"They’re not interested in press freedom." Margaret Sullivan on journalism's billionaire barons and the Substack upstarts out-hustling them. Someone once called her New York Times position "the worst job in journalism." Now she's watching the watchdogs from the outside.

Fascinating interview with the brilliant @sulliview.bsky.social. Thank you, @parkermolloy.com 💥

open.substack.com/pub/depthper...

Why the journalistic 'center' cannot hold Plus: The New York Times responds to criticism of its business story on Lauren Sánchez Bezos

"The new owner of CBS and the current editor-in-chief ... set an explicit objective of appealing to the center right and the center left. That is a political goal. It is not a journalistic one." @postbaron.bsky.social via @sulliview.bsky.social

margaretsullivan.substack.com/p/why-the-jo...

Thank you, Jennifer!

Finally, I’ll mention a mindset in vogue among a certain crop of media executives. Although they claim to want politics out of the newsroom — and I do, too —they simultaneously propose a political calculus for their journalists. The new owner of CBS and the current editor-in-chief of the news division, for instance, set an explicit objective of appealing to the center right and the center left. That is a political goal. It is not a journalistic one. And it is a far cry from how Jack Knight instructed his newsroom: “Get the truth and publish it.” That is a journalistic goal. Media owners who substitute political goal posts for news values find refuge in sophistry. They lay claim to ethics; instead, they subvert them. Their path may be one of commercial convenience. Or of timidity. Or of appeasement to regulators, legislators and the president himself. Or the instinctual path of those who see the press only through the lens of politics. But a news outlet of that formulation is fated to compromise ethics when a rock-solid story moving toward publication is deemed to fall outside the designated political comfort zone.

Come for @sulliview.bsky.social's focus on former WaPo EIC Marty Baron's spot on comments about the wildly political content objectives of both David Ellison & Bari Weiss; stay for the criticism of the NYT's Mrs. Bezos fluff.
open.substack.com/pub/margaret...

Why the journalistic 'center' cannot hold Plus: The New York Times responds to criticism of its business story on Lauren Sánchez Bezos

From @sulliview.bsky.social:

“The new owner of CBS and the current editor-in-chief of the news division, for instance, set an explicit objective of appealing to the center right and the center left. That is a political goal. It is not a journalistic one.”

substack.com/home/post/p-...

Axios ‪@axios.com‬ ⏱️ NEW: Trump tells Axios he expects Iran deal "in a day or two" Trump tells Axios he expects Iran deal "in a day or two" Trump is very feeling bullish.

Conflicts ‪@conflicts.bsky.social‬ Iran media: Tehran rejects participation in 2nd round of talks with Washington www.europesays.com/iran/73350/ Iran’s state-run news agency has reported that the country has refused to take part in the second round… Iran media: Tehran rejects participation in 2nd round of talks with Washington - Iran Iran's state-run news agency has reported that the country has refused to take part in the second round of negotiations with the United States. www.europesays.com

Friday: "trump says Iran deal in a day or two"

Two days later: Iran says no to further talks

Maybe just maybe it's time for reporters to stop blasting their latest phone chat with trump across the media ecosystem without facts, context AND without a transcript of the call.

As a Catholic, I’ve struggled with the church - but I applaud the pope’s call for peace | Margaret Sullivan These days, I’m feeling more aligned with Catholicism than I have since my first communion. I’m not alone in that

It's not easy being a female Catholic: Pope Leo is a breath of fresh air, but we still don't #OrdainWomen

Thanks for this, @sulliview.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

@sulliview.bsky.social keeps an eye on what really matters:

Thanks — a good conversation!

"They’re not interested in press freedom." Margaret Sullivan on journalism's billionaire barons and the Substack upstarts out-hustling them. Someone once called her New York Times position "the worst job in journalism." Now she's watching the watchdogs from the outside.

I recently interviewed the great @sulliview.bsky.social for @longlead.com's Depth Perception newsletter. We talked about the NYT public editor role (which she held for 3.5 years), among other things. Check it out!

depthperception.longlead.com/p/margaret-s...

As a Catholic, I’ve struggled with the church - but I applaud the pope’s call for peace | Margaret Sullivan These days, I’m feeling more aligned with Catholicism than I have since my first communion. I’m not alone in that

"These days, I’m feeling more aligned with Catholicism than I have since my first communion. I’m not alone in that," writes @sulliview.bsky.social.

