Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Lois Beckett @loisbeckett.bsky.social · 23h

The @nytimes.com publishes so much excellent reporting every day.

But for a paper of record to take this approach to investigating the ICE arrest of a popular Black superintendent in a majority white state?

It is deeply, deeply irresponsible.

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Lois Beckett @loisbeckett.bsky.social · 23h

And then, of course, there's the fact that the popular Iowa school superintendent that ICE dramatically arrested is Black.

That's no accident. This is part of a bigger story about the attacks on Black educational leaders. How is Claudine Gay not mentioned in this story? Or "critical race theory"?

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Lois Beckett @loisbeckett.bsky.social · 1d

With all this reporting, and 3 journalists on the story, you'd think the @nytimes.com could have interviewed at least one or two other undocumented professionals who could offer context on Roberts' trajectory and choices.

Or what his high-profile arrest meant for other undocumented people in Iowa.

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Lois Beckett @loisbeckett.bsky.social · 1d

It's 2025. Dreamers have been in the headlines for a decade. The median DACA recipient is a millennial in their 30s.

75% of Dreamers were pursuing a bachelor's degree or more, per one survey.

Who's shocked that someone undocumented became a school leader?

www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/u...

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Lois Beckett @loisbeckett.bsky.social · 1d

And then there's the characterization that a superintendent being undocumented "was counter to the image many have of undocumented immigrants. This was not someone living under the radar, toiling in a low-wage job."

Is this racist stereotype really the common belief of "many" @nytimes.com readers?

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Lois Beckett @loisbeckett.bsky.social · 1d

Being undocumented is not a "shocking secret."

And was Ian Roberts' bio "too good to be true?" According to this story's own reporting, he had a track record of actually delivering academic improving in struggling school systems'--including in Des Moines.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/05/u...

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Lois Beckett @loisbeckett.bsky.social · 1d

"How could someone the government says should be removed from the country have risen to lead the public school system of a large American city?"

That's a framing for a newspaper that's just one step away from being state media. Is that what the @nytimes.com wants?

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/05/u...

The Superintendent’s Bio Seemed Too Good to Be True. It Was.

www.nytimes.com

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Lois Beckett @loisbeckett.bsky.social · 1d

Lots of good reporting in this piece. But how is this the nut graf?

"Above all, it raised a fundamental question: How could someone the government says should be removed from the country have risen to lead the public school system of a large American city?"

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/05/u...

The Superintendent’s Bio Seemed Too Good to Be True. It Was.

www.nytimes.com

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Lois Beckett @loisbeckett.bsky.social · 1d

There's plenty of complexity to the story of Ian Roberts, the Black Iowa superintendent arrested by ICE.

But the way the @nytimes.com chose to frame this article is racist and shameful.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/05/u...

The Superintendent’s Bio Seemed Too Good to Be True. It Was.

www.nytimes.com

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Lois Beckett @loisbeckett.bsky.social · 7d

"The contest has included levels of on-camera drama that surpass even those of the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City."

I covered Fat Bear Week victor "32 Chunk"--a brutal villain from previous seasons who finally found his redemption arc:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

‘Dominant on the river’: 32 Chunk crowned champion in ‘biggest Fat Bear Week yet’

Brown bear’s nearly 100,000 votes leads him to victory despite suffering for most of season with broken jaw

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Lois Beckett

Signe Dean @nevertoocurious.bsky.social · 7d

My favourite genre of journalism is mainstream outlets writing measured, comprehensive reports in the same manner they would write any other report, but the subject is utterly whimsical www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

‘Dominant on the river’: 32 Chunk crowned champion in ‘biggest Fat Bear Week yet’

Brown bear’s nearly 100,000 votes leads him to victory despite suffering for most of season with broken jaw

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Lois Beckett

Tyler Kingkade @tktk.bsky.social · 19d

NEW: I tracked three dozen teachers, professors and other school staff who've been forced from their job or stepped away due to their comments on Charlie Kirk and his killing

Republican lawmakers are increasingly getting involved, pushing for firings

www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Teachers' punishment for social media posts on Charlie Kirk's death prompts free speech debate

More than three dozen professors, teachers and school staffers have left or been removed over allegations they made disparaging or mocking comments about Charlie Kirk.

www.nbcnews.com

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Reposted by Lois Beckett

Shannon Bond @shannonbond.bsky.social · 19d

we wrote about this WH tactic recently. they’re asking journalists for expert source names and then using them to look up political donations in FEC records to try to discredit those sources as biased.

www.npr.org/2025/08/18/n...

Amy Kristin Sanders @amykristinsanders.bsky.social · 19d

I had this exact same experience this morning. Same reporter as Heidi.

This is *not* normal.

I have spoken to the press on these issues for two decades. No government official has ever demanded to know my identity in order to give a comment on a story.

Heidi Kitrosser @heidikitrosser.bsky.social · 19d

I find this extremely chilling:
I spoke w a reporter this morning about Kimmel. (Reporter was / is great) They got back to me a short while ago to say they sought White House comment & WH demands to know first which experts they spoke with. I told reporter I'm happy to be quoted IN THE STORY but 1/x

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Lois Beckett @loisbeckett.bsky.social · Aug 27

"I wondered if, in person, a SeaWorld performance might feel more like a farce, or even a tragedy. What I did not expect was that Ginuwine’s SeaWorld concert would turn out to be a masterclass in ageing gracefully."

