Richard Tofel
@dicktofel.bsky.social
now consulting at Gallatin Advisory, instructor @HarvardChanSPH, author of Second Rough Draft on Substack; former president of ProPublica
Pinned
Tough Questions for Google, and Thoughts on How We Got Here
A confrontational interview prompts reflections on the recent history of the news business
dicktofel.substack.com
A second rough draft of the history of how the news industry got here, the dubious role of the platforms and why it still wasn’t their fault. This week’s Second Rough Draft newsletter
dicktofel.substack.com/p/tough-ques...
dicktofel.substack.com/p/tough-ques...
Good judges really don’t like it when you lie to them. Let’s hope that includes the GOP justices on the Supreme Court.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
Times Analysis Finds Errors in Trump’s Supreme Court Filing That Calls for National Guard in Chicago
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Good judges really don’t like it when you lie to them. Let’s hope that includes the GOP justices on the Supreme Court.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
Patel attacked his predecessor’s use of “a government-funded G5 to go to vacations.”
“Maybe we ground that plane. $15k every time it takes off. Just a thought.”
Instead, now, after steep FBI budget cuts, he uses it for golf outings in Scotland and hunting in Texas.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/u...
“Maybe we ground that plane. $15k every time it takes off. Just a thought.”
Instead, now, after steep FBI budget cuts, he uses it for golf outings in Scotland and hunting in Texas.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/u...
Patel Under Scrutiny for Use of SWAT Teams to Protect His Girlfriend
www.nytimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Patel attacked his predecessor’s use of “a government-funded G5 to go to vacations.”
“Maybe we ground that plane. $15k every time it takes off. Just a thought.”
Instead, now, after steep FBI budget cuts, he uses it for golf outings in Scotland and hunting in Texas.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/u...
“Maybe we ground that plane. $15k every time it takes off. Just a thought.”
Instead, now, after steep FBI budget cuts, he uses it for golf outings in Scotland and hunting in Texas.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/u...
In which a former CDC staffer, sadly, advises the public to avoid the CDC website
yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/cdc-false-...
yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/cdc-false-...
One of CDC’s final blows. And what it means for you.
Where to find trusted health information now?
yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:29 PM
In which a former CDC staffer, sadly, advises the public to avoid the CDC website
yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/cdc-false-...
yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/cdc-false-...
Important series from two small nonprofit papers in Virginia about what the data center explosion really means
thenewenergycrisis.com/the-series
thenewenergycrisis.com/the-series
The New Energy Crisis
Investigating the impact of Virginia’s data center explosion — a special series by the Fauquier Times & Prince William Times.
thenewenergycrisis.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Important series from two small nonprofit papers in Virginia about what the data center explosion really means
thenewenergycrisis.com/the-series
thenewenergycrisis.com/the-series
A second rough draft of the history of how the news industry got here, the dubious role of the platforms and why it still wasn’t their fault. This week’s Second Rough Draft newsletter
dicktofel.substack.com/p/tough-ques...
dicktofel.substack.com/p/tough-ques...
Tough Questions for Google, and Thoughts on How We Got Here
A confrontational interview prompts reflections on the recent history of the news business
dicktofel.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:46 PM
A second rough draft of the history of how the news industry got here, the dubious role of the platforms and why it still wasn’t their fault. This week’s Second Rough Draft newsletter
dicktofel.substack.com/p/tough-ques...
dicktofel.substack.com/p/tough-ques...
Proud to be supporting this important new resource on attempts to stifle free speech and press
slappback.org
slappback.org
The SLAPP Back Initiative
The first national database of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) and anti-SLAPP disputes.
slappback.org
November 18, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Proud to be supporting this important new resource on attempts to stifle free speech and press
slappback.org
slappback.org
A White House aide with a self-described “Nazi streak” tried to help shield an accused sex trafficker from a federal investigation.
He was later nominated for a job requiring Senate confirmation, and still works in the Trump Admin.
Really.
From @propublica.org
www.propublica.org/article/andr...
He was later nominated for a job requiring Senate confirmation, and still works in the Trump Admin.
Really.
From @propublica.org
www.propublica.org/article/andr...
The White House Intervened on Behalf of Accused Sex Trafficker Andrew Tate During a Federal Investigation
Federal authorities were chided for seizing electronic devices from Tate and his brother, and told to return them, records and interviews show. Experts said the intervention was highly inappropriate.
www.propublica.org
November 18, 2025 at 12:15 PM
A White House aide with a self-described “Nazi streak” tried to help shield an accused sex trafficker from a federal investigation.