Headshot of Margaret Sullivan and DEPTH PERCEPTION branding with text, "What people wanted from me was to be kind of like a judge and say, 'I've looked at this, I'm a somewhat reasonable person, and this is the conclusion I have.'" -Margaret Sullivan, media columnist on being public editor at The New York Times

People tweeting "The New York Times sucks" didn't make the paper kill its Public Editor position, @sulliview.bsky.social tells @parkermolloy.com in today's DEPTH PERCEPTION. But she gets it—from its handling of Trump to Mamdani—she's got criticisms too.

depthperception.longlead.com/p/margaret-s...

"They’re not interested in press freedom." Margaret Sullivan on journalism's billionaire barons and the Substack upstarts out-hustling them. Someone once called her New York Times position "the worst job in journalism." Now she's watching the watchdogs from the outside.

In this week's DEPTH PERCEPTION, @sulliview.bsky.social and Molloy explore if Substack is a true alternative to institutional, billionaire-owned journalism or just a lifeboat for big name writers who already have followers.

Read & subscribe (it's free!):
depthperception.longlead.com/p/margaret-s...

Reasons for encouragement, even amid the madness Plus: A report card on 'No Kings' coverage by media large and small

Hope from @sulliview.bsky.social:

"Here are my reasons for believing that journalism can at least help to save democracy, and I am hopeful that better days are ahead for the United States."

open.substack.com/pub/margaret...

📣📣📣 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

Reasons for encouragement, even amid the madness Plus: A report card on 'No Kings' coverage by media large and small

“Can Journalism Help Save Democracy?”

Inspiring piece from @sulliview.bsky.social
who answers “Yes!” to the question:
Hungary - journalists contributed to Orban’s fall by exposing corruption

Epstein - epic investigative journalism by @jkbjournalist.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/margaret...

Go Bills!

"Reasons for encouragement, even amid the madness" writes Margaret Sullivan (@sulliview.bsky.social) for Orban's defeat in Hungary, where independent and investigative journalism played an important role; for the fact that American journalists are prevailing in court against the Trump […]

Always read @normornstein.bsky.social

The Last Supper.

"I'd like to gavel in today's board meeting of the American Medical Association...."

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette announces it has found a buyer to keep the newspaper open Owners of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said they have found a buyer who had agreed to keep the newspaper open, less than a month before it was due to shut down.

The nonprofit that runs the successful, Pulitzer-winning Baltimore Banner is going to take over the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Of all the possible outcomes here, this is likely the best we could have hoped for.

apnews.com/article/pitt...

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette saved from closure by Maryland non-profit

The buyer is the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, the parent company of the nonprofit Baltimore Banner

Reasons for encouragement, even amid the madness Plus: A report card on 'No Kings' coverage by media large and small

Media observer @sulliview.bsky.social says there are reasons for encouragement during these crazy times.

open.substack.com/pub/margaret...

Reasons for encouragement, even amid the madness Plus: A report card on 'No Kings' coverage by media large and small

"Even amid the troubled and chaotic state of American journalism (the weakened Wash Post & CBS News, among many other developments), journalism is doing its essential job." @sulliview.bsky.social

And as in Hungary, indie media is playing a key role.
margaretsullivan.substack.com/p/three-reas...

Pete Hegseth is a disaster of a defense secretary. It’s no surprise | Margaret Sullivan The former Fox host has misled the public, prayed for violence and clashed with the press. This is not a serious military leader

Useful reminder from @sulliview.bsky.social that a key reason Trump picked Hegseth was because more independent Pentagon leaders played a key role in restraining him during his first term, and he wasn't going to make that mistake again. The consequences are dire:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Maybe this is my brand

Pete Hegseth is a disaster of a defense secretary. It’s no surprise | Margaret Sullivan The former Fox host has misled the public, prayed for violence and clashed with the press. This is not a serious military leader

"With his bloodthirsty utterances, his fierce loyalty to Trump and his appalling inability to manage this huge moment in world history, Hegseth is every bit the disaster that anybody sensible could have seen coming," writes @sulliview.bsky.social.

"With his bloodthirsty utterances, his fierce loyalty to Trump and his appalling inability to manage this huge moment in world history, Hegseth is every bit the disaster that anybody sensible could have seen coming.

But, hey, at least every hair is in place." @sulliview.bsky.social

Pete Hegseth is a disaster of a defense secretary. It’s no surprise | Margaret Sullivan The former Fox host has misled the public, prayed for violence and clashed with the press. This is not a serious military leader

I spoke with the great @sulliview.bsky.social about America's Pete Hegseth problem. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

cc: @sulliview.bsky.social