Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Center for Communication & Civic Renewal

Jay Rosen @jayrosen.bsky.social · Jun 12

Here's something I post from time to time. My answer to a reader who asked me: what could journalists do NOW to break with some of their more corrosive habits.

Here is a list I post from time to time. My answer to a reader who asked me: what could journalists do NOW to break with some of their more corrosive habits.

Defense of democracy seen as basic to the job.

Symmetrical accounts of asymmetrical realities seen as malpractice.

“Politics as strategic game” frame seen as low quality, downmarket, amateurish— and overmatched.

Bad actors with a history of misinforming the public seen as unsuitable sources and unwelcome guests.

Internalizing of the “liberal bias” critique seen as self-crippling, a historic mistake in need of correction.

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Lindsey Cormack @dcinbox.bsky.social · Aug 23

The full write up is here:

Was It Something The Democrats Said?
A Response to Third Way’s Political Language Memo

open.substack.com/pub/dcinboxi...

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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · Aug 22

The only thing I can say about this paragraph is read it. Sit with it. Read it again. @michaelharriot.bsky.social

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Josh Shepperd @joshshepperd.bsky.social · Aug 12

I'm closely interviewed for this Nieman Lab report that discusses how rural areas will be affected by loss of funding for local NPR reporting. We must not underestimate the importance of equal access to information - we're about to witness a seismic ideological shift in American sense of "place."

With Cuts to Federal Funding, How Will Public Media in the U.S. Survive? - Nieman Reports

With cuts to federal funding, how will public media in the U.S. survive? Gabe Bullard writes, "The closure of the CPB will hurt NPR and PBS, but the most immediate and devastating blow will be to the ...

niemanreports.org

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The Conversation U.S. @us.theconversation.com · Jul 29

We just learned we are the most visited nonprofit news site in the U.S.

Nieman Lab @niemanlab.org · Jul 29

In markets large and small, these nonprofit news organizations are achieving traffic numbers that many commercial outlets would envy. Here’s our first monthly ranking of the top 25 nonprofit news sites in the United States. buff.ly/8yo3BfO

Nonprofit news sites are built to generate impact — but these are also generating audiences

In markets large and small, these nonprofit news organizations are achieving traffic numbers that many commercial outlets would envy. Here's our first monthly ranking of the top 25 nonprofit news…

www.niemanlab.org

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rasmuskleis.bsky.social @rasmuskleis.bsky.social · Jul 23

How effective are user corrections on social media, and does adding a link to a fact check improve effectiveness?

In piece led by @sachaltay.bsky.social we find corrections have small effects, adding a fact-check unlikely to make them more effective misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/the-... 1/6

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Funranium (AKA Phil Broughton) @funranium.bsky.social · Jul 23

[deep sigh]

I legitimately wonder where the senior managers pushing LLM tools get the notion that they will save time. Personal experience says it's the equivalent of double checking the work of a particularly incompetent work-study student.

Such is management disconnect from the work being done.

FactPost @factpostnews.bsky.social · Jul 23

Reporter: The FDA has a new AI tool that's intended to speed up drug approvals. But several FDA employees say the new AI helper is making up studies that do not exist. One FDA employee telling us, 'Anything that you don't have time to double check is unreliable. It hallucinates confidently'

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lauragarbes.bsky.social @lauragarbes.bsky.social · Jul 21

Copy of my book just arrived in the mail today! Feels unreal. You can preorder it here: press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...

A book cover with title “Listeners Like Who? Exclusion and Resistance in the Public Radio Industry”

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Techdirt @techdirt.com · Jul 10

Missouri AG: Any AI That Doesn’t Praise Donald Trump Might Be “Consumer Fraud” (No, Really)

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey just sent threatening letters to Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Meta, claiming their AI chatbots violated Missouri's consumer protection laws. The crime? When asked…

Missouri AG: Any AI That Doesn’t Praise Donald Trump Might Be “Consumer Fraud” (No, Really)

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey just sent threatening letters to Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Meta, claiming their AI chatbots violated Missouri's consumer protection laws. The crime? When asked to rank presidents on antisemitism, some of the AIs had the temerity to suggest Donald Trump might not be great on that front. Yes, you read that right. A sitting state attorney general is using the power of his office to threaten tech companies because their AIs expressed opinions about Trump that he disagrees with.

www.techdirt.com

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Celeste Headlee @celesteheadlee.bsky.social · Jul 9

When NPR left Twitter, traffic dropped by only a single percentage point.

niemanreports.org/npr-twitter-...

