Richard Tofel
@dicktofel.bsky.social
now consulting at Gallatin Advisory, instructor @HarvardChanSPH, author of Second Rough Draft on Substack; former president of ProPublica
Pinned
Cynicism is the Enemy of the Way We Should Be Doing Journalism
Finding negative models in White House coverage and at WaPo
open.substack.com
Finding and decrying cynicism in the coverage of Trump’s racist video and the Washington Post’s note to its own staff. This week’s Second Rough Draft newsletter
open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...
open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...
When Kristi Noem’s heated blankie was found to have been left behind, her “aide” told the Coast Guard pilot to turn the plane around and fetch it. When the pilot refused, the “aide” said the pilot was fired. NBC has three witnesses.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/imm...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/imm...
Noem's use of Coast Guard resources strains her relationship with the military branch, sources say
Some early decisions by the homeland security secretary, including to divert Coast Guard resources from a search-and-rescue mission to the deportation of immigrants, set the tone early.
www.nbcnews.com
February 18, 2026 at 2:00 AM
When Kristi Noem’s heated blankie was found to have been left behind, her “aide” told the Coast Guard pilot to turn the plane around and fetch it. When the pilot refused, the “aide” said the pilot was fired. NBC has three witnesses.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/imm...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/imm...
One of Warren Buffett’s last big bets at Berskshire was to buy about 3% of the shares of #$NYT. A huge vote of confidence, but the model seems to remain essentially unique.
February 17, 2026 at 11:48 PM
One of Warren Buffett’s last big bets at Berskshire was to buy about 3% of the shares of #$NYT. A huge vote of confidence, but the model seems to remain essentially unique.
Reposted by Richard Tofel
Leon Botstein, president of @bardcollege.bsky.social, has repeatedly made public statements about his relationship with the pedophile sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein that have turned out to be misleading, incomplete, or untrue. I'm going to make a thread to compile them all here.
February 15, 2026 at 6:27 PM
Leon Botstein, president of @bardcollege.bsky.social, has repeatedly made public statements about his relationship with the pedophile sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein that have turned out to be misleading, incomplete, or untrue. I'm going to make a thread to compile them all here.
Was pleased to again join TVP World Press Talks, this time to discuss the global implications of the Epstein files
youtube.com/watch?v=82GG...
youtube.com/watch?v=82GG...
From court records to crisis: The global impact of the Epstein files | Press Talks
YouTube video by TVP WORLD
youtube.com
February 14, 2026 at 6:17 PM
Was pleased to again join TVP World Press Talks, this time to discuss the global implications of the Epstein files
youtube.com/watch?v=82GG...
youtube.com/watch?v=82GG...
When they screw up, Trump officials reflexively blame enemies— “domestic terrorists”, now “cartel drones.” But facts— from bystander videos to leaked emails— reveal their lies, and their dangerous ineptitude.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/u...
Inside the Debacle That Led to the Closure of El Paso’s Airspace
www.nytimes.com
February 14, 2026 at 1:42 PM
When they screw up, Trump officials reflexively blame enemies— “domestic terrorists”, now “cartel drones.” But facts— from bystander videos to leaked emails— reveal their lies, and their dangerous ineptitude.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/u...
Reposted by Richard Tofel
Words of wisdom for journalists: "We shouldn’t help people lie anonymously" @dicktofel.bsky.social
Cynicism is the Enemy of the Way We Should Be Doing Journalism
Finding negative models in White House coverage and at WaPo
dicktofel.substack.com
February 13, 2026 at 5:46 PM
Words of wisdom for journalists: "We shouldn’t help people lie anonymously" @dicktofel.bsky.social
Amazing WSJ story on Kristi Noem’s egotistical mismanagement of Homeland Security, including blowing $70 million of taxpayer money on a plane apparently used as an airborne love nest.
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
A Pilot Fired Over Kristi Noem’s Missing Blanket and the Constant Chaos Inside DHS
Secretary faces fire for confrontational immigration crackdown and self-promotional style; White House to wind down Minnesota operations.
www.wsj.com
February 13, 2026 at 3:44 AM
Amazing WSJ story on Kristi Noem’s egotistical mismanagement of Homeland Security, including blowing $70 million of taxpayer money on a plane apparently used as an airborne love nest.
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Critical press coverage of institutional foundations is rare. Here’s a very tough piece on the Mellon Foundation.
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
The Multibillion-Dollar Foundation That Controls the Humanities
Is the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation the last best hope for American arts and letters—or is it killing them?
www.theatlantic.com
February 12, 2026 at 6:47 PM
Critical press coverage of institutional foundations is rare. Here’s a very tough piece on the Mellon Foundation.
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
Reposted by Richard Tofel
"One president spewing racism about another isn’t a game. It’s a cancer on our society, metastasizing from the top down. And...focusing on an “insider” view of the making of a gaffe rather than the societal effect, is deeply cynical & highly corrosive of how journalism is supposed to work."
Finding and decrying cynicism in the coverage of Trump’s racist video and the Washington Post’s note to its own staff. This week’s Second Rough Draft newsletter
open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...
open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...
