Joshua Cinelli
@joshuacinelli.bsky.social
Mostly here for the civic information revolution. Happy for witty banter and clever ideas in the meantime.
Indefatigable @cwarzel.bsky.social: This is X in 2025: Potentially fake accounts crying at other potentially fake accounts that they aren’t real, all while refusing to acknowledge that they themselves aren’t who they say they are—a Russian nesting doll of bullshit
www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
Elon Musk’s Worthless, Poisoned Hall of Mirrors
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
www.theatlantic.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Indefatigable @cwarzel.bsky.social: This is X in 2025: Potentially fake accounts crying at other potentially fake accounts that they aren’t real, all while refusing to acknowledge that they themselves aren’t who they say they are—a Russian nesting doll of bullshit
www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
Brilliantly done! Oliver cited research on links btw strength of public media & strength of democracy.
“And given that the health of our democracy is currently best described as ‘that one photo of Prince Philip where he was in the car’, we can use all the public media funding we can get right now.
“And given that the health of our democracy is currently best described as ‘that one photo of Prince Philip where he was in the car’, we can use all the public media funding we can get right now.
Was thrilled to help consult for this fantastic John Oliver segment on the tragic plight of U.S. public media and why, if we hope to be a democracy, we still need public media for so many things that commercial media will never provide. Deserves a wide viewership. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yknM...
Public Media: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
YouTube video by LastWeekTonight
www.youtube.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Brilliantly done! Oliver cited research on links btw strength of public media & strength of democracy.
“And given that the health of our democracy is currently best described as ‘that one photo of Prince Philip where he was in the car’, we can use all the public media funding we can get right now.
“And given that the health of our democracy is currently best described as ‘that one photo of Prince Philip where he was in the car’, we can use all the public media funding we can get right now.
👉 Viviane Zandonadi: “This co-training program constantly makes us look at ourselves, the so-called experienced journalists. Experienced in what? Why do we think we know more? We are constantly talking to these people who have other experiences and other ways of being."
www.cjr.org/feature/repo...
www.cjr.org/feature/repo...
A new generation of journalists emerges from the Amazon, just in time for COP30.
A new generation of journalists emerges from the rainforest, just in time for COP30.
www.cjr.org
November 12, 2025 at 3:52 PM
👉 Viviane Zandonadi: “This co-training program constantly makes us look at ourselves, the so-called experienced journalists. Experienced in what? Why do we think we know more? We are constantly talking to these people who have other experiences and other ways of being."
www.cjr.org/feature/repo...
www.cjr.org/feature/repo...
Encouraging words from Ford Foundation's new president, Heather Gerken: “There isn’t just the work of now, of this moment, which is incredibly important. We are also going to need to dream a new democracy into existence.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/u...
Ford Foundation’s New Leader Vows to Protect Elections and the Rule of Law
www.nytimes.com
November 4, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Encouraging words from Ford Foundation's new president, Heather Gerken: “There isn’t just the work of now, of this moment, which is incredibly important. We are also going to need to dream a new democracy into existence.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/u...
"Built into Nieman Lab’s mission is a commitment to be 'fundamentally optimistic.' It is challenging to read Medill’s 2025 State of Local News Report and hold onto that optimism."
Steven Waldman @rebuildlocalnews.bsky.social: “We’re losing the race against time.”
www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/in-m...
Steven Waldman @rebuildlocalnews.bsky.social: “We’re losing the race against time.”
www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/in-m...
In Medill’s latest State of Local News report, a “festering, 20-year-old problem” looms larger than ever
“Digital news sites don’t come close to replacing the number of newspapers and journalism jobs being lost. And the digital news providers are almost entirely concentrated in metro areas, leaving vast ...
www.niemanlab.org
October 23, 2025 at 7:20 PM
"Built into Nieman Lab’s mission is a commitment to be 'fundamentally optimistic.' It is challenging to read Medill’s 2025 State of Local News Report and hold onto that optimism."
Steven Waldman @rebuildlocalnews.bsky.social: “We’re losing the race against time.”
www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/in-m...
Steven Waldman @rebuildlocalnews.bsky.social: “We’re losing the race against time.”
www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/in-m...
Who could have seen it coming?
"An estimated 50 million Americans live in counties w/ either no local news source or just one."
