Heather Bryant
@hbcompass.bsky.social
News and information for and with communities. Journalism person, writer, artist, photographer and maker. Co-founder of Tiny News Collective. Building carefully.org Writing at hbcompass.io Managing journalism.wtf She/her
I really hate that when my internet goes down these days my first instinct is to be suspicious, immediately check to see if I still have phone signal, and doing a quick double-check of headlines rather than just "that happens sometimes."
January 4, 2026 at 3:56 PM
I really hate that when my internet goes down these days my first instinct is to be suspicious, immediately check to see if I still have phone signal, and doing a quick double-check of headlines rather than just "that happens sometimes."
Her doing this and me scrolling social media are the same activity.
December 31, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Her doing this and me scrolling social media are the same activity.
Reposted by Heather Bryant
They want slavery . They want it. They want the the world slavery made and are trying to break it down to its coding parts
and the people “fighting” them want the equivalent of benevolent overseer roles because they accept the premise
and the people “fighting” them want the equivalent of benevolent overseer roles because they accept the premise
Great post about generative AI. Happy Holidays. Don't say I never gave you anything. anthonymoser.github.io/writing/ai/h...
December 29, 2025 at 2:05 PM
They want slavery . They want it. They want the the world slavery made and are trying to break it down to its coding parts
and the people “fighting” them want the equivalent of benevolent overseer roles because they accept the premise
and the people “fighting” them want the equivalent of benevolent overseer roles because they accept the premise
I got the best gift from @nws.noaa.gov
A blaring very early Christmas morning flash flood alert that ensured we woke up and checked conditions around us. Functioning public services that keep us all safer every day is exactly what I wanted.
A blaring very early Christmas morning flash flood alert that ensured we woke up and checked conditions around us. Functioning public services that keep us all safer every day is exactly what I wanted.
December 25, 2025 at 6:01 PM
I got the best gift from @nws.noaa.gov
A blaring very early Christmas morning flash flood alert that ensured we woke up and checked conditions around us. Functioning public services that keep us all safer every day is exactly what I wanted.
A blaring very early Christmas morning flash flood alert that ensured we woke up and checked conditions around us. Functioning public services that keep us all safer every day is exactly what I wanted.
Reposted by Heather Bryant
it's taken me a while to put this together. but I hope, if you've never heard of her, or even if you have, this tribute to Alice Wong buoys your heart and gives you a good sense of who this incredible person was. www.coyotemedia.org/remembering-...
Remembering Alice Wong
On the one-month anniversary of her passing, we honor the acclaimed disability justice advocate, writer, shit-talker, and friend to so many.
www.coyotemedia.org
December 15, 2025 at 7:20 PM
it's taken me a while to put this together. but I hope, if you've never heard of her, or even if you have, this tribute to Alice Wong buoys your heart and gives you a good sense of who this incredible person was. www.coyotemedia.org/remembering-...
One of the extremely hard parts of dementia caregiving is that sometimes you can do absolutely everything you can to try to make sure they understand and remember an important decision and discuss and repeat it a a million times...
December 14, 2025 at 8:35 PM
One of the extremely hard parts of dementia caregiving is that sometimes you can do absolutely everything you can to try to make sure they understand and remember an important decision and discuss and repeat it a a million times...
I just want to buy a thing. If it's a good thing and the experience is good, I may want more things. That's it. I do not need and I definitely do not want this many touch points.
![Illustration of fictional inbox with search for sender "The Store" which returns a month's worth of emails with the subject lines: [shopping cart emoji] You left something in your cart, Still thinking about super cool item? [looking emoji], Super cool item is selling fast, [hourglass emoji] don’t miss your chance, [green checkmark emoji] Order #87 confirmed, [folder hands emoji] Thank you for your purchase, Thanks for subscribing to our mailing list [envelope emoji], [magic wand emoji] We’re at work on your order #87, There’s still time to add to your Order #87 [stopwatch emoji], [letter in mailbox emoji] Order #87 shipping soon, [closed mailbox emoji] Order #87 has shipped!, Order #87 will be arriving soon [timer emoji], It’s almost time! [big smiley face emoji] Order #87 arriving tomorrow, Order #87 is out for delivery [box emoji], It’s here! [confetti ball emoji] Order #87 has been delivered, Tell us, did we hit the [target emoji] How did you like Order #87?, Don’t forget to review your order [clipboard emoji], [raised hands emoji] You’ve earned 86 points for Order #87, We’d really appreciate your feedback. [writing hand emoji] Please fill out our..., Follow us on Facebook for 10% [money with wings emoji] off your next order, It’s not too late to tell us how we did [heart hands emoji] on Order #87](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:3rshrck4mqzzyps6neqkl2ah/bafkreiepdsryea3gqhsj3vgvddtsnaps4dgu77hakg6pcgbz5tcxpksbjm@jpeg)
December 14, 2025 at 3:15 PM
I just want to buy a thing. If it's a good thing and the experience is good, I may want more things. That's it. I do not need and I definitely do not want this many touch points.
