Newspapers and newspaper jobs are disappearing

Bad news for all of us

New study: the steady loss of local newspapers and journalists across the country contributes to the nation’s political polarization https://t.co/uu5v4EKqR1
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) January 30, 2019

Newspapers are still shedding on average 1,000 jobs per month – more than mining, steel, fishing and all the beleaguered industries politicians talk about.

The news industry – in all formats – is in crisis. We need sustainable business models for journalism https://t.co/OJccQf7L2f
— Indira Lakshmanan (@Indira_L) January 24, 2019

45% of newspaper journalism jobs have disappeared since 2007.

Digital news outlets had replaced only 18% of those jobs even before recent layoffs at BuzzFeed, HuffPo, Mic, etc.

This isn't just a jobs thing, it's about people not getting basic information they used to. pic.twitter.com/hBV0W52Zxr
— Mike Rosenberg (@ByRosenberg) January 25, 2019

This is a superb thread on the decline of the newspaper industry. I’d add only two (little) notes: 1. Fast home internet connections (approx mid-aughts) helped stomp print circ; 2. Smartphones (beginning ‘07’) drove everyone to mobile. Otherwise, applause, @JeremyLittau! https://t.co/JOqPzO2uhh
— Paul Farhi (@farhip) January 25, 2019

.@mcclatchy emailed 450 employees, about 10 percent of the newspaper chain's staff, offering buyouts. #MiamiHerald https://t.co/Agiy2Ctl8f
— Miami New Times (@MiamiNewTimes) February 1, 2019

Journalism layoffs in just the past month:

HuffPost: 20
BuzzFeed: 250
Vice: 250
Gannett: 400
McClatchy: 450
— Alexander Kaufman (@AlexCKaufman) February 1, 2019

Many black Clemson players did not go to the White House

I agree with them. I wouldn’t go.

Black players from Clemson’s national championship football team said that they declined to visit the White House because of their disdain for Donald Trump’s divisive politics: https://t.co/eh6PB1tUGZ pic.twitter.com/e7v5Ys1pp1
— The Root (@TheRoot) January 29, 2019

Support H. R. 1 for fair elections

Of course, Republicans don’t want to make it easy to vote or end gerrymandering. They need rigged elections.

It really tells you all you need to know about the priorities of Washington Republicans that a bill to make it easier to vote, increase government transparency, get dark money out of politics & empower working people in our elections is met with such disdain. #ForThePeople https://t.co/wl7Ne3z012
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 31, 2019

I testified for many hours in support of #HR1 on behalf of the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights coalition.

It's not the “far left’s sprawling effort to seize more control.”

It’s a critical civil rights bill that will help save our democracy. That shouldn’t be partisan. https://t.co/e7rqlk5fCn
— Vanita Gupta (@vanitaguptaCR) January 30, 2019

"Nothing to me is more revealing of the core pathology of the modern Republican party [than] the way that it sees widening access to the ballot and higher turnout as a threat."

— @chrislhayes on Sen. McConnell's comments on H.R. 1. https://t.co/AenOVpxi0Y
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 31, 2019

Why are Republicans always afraid of making it easier for Americans to vote? 🤔 https://t.co/ZhwTipIW6A
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 30, 2019

Conversely, making it more difficult to vote would be a power grab by which party?🤔https://t.co/QzWPW3VWbw
— Michael McDonald (@ElectProject) January 30, 2019

When you insist that a bill designed to support voting rights for everyone, shine a light on billionaire donors, crack down on lobbyists' influence and protect our elections from foreign interference would just help Democrats, that's a pretty big tell. https://t.co/daXp87DMBo
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) January 30, 2019

#HR1 was introduced in January 2019 by 226 Democrats, including Chairman @RepJerryNadler. #ForthePeopleAct includes a sweeping package of reforms to restore confidence in our democracy. pic.twitter.com/x8pLojlYjb
— House Judiciary Dems (@HouseJudiciary) January 29, 2019

