In a wonderful and poignant article over at Democracy Docket(https://bit.ly/3PkS3rr) Marc Elias puts the CNPP(Christian Nationalist Pedo Party) cabinet clown show in ritualistic humiliation by the Der Fuhrer Cheeto
Using Alexander Solzhenitzen’s novel in understanding autocratic behavior Elias describes Cheeto’s attitude about shoes saying “you can really tell a lot about a man by his shoe size” This perfectly sums up Cheeto’s demented perverted sick malignant narcissistic mind
And the whole world is paying for it in spades with the looney tunes in office with his “have a feeling in my bones” as to when to end the war Meanwhile the global economy suffers Sir what power you have, Sir!! WE the People have the CNPP to thank for this Vote these clowns out of office this November
Its very Putin like, accept the Corporations doing the dirty work to destroy Media (bring all Media into line and only pro regime news). Investigative journalism will only be found on these independent platforms now, so sad as I can only afford a few, Lincoln Square is one.
Here in Pittsburgh, we're about to lose our 240-year-old newspaper. A lot of people are afraid that we're not going to know what's going on anymore. But I don't think so. We have a number of independent, not for profit organizations that are focus on most of the traditional sections of a traditional newspaper: politics, business, neighborhoods, sports, the arts, etc. Most have indicated an intention to step up their coverage, and collaborate. Add the local PBS and NPR stations, and I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll be fine.
I have not watched any corporate news, 60 Minutes nothing on TV. I've only watched Substack and independent journalist for 3 to 4 years now and some of those independent journalist were on before Sub- stack ever became an app. I just don't trust them. They deceive us. They don't have any morals or values anymore of what they do , even the people who buy these big conglomerate companies. They have no idea it's just all control for them. They're ruining our America and I just can't stand it. It makes me very sad to look at our America now to what it was when I growing up in the 50s , 60s , 70s and 80s. It's just so immoral of what they have done now. We have is very immoral and evil . The president he had two terms and finally this term he's destroying us unfortunately😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Thank you. We've long stopped watching corporate news for almost 3 decades, early on because of our unwillingness to support/pay for Fox as part of a cable package subscription. Because we tend to live in rural locations it was hard to get "over the air" television even with boosted antennas so we got our news in print or later online so we never got in the habit of watching the news.
As the years passed we observed punches pulled, both-siding, the right wing slant (liberal bias, oh please, total grievance BS) particularly in the past 15 years and have slowly pulled away from the three letter station and cable news online platforms, only checking in for rounding out our coverage on super important issues like a Gulf War that we've once again been dog-walked into. So no CNN panel discussions (hair pulling madness) with Jennings like characters that surely do raise one's blood pressure. We have enough on our plates without that.
I suppose that we are early adopters of indy media, both print and online broadcast. As various outlets disappoint regularly as a pattern we let them go. As we discover more media, particularly those with good fit and broad coverage, we follow first, then subscribe. Right now Wired is one of our more valuable online publications, not because I'm a gear head, far from it actually, but their political coverage has been bang on.
I too was rooting for Netflix but I suspect the price got too steep, CNN didn't fit in their profile and the DC meeting that I didn't know about may have cooled their jets. Netflix likely made the right call for their company and like you said, other than being bellwethers for a consolidating autocratic regime, who cares about CBS, CNN?
Barbara, believe it or not—contrary to what you think—long-form journalism is an actual sub-genre of journalism. It’s a style built around deep reporting, narrative storytelling, and analysis rather than quick headlines. Google it.
Long-form pieces are intentionally longer because they dig into context, history, and consequences that short news briefs can’t cover. Many of them run 2,000 words or more and focus on in-depth reporting and storytelling instead of quick summaries.
That’s the kind of journalism I write. It’s not for everyone, and that’s okay.
I have indeed made my choice and eschew almost all corporate media, deciding to spend my time and money on independent media. I am happy to include The Bulwark and Lincoln Square among them.
