Eric Falquero
@ericfalquero.bsky.social
DC community journalist: ericfalquero[at]51st[dot]news.
Co-founder of the worker-led nonprofit @51st.news 📰. Past professional lives at WAMU/DCist and Street Sense Media.
Appalachian, Llanito, bird nerd 🦅, @footballclubgroup.com member / owner / fan ⚽
Co-founder of the worker-led nonprofit @51st.news 📰. Past professional lives at WAMU/DCist and Street Sense Media.
Appalachian, Llanito, bird nerd 🦅, @footballclubgroup.com member / owner / fan ⚽
Reposted by Eric Falquero
We’re ready to strike for a fair contract after fighting for job security, a fair disciplinary process, wages that reflect the value of our work and clear guardrails around AI for more than two years. www.propublicaguild.org/updates/the-...
The ProPublica Guild is Ready to Strike for a Fair Contract — ProPublica Guild
The ProPublica Guild is prepared to strike. We have shown up and compromised at the bargaining table for more than two years, but our newsroom’s management has slow-walked negotiations , offering w...
www.propublicaguild.org
February 5, 2026 at 5:34 PM
We’re ready to strike for a fair contract after fighting for job security, a fair disciplinary process, wages that reflect the value of our work and clear guardrails around AI for more than two years. www.propublicaguild.org/updates/the-...
Reposted by Eric Falquero
Anyone know how we can reach her?
MacKenzie Scott has the chance to do the funniest thing right now.
February 4, 2026 at 3:51 PM
Anyone know how we can reach her?
Reposted by Eric Falquero
If you live in the DC area, you should definitely do this
6/ The Post has lost over 375,000 subscribers in just over a year. If 10% of those readers subscribed to The 51st instead, we could hire 10 reporters and five editors, dramatically scaling our coverage of the city at this critical time. 51st.news/signup
Join The 51st
The 51st is a worker-led nonprofit news source for D.C. Our reporting is rooted in our conviction that local journalism is meant to make people’s lives better — no paywalls, ever. But that's only…
51st.news
February 4, 2026 at 7:27 PM
If you live in the DC area, you should definitely do this
Reposted by Eric Falquero
Anyone got grant-sized money they’ve been looking to find a home for? This would be an amazing opportunity for everyone.
8/ This is also a chance to take a big swing. Do you want to create local journalism jobs in D.C.? Or know someone who has the money to? We want to be the place to do it. Please reach out. hello@51st.news
February 4, 2026 at 7:24 PM
Anyone got grant-sized money they’ve been looking to find a home for? This would be an amazing opportunity for everyone.
Reposted by Eric Falquero
Been meaning to do this for a while, just signed up. Everyone should have legitimate local news reporting
6/ The Post has lost over 375,000 subscribers in just over a year. If 10% of those readers subscribed to The 51st instead, we could hire 10 reporters and five editors, dramatically scaling our coverage of the city at this critical time. 51st.news/signup
Join The 51st
The 51st is a worker-led nonprofit news source for D.C. Our reporting is rooted in our conviction that local journalism is meant to make people’s lives better — no paywalls, ever. But that's only…
51st.news
February 4, 2026 at 7:37 PM
Been meaning to do this for a while, just signed up. Everyone should have legitimate local news reporting
Reposted by Eric Falquero
Sickened by today's layoffs at The Washington Post. Journalism is essential.
Sharing this thread from a non-profit outlet covering DC news. Our democracy, and our communities, need work like this to succeed.
Sharing this thread from a non-profit outlet covering DC news. Our democracy, and our communities, need work like this to succeed.
🧵 1/ We’re devastated about the layoffs at The Washington Post, which are gutting D.C. reporting. These journalists are an incalculable loss for our city. The 51st’s mission has always felt urgent, but now we know it needs to kick into high gear.
February 4, 2026 at 7:33 PM
Sickened by today's layoffs at The Washington Post. Journalism is essential.
Sharing this thread from a non-profit outlet covering DC news. Our democracy, and our communities, need work like this to succeed.
Sharing this thread from a non-profit outlet covering DC news. Our democracy, and our communities, need work like this to succeed.
Reposted by Eric Falquero
There are a lot of things we can't control. But we can do a little bit to control whether local news gets funded, and by whom. This is a terrific newborn outlet. Please support them!
🧵 1/ We’re devastated about the layoffs at The Washington Post, which are gutting D.C. reporting. These journalists are an incalculable loss for our city. The 51st’s mission has always felt urgent, but now we know it needs to kick into high gear.
