Brian Beutler
@brianbeutler.bsky.social
Off Message, Politix.fm;
Formerly: Crooked Media, TNR, TPM; www.offmessage.net/subscribe
Formerly: Crooked Media, TNR, TPM; www.offmessage.net/subscribe
Reposted by Brian Beutler
Excellent critique by Brian Beutler
Be "a bit more resilient to subversion by returning to a first principle: that the purpose of journalism as a vocation isn’t to produce reportage that appeals to every sliver of the political spectrum. It’s to best inform the citizens who wish to be informed."
Be "a bit more resilient to subversion by returning to a first principle: that the purpose of journalism as a vocation isn’t to produce reportage that appeals to every sliver of the political spectrum. It’s to best inform the citizens who wish to be informed."
A Requiem For The Old MSM
Time to go back to basics.
www.offmessage.net
February 12, 2026 at 3:21 PM
Excellent critique by Brian Beutler
Be "a bit more resilient to subversion by returning to a first principle: that the purpose of journalism as a vocation isn’t to produce reportage that appeals to every sliver of the political spectrum. It’s to best inform the citizens who wish to be informed."
Be "a bit more resilient to subversion by returning to a first principle: that the purpose of journalism as a vocation isn’t to produce reportage that appeals to every sliver of the political spectrum. It’s to best inform the citizens who wish to be informed."
Reposted by Brian Beutler
There's a long time between now and November, and the damage that has been done is a lot more than a few good election cycles can undo, but it's pretty important to get a first good election cycle ASAP...
February 12, 2026 at 4:00 PM
There's a long time between now and November, and the damage that has been done is a lot more than a few good election cycles can undo, but it's pretty important to get a first good election cycle ASAP...
Reposted by Brian Beutler
I don’t really know what I expect in posting this, but maybe some people see it and can learn from it.
I’ll call it “lessons from an unwilling immigration attorney.”
1/
I’ll call it “lessons from an unwilling immigration attorney.”
1/
February 11, 2026 at 9:56 PM
I don’t really know what I expect in posting this, but maybe some people see it and can learn from it.
I’ll call it “lessons from an unwilling immigration attorney.”
1/
I’ll call it “lessons from an unwilling immigration attorney.”
1/
Reposted by Brian Beutler
More than 400 people, including hundreds of citizens, were “sorted” at gun point into racial and ethnic groups by 200 ICE agents who fired flash-bang grenades into cars with people inside, pointed guns at children & demanded their zip tied parents not comfort them. apple.news/Ausdx6kWtT0e...
Idaho families sue over immigration raid that swept up hundreds, including U.S. citizens — NBC News
About 400 people, including children and U.S. citizens, were detained for four hours while they were denied food and water in the raid, according to the lawsuit.
apple.news
February 12, 2026 at 1:35 AM
More than 400 people, including hundreds of citizens, were “sorted” at gun point into racial and ethnic groups by 200 ICE agents who fired flash-bang grenades into cars with people inside, pointed guns at children & demanded their zip tied parents not comfort them. apple.news/Ausdx6kWtT0e...
Reposted by Brian Beutler
So, like, are the QAnon folks reacting at all to discovering that Trump’s inner circle is basically just Jeffrey Epstein’s rolodex, or have they found some delusional way to explain it all away? (The question is largely rhetorical.)
Dr Oz inviting ol Jeffrey to his V Day bash in 2016
February 12, 2026 at 12:24 AM
So, like, are the QAnon folks reacting at all to discovering that Trump’s inner circle is basically just Jeffrey Epstein’s rolodex, or have they found some delusional way to explain it all away? (The question is largely rhetorical.)
Reposted by Brian Beutler
As Baron himself said, they had roughly six years of profitable or break-even performance when positioned as a rigorous, national newspaper. That is the model that featured an audience willing to pay. Bezos shunned that audience when he turned on his own purported ideals— and American democracy.
Marty Baron's Post thrived because it took meaningful steps away from false balance, toward a defensible north star. As long as media execs insist financial pressures require wooing back right-wing audiences, why help them build a false sense that this is possible? www.offmessage.net/p/a-requiem-...
February 11, 2026 at 10:31 PM
As Baron himself said, they had roughly six years of profitable or break-even performance when positioned as a rigorous, national newspaper. That is the model that featured an audience willing to pay. Bezos shunned that audience when he turned on his own purported ideals— and American democracy.
Reposted by Brian Beutler
My analogy.
After they published “J’accuse”, the editors of “L’Aurore” didn’t publish counterpoint from an antisemitic junta. They were devoted to the French Republic.
Our press are agnostic about our form of government. They are not committed to a United States governed under the Constitution.
After they published “J’accuse”, the editors of “L’Aurore” didn’t publish counterpoint from an antisemitic junta. They were devoted to the French Republic.
Our press are agnostic about our form of government. They are not committed to a United States governed under the Constitution.
