L.A.Spates
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laspates.bsky.social
L.A.Spates
@laspates.bsky.social
Freelance journo: written & radio. IRE-awarded book and NPR-syndicated podcast via CaliforniaHumanities, SRJC, UMD. Newshound, bookworm, knitter, mama, spaniel-lover, former Terps/Ravens cheerleader. North Bay life; Long Island energy.
And what Trump said to Kennedy.
Still wondering what David Pecker at the Enquirer had in his safe.
November 13, 2025 at 4:27 PM
*twists the knife*
“I’ve been hearing that standards will be eliminated or severely cut back. Bari has told people that she wants to get rid of standards and is shocked that they have so much power. She also asked openly, ‘What’s the point of standards?’” one CBS source said.

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Bari Weiss wants to take down ‘too much power’ CBS News Standards unit: sources
EXCLUSIVE: Internal rumblings within the newsroom come after the S&P head resigned and the network disbanded its vaunted Race and Culture unit.
www.independent.co.uk
November 12, 2025 at 5:06 AM
100% his old NY brain confused Magnificent Mile for Long Island’s Miracle Mile, a luxury shopping district since the ‘50s. 🙄

(Its location, Manhasset: Inspiration for East Egg, used for scenes in Wolf of Wall Street, Boiler Room, and in Miracle on 34th St., Mr. Gailey wants to buy a house there.)
Call in the troops to solve the commercial real estate crisis in our swanky downtown cores

You can’t make this shit up, folks
November 11, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Sad for the Jays and really sad for the woman knitting the totally rad Jays sweater. What a bummer.
November 2, 2025 at 4:19 AM
Has any British prince or princess ever lost that particular title? Not talking about HRH etc., but specifically prince/ss.

Help your curious and common American cousins, @lucyworsley.bsky.social!
BREAKING: Prince Andrew is to lose his "prince" title and leave his Windsor mansion, Royal Lodge

Buckingham Palace says the King "has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew"

www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cn...
Andrew stripped of Prince title and will move out of Royal Lodge
He will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor - Buckingham Palace says
www.bbc.co.uk
October 30, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Because threatening a reporter to get them off your case definitely always absolutely works and never results in further scrutiny. Genius move, dude.
cool cool cool cool cool
October 30, 2025 at 3:37 PM
As a native Long Islander I’m 💀.

“…DeBlasio said in an interview conducted Wednesday evening through his Ring doorbell in Huntington Station, Long Island, from his current location in Florida.”

“(In DeBlasio's view, "low class
Italians use a little d.")

Perfect. No notes.
October 30, 2025 at 3:23 AM
Tech nightmare. Working on an investigative series last night, computer crashed and then this happened, after first showing a file folder with a question mark.

WHAT. THE. HELL.
October 29, 2025 at 2:23 PM
If he never knows anything about anything, then why does the press keep showing up? Let him experience a room as empty as his responses, and the reporters can go do something useful with their time.
Q: What's your reaction to yesterday's purge of senior ICE officials? When is it time for Congress to do some oversight?

MIKE JOHNSON: I don't know any of the details of that yet. I just heard about that, literally I was walking in.
October 29, 2025 at 7:09 AM
Reposted by L.A.Spates
The only excuse Lois Lane has for why her interviewing Superman isn't unethical, despite their romantic entanglement, is that it would be even more unethical for the paper's other top reporter, who is Superman, to interview himself, yet she cannot say this. This dilemma should be taught in J-school.
October 20, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Reposted by L.A.Spates
this rocks. when indiana edu killed the student newspaper, Purdue stepped up, printed the forbidden issue, drove it to Bloomington and stocked the boxes.
October 18, 2025 at 6:27 PM
A very dark day, indeed.
October 16, 2025 at 12:15 AM
“Copyright growing pains”? As in, ripping off creators?
October 15, 2025 at 5:33 AM
I’d liked to have seen a united response after they barred @apnews.com from the Oval etc.

If that was the inch, this is the mile. But good on these outlets for standing together.
Great to see news outlets almost uniformly reject Hegseth’s ridiculous Pentagon prior restraint policy.

Hopefully they’ll show the same unity next time the administration targets one of them as they’re showing now that it’s targeting all of them.
Media outlets, including MAGA channel Newsmax, refuse to sign Pentagon’s press access rules | CNN Business
The Pentagon is telling beat reporters to sign restrictive new rules by Tuesday or surrender their press passes by Wednesday. Many news organizations are rejecting the ultimatum and saying they will n...
www.cnn.com
October 14, 2025 at 9:14 PM
+ Wishbone and Ghostwriter. Take all money @pbs.org
I’m not trying to give @pbs.org ideas for raising money—but I am. I would buy women’s fit T-shirts of all my favorite childhood shows. Reading rainbow, 321 contact, square one, zoobiliee zoo. I feel like two generations will run to donate even more money for shirts with Levar Burton on them…
October 12, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Reposted by L.A.Spates
Law enforcement needs to rein in ICE's anti-press abuses and investigate ICE attacks on independent journalists in Chicagoland.

A coalition of Chicago and national press freedom orgs explained why in a letter to the Broadview Police Department and Illinois State Police today.
Independent journalists must be protected from ICE attacks
Letter calls on local authorities to investigate all attacks on journalists
freedom.press
October 8, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Happiness is a friend calling to discuss whether “fewer than” or “less than” is correct in a sentence. Today is OK.
October 3, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Only 10 minutes into “Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink” and I’m sobbing. I don’t know if I can make it through the rest.
October 3, 2025 at 4:39 AM
1:04 p.m. PST and still no social media comms from @schumer.senate.gov or @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social on the President saying, “We should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military.“

Have they taken reporters’ Qs yet? Someone please share the coverage I’m missing?
a black and white drawing of a stick man holding a stick with the words `` c 'mon , do something '' .
Alt: A black and white drawing of a stick figure poking the ground with a stick and saying, ``C’mon, Do something.”
media.tenor.com
September 30, 2025 at 8:08 PM
What movie do you consider “perfect”? 🎬
August 29, 2025 at 3:23 AM
Reposted by L.A.Spates
Journalism isn't partisan, it's patriotic. @nexton9news.bsky.social is collaborating with Coloradans producing "A Matter of Fact" - an exploration of the First Amendment, its vital importance to America, and the role of journalists. This is the first in a 12-part series of shorts:
August 22, 2025 at 4:25 AM
“The best way to elect leaders is through honest and fair elections. Everyone needs a fair legal system. Corruption destroys the state. There should be no censorship.” - Alexei Navalny #patriot
August 11, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Thanks for the performance tonight, @hcrichardson.bsky.social! Hearing you recite “Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth!” at @tanglewoodma.bsky.social was awesome. What a day! 🇺🇸🎆🎼🥁
August 6, 2025 at 4:29 AM
Post your getaway vehicle
May 23, 2025 at 3:28 PM