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alex arriaga

@alexarriaga.bsky.social

910 followers 610 following 620 posts

local journalist | new york focus audience engagement editor

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alex arriaga @alexarriaga.bsky.social · Dec 11

So happy to share this @nysfocus.bsky.social report today!

We met with New Yorkers at a library in Albany, a community center in Syracuse, a church basement in Rochester and a town hall in the North Country.

All to ask: what do people want from local news? 📰

nysfocus.com/2024/12/11/w...

What New Yorkers Want From Local News

New York Focus traveled across the state to meet with communities about their local news needs.

nysfocus.com

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Dave Jorgenson @davejorgenson.bsky.social · 17h

The Post laid off seemingly the remaining of their liberal-leaning staff members on Opinion last Thursday, when some of them were observing Yom Kippur.

from @oliverdarcy.bsky.social for Status
status.news/p/washington-post-opinion-cuts-adam-oneal

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New York Focus @nysfocus.bsky.social · 17h

NEW: The ICE detention center near Buffalo has banned book deliveries, New York Focus has learned.

Rejected books include a Spanish-English dictionary, a translation of a George R.R. Martin novel, and “The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work.”
nysfocus.com/2025/10/08/b...

New York’s Biggest ICE Detention Center Bans Book Deliveries

Rejected books include a Spanish-English dictionary, a Spanish translation of a George R.R. Martin novel, and "The Seven Principles for Making Marriage…

nysfocus.com

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alex arriaga @alexarriaga.bsky.social · 2d

Every morning I send out our Staying Focused newsletter, featuring our latest investigation plus some recent stories, updates and lately — a party invitation!

don't make me wake up early in vain. subscribe: nysfocus.com/newsletter

Newsletter

nysfocus.com

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Dan Kennedy @dankennedy.net · 2d

New at Media Nation: The @coloradosun.com embraces a democratic nonprofit model that looks a lot like a co-op. dankennedy.net/2025/10/06/t...

The Colorado Sun embraces a democratic nonprofit model that looks a lot like a co-op

For at least 15 years, local-news visionaries have been thinking about ways to build a media organization owned and governed by its staff and members of the community. The idea is to create a news …

dankennedy.net

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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 2d

JUST IN: Chicago journalistsa re suing DHS and ICE over force used against reporters:

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

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New York Focus @nysfocus.bsky.social · 2d

NEW: ICE detainees in New York jails are struggling to access to legal advice, phone calls, and even their own court hearings.
nysfocus.com/2025/10/06/i...

ICE Detainees in New York Jails Can’t Talk to Their Lawyers

Some immigrants held in county jails are struggling to access legal advice, phone calls, and even their own court hearings.

nysfocus.com

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alex arriaga @alexarriaga.bsky.social · 5d

read about our listening tour: nysfocus.com/2024/12/11/w...

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New York Focus @nysfocus.bsky.social · 5d

When we conducted our statewide listening tour, we gleaned a sense of disempowerment from New Yorkers who felt they didn't have the information necessary to navigate the systems that dictate their lives.

We’re working to help rebuild a local news ecosystem that has faced years of relentless cuts.

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New York Focus @nysfocus.bsky.social · 6d

New York state helped hundreds of asylum-seeker families leave crowded New York City shelters to find housing and jobs upstate. Now, some of them have been swept up in Trump’s immigration dragnet.
nysfocus.com/2025/09/29/m...

New York Spent Millions to Resettle Them. Trump Is Deporting Them.

The Migrant Relocation Assistance Program helped families leave crowded shelters and put down roots. Trump’s immigration crackdown is upending that.

nysfocus.com

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The Intercept @theintercept.com · 6d

If the U.S. military does confront drug cartels in Mexico, it will find itself facing battle with its own weapons.

Trump Calls Cartel Members “Terrorists.” They’re Armed With Bullets From a U.S. Army Factory.