Marty Baron's Post thrived because it took meaningful steps away from false balance, toward a defensible north star. As long as media execs insist financial pressures require wooing back right-wing audiences, why help them build a false sense that this is possible? www.offmessage.net/p/a-requiem-...
February 11, 2026 at 10:47 PM
My analogy.
After they published “J’accuse”, the editors of “L’Aurore” didn’t publish counterpoint from an antisemitic junta. They were devoted to the French Republic.
Our press are agnostic about our form of government. They are not committed to a United States governed under the Constitution.
After they published “J’accuse”, the editors of “L’Aurore” didn’t publish counterpoint from an antisemitic junta. They were devoted to the French Republic.
Our press are agnostic about our form of government. They are not committed to a United States governed under the Constitution.
Reposted by Brian Beutler
What's left of legacy media should draw lessons from watching Jeff Bezos adopt a false but widely held critique of mainstream journalism and use it as cover to sabotage the Washington Post. www.offmessage.net/p/a-requiem-...
A Requiem For The Old MSM
Time to go back to basics.
www.offmessage.net
February 11, 2026 at 10:09 PM
What's left of legacy media should draw lessons from watching Jeff Bezos adopt a false but widely held critique of mainstream journalism and use it as cover to sabotage the Washington Post. www.offmessage.net/p/a-requiem-...
Reposted by Brian Beutler
This is an excellent point by @brianbeutler.bsky.social…
Pandering to right-wingers, especially in the present context, is akin to insisting that the fox have an equal say in the design of the henhouse.
Pandering to right-wingers, especially in the present context, is akin to insisting that the fox have an equal say in the design of the henhouse.
I've tried to get this point across myself. Here, @brianbeutler.bsky.social does a great job of it. Liberal bias is a political tool — not a critique of performance — and it will assert itself regardless of how well the newsroom does on truthtelling and fairness. www.offmessage.net/p/a-requiem-...
February 12, 2026 at 12:30 AM
This is an excellent point by @brianbeutler.bsky.social…
Pandering to right-wingers, especially in the present context, is akin to insisting that the fox have an equal say in the design of the henhouse.
Pandering to right-wingers, especially in the present context, is akin to insisting that the fox have an equal say in the design of the henhouse.
Reposted by Brian Beutler
I've tried to get this point across myself. Here, @brianbeutler.bsky.social does a great job of it. Liberal bias is a political tool — not a critique of performance — and it will assert itself regardless of how well the newsroom does on truthtelling and fairness. www.offmessage.net/p/a-requiem-...
February 12, 2026 at 12:10 AM
I've tried to get this point across myself. Here, @brianbeutler.bsky.social does a great job of it. Liberal bias is a political tool — not a critique of performance — and it will assert itself regardless of how well the newsroom does on truthtelling and fairness. www.offmessage.net/p/a-requiem-...
Reposted by Brian Beutler
If you ever groaned at a "both sides" treatment of an issue you care about, you might gain something from Brian's post.
Marty Baron's Post thrived because it took meaningful steps away from false balance, toward a defensible north star. As long as media execs insist financial pressures require wooing back right-wing audiences, why help them build a false sense that this is possible? www.offmessage.net/p/a-requiem-...
February 11, 2026 at 11:18 PM
If you ever groaned at a "both sides" treatment of an issue you care about, you might gain something from Brian's post.
Reposted by Brian Beutler
The gallup presidential approval poll is an institution in American politics that predates world war 2. With Trump’s approval in the 30s, they’re ending it. thehill.com/homenews/med...
February 11, 2026 at 7:43 PM
The gallup presidential approval poll is an institution in American politics that predates world war 2. With Trump’s approval in the 30s, they’re ending it. thehill.com/homenews/med...
Reposted by Brian Beutler
This militates for recommitting to the platonic ideal of journalism: a vocation of procedures that allows skilled workers to discover and broadcast the truth, and that relies on good but subjective judgment about which developments the public most needs to know.
www.offmessage.net/p/a-requiem-...
www.offmessage.net/p/a-requiem-...
February 11, 2026 at 10:33 PM
This militates for recommitting to the platonic ideal of journalism: a vocation of procedures that allows skilled workers to discover and broadcast the truth, and that relies on good but subjective judgment about which developments the public most needs to know.
www.offmessage.net/p/a-requiem-...
www.offmessage.net/p/a-requiem-...
Reposted by Brian Beutler
Marty Baron's Post thrived because it took meaningful steps away from false balance, toward a defensible north star. As long as media execs insist financial pressures require wooing back right-wing audiences, why help them build a false sense that this is possible? www.offmessage.net/p/a-requiem-...
February 11, 2026 at 10:23 PM
Marty Baron's Post thrived because it took meaningful steps away from false balance, toward a defensible north star. As long as media execs insist financial pressures require wooing back right-wing audiences, why help them build a false sense that this is possible? www.offmessage.net/p/a-requiem-...
Reposted by Brian Beutler
The sad irony is, many of these same newsrooms have sold themselves on a version of this critique. Many journalists also believe that the problem of right-wing distrust can only be remedied with more pandering, at the expense of the existing audience. Not so! www.offmessage.net/p/a-requiem-...