"Facebook’s deemphasis of local news and the rise of generative AI on search engines has also driven people away from the news sites."
apnews.com/article/news...
"An estimated 50 million Americans live in counties w/ either no local news source or just one."
"Facebook’s deemphasis of local news and the rise of generative AI on search engines has also driven people away from the news sites."
apnews.com/article/news...
October 23, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Who could have seen it coming?
"An estimated 50 million Americans live in counties w/ either no local news source or just one."
"Facebook’s deemphasis of local news and the rise of generative AI on search engines has also driven people away from the news sites."
apnews.com/article/news...
"An estimated 50 million Americans live in counties w/ either no local news source or just one."
"Facebook’s deemphasis of local news and the rise of generative AI on search engines has also driven people away from the news sites."
apnews.com/article/news...
The history of radio, the Internet, and now AI seem to have the same arc: $ > Public
"American radio began wild and unregulated, experimental, a bubbling font of creativity — & then quickly became commercialized, optimized for mass audiences and massive profits."
www.niemanlab.org/2022/01/do-c...
"American radio began wild and unregulated, experimental, a bubbling font of creativity — & then quickly became commercialized, optimized for mass audiences and massive profits."
www.niemanlab.org/2022/01/do-c...
Do countries with better-funded public media also have healthier democracies? Of course they do
But the direction of causality is tricky. Do a democracy's flaws lead it to starve public media, or does starving public media lead to a democracy's flaws?
www.niemanlab.org
August 6, 2025 at 7:52 PM
The history of radio, the Internet, and now AI seem to have the same arc: $ > Public
"American radio began wild and unregulated, experimental, a bubbling font of creativity — & then quickly became commercialized, optimized for mass audiences and massive profits."
www.niemanlab.org/2022/01/do-c...
"American radio began wild and unregulated, experimental, a bubbling font of creativity — & then quickly became commercialized, optimized for mass audiences and massive profits."
www.niemanlab.org/2022/01/do-c...
Really great job by @speppered.bsky.social to unearth the state of play that led to the demise of the Houston Landing.
“There was all of this ego from high up: 'We’re going to make the future of news' But they all just wanted to run the show & it was a nightmare.”
www.niemanlab.org/2025/07/what...
“There was all of this ego from high up: 'We’re going to make the future of news' But they all just wanted to run the show & it was a nightmare.”
www.niemanlab.org/2025/07/what...
What went wrong at the Houston Landing?
“We tried to be too much, too fast, for too many people.”
www.niemanlab.org
July 28, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Really great job by @speppered.bsky.social to unearth the state of play that led to the demise of the Houston Landing.
“There was all of this ego from high up: 'We’re going to make the future of news' But they all just wanted to run the show & it was a nightmare.”
www.niemanlab.org/2025/07/what...
“There was all of this ego from high up: 'We’re going to make the future of news' But they all just wanted to run the show & it was a nightmare.”
www.niemanlab.org/2025/07/what...
The argument that drives me nuts from supporters of zeroing out Public Media's federal $ is we live now in a "golden age of content abundance." Quantity does not equal quality and so much of the civic information commons is garbage. Accessible quality information is KEY!
www.npr.org/2025/07/20/n...
www.npr.org/2025/07/20/n...
Community radio stations are collateral damage as Congress cuts NPR funding
Congress voted to claw back federal funding to public media. Some of those hit hardest include community radio stations in areas that voted for the president.
www.npr.org
July 21, 2025 at 7:06 PM
The argument that drives me nuts from supporters of zeroing out Public Media's federal $ is we live now in a "golden age of content abundance." Quantity does not equal quality and so much of the civic information commons is garbage. Accessible quality information is KEY!
www.npr.org/2025/07/20/n...
www.npr.org/2025/07/20/n...
Reposted by Joshua Cinelli
"Do countries with better-funded public media also have healthier democracies? Of course they do"
www.niemanlab.org/2022/01/do-c... (January 2022)
www.niemanlab.org/2022/01/do-c... (January 2022)
Do countries with better-funded public media also have healthier democracies? Of course they do
But the direction of causality is tricky. Do a democracy's flaws lead it to starve public media, or does starving public media lead to a democracy's flaws?
www.niemanlab.org
July 19, 2025 at 12:19 PM
"Do countries with better-funded public media also have healthier democracies? Of course they do"
www.niemanlab.org/2022/01/do-c... (January 2022)
www.niemanlab.org/2022/01/do-c... (January 2022)
Let's check in on what David Simon, former Baltimore Sun journalist & WIRE creator, said in 2009 testimony to Senate on the future of journalism: “It is going to be one of the great times to be a corrupt politician.”