The president blames Mexico for the flow of drugs into the U.S. — while enabling the flow of guns into Mexico by slashing federal regulators.

interc.pt

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New York Focus @nysfocus.bsky.social · 6d

Almost half of New York's newspapers have closed in the last 20 years. New York Focus launched in 2020 to fill those gaps.

5 years later, we’ve grown into a statewide newsroom making real impact:
✨ Nearly 1 million annual readers
✨ 15 full-time staff
✨ Investigations that sparked real change

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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 7d

"Rodrick Johnson, 67, is one of many residents who were detained by federal agents during the South Shore raid. A U.S. citizen, he said agents broke through his door and dragged him out in zip ties."

Massive immigration raid on Chicago apartment building leaves residents reeling: 'I feel defeated'

The Department of Homeland Security said federal agents with Border Patrol, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested 37 people in the raid.

chicago.suntimes.com

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alex arriaga @alexarriaga.bsky.social · 6d

Oooh!

New York Focus @nysfocus.bsky.social · 6d

We have a new merch shop! 🥁

Support local investigative journalism with New York Focus swag.
www.rayguncustom.com/collections/...

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New York Focus @nysfocus.bsky.social · 6d

NEW: In theory, the process that determines your energy bills plays out in public. In practice, watchdogs say, the key decisions are made behind closed doors.

This week, lawmakers scrutinized the secretive settlement process at a hearing.
nysfocus.com/2025/10/02/e...

Lawmakers Scrutinize Secretive Process Behind Energy Bill Hikes

In a state Senate hearing on spiraling energy bills, consumer advocates lamented the closed-door negotiations at the heart of New York’s ratemaking…

nysfocus.com

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New York Focus @nysfocus.bsky.social · 7d

NEW: Eleven hour work days picking apples at a backbreaking pace, deplorable port-a-potties, and the threat of punishment hang over the workers at Wafler Farms.

The farm still isn’t following the union contract’s terms.
nysfocus.com/2025/10/01/h...

An Evening With New York’s Apple Pickers

An entire season has come and nearly gone, and Wafler Farms still isn’t following its union contract.

nysfocus.com

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alex arriaga @alexarriaga.bsky.social · 8d

I feel like a sitting duck

alex arriaga @alexarriaga.bsky.social · 8d

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alex arriaga @alexarriaga.bsky.social · 8d

My friend who owns a tortillería in Chicago

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alex arriaga @alexarriaga.bsky.social · 8d

What

alex arriaga @alexarriaga.bsky.social · 8d

I have a doctor who just picks a random date and time for our follow-ups and sends me a calendar invite...everyone should be like this

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Chris Sommerfeldt @c-sommerfeldt.bsky.social · 8d

Mayor Adams' office now confirms he used to date his "sports czar," Jasmine Ray, before tapping her for the $161K-a-year City Hall post in late 2022.

Ray resigned Friday before revealing she's publishing a book about her "hidden relationship" with Adams. www.nydailynews.com/2025/09/30/m...

Mayor Adams dated writer of new tell-all before appointing her to $160K NYC job

Mayor Adams’ office confirmed Tuesday that about a decade ago he dated Jasmine Ray, a woman he would later appoint the newly-created role of “sports czar” and who is poised to rel…

www.nydailynews.com

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The NewsGuild-CWA @newsguild.org · 8d

ICE brutalizing journalists is nothing short of an act of political violence and an assault on the free press.

We strongly condemn these cowardly actions by masked agents.

www.amny.com/immigration/...

ICE agents assault amNewYork reporter at Federal Plaza immigration court; another journalist seriously injured after shove | amNewYork

ICE agents assaulted amNewYork's own Dean Moses, and allegedly attacked another journalist, on Tuesday morning as they were documenting the ongoing arrests of

www.amny.com

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alex arriaga @alexarriaga.bsky.social · 8d

I need a type A person to help me organize my life. I can pay you in stories of chaos that make you feel superior

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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 8d

This passage nearly broke me.

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alex arriaga @alexarriaga.bsky.social · 9d

actually 3 attempts if you count the one I made with my mom, which was actually perfect