February 11, 2026 at 10:15 PM
The sad irony is, many of these same newsrooms have sold themselves on a version of this critique. Many journalists also believe that the problem of right-wing distrust can only be remedied with more pandering, at the expense of the existing audience. Not so! www.offmessage.net/p/a-requiem-...
Reposted by Brian Beutler
What Bezos did was so shambolic because he lacked the courage of his convictions. Instead of owning his decision to gut the Post to curry favor with Trump, he blamed the staff for supposedly alienating half the country
www.offmessage.net/p/a-requiem-...
www.offmessage.net/p/a-requiem-...
February 11, 2026 at 10:13 PM
What Bezos did was so shambolic because he lacked the courage of his convictions. Instead of owning his decision to gut the Post to curry favor with Trump, he blamed the staff for supposedly alienating half the country
www.offmessage.net/p/a-requiem-...
www.offmessage.net/p/a-requiem-...
What's left of legacy media should draw lessons from watching Jeff Bezos adopt a false but widely held critique of mainstream journalism and use it as cover to sabotage the Washington Post. www.offmessage.net/p/a-requiem-...
A Requiem For The Old MSM
Time to go back to basics.
www.offmessage.net
February 11, 2026 at 10:09 PM
What's left of legacy media should draw lessons from watching Jeff Bezos adopt a false but widely held critique of mainstream journalism and use it as cover to sabotage the Washington Post. www.offmessage.net/p/a-requiem-...
Youtubin’ with Wags www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lyA...
Trump PANICS as MAGA Keeps Losing Ground
YouTube video by Runaway Country with Alex Wagner
www.youtube.com
February 11, 2026 at 6:45 PM
Youtubin’ with Wags www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lyA...
Reposted by Brian Beutler
What the fresh hell?
FAA halts all flights to and from El Paso, Texas, and an area of southern New Mexico for 10 days over security concerns https://cnn.it/4rbdn0R
February 11, 2026 at 12:15 PM
What the fresh hell?
I think it’s hard for most people to fathom the answer to the question, Why Minneapolis? because most people aren’t acquainted with white nationalist twitter, which has been fixated on terrorizing MPLS’s black population for at least a decade. And now it’s an assignment editor for the Trump admin.
Our own government has done extraordinary damage to the economic and social fabric of this region, wreaking havoc for no discernible reason. It’s a terror campaign, not an immigration operation. It’s still happening.
February 11, 2026 at 11:59 AM
I think it’s hard for most people to fathom the answer to the question, Why Minneapolis? because most people aren’t acquainted with white nationalist twitter, which has been fixated on terrorizing MPLS’s black population for at least a decade. And now it’s an assignment editor for the Trump admin.
Reposted by Brian Beutler
The problem with them choosing this as their primary talking point is that nearly every in Minnesota personally knows someone who has been taken by ICE. And they all had either a spotless criminal record or an entirely non-violent one.
These are lies. They are going to lose. MN will not quit.
These are lies. They are going to lose. MN will not quit.
February 10, 2026 at 10:46 PM
The problem with them choosing this as their primary talking point is that nearly every in Minnesota personally knows someone who has been taken by ICE. And they all had either a spotless criminal record or an entirely non-violent one.
These are lies. They are going to lose. MN will not quit.
These are lies. They are going to lose. MN will not quit.
Reposted by Brian Beutler
Read this and keep fighting.
I don't know what setback or humiliation prompted that bizarre White House press release addressed to "Panicans" yesterday, but Trump is right to sense a lot of panic. It's growing. www.offmessage.net/p/trump-has-...
Trump Has Lost The Culture
And his greediest collaborators are awakening to the fact that they made a terrible bet.
www.offmessage.net
February 11, 2026 at 12:02 AM
Read this and keep fighting.
Reposted by Brian Beutler
Yep, good take. America never voted for Trumpism www.gelliottmorris.com/p/americans-...
February 10, 2026 at 10:02 PM
Yep, good take. America never voted for Trumpism www.gelliottmorris.com/p/americans-...
Reposted by Brian Beutler
“While the FBI field office in Boise initially said in a statement that claims of children being zip-tied were ‘completely false,’ officials there later amended that assertion, telling reporters that no ‘young’ children were zip-tied.”
www.cbsnews.com/news/feds-zi...
www.cbsnews.com/news/feds-zi...
A 14-year-old girl described being zip-tied during Idaho raid, sparking fresh questions about ICE tactics
A 14-year-old girl said she was "crying" and "struggling to breathe" when law enforcement officers herded her onto a racetrack with other detainees and zip-tied her hands.
www.cbsnews.com
February 10, 2026 at 10:52 PM
“While the FBI field office in Boise initially said in a statement that claims of children being zip-tied were ‘completely false,’ officials there later amended that assertion, telling reporters that no ‘young’ children were zip-tied.”
www.cbsnews.com/news/feds-zi...
www.cbsnews.com/news/feds-zi...