The thing that really annoys me on a regular basis is that I don't want to be suspicious, cautious, or critical nearly as often as I am and I do look for reasons to be less so but often the more I look, the more reasons I find to be suspicious, cautious, or critical.
December 11, 2025 at 2:15 PM
The thing that really annoys me on a regular basis is that I don't want to be suspicious, cautious, or critical nearly as often as I am and I do look for reasons to be less so but often the more I look, the more reasons I find to be suspicious, cautious, or critical.
There's a difference between "impossible" and "underfunded" and there are many, many conversations that would get a lot more honest—and productive—if people stopped saying "impossible" when "underfunded" is the reality.
December 9, 2025 at 3:48 PM
There's a difference between "impossible" and "underfunded" and there are many, many conversations that would get a lot more honest—and productive—if people stopped saying "impossible" when "underfunded" is the reality.
Reposted by Heather Bryant
Thrilled to announce the publication of our @rooseveltinstitute.org report that uncovers the policy roots of the current crises facing our news, information & communication systems. We argue that media reform must become central to a US pro-democracy movement. rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
The Political Economy of the US Media System: Excavating the Roots of the Present Crisis - Roosevelt Institute
Bilal Baydoun, Shahrzad Shams, and Victor Pickard trace the roots of the US media crisis to decades of deregulation and commercial capture, outlining how consolidation, news deserts, and platform domi...
rooseveltinstitute.org
December 4, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Thrilled to announce the publication of our @rooseveltinstitute.org report that uncovers the policy roots of the current crises facing our news, information & communication systems. We argue that media reform must become central to a US pro-democracy movement. rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
I was excited to try out Coursera now that I get access through school and almost every interesting looking certificate has "learn prompt engineering for this field" in it. I want to learn the actual skills and concepts. Teach me like it's 2020 and I need to know how to actually do the thing myself.
December 2, 2025 at 9:17 PM
I was excited to try out Coursera now that I get access through school and almost every interesting looking certificate has "learn prompt engineering for this field" in it. I want to learn the actual skills and concepts. Teach me like it's 2020 and I need to know how to actually do the thing myself.
Creativity doesn't need to be "democratized" or liberated from "gatekeeping." We are human beings. We are born creative, we just aren't born skilled. The solution for that already exists and human beings have been doing it for millennia. We have to practice.
November 26, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Creativity doesn't need to be "democratized" or liberated from "gatekeeping." We are human beings. We are born creative, we just aren't born skilled. The solution for that already exists and human beings have been doing it for millennia. We have to practice.
Love how every single website I have ever interacted with is currently sending me emails to remind me about their Black Friday sales. Super great experience. This is definitely how being a human being should feel. No notes.
November 24, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Love how every single website I have ever interacted with is currently sending me emails to remind me about their Black Friday sales. Super great experience. This is definitely how being a human being should feel. No notes.
I will never forget the conference reception where someone asked what I was drinking. It was Dr. Pepper in a glass. They actually blocked people from clinking their glass with mine while loudly telling the table not to toast with me because it was bad luck since my drink wasn't alcoholic.
This 👇🏽 is probably the kindest, most considerate thing you can do for anyone in social situations.
And you can always avoid the issue if you say, "we have (list non-alcoholic beverages on hand first, then whatever else)"
Be kind, every chance you get.
And you can always avoid the issue if you say, "we have (list non-alcoholic beverages on hand first, then whatever else)"
Be kind, every chance you get.
Just a little holiday PSA.
Be good to each other. Dad said.
🤟🏼
Be good to each other. Dad said.
🤟🏼
November 24, 2025 at 1:57 PM
I will never forget the conference reception where someone asked what I was drinking. It was Dr. Pepper in a glass. They actually blocked people from clinking their glass with mine while loudly telling the table not to toast with me because it was bad luck since my drink wasn't alcoholic.
People automatically assuming the moment someone posts a piece of information, a thought, or an opinion is the moment the poster learned that piece of information, first had that thought, or formed that opinion makes social media far more tedious than it has to be.
November 24, 2025 at 1:35 PM
People automatically assuming the moment someone posts a piece of information, a thought, or an opinion is the moment the poster learned that piece of information, first had that thought, or formed that opinion makes social media far more tedious than it has to be.
I don't understand how anyone can watch how blatantly Grok is manipulated to answer the way ownership desires it to and then act like the other LLM chatbots couldn't possibly be similarly but less obviously compromised to produce responses in whatever way corporate interests and priorities dictate.
November 23, 2025 at 7:13 PM
I don't understand how anyone can watch how blatantly Grok is manipulated to answer the way ownership desires it to and then act like the other LLM chatbots couldn't possibly be similarly but less obviously compromised to produce responses in whatever way corporate interests and priorities dictate.