This is a good litmus test. H.R. 1 does a ton of "good government" stuff, e.g. banning partisan gerrymandering and easing voting access, that centrist pundits like Fournier have long explicitly advocated for. But because the bill was introduced by Democrats, they just ignore it. https://t.co/heaZ4eHSQc
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) January 29, 2019

How can there be anything controversial about what I'm saying in this clip? Let's go, America. "It is a disgrace that we compel people to stand in line for 4 hours to exercise their right to vote and participate in the political process." Support #HR1 https://t.co/nlzb31bGhu
— Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sifill_LDF) January 29, 2019

By choosing to prioritize strengthening our democracy, House Democrats are signaling that they are ready to fight the big fights.

Learn more & tell your MoC to co-sponsor #HR1 and pass comprehensive democracy reform #ForThePeople ➡️ https://t.co/1iLEIAkaZS
— Indivisible Guide (@IndivisibleTeam) January 29, 2019

We joined 20 environmental groups in endorsing #HR1 — a set of common-sense reforms to reign in the influence of dark money from polluter interests in our elections.#ForThePeople pic.twitter.com/dnJUMLwr1G
— Friends of the Earth (@foe_us) January 30, 2019

False. #HR1 doesn't change the voting age. What it does is preregister people at 16 — a policy already used in 14 states to make it easier for people to vote when they turn 18.

You clearly haven't even read the bill. You're a congressman, there's no excuse for your ignorance.
— Matthew Chapman (@fawfulfan) January 30, 2019

Since the #CitizensUnited decision, corporations and special interests have controlled politics, and #HR1 is a major chance to bring democracy back #ForThePeople https://t.co/d49aRacVm8
— End Citizens United (@StopBigMoney) January 30, 2019

It’s a historic day as @HouseJudiciary begins hearings on #HR1, a bill that will end corruption and put the power of our democracy right back where it belongs: in the hands of the people.

I’m leading this legislation in the Senate, because the system is broken. We must act. https://t.co/Asr6WkfDNY
— Tom Udall (@SenatorTomUdall) January 29, 2019

Wrong. HR1 fights corruption, restores voting rights, and takes on gerrymandering. This tells you all you need to know about the two parties: Democrats want THE PEOPLE to decide who serves in government. Republicans favor special interests & want to make it harder for you to vote https://t.co/ADtROem55k
— Eric Holder (@EricHolder) January 30, 2019

Meanwhile, Mitch McConnell has vowed to block legislation to get money out of politics, strengthen voting rights, and bolster anti-bribery laws. #HR1 https://t.co/P6My6NLvHH
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) January 29, 2019

Trump and Putin had another meeting without American officials or interpreters

This is disgraceful. Who is Trump working for?

Thanks to the Russians for keeping us informed.

Congress needs to call the interpreter to testify. Given that the FBI suspects that Trump is working for Russia, we need to get to the bottom of this. https://t.co/xSNEpOeYiD
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) January 12, 2019

Why were no U.S. officials present during Trump's latest private meeting with Putin? https://t.co/Amr06N3PeO pic.twitter.com/fGs3ze8Mvy
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) January 30, 2019

FT Exclusive: Donald Trump sat down with Vladimir Putin for an 'informal' conversation at the G20 summit in November — with no translator or note-taker from the US to record the talks between the leaders. https://t.co/DAUUTEhb0r
— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) January 29, 2019

5-star trolling by Kremlin: Not our business to comment on whether Trump had an interpreter; Putin had his, we have complete stability and order. https://t.co/NSmE0ATi1p
— Lucian Kim (@Lucian_Kim) January 30, 2019

Trump would be gone if he ran a private company instead of the government

There is no private company that exists in which 6 associates of the CEO have been indicted and the CEO is still on the job.#WednesdayWisdom https://t.co/P8IE66r9zo

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) January 30, 2019

More bad polls for Trump

Polls continue to be bad for Trump and Republicans. Of course, he lies about them.