Also, "the parasite is slowly killing the host."
www.cjr.org/analysis/loc...
Also, "the parasite is slowly killing the host."
www.cjr.org/analysis/loc...
When Local Newspapers Die, Corruption Festers
Our study also found that digital media sites didn’t make much of a difference.
www.cjr.org
June 23, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Let's check in on what David Simon, former Baltimore Sun journalist & WIRE creator, said in 2009 testimony to Senate on the future of journalism: “It is going to be one of the great times to be a corrupt politician.”
Also, "the parasite is slowly killing the host."
www.cjr.org/analysis/loc...
Also, "the parasite is slowly killing the host."
www.cjr.org/analysis/loc...
Abby Youran Qin @niemanlab.org:
"Without journalistic scrutiny, scholars find that mismanagement flourishes, corruption costs balloon, and the communities most vulnerable to abuse receive the least accountability. This is how news deserts exacerbate inequality."
www.niemanlab.org/2025/06/why-...
"Without journalistic scrutiny, scholars find that mismanagement flourishes, corruption costs balloon, and the communities most vulnerable to abuse receive the least accountability. This is how news deserts exacerbate inequality."
www.niemanlab.org/2025/06/why-...
Why some towns lose local news — and others don’t
Research identifies five key drivers — ranging from racial disparity to market forces — that determine which towns lose their papers and which ones beat the odds.
www.niemanlab.org
June 23, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Abby Youran Qin @niemanlab.org:
"Without journalistic scrutiny, scholars find that mismanagement flourishes, corruption costs balloon, and the communities most vulnerable to abuse receive the least accountability. This is how news deserts exacerbate inequality."
www.niemanlab.org/2025/06/why-...
"Without journalistic scrutiny, scholars find that mismanagement flourishes, corruption costs balloon, and the communities most vulnerable to abuse receive the least accountability. This is how news deserts exacerbate inequality."
www.niemanlab.org/2025/06/why-...
Here's to the memory of Tom Robbins, a journalistic bulldog & teacher to many, including @ CUNY J School.
“Showing up, listening closely and finding the people burning with intensity to tell their story, those are the three most important qualities of the job.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/b...
“Showing up, listening closely and finding the people burning with intensity to tell their story, those are the three most important qualities of the job.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/b...
May 30, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Here's to the memory of Tom Robbins, a journalistic bulldog & teacher to many, including @ CUNY J School.
“Showing up, listening closely and finding the people burning with intensity to tell their story, those are the three most important qualities of the job.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/b...
“Showing up, listening closely and finding the people burning with intensity to tell their story, those are the three most important qualities of the job.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/b...
"For me, the answer now lies in refusal, the withdrawal of participation from systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging. My resignation represents such a refusal, not a surrender of responsibility but an assertion of it."
Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social
time.com/7285045/resi...
Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social
time.com/7285045/resi...
Why I’m Resigning from the NSF and Library of Congress
I cannot participate in systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging.
time.com
May 28, 2025 at 5:52 PM
"For me, the answer now lies in refusal, the withdrawal of participation from systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging. My resignation represents such a refusal, not a surrender of responsibility but an assertion of it."
Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social
time.com/7285045/resi...
Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social
time.com/7285045/resi...
The Big Picture - Kathleen Kingsbury @nytimes.com: Instead of arguing over immigration w/ shocking anecdotes & exceptional incidents, our debates should start with a resource like this one — quality information, gathered with a consistent procedure across the world
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Opinion | To Understand Global Migration, You Have to See It First
These estimates, drawn from the location data of three billion Facebook users, provide a view of human migration in extraordinary detail.
www.nytimes.com
April 21, 2025 at 7:05 PM
The Big Picture - Kathleen Kingsbury @nytimes.com: Instead of arguing over immigration w/ shocking anecdotes & exceptional incidents, our debates should start with a resource like this one — quality information, gathered with a consistent procedure across the world
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Well done by WaPo: "Musk’s relationships w/ right-wing or conservative accounts have also multiplied since he purchased the platform. On average, he interacts with one of these about six times per day.