February 4, 2026 at 7:41 PM
There are a lot of things we can't control. But we can do a little bit to control whether local news gets funded, and by whom. This is a terrific newborn outlet. Please support them!
Reposted by Eric Falquero
Do you think DC needs journalists covering local DC news? Subscribe to @51st.news!
🧵 1/ We’re devastated about the layoffs at The Washington Post, which are gutting D.C. reporting. These journalists are an incalculable loss for our city. The 51st’s mission has always felt urgent, but now we know it needs to kick into high gear.
February 4, 2026 at 7:41 PM
Do you think DC needs journalists covering local DC news? Subscribe to @51st.news!
Reposted by Eric Falquero
Please, if you have the means, consider doing this. We will have to rebuild the trustworthy news media as we once knew it, and doing so means supporting fiercely independent outlets with our money as well as our clicks.
6/ The Post has lost over 375,000 subscribers in just over a year. If 10% of those readers subscribed to The 51st instead, we could hire 10 reporters and five editors, dramatically scaling our coverage of the city at this critical time. 51st.news/signup
Join The 51st
The 51st is a worker-led nonprofit news source for D.C. Our reporting is rooted in our conviction that local journalism is meant to make people’s lives better — no paywalls, ever. But that's only…
51st.news
February 4, 2026 at 7:40 PM
Please, if you have the means, consider doing this. We will have to rebuild the trustworthy news media as we once knew it, and doing so means supporting fiercely independent outlets with our money as well as our clicks.
Reposted by Eric Falquero
I subscribe to The 51st and you should too! We've got a long way to go to replace The Washington Post as the area's leading news source but these hardworking folks are putting in the work!
6/ The Post has lost over 375,000 subscribers in just over a year. If 10% of those readers subscribed to The 51st instead, we could hire 10 reporters and five editors, dramatically scaling our coverage of the city at this critical time. 51st.news/signup
Join The 51st
The 51st is a worker-led nonprofit news source for D.C. Our reporting is rooted in our conviction that local journalism is meant to make people’s lives better — no paywalls, ever. But that's only…
51st.news
February 4, 2026 at 7:53 PM
I subscribe to The 51st and you should too! We've got a long way to go to replace The Washington Post as the area's leading news source but these hardworking folks are putting in the work!
Reposted by Eric Falquero
Just another of waking up and being angry at what's going on by noon. As the news of what's happening at the Post spreads, a really great way to funnel that anger is to local reporting efforts getting up off the ground. 51st.news/membership/.
This sounds familiar... 🤔 But growing a newsroom from the ground up takes time and money — and frankly, we need way more resources than we have now to fill this massive gap.
You can help us build the newsroom D.C. deserves: 51st.news/signup
You can help us build the newsroom D.C. deserves: 51st.news/signup
February 4, 2026 at 8:21 PM
Just another of waking up and being angry at what's going on by noon. As the news of what's happening at the Post spreads, a really great way to funnel that anger is to local reporting efforts getting up off the ground. 51st.news/membership/.
Reposted by Eric Falquero
The 51st is great and anybody who cares about news in DC should subscribe
6/ The Post has lost over 375,000 subscribers in just over a year. If 10% of those readers subscribed to The 51st instead, we could hire 10 reporters and five editors, dramatically scaling our coverage of the city at this critical time. 51st.news/signup
Join The 51st
The 51st is a worker-led nonprofit news source for D.C. Our reporting is rooted in our conviction that local journalism is meant to make people’s lives better — no paywalls, ever. But that's only…
51st.news
February 4, 2026 at 10:55 PM
The 51st is great and anybody who cares about news in DC should subscribe
Reposted by Eric Falquero
We might not like their owner, but we know how vital The Post’s reporting is, especially for local coverage. Slashing the metro desk from 40 to 12 will have massive impacts. You can read more here about how we’re hoping to show up for D.C. following this devastating news. 51st.news/dc-bezos-was...
DC local news deserves better than Jeff Bezos
Help us build our local newsroom, by D.C. for D.C.
51st.news
February 5, 2026 at 4:57 PM
We might not like their owner, but we know how vital The Post’s reporting is, especially for local coverage. Slashing the metro desk from 40 to 12 will have massive impacts. You can read more here about how we’re hoping to show up for D.C. following this devastating news. 51st.news/dc-bezos-was...
