Speaking of newsrooms and nerves of steel
Mainstream journalism is dangling on a wire
Thanks for reading Speaking of Which! If you’re here, I’ve likely booked you for interview segments on CNN, NowThis, CBS, or Fox Business—and I’m still a fan of your work—or you subscribed out of curiosity. As an editorial producer working in mainstream news and network television, I’m committed to ensuring our national conversations are enriched by diverse perspectives and voices. But beyond the newsroom, I champion creators as the new frontier of truth-telling and resonance, amplifying stories that traditional media often overlook. I’m thrilled to have you here, and I value the important work you do, no matter your field.
It’s no secret that mainstream journalism is under siege, caught in a crossfire between corporate interests and public distrust. The news industry—once the proud guardian of democratic accountability—has been steadily eroded, reduced to a mere whisper of its former self. The result? Reporters eager to ask hard-hitting questions find themselves stifled, and it’s not just the newsrooms paying the price. The political landscape is wrapped in ambiguity, and that ambiguity is spilling over into coverage that favors caution over confrontation. We’ve reached a point where even the truth seems negotiable.
As if that weren’t enough, our rights are being chipped away, one calculated blow at a time. Protest protections? Weakened. Voting rights? Under constant siege. And let’s not forget how language itself has become a weapon, wielded by those in power to obscure, deflect, and reshape narratives to their liking. We live in a time when misinformation isn’t just a side effect of the digital age; it’s a deliberate strategy, engineered to sow chaos and erode trust. Every soundbite, every statement, every turn of phrase is a calculated move in a larger game of narrative control.
Amid this storm of chaos and obfuscation, resilience becomes not just a virtue but a necessity. It’s the quiet, persistent force that keeps independent journalists and creators pushing forward, cutting through the noise to expose the truths that mainstream outlets often miss—or deliberately ignore. These are the voices holding the line, refusing to let power rewrite the script or drown out the stories that need to be told.
So, as we navigate this turbulent landscape, let’s remember that the fight for an informed public isn’t just about surviving another news cycle. It’s about insisting on clarity in an age of deliberate confusion. It’s about demanding accountability when obfuscation has become the norm. And it’s about amplifying the voices even when their truths are inconvenient.
Now, for this week’s must-know content that’s going to make you smarter, angrier, or both:
#ONElisten: Tortoise Investigates pulls no punches in a three-part series that peels back the layers on the "most powerful man in the world"—the free speech crusader who bought a social media empire, only to weaponize it for his own agenda. The investigation digs into how this self-proclaimed champion of transparency might be playing a shadow game, manipulating information with the same hand that signs off on tweets about liberty. Tortoise
#ONEread: Scalawag Magazine's deep dive into McKesson v. Doe and what it means for people of color and protest movements. It’s not just a legal setback; it’s an open invitation for bad actors to manipulate the system. Scalawag Magazine
#ONEwatch: The WSJ’s latest tiktok exposes how Biden's appointed archivist is on a mission to brighten America’s historical narrative, sparking an institutional war over how much darkness we’re willing to admit about our past. Because nothing says “cohesive national identity” like a whitewashed version of events where slavery, massacres, and land theft get sidelined in favor of patriotic lore. WSJ
Let’s continue to keep one eye on the narratives being spun and another on the ones being erased. As always, independent voices might just be the last frontier for journalism. Thanks for reading.