Reposted by Heather Bryant
In a special project on extreme cold in prison, 27 PJP contributors in 17 states describe winter behind bars — and the small dignities that could make it more bearable.
What Extreme Cold Feels Like in Prison
Prison writers from across the U.S. describe how cold their prisons get in the winter — and what small dignities could make it more bearable.
prisonjournalismproject.org
November 21, 2025 at 1:50 AM
In a special project on extreme cold in prison, 27 PJP contributors in 17 states describe winter behind bars — and the small dignities that could make it more bearable.
I've been thinking about social media a lot lately and how so much of the interaction I feel like I'm witnessing is oriented around users correcting one another.
www.hbcompass.io/breathe-just...
www.hbcompass.io/breathe-just...
November 20, 2025 at 2:16 PM
I've been thinking about social media a lot lately and how so much of the interaction I feel like I'm witnessing is oriented around users correcting one another.
www.hbcompass.io/breathe-just...
www.hbcompass.io/breathe-just...
I kinda think the tail actually being attached to the fox's body might have been one of the creative limits to keep.
November 18, 2025 at 3:36 PM
I kinda think the tail actually being attached to the fox's body might have been one of the creative limits to keep.
If you are struggling with the current national topic of conversation you are not alone. This is very difficult. It is grueling to hear people treating it like a debate. The coming weeks and months are going to be rough. You are not obligated to witness every update or cruel comment.
November 13, 2025 at 9:49 PM
If you are struggling with the current national topic of conversation you are not alone. This is very difficult. It is grueling to hear people treating it like a debate. The coming weeks and months are going to be rough. You are not obligated to witness every update or cruel comment.
Hey, while we're talking about the absurdity of 50-year mortgages can we also talk about how Medicaid Estate Recovery causes families to lose houses, which represent the only wealth most middle income families are able to build while higher income families have the ability to protect their assets?
November 9, 2025 at 5:08 AM
Hey, while we're talking about the absurdity of 50-year mortgages can we also talk about how Medicaid Estate Recovery causes families to lose houses, which represent the only wealth most middle income families are able to build while higher income families have the ability to protect their assets?
Reposted by Heather Bryant
Call me controversial, but technology that leads vulnerable people into crisis and even holds their hand as they die by suicide should not be endorsed by schools and universities, we should not be giving discounted subscriptions to this monstrous tech to young people AT ALL
The boyfriend of a friend of my son's has spent several weeks in a psych ward due to Chat GPT induced psychosis. He isn't suicidal but AI encouraged him down a toxic and paranoid wormhole until he became completely delusional. Evil stuff.
1.This is not the only known example we know of ChatGPT cheering on a vulnerable young person to die by suicide, this time it is a recent Texas A&M grad
2. Every single university that has invited OpenAI into our midst should be asked to account for their choices.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
2. Every single university that has invited OpenAI into our midst should be asked to account for their choices.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
November 7, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Call me controversial, but technology that leads vulnerable people into crisis and even holds their hand as they die by suicide should not be endorsed by schools and universities, we should not be giving discounted subscriptions to this monstrous tech to young people AT ALL
News orgs that produce good journalism but also publish incendiary, bigoted, and/or offensive "opinion" content because it's lucrative is like a hospital running a gun store in their lobby. You can be in the service of informing people or the business of provocation but tolerance for both is waning.
November 7, 2025 at 5:07 PM
News orgs that produce good journalism but also publish incendiary, bigoted, and/or offensive "opinion" content because it's lucrative is like a hospital running a gun store in their lobby. You can be in the service of informing people or the business of provocation but tolerance for both is waning.
Big "hitting on women and then calling her names after she says no" energy here. The content is worth scraping & sharing but if the rights holder says no, then it's "worthless".
The ubiquity of liars who fail at basic consent in the Gen AI space is part of why I don't want anything to do with it.
The ubiquity of liars who fail at basic consent in the Gen AI space is part of why I don't want anything to do with it.
NEW: Common Crawl, the massive archiver of the web, has gotten cozy with AI companies and is providing paywalled articles for training data. They’re also lying to publishers who have asked for material to be removed. “The robots are people too,” CC’s exec director told us when we asked about this.
The Nonprofit Feeding the Entire Internet to AI Companies
Common Crawl claims to provide a public benefit, but it lies to publishers about its activities.
www.theatlantic.com
November 4, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Big "hitting on women and then calling her names after she says no" energy here. The content is worth scraping & sharing but if the rights holder says no, then it's "worthless".
The ubiquity of liars who fail at basic consent in the Gen AI space is part of why I don't want anything to do with it.
The ubiquity of liars who fail at basic consent in the Gen AI space is part of why I don't want anything to do with it.