Melanie Sill
@melaniesill.bsky.social
Board chair, @NCLocal nonpartisan local news hub. Former top editor News & Observer, SacBee, KPCC/LAist. Posting on journalism and stuff people in NC might want to know about, look for #HeadsUpNC tag.
Reposted by Melanie Sill
Some news: tomorrow at 9am, Ted Koppel + CBS Sunday Morning will air a two-part story on the devastating surge of full-time workers being pushed into homelessness.
I'll be interviewed along with two families from There Is No Place for Us. It would mean a lot if you'd watch and help spread the word.
I'll be interviewed along with two families from There Is No Place for Us. It would mean a lot if you'd watch and help spread the word.
November 15, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Some news: tomorrow at 9am, Ted Koppel + CBS Sunday Morning will air a two-part story on the devastating surge of full-time workers being pushed into homelessness.
I'll be interviewed along with two families from There Is No Place for Us. It would mean a lot if you'd watch and help spread the word.
I'll be interviewed along with two families from There Is No Place for Us. It would mean a lot if you'd watch and help spread the word.
There is really not much here, either in subject or reporting. But by playing it so prominently, and in the way the piece and headline are written, the NYT embarrasses itself
November 14, 2025 at 6:43 PM
There is really not much here, either in subject or reporting. But by playing it so prominently, and in the way the piece and headline are written, the NYT embarrasses itself
Reposted by Melanie Sill
Asheboro has discharged a likely carcinogen 1,4-dioxane at levels of 651 ppb into the drinking water supply. That's 18,000+ times the EPA's health advisory goal. Yet NC's Enviro Mgmt Commission refuses to regulate it in surface water
November 14, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Asheboro has discharged a likely carcinogen 1,4-dioxane at levels of 651 ppb into the drinking water supply. That's 18,000+ times the EPA's health advisory goal. Yet NC's Enviro Mgmt Commission refuses to regulate it in surface water
The @washingtonpost.com "Editorial Board" opinions anymore are just rants. They don't reflect original research or reporting, and definitely don't point to solutions or provide insight. Instead, they read like a cranky conservative relative's outbursts of frustration. What a waste.
November 8, 2025 at 1:08 PM
The @washingtonpost.com "Editorial Board" opinions anymore are just rants. They don't reflect original research or reporting, and definitely don't point to solutions or provide insight. Instead, they read like a cranky conservative relative's outbursts of frustration. What a waste.
Reposted by Melanie Sill
What happened, @nytimes.com? Why not stand by your original headline? Because it’s absolutely an accurate representation of this trash conversation.
To publish this at all should be a fireable offense - but to publish it as women’s rights are being decimated is deeply immoral, bordering on evil
To publish this at all should be a fireable offense - but to publish it as women’s rights are being decimated is deeply immoral, bordering on evil
November 7, 2025 at 8:10 PM
What happened, @nytimes.com? Why not stand by your original headline? Because it’s absolutely an accurate representation of this trash conversation.
To publish this at all should be a fireable offense - but to publish it as women’s rights are being decimated is deeply immoral, bordering on evil
To publish this at all should be a fireable offense - but to publish it as women’s rights are being decimated is deeply immoral, bordering on evil
Reposted by Melanie Sill
I was focused on one specific, provable fact, and how it got warped.
In terms of Trump's viral photo — it's evocative. It speaks for itself.
But it appears to be a split-second shot. You can see from the video — Trump immediately stood up and turned to look. (RFK Jr, meanwhile, did go to get help)
In terms of Trump's viral photo — it's evocative. It speaks for itself.
But it appears to be a split-second shot. You can see from the video — Trump immediately stood up and turned to look. (RFK Jr, meanwhile, did go to get help)
November 7, 2025 at 2:11 PM
I was focused on one specific, provable fact, and how it got warped.
In terms of Trump's viral photo — it's evocative. It speaks for itself.
But it appears to be a split-second shot. You can see from the video — Trump immediately stood up and turned to look. (RFK Jr, meanwhile, did go to get help)
In terms of Trump's viral photo — it's evocative. It speaks for itself.
But it appears to be a split-second shot. You can see from the video — Trump immediately stood up and turned to look. (RFK Jr, meanwhile, did go to get help)
Reposted by Melanie Sill
Broads: Are They Really People? Join us tomorrow at nytimes.com as Ross Douthat and a Neanderthal model we swiped from the Smithsonian investigate.
November 6, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Broads: Are They Really People? Join us tomorrow at nytimes.com as Ross Douthat and a Neanderthal model we swiped from the Smithsonian investigate.