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The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · Jul 2

Although “people in China are acutely conscious of the limits of permissible speech,” Lavender Au writes, Chinese students living in the United States never expected to be contending with similar worries:

For Chinese Students, America Feels Just Like Home

But not in a good way.

bit.ly

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Josh Busby @busbyj2.bsky.social · Jul 1

Musk's DOGE efforts to undermine foreign aid will lead to the deaths of tens of millions unless reversed. wapo.st/4684PQL

USAID cuts may cause 14 million more deaths in next five years, study says

The analysis, published in the Lancet, estimates the agency’s programs saved 91 million lives worldwide over two decades, playing a vital role in global health.

wapo.st

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David Darmofal @daviddarmofal.bsky.social · Jun 17

Note that Trump's cuts to university research are his least supported policy, @mayasen.bsky.social. Suggests a potentially broad coalition in support of university research, if universities can effectively make this argument.

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Mike Wagner @prowag.bsky.social · Jun 17

Enjoy our report from wave 2 of our three wave election panel study. This report highlights the importance of information diets and the country’s preferences in this current moment. Stay tuned for wave 3 at the end of summer!

Center for Communication & Civic Renewal @cccr.bsky.social · Jun 17

🚨 CCCR has a new survey report out today! 🚨

"100 Days Under Trump: Public Reactions to Attacks on American Governance & Institutions"

The report draws on our Apr/May YouGov panel survey of US adults, following our Oct 2024 survey w/ recontacts + a sample refresh. 1/
cccr.wisc.edu/wp-content/u...

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Center for Communication & Civic Renewal @cccr.bsky.social · Jun 17

And here are some of the methods details for whomever is interested. 👋 /end

Center for Communication & Civic Renewal @cccr.bsky.social · Jun 17

Read more details in the full report here!

We'll be doing much more analysis with these data, and we'll have another panel survey wave in November.

Stay tuned! 12/
cccr.wisc.edu/wp-content/u...

cccr.wisc.edu

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Center for Communication & Civic Renewal @cccr.bsky.social · Jun 17

Trust also varied among Reps by media use. Police & Trump trust is higher among RW-only Reps. Trust in colleges, college grads, unions, & big corps is higher for MSM Reps. Institutional trust is highest for RW+MSM. Distrust of undocumented across all media groups. 11/

Chart: Rep trust in institutions by media use

See text for description.

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Center for Communication & Civic Renewal @cccr.bsky.social · Jun 17

Media use differentiated economic & personal finance perceptions among Reps, w/ RW only Reps engaged in greater partisan perceptual biases than other Reps. 10/

Nat'l econ views for Reps by media use. See text for description.

Chart: Rep reports on personal finances by media use. See text for description.

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Center for Communication & Civic Renewal @cccr.bsky.social · Jun 17

Finally, we looked at all these views among Reps, whose views varied dramatically by media use -- regular RW media use only (18%) vs mainstream only (23%) vs. both (20%) vs. minimal (39%).

RW media Reps were *more* aware of major Trump actions & more supportive than MSM & min. 9/

Rep awareness of Trump actions (chart)

Range from 73% to 91%, gaps by media use up to 40 pts.

Chart: Rep support for Trump's actions

Big gaps by media use up to 40 pts

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Center for Communication & Civic Renewal @cccr.bsky.social · Jun 17

Public trust in institutions & groups was low overall, but with high variance by party depending on the target, incl for universities & colleges. Highest overall for military, lowest for Congress & big corporations, even among Reps.

Average trust levels were largely unchanged since Oct 2024. 8/

Chart: trust in institutions & groups

Lowest for big corps & Congress, highest for military Big party gaps on many but widespread distrust of big corps & Congress.

Chart: change in institutional trust, ranging from -3 to +6

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