#Texas Appeals Court Throws Out Defamation Lawsuit Against ProPublica, Houston Chronicle
==

The news outlets’ 2018 investigation into famed #Houston heart surgeon Bud Frazier provided a “fair, true, and impartial account,” the court said in its ruling, potentially bringing a close to the nearly six-year legal battle.

#News #Law #Journalism

https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-appeals-court-dismisses-defamation-suit-propublica-houston-chronicle-frazier

Appeals Court Dismisses Defamation Suit Against ProPublica, Houston Chronicle

The news outlets’ 2018 investigation into famed Houston heart surgeon Bud Frazier provided a “fair, true, and impartial account,” the court said in its ruling, potentially bringing a close to the nearly six-year legal battle.

^ProPublica

Following the NYT closely for over a year now, a picture is emerging:

Biased coverage leads back to the biases of one man, publisher A. G. Sulzberger.

The NYT is resistant to correcting errors.

The NYT relies on its reputation as the paper of record to avoid accountability.

Today on Assigned, a story in Politico, and a peek behind the curtain:

#trans #news #journalism #mediabias

https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/biden-politico-new-york-times-drama

Politico Offers Rare Peek Behind the NYT Curtain

A story in Politico on tensions between the Biden administration and the New York Times contains intriguing hints about A. G. Sulzberger’s role in shaping coverage of Biden and, perhaps, transgender issues.

^{Evan Urquhart (Assigned)}

#US agrees to #withdraw troops from key #drone base in #Niger

The United States agreed Friday to withdraw its more than 1,000 troops from Niger, officials said, upending its posture in #WestAfrica where the country was home to a major drone base.

https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20240420-us-agrees-to-withdraw-troops-from-key-drone-base-in-niger

#Afrika #Afrique #Africa #افريقيا #Géopolitique #Politique #Politics #Journalism #actu #news #GeoPolitics

US agrees to withdraw troops from key drone base in Niger

The United States agreed Friday to withdraw its more than 1,000 troops from Niger, officials said, upending its posture in West Africa where the country was home to a major drone base.

^{NEWS WIRES (FRANCE 24)}

This is not Iran or China. It's Austin, Texas:

#texas #journalism #democracy #fediverse #usa #america #campusprotest #columbia #mit #police

🚨 I2P Is Under DDoS Attack By Zombie Routers

#I2P #networking #infosec #cybersecurity #HumanRights #Journalism #activism #surveillance #Privacy #Sybil #ddos #dos #video #proxy #encryption #crypto #e2ee

Watch In I2P

http://invidious.qwik.i2p/watch?v=XfVdxbtTZ5A

#Peertube

https://tube.tchncs.de/w/fMpkjUnNcaKqPchXUPkgV9

🚨 I2P Under Attack By Zombies! 😮

I2P Network Is Currently Under Heavy DDoS Attack (Distributed Denial Of Service) By Spoofed Routers, Spawning By The Thousands - Some Locations Spinning Up 100+ Routers In A Single Hour. Networks L...

^tchncs

Cops just arrested the Fox 7 reporter live on their own livestream. https://www.youtube.com/live/zDN8GEVSCxs?si=UXWSCyfDJpCbvUJy

#journalism #media #Palestine #Texas #Austin

Palestine college protest: Texas students walk out; state troopers on campus | FOX 7 Austin

Hundreds of University of Texas students walked out of class for a rally organized by the Palestine Solidarity Committee. Hundreds of police officers are als...

^YouTube

The human implications of the climate crisis are stark when bodies start piling up over natural resources. Less apparent is the burden it imposes on day-to-day life, especially those of women.

While South Sudan isn’t in an official war, peace remains dangerously fragile. And it is water—or the lack thereof—that is ominously sowing the seeds of future conflict.

Read this from Ryan Biller who traveled to the region to report.

#Journalism #climatechange #sudan

https://www.damemagazine.com/2024/04/23/sudans-water-crisis/

What the Western World Should Understand About Sudan’s Water Crisis

The scorching hot temperatures and evaporating water levels in the war-torn African nation is a warning for our collective climate future.

^{Ryan Biller (Dame Magazine)}

Questioning resumed.

#Pecker says of his time at The #NationalEnquirer: "We used checkbook #journalism, & we paid for stories.”

#Steinglass asked him whether he had "final say" over editorial decisions. Pecker said anything >$10k had to be approved by him.

Pecker said in his experience, the only thing that's important "is the cover" of a magazine.