Reposted by Eric Falquero
The $1.65 million a day spent on the National Guard deployment is about $600 million annualized. For comparison, the approved FY26 budget for Economic Security Services, which includes TANF, is $305 million.
February 9, 2026 at 3:56 PM
The $1.65 million a day spent on the National Guard deployment is about $600 million annualized. For comparison, the approved FY26 budget for Economic Security Services, which includes TANF, is $305 million.
Reposted by Eric Falquero
What I like about independent, worker-owned, reader-funded, and COMMUNITY-ACCOUNTABLE media is not just the willingness to show solidarity with journalists elsewhere, but transforming the practice of journalism as a grassroots effort juxtaposed to "every man for himself" competition and profits.
Today, our newsletter will be in your inbox later than usual. We're standing in solidarity with the journalists at The Washington Post. We hope to see you out there. Here are some other ways you can show support:
February 9, 2026 at 4:25 PM
What I like about independent, worker-owned, reader-funded, and COMMUNITY-ACCOUNTABLE media is not just the willingness to show solidarity with journalists elsewhere, but transforming the practice of journalism as a grassroots effort juxtaposed to "every man for himself" competition and profits.
Reposted by Eric Falquero
I just became a p aid subscriber. If you can, please join me. Consider it lighting a candle rather than cursing the darkness...in which democracy dies.
6/ The Post has lost over 375,000 subscribers in just over a year. If 10% of those readers subscribed to The 51st instead, we could hire 10 reporters and five editors, dramatically scaling our coverage of the city at this critical time. 51st.news/signup
Join The 51st
The 51st is a worker-led nonprofit news source for D.C. Our reporting is rooted in our conviction that local journalism is meant to make people’s lives better — no paywalls, ever. But that's only…
51st.news
February 6, 2026 at 6:27 PM
I just became a p aid subscriber. If you can, please join me. Consider it lighting a candle rather than cursing the darkness...in which democracy dies.
Reposted by Eric Falquero
The cuts at the @washingtonpost.com are shameful, damaging to democracy, and bad for the District as a community.
If you know this and are mad about it...do something. Subscribe to the @51st.news. We can rebuild a media landscape that actually serves our community.
51st.news/membership/
If you know this and are mad about it...do something. Subscribe to the @51st.news. We can rebuild a media landscape that actually serves our community.
51st.news/membership/
Join The 51st
The 51st is a worker-led nonprofit news source for D.C. Our reporting is rooted in our conviction that local journalism is meant to make people’s lives better — no paywalls, ever. But that's only poss...
51st.news
February 6, 2026 at 4:00 PM
The cuts at the @washingtonpost.com are shameful, damaging to democracy, and bad for the District as a community.
If you know this and are mad about it...do something. Subscribe to the @51st.news. We can rebuild a media landscape that actually serves our community.
51st.news/membership/
If you know this and are mad about it...do something. Subscribe to the @51st.news. We can rebuild a media landscape that actually serves our community.
51st.news/membership/
Reposted by Eric Falquero
This February marks the 100th anniversary of Negro History Week, the predecessor to Black History Month.
@bgexploredc.bsky.social has curated a month-long calendar of events for you to check out across the city:
@bgexploredc.bsky.social has curated a month-long calendar of events for you to check out across the city:
Your guide to Black History Month in D.C.
Whether you feel contemplative or festive, solemn or uplifted, this is your guide to what’s happening in February 2026 across the District.
51st.news
February 8, 2026 at 8:00 PM
This February marks the 100th anniversary of Negro History Week, the predecessor to Black History Month.
@bgexploredc.bsky.social has curated a month-long calendar of events for you to check out across the city:
@bgexploredc.bsky.social has curated a month-long calendar of events for you to check out across the city:
Reposted by Eric Falquero
If you want any chance of DC news coverage, subscribe to @51st.news !!!
Help us be the newsroom D.C. deserves: 51st.news/dc-bezos-was...
DC local news deserves better than Jeff Bezos
Help us build our local newsroom, by D.C. for D.C.
51st.news
February 5, 2026 at 5:38 AM
If you want any chance of DC news coverage, subscribe to @51st.news !!!
Reposted by Eric Falquero
NEWS: Today @janeese4dc.bsky.social unveiled details on her pledge to make child care in D.C. — amongst the most expensive in the country — affordable and universal. There's no promise of free child care like in NYC, and she will face fiscal headwinds. In @51st.news: 51st.news/janeese-lewi...
