky.social

"The loss of local news relates to so many other problems plaguing the US: Polarization, radicalization, loneliness, lack of trust in everyone and everything."
-@brianstelter

#localnews #journalism

view.newsletters.cnn.com/messages/175...

The loss of local news relates to so many other problems plaguing the US: Polarization, radicalization, loneliness, lack of trust in everyone and everything.

view.newsletters.cnn.com

December 12, 2025 at 9:40 PM

Bert Etling

@bertling.bsky.social

Looking fourward to it

Wordle 1,636 4/6*

⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨
⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛
⬛🟨⬛🟨⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

December 11, 2025 at 8:48 AM

Bert Etling

@bertling.bsky.social

Hey, I'm on the radio! Or was, this morning on KSKQ, Ashland, Oregon.
#localnews #nonprofitnews

We The People 202512100900 - Bert Etling, Ashland.news : Jason Houk : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive archive.org/details/we-t... via @internetarchive

Ashland News - Community-Supported, NonProfit News

Ashland.news - Independent, nonprofit, community-based news informing our local residents in current events and local stories.

Ashland.news

December 10, 2025 at 10:28 PM

Bert Etling

@bertling.bsky.social

It's got overfive, just won't stall

Wordle 1,635 5/6*

⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛
🟨⬛🟩⬛🟩
⬛🟨🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

December 10, 2025 at 9:40 AM

Bert Etling

@bertling.bsky.social

A baseball catcher's youth league story might just be the ticket to rescuing local journalism

"The truth is, we already know the solution: cover the hell out of your community."

#localnews

t.co/HVWshGDOtN

https://open.substack.com/pub/jimboren/p/a-little-league-catchers-story-might?selection=23b8a59e-23dd-4fda-a661-500622e55a53&utm_campaign=post-share-selection&utm_medium=web&aspectRatio=instagram&bgCo...

t.co

December 10, 2025 at 4:00 AM

Bert Etling

@bertling.bsky.social

Our fathers brought fourth on this continent a new nation

Wordle 1,633 4/6*

⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛
⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

December 8, 2025 at 8:33 AM

Bert Etling

@bertling.bsky.social

It’ll come two me

Wordle 1,632 2/6*

🟩🟨⬛⬛🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

December 7, 2025 at 9:32 AM

Bert Etling

@bertling.bsky.social

Vote four Pedro

Wordle 1,630 4/6*

🟨⬛🟨⬛⬛
⬛⬛⬛🟩🟩
⬛⬛🟨🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

December 5, 2025 at 12:57 PM

Bert Etling

@bertling.bsky.social

trick or threet

Wordle 1,629 3/6*

⬛🟨⬛🟨⬛
🟨🟩🟨🟩⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

December 4, 2025 at 8:12 AM

Bert Etling

@bertling.bsky.social

Giving thanks — and offering up a prayer — for America’s free press | Opinion www.inquirer.com/opinion/comm... via @phillyinquirer

Giving thanks — and offering up a prayer — for America’s free press | Opinion

On this, more than any Thanksgiving in memory, a free and independent American press seems in peril.

www.inquirer.com

December 4, 2025 at 6:18 AM

Bert Etling

@bertling.bsky.social

Good overview of #nonprofitnews news & the #localnews revenue model hunt
"Spokane will be a test of whether a smaller market can support a local, nonprofit daily.
"This comes as newspapers are evolving and exploring different ways to continue operating."

view.email.seattletimes.com?qs=f8397e8e8...

When the plan was announced in April, The Spokesman reported the transfer could happen “potentially by midsummer.” A “frequently asked questions” article said the deal could close “as early as October, but likely later.”

view.email.seattletimes.com

December 4, 2025 at 5:36 AM

Bert Etling

@bertling.bsky.social

twoot suite

Wordle 1,628 2/6*

⬛🟩🟨⬛🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

December 3, 2025 at 8:27 AM

Reposted by Bert Etling

Dave Latchaw

@davelatchaw.bsky.social

Shadow and I have made a new music video for Christmas 2025! Please share if you like it.

Jingle Bell Rock—Dave Latchaw and Shadow
youtu.be/Te3wf7tRz14

#indiemusic #music #musicsky #MusicianSky #christmas