#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney

#Colangelo describes “#CatchAndKill scheme, in which #NationalEnquirer bought stories that were problems for #Trump & buried them.
NOT NORMAL #journalism

Colangelo describes some NE headlines that helped Trump's 2016 #campaign, embarrassing campaign opponents incl’g #TedCruz & #MarcoRubio.
Prosecutors are limited to the HEADLINES per #Sandoval. They go to Trump’s #intent: to #influence the election by promoting negative stories about others & suppressing those about himself.

#law #TrumpTrial

“#CatchAndKill” is a term coined by old-time #tabloid editors for buying the exclusive rights to stories, or “catching” them, for the specific purpose of ensuring the info never becomes public.

In the world of #tabloid #journalism, where ethical lines are blurry, deciding what to publish & why is often a calculus that covers #favors doled out & #chits called in.

#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/22/nyregion/trump-catch-and-kill.html?smid=url-share

I am not fond of David Brooks, but I certainly understand why he finds the Cass Report so compelling.

For cisgender people who have no pre-existing knowledge, it's really a perfect document. It is completely decorous while implying that there are too many trans people and efforts should be made to limit their numbers.#trans #transgender #news #journalism #newyorktimes

https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/david-brooks-hilary-cass-empathy-transgender

62-year-old Cisgender Man Declares Hilary Cass Empathetic

David Brooks is not qualified to judge this, or anything else, about transgender healthcare.

^{Evan Urquhart (Assigned)}

Today I've done something I've never done before and written in direct criticism of another trans writer.

Andrea Long Chu, in my opinion, is dangerously undermining the fight for access to transition in the guise of defending trans people's right to do it.

#trans #transgender #science #medicine #journalism

https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/andrea-long-chu-gender-affirming-care-youth-freedom

In Defense of the Medical Model for Trans Healthcare

Andrea Long Chu thinks libertarianism will save the trans community. That’s bonkers.

^{Evan Urquhart (Assigned)}

Ukrainian journalists say state #security spied on them

Source: https://www.politico.eu/article/ukrainian-investigative-journalists-uncover-state-security-service-spying-on-them-sbu-bihus-info/

#sbu #spy #news #media #press #freedom #journalism #justice #politics #hunanrights

Ukrainian journalists say state security spied on them

SBU used some 30 officers to wiretap media outlet.

^{Veronika Melkozerova (POLITICO)}

Was responding to someone #onhere and thought: "Wait I should tell everybody that."

Did you know @gbhnews is one of the very few newsrooms in the country with a reporter specifically covering the #disability beat?

Her name is Meghan Smith and you can see her excellent work right here: https://www.wgbh.org/people/meghan-smith #journalism

Meghan Smith

Senior Producer, writing, editing and producing local news. Feedback? Questions? Story ideas? Reach out to Meghan at meghan_smith@wgbh.org.

^GBH

#Democracy Dies Behind #Paywalls

Source: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/04/paywall-problems-media-trust-democracy/678032/

This is satire, isn't it?

#media #capitalism #economy #journalism #press #freedom #politics #news #problem #money

Democracy Dies Behind Paywalls

The case for making journalism free—at least during the 2024 election

^{Richard Stengel (The Atlantic)}

I've held off publishing anything on the Cass Report until today because I didn't want any of the coverage on Assigned to be based on partial or second-hand knowledge.

There will be more to come, but my first entry into reporting on this divisive, emotional, and politically charged Report just seeks to give people a basic understanding of what the heck is in the thing. #trans #transgender #news #science #journalism

https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/whats-in-the-cass-report

What’s in the Cass Report?

The final report of the Cass Review of gender-affirming care for youth is being taken as vindication from anti-trans activists.

^{Evan Urquhart (Assigned)}

X’s #Community Notes is Spreading False Information About #TaylorSwift’s #Bodyguard

Source: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2023/10/20/xs-community-notes-is-spreading-false-information-about-taylor-swifts-bodyguard/

The original tweet from the State of #Israel’s official account has received more than 53 million views. At the time of this writing, the first Community Note containing the false information about Swift’s bodyguard had over 650,000 views and the second one, which is still public, has over 1.4 million views. Taken together, this appears to show how lots of people can be shown Community Notes which do not add clarification but, in fact, add falsehoods to a post.

#news #fake #propaganda #problem #journalism #press

X’s Community Notes is Spreading False Information About Taylor Swift’s Bodyguard - bellingcat

Social media platform X’s Community Notes is spreading false information about Taylor Swift’s Bodyguard.