This conversation is as bad and ridiculous as the headline itself: wealthy, privileged people removed from the reality of actual workplaces — an insult not just to women but to working people everywhere. Ruin -- in what way? For whom? How? Sloppy.
November 6, 2025 at 11:45 AM
This conversation is as bad and ridiculous as the headline itself: wealthy, privileged people removed from the reality of actual workplaces — an insult not just to women but to working people everywhere. Ruin -- in what way? For whom? How? Sloppy.
News outlets that cover the election mainly through the prism of which party / politician gained politically are missing the message from voters — and a market opportunity to be relevant to people's real-life struggles, worries and hopes.
Democratic wins in Tuesday’s elections give the party a sorely needed burst of momentum ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
Takeaways from the 2025 elections: Trump looms over every race, while Democrats win on the economy
Democratic victories in Tuesday’s highest profile, and under-the-radar, elections give the party a shot in the arm as they look to regroup and storm into next year’s key midterm elections.
nbcnews.to
November 5, 2025 at 1:44 PM
News outlets that cover the election mainly through the prism of which party / politician gained politically are missing the message from voters — and a market opportunity to be relevant to people's real-life struggles, worries and hopes.
Curious that the NYT's coverage of food aid cuts has determinedly used the term "food stamps," which was phased out decades ago. SNAP or EBT are terms now a generation in use.
November 3, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Curious that the NYT's coverage of food aid cuts has determinedly used the term "food stamps," which was phased out decades ago. SNAP or EBT are terms now a generation in use.
So many revelations about NC's chief supreme court justice Paul Newby in this @propublica.org piece: how he is using his office as a Christian and Republican activist, and with what impact. Details and the stakes. www.propublica.org/article/paul...
“Biblical Justice, Equal Justice, for All”: How North Carolina’s Chief Justice Transformed His State and America
Paul Newby, a born-again Christian, has turned his perch atop North Carolina’s Supreme Court into an instrument of political power. Over two decades, he’s driven changes that have reverberated well be...
www.propublica.org
October 30, 2025 at 9:48 PM
So many revelations about NC's chief supreme court justice Paul Newby in this @propublica.org piece: how he is using his office as a Christian and Republican activist, and with what impact. Details and the stakes. www.propublica.org/article/paul...
Poll questions should ask first: How much information have you received about x issue (a lot, some, little or none), then ask their opinion.
I’ve been thinking a lot about a new kind of polling I’d like to see. We have polling that measures public opinion, which is obviously important, but I’d love to see a little more empirical work on public knowledge: what do voters know about politics and policy?
October 30, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Poll questions should ask first: How much information have you received about x issue (a lot, some, little or none), then ask their opinion.
Reposted by Melanie Sill
Trump is telling lies about elections to justify steps that will intimidate Democratic voters or chill speech. These are real threats to democracy and should be understood as such. www.pbump.net/o/the-threat...
The threat to elections heats up
Over the past few days, President Trump has returned to one of his central animating issues: purported threats to the security of American elections. He has repeatedly claimed that elections at the lo...
www.pbump.net
October 27, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Trump is telling lies about elections to justify steps that will intimidate Democratic voters or chill speech. These are real threats to democracy and should be understood as such. www.pbump.net/o/the-threat...
Reposted by Melanie Sill
I cannot tell you how many tech journalists at prominent media organizations do not understand this
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
October 27, 2025 at 3:32 PM
I cannot tell you how many tech journalists at prominent media organizations do not understand this
Why isn't headline/framing thus: Trump pardons executive whose company made multimillion-dollar-deal with Trump family beforehand www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/t... Good reporting from @nytimes.com though the word "extraordinary," as usual, does a lot of heavy lifting. Is it pay for pardon?
Trump Pardons Founder of the Crypto Exchange Binance
www.nytimes.com
October 23, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Why isn't headline/framing thus: Trump pardons executive whose company made multimillion-dollar-deal with Trump family beforehand www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/t... Good reporting from @nytimes.com though the word "extraordinary," as usual, does a lot of heavy lifting. Is it pay for pardon?
Reposted by Melanie Sill
Total federal spending is up +7% in 2025 over 2024 year-to-date to Oct 20.
The story that the fed govt is tightening its belt is contradicted by its own real-time expenditure data. Admin spectacularly hammering some things but raising spending elsewhere.
Was -7% just after Inauguration Day.
The story that the fed govt is tightening its belt is contradicted by its own real-time expenditure data. Admin spectacularly hammering some things but raising spending elsewhere.
Was -7% just after Inauguration Day.
October 23, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Total federal spending is up +7% in 2025 over 2024 year-to-date to Oct 20.
The story that the fed govt is tightening its belt is contradicted by its own real-time expenditure data. Admin spectacularly hammering some things but raising spending elsewhere.