“Don’t know how my poll numbers are so good.” We don’t either, Mr. President, @databyler writes https://t.co/b005Mwg7sQ Via @PostOpinions

— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) January 30, 2019

Poll: Majority of Americans say they will "definitely not" vote for Trump's reelection https://t.co/EkuOmxv6xc via @nbcnews

— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) January 30, 2019

U.S. Voters Trust #NancyPelosi More Than #PresidentTrump on Big Issues, Poll Finds; 2-1 Support for No-Wall Border Solution https://t.co/gXwVX7bhqC

— Quinnipiac University Poll (@QuinnipiacPoll) January 29, 2019

Poll: Support for building Trump's border wall drops https://t.co/xl1AVxL7Wr pic.twitter.com/taFeyMil20

— The Hill (@thehill) January 30, 2019

The shutdown has hurt the GOP. Americans viewed the parties equally before the shutdown and now Dems are viewed more favorably than GOP who have dropped 8 points https://t.co/uQw4bQSjDw

— John Anzalone (@JohnAnzo) January 30, 2019

Who came out of shutdown stronger? In @QuinnipiacPoll voters prefer @SpeakerPelosi over Trump on issues that matter to them by 26 points for 18-29; 13 points independents; 11 points college plus whites. Its 80 points among African-Americans & 35 w/Hispanics.

— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) January 29, 2019

"Poll: Voters trust Pelosi more than Trump" #NoMoreShutdowns https://t.co/UUUdI7MlB3

— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) January 30, 2019

Foxconn is not building a factory in Wisconsin

The $10B Wisconsin Foxconn plant Trump touted – like the Harrisburg plant – was NEVER going to be built. It was a lie perpetrated by the company, Trump, Walker and Ryan https://t.co/The23jdtPy
— Ali Velshi (@AliVelshi) January 30, 2019

Trump touted a Foxconn plant that would create 13,000 jobs.

They all lied. The plant may not be built.

The deal cost Wisconsin taxpayers $4.5 billion in subsidies. The town used eminent domain to take people's homes against their will.

Lies cost money. Lies cost lives.
— Nick Jack Pappas (@Pappiness) January 30, 2019

Remember that giant Foxconn deal President Trump celebrated with Scott Walker?

Foxconn says it no longer plans to build a factory in Wisconsin:https://t.co/jj5ITK272M
— Danielle Paquette (@DPAQreport) January 30, 2019

Trump’s lie about women bound with duct tape

What it felt like to be in the Rose Garden today. “The entire extended, violent fantasy involving women bound with duct tape did not appear to be preprogrammed into the teleprompter at all.” ⁦@Olivianuzzi⁩ https://t.co/luPxgwcGvm

— Katie Rogers (@katierogers) January 26, 2019

Perspective: Why does the president keep talking about women and duct tape on the border? https://t.co/Qcp1doJe7v

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 26, 2019

Did @gop @potus @realdonaldTrump Get His Blue Duct Tape and Prayer Rug Border Tales From the 'Sicario' Sequel? https://t.co/DF3w3TmGUd @tommyxtopher @mediaite @foxnews @msnbc @cnn @abc @nbcnews @cbsnews @abcnews @nbc @cbs @usatoday @washingtonpost @nytimes @wsj @thehill @huffpost

— Geoff Ninecow (@geoff9cow) January 30, 2019

"Vox’s source indicated that they and others in their sector hadn’t heard anything that would back up Trump’s claims…"https://t.co/xcynj53xVS

— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) January 29, 2019

Trump is telling his "four women" "duct tape" "backs or cars or trucks" "desert areas" human trafficking tale again. Again, human trafficking experts tells me they've never heard of this happening; just isn't how it usually works. https://t.co/ZQAF6bvbKV

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) January 25, 2019

#Trump is claiming:

1. Mexicans have amazing cars, better than the Border Patrol.

2. Women are crossing border bound up with tape.

3. Prayer rugs left in the desert.

Nobody has found ANY evidence, but all three can be found in #SicarioDayOfTheSoldado a recent fictional movie. pic.twitter.com/FyD6DkS6pF

— John Moffitt (@JohnRMoffitt) January 29, 2019

POTUS also told his tale of duct-taped women again, but in tonight's version there was also electrical tape, and he described it as "blue" at one point, per two attendees. One attendee thought blue was intended as a joke.