^{Bellingcat Investigation Team (bellingcat)}

AURE FREE PRESS EXTRA!

"Who is Stormy Daniels?"

With Trump's criminal hush money trial beginning on Monday, let's learn more about the woman at the center of it - Stormy Daniels.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is a prominent figure in the adult entertainment....

190+ Article Library!
Exclusive, in-depth Content!

"News Happens Here First"
- Aure

#AureFreePress #Mastodon #News #Journalism #Journalist #news #Breaking #BreakingNews

https://www.patreon.com/Free_Press_Forever

Kara Swisher styles herself as a thorn in the tech industry’s side. The reality is she’s one of its biggest boosters.

This week on #TechWontSaveUs, I talked to Ed Ongweso Jr. about Swisher’s true legacy and the deeper problems with tech journalism.

https://techwontsave.us/episode/216_kara_swisher_shows_tech_journalisms_flaws_w_edward_ongweso_jr

#tech #journalism #media

As a reporter, I've followed the science of gender-affirming care from before the current political moment. I have always committed to following the evidence, whether I like it or don't like it.

Today on Assigned, I've published a piece by a freelancer who did her master's on the informed consent model of gender affirming treatment. She wrote us a digest version.

The narrative is the narrative. The evidence tells another story. #trans #science #news #journalism

https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/informed-consent-what-does-evidence-tell-us

The Evidence Supports Informed Consent

Two models of gender-affirming care provision are currently in conflict. What does the research say?

^Assigned

"But a few months in, his supervisor started calling him 'boy.' Keys heard white coworkers use the N-word and call people 'monkey.' There was a swastika drawn with a black marker near where he clocked in to work every day."

For The Nation, Bryce Covert reports on Tesla's racist and sexist work environment:
@brycecovert @thenation https://www.thenation.com/article/society/tesla-racism-sexual-harassment/

#Longreads #Journalism #Reporting #Tesla #Racism #Discrimination #Work #Labor #Fremont

The Toxic Culture at Tesla | The Nation

The factory floors at America’s top seller of electric vehicles are rife with racial harassment, sexual abuse, and injuries on the job.

^{The Nation}

We were fascinated by the work of Liv Raisner, who took a hidden camera into exploratory therapy sessions.

In an interview we asked Liv how the videos came about, what it was like in the room, and what we need to know about these dodgy practitioners. #trans #news #journalism

https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/gender-exploration-therapy-conversion-therapy-liv-raisner

Liv Raisner Went Undercover With an Anti-Trans Quack Therapist

Gender exploratory therapy is the newest face of conversion therapy. A trans investigator went undercover to share an inside look at the tactics used by its manipulative providers.

^{Evan Urquhart (Assigned)}

In the latest update, The preliminary hearing is on Monday at the United Nations’ top court, in a case that seeks an end of German military and other aid to Israel, based on claims that Berlin is “facilitating” acts of genocide and breaches of international law in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

https://globalnews.ca/news/10408098/un-court-hearing-germany-israel-hamas-conflict/

#news #journalism #press #humanrights #genocide #mastodonindians #arms

UN court to hold hearings in case accusing Germany of facilitating Israel conflict

The case is based on claims that Berlin is “facilitating” acts of genocide and breaches of international law in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

^{The Associated Press (Global News)}

This week saw major media organizations once again publishing embarrassing stories that either didn’t mention Elon Musk’s far-right politics or both-sides’d it. It needs to stop.

I discuss that along with the usual recommend reads and more in the Roundup!

https://disconnect.blog/roundup-how-is-the-media-still-doing-this/

#tech #elonmusk #media #journalism

Roundup: How is the media still doing this?

Read to the end for an update on the road safety crisis in the US

^{Paris Marx (Disconnect)}

When #security matters: working with #Qubes OS at the #Guardian

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/info/2024/apr/04/when-security-matters-working-with-qubes-os-at-the-guardian

Configuring a Qubes workstation was a new challenge for the team as we abandoned years of experience writing Infrastructure as Code for the cloud and started learning how to write #Salt #configuration. Salt (also know as SaltStack) is a management engine available by default in Qubes.

#cybersecurity #news #journalism #linux #technology #software #securedrop

When security matters: working with Qubes OS at the Guardian

The latest version of the whistleblowing platform SecureDrop runs on the Qubes operating system. At the Guardian we used the Salt management engine to set up a Qubes environment where journalists could safely interrogate sensitive documents.