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
By Clara Ence Morse, Eric Lau, Azi Paybarah & Talia Trackim
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
By Clara Ence Morse, Eric Lau, Azi Paybarah & Talia Trackim
Elon Musk gets government policy ideas from X. Here’s how.
A look at which accounts — big and small — have Musk’s ear and how some appear to have sparked action from Musk and the Trump administration.
www.washingtonpost.com
April 18, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Well done by WaPo: "Musk’s relationships w/ right-wing or conservative accounts have also multiplied since he purchased the platform. On average, he interacts with one of these about six times per day.
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
By Clara Ence Morse, Eric Lau, Azi Paybarah & Talia Trackim
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
By Clara Ence Morse, Eric Lau, Azi Paybarah & Talia Trackim
“If the society today allows wrongs to go unchallenged, the impression is created that those wrongs have the approval of the majority.”
Barbara Jordan
Barbara Jordan
April 10, 2025 at 7:39 PM
“If the society today allows wrongs to go unchallenged, the impression is created that those wrongs have the approval of the majority.”
Barbara Jordan
Barbara Jordan
Reposted by Joshua Cinelli
A huge loss to journalism, John Thornton was earlier than most in championing non-profit local news, in Texas and beyond. Thornton saw the financial support of local journalism as a solveable problem: "It's not even an ARTS sized problem, it's a BALLET sized problem" he used to say
John Thornton, Cofounder of Texas Tribuneand American Journalism Project, Dies at 59. www.cjr.org/news/john-th...
John Thornton, Cofounder of Texas Tribune and American Journalism Project, Dies at 59
A venture capitalist and nonprofit journalism pioneer, he made the case for a nationwide philanthropic movement to support local news.
www.cjr.org
April 2, 2025 at 2:34 PM
A huge loss to journalism, John Thornton was earlier than most in championing non-profit local news, in Texas and beyond. Thornton saw the financial support of local journalism as a solveable problem: "It's not even an ARTS sized problem, it's a BALLET sized problem" he used to say
Reposted by Joshua Cinelli
NEW: GEO Group, whose stock is valued at $4 billion, says that state minimum wage laws don’t apply to the cleaning services that it’s asked detained migrants to perform at facilities where they’re kept. @mckenziefunk.com
An ICE Contractor Is Worth Billions. It’s Still Fighting to Pay Detainees as Little as $1 a Day to Work.
GEO Group, whose stock is valued at $4 billion, says that state minimum wage laws don’t apply to the cleaning services that it’s asked detained migrants to perform at facilities where they’re kept.
www.propublica.org
March 19, 2025 at 1:43 PM
NEW: GEO Group, whose stock is valued at $4 billion, says that state minimum wage laws don’t apply to the cleaning services that it’s asked detained migrants to perform at facilities where they’re kept. @mckenziefunk.com
Voice of America -- February 1, 1942
Introduced by the “Battle Hymn of the Republic" & the pledge:
"Today, and every day from now on, we will be with you from America to talk about the war... The news may be good or bad for us – We will always tell you the truth."
www.cnn.com/2025/03/18/m...
Introduced by the “Battle Hymn of the Republic" & the pledge:
"Today, and every day from now on, we will be with you from America to talk about the war... The news may be good or bad for us – We will always tell you the truth."
www.cnn.com/2025/03/18/m...
Defying Trump, several US-funded international broadcasters are still reporting the news | CNN Business
The leaders of several US-funded international networks have instructed their organizations to continue broadcasting, ignoring a Trump administration order, because they believe last weekend’s termina...
www.cnn.com
March 18, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Voice of America -- February 1, 1942
Introduced by the “Battle Hymn of the Republic" & the pledge:
"Today, and every day from now on, we will be with you from America to talk about the war... The news may be good or bad for us – We will always tell you the truth."
www.cnn.com/2025/03/18/m...
Introduced by the “Battle Hymn of the Republic" & the pledge:
"Today, and every day from now on, we will be with you from America to talk about the war... The news may be good or bad for us – We will always tell you the truth."
www.cnn.com/2025/03/18/m...
Misinfo vs. Deep ties w/ local residents & orgs!
Alma Martinez, ED, Central Valley Journalism Collaborative (CVJC) “We have lived here, we have families here, we come from the communities that are being targeted. That builds trust. That’s the secret sauce.”