He was later nominated for a job requiring Senate confirmation, and still works in the Trump Admin.
Really.
From @propublica.org
www.propublica.org/article/andr...
He was later nominated for a job requiring Senate confirmation, and still works in the Trump Admin.
Really.
From @propublica.org
www.propublica.org/article/andr...
A reminder to reporters (and others): The Epstein files bill seeks to compel a step Trump could voluntarily take at any time.
If he’s really in favor of the bill now, why not just order Bondi to release the files?
If he’s really in favor of the bill now, why not just order Bondi to release the files?
November 17, 2025 at 1:46 PM
A reminder to reporters (and others): The Epstein files bill seeks to compel a step Trump could voluntarily take at any time.
If he’s really in favor of the bill now, why not just order Bondi to release the files?
If he’s really in favor of the bill now, why not just order Bondi to release the files?
This gross behavior isn’t enough to fire a tenured professor, but it sure would be good for Harvard if Larry Summers would resign.
And kudos to @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social for piecing the story together.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
And kudos to @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social for piecing the story together.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
As Summers Sought Clandestine Relationship With Woman He Called a Mentee, Epstein Was His ‘Wing Man’ | News | The Harvard Crimson
When former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers was pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman he described as a mentee, he turned to a longtime associate for guidance: convicted sex offender Jef...
www.thecrimson.com
November 17, 2025 at 11:35 AM
This gross behavior isn’t enough to fire a tenured professor, but it sure would be good for Harvard if Larry Summers would resign.
And kudos to @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social for piecing the story together.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
And kudos to @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social for piecing the story together.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Not every news org can stop traffic for blocks. Fun to be at the @texastribune.org Festival
November 15, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Not every news org can stop traffic for blocks. Fun to be at the @texastribune.org Festival
Latest on the Trump FBI debacle: the Deputy Director was exempted from the polygraph required of all other Bureau employees.
No previous regime ever ran a security risk like that.
www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...
No previous regime ever ran a security risk like that.
www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...
FBI Director Kash Patel Waived Polygraph Security Screening for Dan Bongino, Two Other Senior Staff
As the FBI’s deputy director, Bongino receives some of the country’s most sensitive secrets, including the President’s Daily Brief. His ascent to that position without passing a standard bureau backgr...
www.propublica.org
November 14, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Latest on the Trump FBI debacle: the Deputy Director was exempted from the polygraph required of all other Bureau employees.
No previous regime ever ran a security risk like that.
www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...
No previous regime ever ran a security risk like that.
www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...
Another Trump team grab of taxpayer dollars to shove into their own pockets, just out from @propublica.org
www.propublica.org/article/kris...
www.propublica.org/article/kris...
Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Secretly Got Money From $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts
The company is run by the husband of Noem’s chief DHS spokesperson and has personal and business ties to Noem and her aides. DHS invoked the “emergency” at the border to skirt competitive bidding rule...
www.propublica.org
November 14, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Another Trump team grab of taxpayer dollars to shove into their own pockets, just out from @propublica.org
www.propublica.org/article/kris...
www.propublica.org/article/kris...
Reposted by Richard Tofel
The young journalists at the Harvard Crimson weigh in with the most thorough reporting on the Epstein - Larry Summers connection.
Trigger warning: read on an empty stomach. This will make you want to vomit.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Trigger warning: read on an empty stomach. This will make you want to vomit.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Email Cache Reveals How Former Harvard President Larry Summers Stayed in Jeffrey Epstein’s Orbit | News | The Harvard Crimson
A new cache of emails released by a House committee paints a vivid portrait of the relationship between former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers and convicted sex offender Jeffrey E. Epstein. The ...
www.thecrimson.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:29 PM
The young journalists at the Harvard Crimson weigh in with the most thorough reporting on the Epstein - Larry Summers connection.
Trigger warning: read on an empty stomach. This will make you want to vomit.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Trigger warning: read on an empty stomach. This will make you want to vomit.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Reposted by Richard Tofel
Are there warning signs in rosy announcements about funding for local news? @dicktofel.bsky.social lifts the lid. dicktofel.substack.com/p/why-happy-...
Why Happy Talk Isn’t the Answer for Local News
Overstating revenue gains and ignoring failures doesn't help
dicktofel.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Are there warning signs in rosy announcements about funding for local news? @dicktofel.bsky.social lifts the lid. dicktofel.substack.com/p/why-happy-...
We need more candor about the mixed picture in nonprofit journalism, especially at the local level. This week’s Second Rough Draft newsletter
open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...
open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...