^{Philip McMahon (The Guardian)}

"For decades, #tech #journalism and criticism has primarily consisted of glowing gadget reviews, laudatory profiles, and reprinted press releases, all of it colored by Silicon Valley’s self-aggrandizing vision of itself as a laboratory of a brighter future."

https://thebaffler.com/latest/the-miseducation-of-kara-swisher-ongweso

The Miseducation of Kara Swisher | Edward Ongweso Jr.

Kara Swisher made a career of dumbing down tech reporting and criticism. She’s a little sorry!

^{Zachariah Webb (The Baffler)}

It was a real mystery, and required hours of reporting, but we found it.

The source of claims that a new Scottish hate crime law would jail people for misgendering a trans person turned out to be...

...the UK press. They made it up. Completely. #trans #news #journalism #mediabias

Full story here, including a transcript of a BBC Radio 4 program that proves the press shenanigains:

https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/rowling-misgendering-hate-crime-scotland

No One Ever Said J. K. Rowling Might Be Jailed for Misgendering

A BBC Radio 4 interview with Scottish MP Siobhian Brown was misrepresented in the UK press, then J. K. Rowling went on a transphobic tear, then Caitlyn Jenner amplified the misinformation, and now we’re doing a story on it.

^{Evan Urquhart (Assigned)}

I have to admit, I did not expect the nonstory that #TDOV happened to fall on Easter this year to become an all-consuming conservative obsession approaching the level of last year's nonstory that Dylan Mulvaney did an Instagram spot with Budweiser.

What this is about - what all of these stories are ultimately about - is an attempt to terrorize the #transgender community out of public life. #news #journalism

More here:

https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/easter-sunday-biden-christian-nationalism

Christian Nationalists Claim Ownership of Easter’s Month of Sundays

Wall-to-wall coverage of the convergence of Trans Day of Visibility sends an authoritarian message that dissenters to Christian nationalist totalitarianism will not be tolerated.

^{Evan Urquhart (Assigned)}

Over the weekend @ernie at @tedium published a great article looking at how we can make real-time journalism on the Fediverse work.

As a part of this, Ernie sat down and talked about how Newsmast wants to support journalism on the Fediverse with @FreddieJ

If you've got five minutes whilst you grab a coffee or make your commute, we recommend checking this one out; it's a really thoughtful piece. You can see it here: https://tedium.co/2024/03/30/real-time-journalism-fediverse-newsmast/

#newsmast #mastodon #fediverse #tech #journalism

Can Real-Time Journalism Make A Fediverse Comeback?

A decade ago, real-time social news coverage was a machine that simply worked. With our recent social media disarray, it feels broken. Can it be fixed?

^{Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet.}

There's one word conspicuous in its absence in these articles about an Australian aid worker killed in Gaza. The killer.

#Israel

#journalism #auspol

Assuming you were a #whistleblower and wanted to remain #anonymous, how would you #contact the #press?

Everything that is not encrypted is wiretapped and even if it is encrypted, the metadata is analyzed. Are there any secure, anonymous communication channels left in the digital age?

#question #journalism #leak #communication #security #surveillance #privacy #internet #encryption #messenger

Aure Free Press Extra!

"The Unwritten Article"

Being a journalist can be life-threatening work - especially if you are based overseas in an unfriendly country like Russia.

Why do they do it? Because it's in their blood. It's their calling.

The Wall Street Journal came...

180+ Articles!
Exclusive, in-depth Content!

"Welcome to Your Extra Channel!"
- Aure

#AureFreePress #Mastodon #News #Journalism #Journalist #news #Breaking #Ukraine #Russia #Putin #BreakingNews

https://www.patreon.com/Free_Press_Forever

Get more from Aure Free Press 'Extra' on Patreon

News Happens Here First!

^Patreon

“The real solution to the local #news crisis needs to come from the bottom up – from folks at the community level who decide to take their news and information needs into their own hands.”

Local #journalism doesn’t need big nationwide philanthropic programs like Press Forward so much as it needs local journalism #entrepreneurs who know what their community needs and see local #journalism as a worthy investment.

By @dankennedy_nu:
https://theconversation.com/community-based-entrepreneurs-are-leading-the-way-in-solving-the-local-news-crisis-224589
#news #business #media

Community-based entrepreneurs are leading the way in solving the local news crisis

As digital news pioneers observed, ‘local doesn’t scale.’ Any solution to the local news crisis is going to involve reporters and editors who are creative and smart about what works for their readers.

^{The Conversation}