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Alma Martinez, ED, Central Valley Journalism Collaborative (CVJC) “We have lived here, we have families here, we come from the communities that are being targeted. That builds trust. That’s the secret sauce.”
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
‘Panic benefits Ice’: local newsrooms fight back as immigrants face misinformation
As rumored raids fuel anxiety about mass deportations, outlets are offering resources and debunking falsehoods
www.theguardian.com
February 28, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Misinfo vs. Deep ties w/ local residents & orgs!
Alma Martinez, ED, Central Valley Journalism Collaborative (CVJC) “We have lived here, we have families here, we come from the communities that are being targeted. That builds trust. That’s the secret sauce.”
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Alma Martinez, ED, Central Valley Journalism Collaborative (CVJC) “We have lived here, we have families here, we come from the communities that are being targeted. That builds trust. That’s the secret sauce.”
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
This is such a powerful & important piece from Lydia Polgreen @polgreen.bsky.social
"Terrible failure of imagination on a civilization-altering scale."
There will be a price to be paid for such short-sightedness of trying to reject "the human desire to flourish & to set one's own path in life."
"Terrible failure of imagination on a civilization-altering scale."
There will be a price to be paid for such short-sightedness of trying to reject "the human desire to flourish & to set one's own path in life."
We think the world will always be how it is now. But I think we need to imagine a world in which there are too few migrants, and many more nations competing to attract them. This is the first in a series I'll be publishing about global migration. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/31/o...
Opinion | Migration Is Remaking Our World, and We Don’t Understand It at All (Gift Article)
Migration is central to our politics and our world, but nobody really understands it.
www.nytimes.com
February 3, 2025 at 8:22 PM
This is such a powerful & important piece from Lydia Polgreen @polgreen.bsky.social
"Terrible failure of imagination on a civilization-altering scale."
There will be a price to be paid for such short-sightedness of trying to reject "the human desire to flourish & to set one's own path in life."
"Terrible failure of imagination on a civilization-altering scale."
There will be a price to be paid for such short-sightedness of trying to reject "the human desire to flourish & to set one's own path in life."
This ridiculous accusation by the new FCC Chair to investigate whether NPR & PBS, the last vestiges of a public commons media source to be commercial free, are somehow "too commercial" while ignoring the "Vast Wasteland" of Internet & social media should warrant a fight.
www.npr.org/2025/01/30/n...
www.npr.org/2025/01/30/n...
February 1, 2025 at 6:13 PM
This ridiculous accusation by the new FCC Chair to investigate whether NPR & PBS, the last vestiges of a public commons media source to be commercial free, are somehow "too commercial" while ignoring the "Vast Wasteland" of Internet & social media should warrant a fight.
www.npr.org/2025/01/30/n...
www.npr.org/2025/01/30/n...
I deactivated my Facebook account this week. I joined in Dec 2007 ahead of covering the FB presidential debate in NH. To be honest, I haven't used FB much in years & didn't delete Instagram or WhatsApp b/c I still use.
But the Spirit of the Symbolism is Real!
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
But the Spirit of the Symbolism is Real!
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Meta never cared about factchecking. What it wants is friction-free oligarchy
The company’s plan to end its factchecking program is about appeasing Trump. That signals the making of a mafia state
www.theguardian.com
January 16, 2025 at 7:41 PM
I deactivated my Facebook account this week. I joined in Dec 2007 ahead of covering the FB presidential debate in NH. To be honest, I haven't used FB much in years & didn't delete Instagram or WhatsApp b/c I still use.
But the Spirit of the Symbolism is Real!
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
But the Spirit of the Symbolism is Real!
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Joshua Cinelli
Meta is making big changes to hiring practices, sources told me and @mikeisaac.bsky.social
- no more teams devoted to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
- no diversity preference for working with outside minority owned supplier businesses
- no goals for hiring women and minorities
- no more teams devoted to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
- no diversity preference for working with outside minority owned supplier businesses
- no goals for hiring women and minorities
January 10, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Meta is making big changes to hiring practices, sources told me and @mikeisaac.bsky.social
- no more teams devoted to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
- no diversity preference for working with outside minority owned supplier businesses
- no goals for hiring women and minorities
- no more teams devoted to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
- no diversity preference for working with outside minority owned supplier businesses
- no goals for hiring women and minorities