I love Margaret and Helen, too. I haven't seen much from them lately. Nothing on their website since Jan. 20--Inauguration Day. I hope they're okay. Helen is a pistol!
I think I discovered you when you ran that column again. Loved it then, even better with age. I would forward to Molly's column every week. Such a loss to the country - she would have had a field day with TFG - probably could have written every day! By the way, how goes A Gentleman in Moscow?
If there's one thing that can unite right and left, it may very well be Mo Dowd. Just awful. I guess the NY Times knows what they're doing-- they can always count on her to bring on the hate-readers. Even with a paywall, we just can't help ourselves. She's just so stinky on all fronts.
I cannot stand Dowd! I'm not too crazy with the NYT either since they seem to be carrying water for the GOP these days (at least in parts of the paper). So very disappointing and scary.
I keep wondering when the mainstream media will wake up and realize they're reporting on their very doom when they lionize Republicans or buy into the GOP narrative about Democrats. But then I remember that so many of them are owned by a few billionaires.
And don't even get me started on the dearth of local news coverage, especially local governments. One local piece reprinted a press release from our county commissioner's court, interviewed 1 woman (who the reporter probably already knew), and that was it. No digging, no context, nothing. When I'm doing a better job reporting what's going on than people whose job it actually is, we're in deep trouble.
Thanks for the reminder about Dowd. I didn't even read her newest diatribe yet I'm still disgusted.
I'm terrified by the direction the press is taking. It's not just leaning right, it's crashing right. Not enough integrity, not enough adherence to journalistic ethics, in a time when we're bombarded with lies and self-serving propaganda.
I agree about local news coverage. It's a casualty of advertising, I'm afraid. Local newspapers can't compete unless they bring in advertising and it become a vicious circle when they have to cut back on news space because advertising is down. When the paper gets smaller fewer people read it--and more advertisers leave. Most of them run at a loss now.
The whole situation is awful. The founding fathers (even though I hate that phrase) totally understood the importance of the press: "That the freedom of the press is one of the greatest bulwarks of liberty and can never be restrained but by despotic governments.”
Even John McCain recognized its essential nature: “I hate the press. But the fact is, we need you. … If you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you need to have a free and many times an adversarial press.”
I wish more people were students of history. Since I live in Texas, I have to specify true history. ;-)
My biggest fear, of all the fears that keep me awake at night, is the recklessness of the press when we need them to shine light on the truth. It terrifies me that nothing we say can shame them. They hold our fate in their hands and they feel no obligation.
I just can't understand it. It can't just be profits driving them. It's as if they feel nothing for this country and the people in it.
I miss Molly Ivins...have you ever read the blog Margaret and Helen? No holds barred - just the best!
I loved Molly Ivins. Did you read my post about her? https://writereverlasting.substack.com/p/molly-ivins-gave-me-a-voice
I love Margaret and Helen, too. I haven't seen much from them lately. Nothing on their website since Jan. 20--Inauguration Day. I hope they're okay. Helen is a pistol!
I think I discovered you when you ran that column again. Loved it then, even better with age. I would forward to Molly's column every week. Such a loss to the country - she would have had a field day with TFG - probably could have written every day! By the way, how goes A Gentleman in Moscow?
Haven’t started it yet. Thanks for the reminder!
If there's one thing that can unite right and left, it may very well be Mo Dowd. Just awful. I guess the NY Times knows what they're doing-- they can always count on her to bring on the hate-readers. Even with a paywall, we just can't help ourselves. She's just so stinky on all fronts.
Your last line says it all! Nothing redeemable about her, yet the Times lets her loose. They do love the controversy.
I cannot stand Dowd! I'm not too crazy with the NYT either since they seem to be carrying water for the GOP these days (at least in parts of the paper). So very disappointing and scary.
I keep wondering when the mainstream media will wake up and realize they're reporting on their very doom when they lionize Republicans or buy into the GOP narrative about Democrats. But then I remember that so many of them are owned by a few billionaires.
And don't even get me started on the dearth of local news coverage, especially local governments. One local piece reprinted a press release from our county commissioner's court, interviewed 1 woman (who the reporter probably already knew), and that was it. No digging, no context, nothing. When I'm doing a better job reporting what's going on than people whose job it actually is, we're in deep trouble.
Thanks for the reminder about Dowd. I didn't even read her newest diatribe yet I'm still disgusted.
I'm terrified by the direction the press is taking. It's not just leaning right, it's crashing right. Not enough integrity, not enough adherence to journalistic ethics, in a time when we're bombarded with lies and self-serving propaganda.
I agree about local news coverage. It's a casualty of advertising, I'm afraid. Local newspapers can't compete unless they bring in advertising and it become a vicious circle when they have to cut back on news space because advertising is down. When the paper gets smaller fewer people read it--and more advertisers leave. Most of them run at a loss now.
The whole situation is awful. The founding fathers (even though I hate that phrase) totally understood the importance of the press: "That the freedom of the press is one of the greatest bulwarks of liberty and can never be restrained but by despotic governments.”
Even John McCain recognized its essential nature: “I hate the press. But the fact is, we need you. … If you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you need to have a free and many times an adversarial press.”
I wish more people were students of history. Since I live in Texas, I have to specify true history. ;-)
My biggest fear, of all the fears that keep me awake at night, is the recklessness of the press when we need them to shine light on the truth. It terrifies me that nothing we say can shame them. They hold our fate in their hands and they feel no obligation.
I just can't understand it. It can't just be profits driving them. It's as if they feel nothing for this country and the people in it.