Cynicism is the Enemy of the Way We Should Be Doing Journalism
Finding negative models in White House coverage and at WaPo
open.substack.com
February 12, 2026 at 5:16 PM
"One president spewing racism about another isn’t a game. It’s a cancer on our society, metastasizing from the top down. And...focusing on an “insider” view of the making of a gaffe rather than the societal effect, is deeply cynical & highly corrosive of how journalism is supposed to work."
Reposted by Richard Tofel
“people who lie when granted anonymity shouldn’t be granted it again”— @dicktofel.bsky.social
dicktofel.substack.com/p/cynicism-i...
But I expect @cnn.com @politico.com @washingtonpost.com @nytimes.com @axios.com will keep doing it every day, until they have new editorial leadership.
dicktofel.substack.com/p/cynicism-i...
But I expect @cnn.com @politico.com @washingtonpost.com @nytimes.com @axios.com will keep doing it every day, until they have new editorial leadership.
Cynicism is the Enemy of the Way We Should Be Doing Journalism
Finding negative models in White House coverage and at WaPo
dicktofel.substack.com
February 12, 2026 at 5:27 PM
“people who lie when granted anonymity shouldn’t be granted it again”— @dicktofel.bsky.social
dicktofel.substack.com/p/cynicism-i...
But I expect @cnn.com @politico.com @washingtonpost.com @nytimes.com @axios.com will keep doing it every day, until they have new editorial leadership.
dicktofel.substack.com/p/cynicism-i...
But I expect @cnn.com @politico.com @washingtonpost.com @nytimes.com @axios.com will keep doing it every day, until they have new editorial leadership.
Reposted by Richard Tofel
"We shouldn’t help people lie anonymously."
Excellent column today by the former president of @propublica.org, @dicktofel.bsky.social
Cynicism is the Enemy of the Way We Should Be Doing Journalism
open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...
#JournalismMatters #Journalism
Excellent column today by the former president of @propublica.org, @dicktofel.bsky.social
Cynicism is the Enemy of the Way We Should Be Doing Journalism
open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...
#JournalismMatters #Journalism
Cynicism is the Enemy of the Way We Should Be Doing Journalism
Finding negative models in White House coverage and at WaPo
open.substack.com
February 12, 2026 at 3:31 PM
"We shouldn’t help people lie anonymously."
Excellent column today by the former president of @propublica.org, @dicktofel.bsky.social
Cynicism is the Enemy of the Way We Should Be Doing Journalism
open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...
#JournalismMatters #Journalism
Excellent column today by the former president of @propublica.org, @dicktofel.bsky.social
Cynicism is the Enemy of the Way We Should Be Doing Journalism
open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...
#JournalismMatters #Journalism
Finding and decrying cynicism in the coverage of Trump’s racist video and the Washington Post’s note to its own staff. This week’s Second Rough Draft newsletter
open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...
open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...
Cynicism is the Enemy of the Way We Should Be Doing Journalism
Finding negative models in White House coverage and at WaPo
open.substack.com
February 12, 2026 at 1:25 PM
Finding and decrying cynicism in the coverage of Trump’s racist video and the Washington Post’s note to its own staff. This week’s Second Rough Draft newsletter
open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...
open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...
The country was stronger when senators of the president’s party demanded the resignation of cabinet members proven to have perjured themselves at their confirmation hearings.
February 10, 2026 at 10:07 PM
The country was stronger when senators of the president’s party demanded the resignation of cabinet members proven to have perjured themselves at their confirmation hearings.
If you’ve heard about the newly-released Nixon testimony about spying by the Joint Chiefs, here’s the story behind that:
www.amazon.com/Federal-Offe...
www.amazon.com/Federal-Offe...
“A Federal Offense of the Highest Order”: The True Story of How the Joint Chiefs Spied on Nixon, And How He Covered It Up
“A Federal Offense of the Highest Order”: The True Story of How the Joint Chiefs Spied on Nixon, And How He Covered It Up - Kindle edition by Tofel, Richard. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading “A Federal Offense of the Highest Order”: The True Story of How the Joint Chiefs Spied on Nixon, And How He Covered It Up.
www.amazon.com
February 8, 2026 at 7:16 PM
If you’ve heard about the newly-released Nixon testimony about spying by the Joint Chiefs, here’s the story behind that:
www.amazon.com/Federal-Offe...
www.amazon.com/Federal-Offe...
The only way I might believe some staffer, at Midnight, posted racist stuff when Trump often does that on his own is if the staffer were named and fired and Trump apologized.
Otherwise, it’s presumptively just another lie and he did it himself.
Otherwise, it’s presumptively just another lie and he did it himself.
February 6, 2026 at 9:13 PM
The only way I might believe some staffer, at Midnight, posted racist stuff when Trump often does that on his own is if the staffer were named and fired and Trump apologized.
Otherwise, it’s presumptively just another lie and he did it himself.
Otherwise, it’s presumptively just another lie and he did it himself.