Janeese Lewis George wants affordable child care for DC
It’s not free, and her plan faces fiscal challenges.
51st.news
February 6, 2026 at 4:55 PM
NEWS: Today @janeese4dc.bsky.social unveiled details on her pledge to make child care in D.C. — amongst the most expensive in the country — affordable and universal. There's no promise of free child care like in NYC, and she will face fiscal headwinds. In @51st.news: 51st.news/janeese-lewi...
Reposted by Eric Falquero
These federal buildings have cells designed to hold a few people for a brief period; like a holding cell at a police station. Supposed to be 12 hours max, usually less.
People are being held in them for 7-10 days, jammed in like sardines. It’s a nightmare.
People are being held in them for 7-10 days, jammed in like sardines. It’s a nightmare.
Concentration camps: stories of as many as 50 people to a cell — men and women in some cases — with no windows and limited airflow, a single camera-monitored toilet, aluminum blankets, no showers and poor quality food.
ICE detainees from Maine being held under ‘inhumane’ conditions in Mass. facility, attorneys say
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson said the allegations of overcrowding and lack of access to lawyers are false.
www.pressherald.com
February 7, 2026 at 2:55 PM
These federal buildings have cells designed to hold a few people for a brief period; like a holding cell at a police station. Supposed to be 12 hours max, usually less.
People are being held in them for 7-10 days, jammed in like sardines. It’s a nightmare.
People are being held in them for 7-10 days, jammed in like sardines. It’s a nightmare.
Reposted by Eric Falquero
When I check on the British politics page for @the-independent.com, my politics reporter colleagues are all Epstein all the time (as they should be). But in the U.S., the closest thing to accountability is... Bill Clinton testifying before Congress.
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
The Epstein scandal is taking down Europe’s political class. In the US, they’re getting a pass.
As Europe moves to address its shame, it’s highlighting the comparative lack of accountability in the U.S.
www.politico.com
February 7, 2026 at 4:04 PM
When I check on the British politics page for @the-independent.com, my politics reporter colleagues are all Epstein all the time (as they should be). But in the U.S., the closest thing to accountability is... Bill Clinton testifying before Congress.
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
Reposted by Eric Falquero
Billionaires like Bezos and Trump have no real interest in a free press — particularly when massive profits are on the line.
The Bloodbath at Washington Post Is All Jeff Bezos’s Fault
Billionaires like Bezos have no real use for the free press, particularly when it runs the risk of alienating Donald Trump.
theintercept.com
February 7, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Billionaires like Bezos and Trump have no real interest in a free press — particularly when massive profits are on the line.
"The three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling finding that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem exceeded her authority when she ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans last year." via @prismreports.org
prismreports.org/2026/02/02/t...
prismreports.org/2026/02/02/t...
Trump admin illegally stripped TPS for Venezuelan immigrants, court rules
The decision comes as advocates say government’s justification for military action contradicts claim that Venezuela is safe enough to end TPS
prismreports.org
February 6, 2026 at 5:57 PM
"The three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling finding that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem exceeded her authority when she ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans last year." via @prismreports.org
prismreports.org/2026/02/02/t...
prismreports.org/2026/02/02/t...
Reposted by Eric Falquero
📬 This week's newsletter:
✊ Solidarity with Washington Post journalists
🗳️ How candidates say they'd have handled the snowstorm
🥊 The D.C. Council lawyers up against Mayor Bowser
📆 What to do during Black History Month
Get the next edition in your inbox: www.51st.news/signup
✊ Solidarity with Washington Post journalists
🗳️ How candidates say they'd have handled the snowstorm
🥊 The D.C. Council lawyers up against Mayor Bowser
📆 What to do during Black History Month
Get the next edition in your inbox: www.51st.news/signup
The news doesn't stop — and neither do we
Candidates for D.C. office weigh in on the snowstorm response, the council lawyers up against Mayor Bowser, and more.
51st.news
February 5, 2026 at 7:31 PM
📬 This week's newsletter:
✊ Solidarity with Washington Post journalists
🗳️ How candidates say they'd have handled the snowstorm
🥊 The D.C. Council lawyers up against Mayor Bowser
📆 What to do during Black History Month
Get the next edition in your inbox: www.51st.news/signup
✊ Solidarity with Washington Post journalists
🗳️ How candidates say they'd have handled the snowstorm
🥊 The D.C. Council lawyers up against Mayor Bowser
📆 What to do during Black History Month
Get the next edition in your inbox: www.51st.news/signup