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 29, 2019

The NRA-Russia connection

EXCLUSIVE: Emails sent by NRA officials before the now-infamous 2015 trip to Moscow, as well as photos taken during the visit, reveal the gun group’s significant role in arranging the excursion. https://t.co/vSnwmrXmb3

— Pete Madden (@pamadden) January 30, 2019

The NRA is trying to create distance between CEO Wayne LaPierre and the NRA officers who traveled to Moscow in 2015 at the invite of criminal Russian influence agent Maria Butina and Alexander Torshin, when NRA members met with top Putin officials.https://t.co/SwSVwhFHPA

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 30, 2019

As the NRA now tries to distance itself from the 2015 Moscow trip where its leaders spent time with Russian operatives Maria Butina & Alexander Torshin, a reminder that NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch confirmed the trip last year, as I reported here https://t.co/Fn4f8l3luQ @RonWyden

— Mark Follman (@markfollman) January 29, 2019

Trump believes Putin and Kim Jun Un instead of the intelligence agencies

Putin must be thrilled with Trump’s disregard of American intelligence. Trump keeps helping Putin accomplish his goals.

Trump is wrong on Russia, Iran, North Korea and the border with Mexico.

Dear @realDonaldTrump: Here is the written statement submitted by DNI Coates. I suggest you read it. https://t.co/NlKbj5SM0B

His testimony, both in writing and in person, shows that you are lying. https://t.co/7ym2Wajek5
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) January 31, 2019

Your refusal to accept the unanimous assessment of U.S. Intelligence on Iran, No. Korea, ISIS, Russia, & so much more shows the extent of your intellectual bankruptcy. All Americans, especially members of Congress, need to understand the danger you pose to our national security. https://t.co/9iV3BTKiEv
— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) January 30, 2019

The president is trashing his intelligence leaders in response to their decision to tell the truth yesterday.
— Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) January 30, 2019

Trump, believer in the reassurances he receives from Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, calls US intelligence professionals ‘naive’

Ah, 2019.
— Susan Glasser (@sbg1) January 30, 2019

Notice also that the intelligence officials did not repeat Trump’s nonsense about the border with Mexico such as the caravans, women who are taped up and his stupid border wall.

Everything Trump has been doing post-shutdown is to hold on to his base. Blasting intel chiefs on Iran, denying climate change, it's his greatest hits. https://t.co/m8MkpVRgMy
— Chris Matthews (@HardballChris) January 30, 2019

"Perhaps the strongest rebuke of Mr. Trump’s security priorities comes in what is missing from the report: Any rationale for building a wall along the southwest border, which Mr. Trump has advertised as among the most critical security threats facing the United States."
— Tim O'Brien (@TimOBrien) January 29, 2019

One big picture takeaway from this intelligence hearing: There are huge new challenges to the U.S. The president isn't talking about any of them. He's focused on the southern border, which doesn't come up in the threats assessment as a significant security issue.
— Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) January 29, 2019

Now would be a great moment for the President to thank the hard working members of the intelligence community who just delivered an important annual threat briefing.
— Sam Vinograd (@sam_vinograd) January 29, 2019

Let me get this straight:

Trump makes up shit like "ISIS has been defeated" & "North Korea is giving up their nukes."

Then yesterday under oath, Trump's own Intel Chiefs tell the truth about ISIS & North Korea.

So this morning, Trump trashes his own Intel Chiefs.

Normal, huh?
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) January 30, 2019

Turns out the real audience for the intelligence community's new Threat Assessment report is our conspiracy-addled commander in chief: @maxboot https://t.co/8gSFObYSmU
— Jonathan Rauch (@jon_rauch) January 30, 2019