“It’s his same old con,” she said, “doubling down on ugly, misogynistic, racist lies as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that will actually make people’s lives better.”
- Michelle Obama, 18 months ago
- Michelle Obama, 18 months ago
February 6, 2026 at 7:48 PM
“It’s his same old con,” she said, “doubling down on ugly, misogynistic, racist lies as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that will actually make people’s lives better.”
- Michelle Obama, 18 months ago
- Michelle Obama, 18 months ago
Parsing the questions around trust and news. This week’s Second Rough Draft newsletter
open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...
open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...
Why the Issues Around Newsrooms and Trust Aren’t Quite What You May Think
How it resembles trust in Congress, and why the problem is not limited to the young.
open.substack.com
February 5, 2026 at 1:25 PM
Parsing the questions around trust and news. This week’s Second Rough Draft newsletter
open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...
open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...
Reposted by Richard Tofel
Brad Karp to step down as Paul Weiss chair after Epstein revelations ft.trib.al/H1vYT7B
Brad Karp to step down as Paul Weiss chair after Epstein revelations
Files released by US Department of Justice detailed his relationship with the child sex offender
ft.trib.al
February 5, 2026 at 1:25 AM
Brad Karp to step down as Paul Weiss chair after Epstein revelations ft.trib.al/H1vYT7B
Bezos has finally made the hard choice in favor of painful decline over additional investment.
Particularly disappointing to see WaPo editorial leadership cast this as another installment in the tired legacy newspaper litany of “we need to do more with less.”
dicktofel.substack.com/p/whats-real...
Particularly disappointing to see WaPo editorial leadership cast this as another installment in the tired legacy newspaper litany of “we need to do more with less.”
dicktofel.substack.com/p/whats-real...
What's Really Needed at the Washington Post
The choice facing Jeff Bezos
dicktofel.substack.com
February 4, 2026 at 4:59 PM
Bezos has finally made the hard choice in favor of painful decline over additional investment.
Particularly disappointing to see WaPo editorial leadership cast this as another installment in the tired legacy newspaper litany of “we need to do more with less.”
dicktofel.substack.com/p/whats-real...
Particularly disappointing to see WaPo editorial leadership cast this as another installment in the tired legacy newspaper litany of “we need to do more with less.”
dicktofel.substack.com/p/whats-real...
Do I read this correctly to say that as many as 375,000 of the 450,000 additional subscribers to #$NYT in the fourth quarter were actually existing subs responding to the new family upsell? That would be a good story for revenue growth but a less good one for reach.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
New York Times Added 1.4 Million Digital Subscribers in 2025
www.nytimes.com
February 4, 2026 at 12:31 PM
Do I read this correctly to say that as many as 375,000 of the 450,000 additional subscribers to #$NYT in the fourth quarter were actually existing subs responding to the new family upsell? That would be a good story for revenue growth but a less good one for reach.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
Sounds like someone in the Trump camp may have bought tickets in bulk to Melania’s movie to goose the box office rankings. No one should be surprised. They’ve pulled stunts like this before.
February 4, 2026 at 2:51 AM
Sounds like someone in the Trump camp may have bought tickets in bulk to Melania’s movie to goose the box office rankings. No one should be surprised. They’ve pulled stunts like this before.
Trump is so sensitive about Epstein he seems to have watched the Grammys for three and half hours and then complained at 1am about a joke linking him to Epstein and Bill Clinton.
What he wants you to understand is that Epstein was only at his second wedding, while Clinton was at his third.
What he wants you to understand is that Epstein was only at his second wedding, while Clinton was at his third.
February 2, 2026 at 11:01 AM
Trump is so sensitive about Epstein he seems to have watched the Grammys for three and half hours and then complained at 1am about a joke linking him to Epstein and Bill Clinton.
What he wants you to understand is that Epstein was only at his second wedding, while Clinton was at his third.
What he wants you to understand is that Epstein was only at his second wedding, while Clinton was at his third.
Reposted by Richard Tofel
BREAKING: The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.
Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting
The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raym...
www.propublica.org
February 1, 2026 at 9:10 PM
BREAKING: The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.
A documentary that cost $75 million to make and market, and sells $7 million in tickets, isn’t a success— and it’s still a bribe.
February 1, 2026 at 5:15 PM
A documentary that cost $75 million to make and market, and sells $7 million in tickets, isn’t a success— and it’s still a bribe.
Reposted by Richard Tofel
What lessons does the fight over phasing out linotype machines hold for news outlets wrestling with AI? Perhaps that clinging to old forms of production and refusing to adapt to innovations can cause the very losses news that outlets hoped to avoid. @dicktofel.bsky.social
A Forgotten Machine and its Lessons for AI in Newsrooms Today
What management and unions should learn from the story of linotype operators
buff.ly
January 31, 2026 at 8:46 PM
What lessons does the fight over phasing out linotype machines hold for news outlets wrestling with AI? Perhaps that clinging to old forms of production and refusing to adapt to innovations can cause the very losses news that outlets hoped to avoid. @dicktofel.bsky.social