Why Happy Talk Isn’t the Answer for Local News
Overstating revenue gains and ignoring failures doesn't help
open.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 1:19 PM
We need more candor about the mixed picture in nonprofit journalism, especially at the local level. This week’s Second Rough Draft newsletter
open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...
open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...
Trump spent hours alone at Epstein’s with a young woman, which Maxwell confirms.
Epstein says he “gave” Trump a young girlfriend.
Epstein briefed the Russians on Trump.
And this is NOT the stuff Trump is still trying to keep secret.
Why it continues to matter:
dicktofel.substack.com/p/trump-the-...
Epstein says he “gave” Trump a young girlfriend.
Epstein briefed the Russians on Trump.
And this is NOT the stuff Trump is still trying to keep secret.
Why it continues to matter:
dicktofel.substack.com/p/trump-the-...
Trump, the Press and Defining Deviancy Down
What if the Epstein story is just beginning?
dicktofel.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Trump spent hours alone at Epstein’s with a young woman, which Maxwell confirms.
Epstein says he “gave” Trump a young girlfriend.
Epstein briefed the Russians on Trump.
And this is NOT the stuff Trump is still trying to keep secret.
Why it continues to matter:
dicktofel.substack.com/p/trump-the-...
Epstein says he “gave” Trump a young girlfriend.
Epstein briefed the Russians on Trump.
And this is NOT the stuff Trump is still trying to keep secret.
Why it continues to matter:
dicktofel.substack.com/p/trump-the-...
Fox News is celebrating the decapitation of the BBC. If Fox had decent standards, heads there would roll for this.
www.propublica.org/article/port...
www.propublica.org/article/port...
“Riots Raging”: The Misleading Story Fox News Told About Portland Before Trump Sent Troops
After reviewing coverage from the network and hours of social media videos that preceded Trump’s decision, ProPublica found that Fox’s portrayal of “Portland rioters” routinely instigating violence wa...
www.propublica.org
November 12, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Fox News is celebrating the decapitation of the BBC. If Fox had decent standards, heads there would roll for this.
www.propublica.org/article/port...
www.propublica.org/article/port...
Reposted by Richard Tofel
New Epstein emails just dropped, and they involve Trump. 🎁🔗 www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
November 12, 2025 at 1:39 PM
New Epstein emails just dropped, and they involve Trump. 🎁🔗 www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
Horrifying from the WSJ on the sloppy, dangerous, self-indulgent reign of Trump’s FBI director
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Kash Patel’s ‘Effin Wild’ Ride as FBI Director
In just one week in October, he ticked off his bosses with premature comments about a terror investigation and squeezed in a trip to the ‘Boondoggle Ranch’ on the bureau jet.
www.wsj.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Horrifying from the WSJ on the sloppy, dangerous, self-indulgent reign of Trump’s FBI director
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Smart and important on the way forward for NYC from @neilbarsky.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/o...
Opinion | The Business Elite Needs Mamdani. They Just Don’t Know It Yet.
www.nytimes.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Smart and important on the way forward for NYC from @neilbarsky.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/o...
Reposted by Richard Tofel
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:39 PM
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
A very thoughtful appraisal of Cheney from the great @bartongellman.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
What I Learned About Dick Cheney
The former vice president was certain he knew better than the citizens he served what was good for them.
www.theatlantic.com
November 9, 2025 at 4:55 PM
A very thoughtful appraisal of Cheney from the great @bartongellman.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Unless the shutdown ends very quickly, the uncertainty now surrounding business travel will likely cause it to seriously decline nationwide, with many more trips cancelled than would be accounted for by the flights directly affected.
The economic effects could be huge, and fairly abrupt.
The economic effects could be huge, and fairly abrupt.
November 7, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Unless the shutdown ends very quickly, the uncertainty now surrounding business travel will likely cause it to seriously decline nationwide, with many more trips cancelled than would be accounted for by the flights directly affected.
The economic effects could be huge, and fairly abrupt.
The economic effects could be huge, and fairly abrupt.
As it was in his first term, Donald Trump’s presidency seems to be good for the business of the New York Times
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/b...
The Times’s Profit Jumps With 460,000 More Subscribers
www.nytimes.com
November 5, 2025 at 12:55 PM
As it was in his first term, Donald Trump’s presidency seems to be good for the business of the New York Times
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/b...
Among the lessons of last night: any political party that tries to convince itself the American people in this decade are okay with 3% inflation is in for a world of hurt.
November 5, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Among the lessons of last night: any political party that tries to convince itself the American people in this decade are okay with 3% inflation is in for a world of hurt.