Was -7% just after Inauguration Day.
The story that the fed govt is tightening its belt is contradicted by its own real-time expenditure data. Admin spectacularly hammering some things but raising spending elsewhere.
Was -7% just after Inauguration Day.
Proud of how well this reporting with veteran higher ed reporter @pamkelley.bsky.social holds up.
Wow! If you found the WSJ story about High Point interesting, you absolutely must read this much deeper dive from 2023. Extremely well reported and just all around fascinating for those of us in higher ed. I have to say, the business model doesn’t bother me as much as I thought it would.
Here's a more complete story (I co-reported) including those elements. WSJ clearly read it, used some of same sources but never addressed quality or dug more into business model www.theassemblync.com/education/hi...
October 23, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Proud of how well this reporting with veteran higher ed reporter @pamkelley.bsky.social holds up.
Headline is wrong. This is not a "press corps," this is a propaganda corps. wapo.st/49iiXbn
Pentagon announces a new right-wing press corps after mass walkout
A new crop of conservative media and influencers signed an agreement with the Pentagon, including the Gateway Pundit, the Post Millennial, Human Events and the National Pulse.
wapo.st
October 22, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Headline is wrong. This is not a "press corps," this is a propaganda corps. wapo.st/49iiXbn
The collapse of Congress is probably the most critical change in our democracy, yet not covered as such. Holding power accountable needs an object -- i.e. to whom are you holding them accountable. If it's to their constituents, lots of reporting missing.
Also and again, GOP members of Congress are, by their actions, fine with this.
Pentagon staffers will now need to get prior approval before sharing any information with Congress, according to a new memo from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and his deputy that Axios reviewed.
October 22, 2025 at 11:46 AM
The collapse of Congress is probably the most critical change in our democracy, yet not covered as such. Holding power accountable needs an object -- i.e. to whom are you holding them accountable. If it's to their constituents, lots of reporting missing.
Reposted by Melanie Sill
Every community needs a blogblog.
We made a searchable archive of the Chapel Hill Town Council’s meetings. triangleblogblog.com/2025/10/19/w...
We made this nifty archive of town council meetings - Triangle Blog Blog
A group civics blog covering town council, education, transportation, and recreation in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, NC.
triangleblogblog.com
October 20, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Every community needs a blogblog.
Reposted by Melanie Sill
Purdue to the rescue of IU student newspaper, whose institution was attempting censorship. Details in alt!
October 18, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Purdue to the rescue of IU student newspaper, whose institution was attempting censorship. Details in alt!
I have been looking at this all day and it just strikes me as -- weird. Seems like NYT made a lot of decisions ahead on how to play the protests today, an odd (and non-journalistic) approach to coverage. Other outlets have reporting that's more clear-headed and complete.
October 18, 2025 at 10:40 PM
I have been looking at this all day and it just strikes me as -- weird. Seems like NYT made a lot of decisions ahead on how to play the protests today, an odd (and non-journalistic) approach to coverage. Other outlets have reporting that's more clear-headed and complete.
This story was the top piece on the NYT home page this morning. Now, I can only find it by searching — not displayed on any section. It's a scoop on another set of White House policy moves asserting that Whites are superior — i.e. white supremacy. Why is it buried? www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
Trump Considers Overhaul of Refugee System That Would Favor White People
www.nytimes.com
October 16, 2025 at 10:17 PM
This story was the top piece on the NYT home page this morning. Now, I can only find it by searching — not displayed on any section. It's a scoop on another set of White House policy moves asserting that Whites are superior — i.e. white supremacy. Why is it buried? www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
Reposted by Melanie Sill
The @chicago.suntimes.com photographer who risked their personal health and safety to take this photograph is Anthony Vazquez. Please credit photographers and media outlets. In this age of misinformation, a photo with no context could be anything at all.
Please remind us who the domestic terrorists are again.
October 15, 2025 at 12:16 AM
The @chicago.suntimes.com photographer who risked their personal health and safety to take this photograph is Anthony Vazquez. Please credit photographers and media outlets. In this age of misinformation, a photo with no context could be anything at all.
Reposted by Melanie Sill
I am a few days late to John Oliver's piece on the Free Press and its portent for CBS News.
But if you have a free half hour, you really ought to watch it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gieT...
But if you have a free half hour, you really ought to watch it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gieT...
Bari Weiss: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
YouTube video by LastWeekTonight
www.youtube.com
October 14, 2025 at 4:07 PM
I am a few days late to John Oliver's piece on the Free Press and its portent for CBS News.
But if you have a free half hour, you really ought to watch it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gieT...
But if you have a free half hour, you really ought to watch it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gieT...