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

‘Ride it, my orca’: my strange, sexy day at the Ginuwine SeaWorld concert

The R&B star’s unlikely set during SeaWorld’s ‘viral’ summer shows became a stylish lesson in how to age as a performer with dignity

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Lois Beckett

Renée Reizman @reneereizman.com · Aug 25

Another hit by @loisbeckett.bsky.social

Lois Beckett @loisbeckett.bsky.social · Aug 25

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

‘Ride it, my orca’: my strange, sexy day at the Ginuwine SeaWorld concert

The R&B star’s unlikely set during SeaWorld’s ‘viral’ summer shows became a stylish lesson in how to age as a performer with dignity

www.theguardian.com

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Lois Beckett @loisbeckett.bsky.social · Aug 25

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

‘Ride it, my orca’: my strange, sexy day at the Ginuwine SeaWorld concert

The R&B star’s unlikely set during SeaWorld’s ‘viral’ summer shows became a stylish lesson in how to age as a performer with dignity

www.theguardian.com

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Lois Beckett @loisbeckett.bsky.social · Jul 31

!

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Reposted by Lois Beckett

Jeff Asher @jeffasher.bsky.social · Jul 30

This @today.yougov.com poll is why I'm going to become the Joker.

The US murder rate in 2024 was likely down nearly 30 percent relative to 2020 and down nearly 50 percent relative to 1990.

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Reposted by Lois Beckett

Debbie Moon @debbiemoon.bsky.social · Jul 26

"He also called the diner “a shiny beacon of hope in an otherwise sort-of bleak urban landscape”. (It is located on Santa Monica Boulevard, in a neighborhood full of high-end art galleries.)"

Honestly...

Elon Musk opened a diner in Hollywood. What could go wrong? I went to find out

The tech billionaire’s ‘retro-futuristic’ drive-in and Tesla charging station has long lines, plenty of glitches – and adoring fans

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Lois Beckett

Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · Jul 26

“The generic-brand cola tasted cheap and was served with a woke bamboo straw.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Elon Musk opened a diner in Hollywood. What could go wrong? I went to find out

The tech billionaire’s ‘retro-futuristic’ drive-in and Tesla charging station has long lines, plenty of glitches – and adoring fans

www.theguardian.com

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Lois Beckett @loisbeckett.bsky.social · Jul 26

“Retro-futurism”, in this case, seemed to mean gorgeous, Tesla-inspired, mid-century modern architecture coupled with wait times that would shutter an ordinary McDonald’s.

I visited Elon Musk's new Hollywood diner:

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Elon Musk opened a diner in Hollywood. What could go wrong? I went to find out

The tech billionaire’s ‘retro-futuristic’ drive-in and Tesla charging station has long lines, plenty of glitches – and adoring fans

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Lois Beckett

Oliver Laughland @oliverlaughland.bsky.social · Jul 26

“A waffle, branded with the Tesla lightning bolt, was cold. The heap of kale was only partially dressed. The generic-brand cola tasted cheap. But the food came in elaborate Cybertruck boxes – and they were, to be honest, delightful.

@loisbeckett.bsky.social visits the Tesla diner

Elon Musk opened a diner in Hollywood. What could go wrong? I went to find out

The tech billionaire’s ‘retro-futuristic’ drive-in and Tesla charging station has long lines, plenty of glitches – and adoring fans

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Lois Beckett

Lois Beckett @loisbeckett.bsky.social · Jul 25

"Earth is being slowly dehydrated by the unmitigated mining of groundwater, which underlies vast proportions of every continent."

Terrifying @propublica interactive by @abrahm.bsky.social + @lucaswaldron.bsky.social

www.propublica.org/article/wate...

“Staggering” Water Loss Driven by Groundwater Mining Poses Global Threat

A new study finds that freshwater resources are rapidly disappearing, creating arid “mega” regions and causing sea levels to rise.

www.propublica.org

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Reposted by Lois Beckett

Lois Beckett @loisbeckett.bsky.social · Jul 25

"The majority of the earth’s population lives in the 101 countries that the study identified as losing fresh water...

This suggests the middle band of Earth is becoming less habitable."

@abrahm.bsky.social + @lucaswaldron.bsky.social on the latest data:

www.propublica.org/article/wate...

“Staggering” Water Loss Driven by Groundwater Mining Poses Global Threat

A new study finds that freshwater resources are rapidly disappearing, creating arid “mega” regions and causing sea levels to rise.

www.propublica.org

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Lois Beckett @loisbeckett.bsky.social · Jul 25

"The majority of the earth’s population lives in the 101 countries that the study identified as losing fresh water...

This suggests the middle band of Earth is becoming less habitable."

@abrahm.bsky.social + @lucaswaldron.bsky.social on the latest data:

www.propublica.org/article/wate...

“Staggering” Water Loss Driven by Groundwater Mining Poses Global Threat

A new study finds that freshwater resources are rapidly disappearing, creating arid “mega” regions and causing sea levels to rise.

www.propublica.org

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