I'm low key worried about journalism
+ Do you pick the top bunk or the bottom bunk?
Good morning my besties!!!! Ok first of all - so stoked that so many of you played Hang Five and could TELL the theme was my choice. BUT if you’re from Europe or the USA then you NEED TO GO AND PLAY TODAY TO SEE MY THEME. It’s updated daily, and I realise that because I live in the future you were seeing the previous day’s game. Sorry about that.
Also - thank you to all the new paying subscribers who’ve joined us in the new year! You’re helping keep me employed, and for that (especially after you read the first story in this newsy) I am eternally grateful. Ughhhh obsessed with you.
Now some tweets that are not reflective of my mental well-being at all:
Love love LOVE you & have a gorge weekend 𓆩♡𓆪
⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ IN THE NEWS⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖
I’m a bit worried about journalism
In 2023 the media industry cut over 20,000 jobs. Last week Pitchfork was folded into GQ. A few days ago Condé Nast workers went on strike. Yesterday the LA Times fired 115 journalists over zoom. Every other week there seems to be a journalist I deeply respect on my Twitter timeline having to inform their mutuals that they’ve been laid off - sometimes laid off again.
I know don’t have to tell you smart newsy reader, who pays for the journalism they love, about how important journalism is to a 🎀functioning society🎀. It’s a no-brainer that we need people holding power to account - especially in an election year - and those people need to be journalists doing deep investigative work and not having to worry about making it go viral, as Taylor Lorenz spoke about in this incredible video:
I’ve always said this, but independent journalists/ commentators/ content creators (like me! I’m self-aware) RELY on the work of others to do their jobs. None of those TikTokers, Instagram pages, YouTube channels, podcasters newsletter writers who give you all your linky-links - whoever it is that you love - would be able to make things make sense for you without someone on the ground reporting it first, and being paid to do so by the legacy outlets that are meant to protect them. We shouldn’t be getting all our news from 10 Instagram slides or 60-second videos on TikTok - and we know this. But (lukewarm take coming) when these legacy media institutions can’t afford to keep entire teams of journalists (despite some of these institutions being owned by literal billionaires) that feels like where we’re heading.
And when they’re gone? Well
summed up my thoughts on this perfectly:
The ICJ is going to deliver an interim ruling on the genocide case against Israel on Friday
If you missed this story I did a big explainer about what this case is about here, but on Friday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will deliver its highly anticipated verdict on South Africa’s request for an interim ruling in its genocide case against Israel.
“The ICJ will not deal with the main question of whether Israel is committing genocide on Friday, but will look at possible emergency measures requested by South Africa to restrain Israel’s actions.”
“The ruling, if granted, would probably take the form of an order to Israel to announce a ceasefire in Gaza and allow more UN humanitarian aid into the country.”
Experts say that a ruling, in this case, could take 3-4 years, and that looking ahead to Friday’s decision they’re “not convinced that they will be willing to go as far as South Africa has asked them to go – the suspension of military activities.”
Read more about what the interim ruling means here!
In other news:
A Captain Cook statue was sawn off and a Queen Victoria monument was defaced in Melbourne on the eve of 26 January
Tom Holland's Avengers bonus sent to Tom Hollander in error
World's first white rhino IVF pregnancy may offer way to save subspecies
Netflix is going to take away its cheapest ad-free plan
New episode of The Shit Show!
This week Squish and I get on the mic to discuss the Chicago rat hole, a fake bomb threat by a teenager on his way to Menorca, and then what this year’s Oscars might look like. There’s also a cameo from Normy in there!
☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★ ON THE WEB ☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★
I just really want you all to read about the nine-month cruise that took over TikTok.
(◔_◔)✓✘ TODAY’S MUNDANE POLL (◔_◔)✓✘
☆Other good shit☆
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I teach a college writing class and this semester the MAJORITY of my students said they get their news from social media bc it's more reliable. We had a LONG talk. Like a long conversation. I can't help but think the whole Fake News thing has had some sort of cascading effect, like a cultural autoimmune disease where the immune system starts attacking the body's essential parts. I hate it and I am also low key worried.
Same!