All of this is so true. I had watched CNN for years, and I became so frustrated with the really ridiculous opposing viewpoints that I couldn't stand it anymore. Serendipity let me to Lincoln Square before I was even familiar with the concept of Substack. I have since subscribed to LS and others, cancelled cable, and never looked back. Thank you, Kristoffer, for this great article!!
❤️💙❤️ Candace, thank you so much, and I completely understand what you mean about CNN. A lot of people stayed with those outlets for years out of habit or loyalty, only to reach a point where the constant “opposing viewpoint” framing stopped feeling informative and started feeling ridiculous. At some point it becomes less about helping people understand the world and more about staging conflict for its own sake.
I also love what you said about serendipity leading you to Lincoln Square before you even really knew what Substack was. That is how a lot of people seem to find this world. They are not necessarily looking for a new platform at first. They are looking for honesty, clarity, and analysis that does not insult their intelligence, and then they realize there is a whole ecosystem built around that.
And good for you for cancelling cable and not looking back. I think a lot of people are reaching that same conclusion, especially when they realize they are paying a premium for a product that increasingly leaves them more frustrated than informed.
Thank you again for reading, for subscribing, and for being here. I really appreciate it.
Nice commentary, Kristoffer. It is interesting that corporate media seems to be on a suicide mission. I gave up on it several years ago when it seemed like the talking heads in the even were intent on fueling rage and not providing information. The endless stream of mergers and takeovers mean that the wheat to chaff ratio is going in the wrong direction as subscription prices increase. Our local rag (The Austin-American Birdcage Liner) now devotes nearly a half page every day to reporting the weather; this in addition to the full page courtesy of {in}Accuweather. Local food reporters have been terminated, and reading about something cooking in Nashville just doesn't interest me. Unfortunately, there is no alternative here in Austin. I am happy to subscribe to a variety of Substacks. And yes, fortunately I can afford to stream those things that interest us.
💯 Jeff, that is exactly it, and unfortunately so many people in the comments are saying the same thing. A lot of folks walked away from corporate media years ago because it stopped feeling like a source of information and started feeling like a machine for agitation, spectacle, and empty noise.
Your point about mergers and takeovers is also dead on. As consolidation keeps growing, the wheat-to-chaff ratio gets worse while people are somehow expected to pay more for less substance. That is a rotten deal, and people can feel it even if executives keep pretending otherwise.
And that local example is especially telling. When a paper starts devoting that much space to filler, syndicated material, and content that has nothing to do with what readers actually care about in their own city, it stops feeling like a local paper and starts feeling like a branded shell. Losing food reporters and replacing useful local coverage with weather padding and distant lifestyle content is exactly how these outlets hollow themselves out.
It also says a lot that there is no real alternative there in Austin. That is part of the problem too. In a lot of places, people are not choosing independent media because it is trendy. They are choosing it because the traditional product has become so watered down, overpriced, and disconnected from community needs that it barely serves its original purpose anymore.
I am glad you have found Substacks that are worth your time, and I appreciate you being here.
BILLIONAIRES are reportedly breaking their Giving Pledge that Warrren Buffet established to give a sizable portion of their wealth to charity. Some are apparently redirecting this already pledged money to influence the elections. (Source NYTs. There are names mentioned)
Warning: If you want to maintain your sanity today, don’t read the NYTs - this is far from the worse headline in today’s paper
This is so so depressing, I find their greed unfathomable, I guess the power just goes to their heads and and morals out the door . Absolutely no one needs to live in Poverty if these immoral people could pay their fair share. I can't help thinking of the French Revolution.
Jessica, that is crazy, but I learned a long time ago that billionaires will not save us. Too many of them treat democracy like a hobby, philanthropy like branding, and political influence like a private investment portfolio.
And if what you’re describing is happening—people redirecting money that was supposed to go toward public good into election influence—that says everything about the rot at the top. It is one more reminder that immense wealth does not automatically produce civic responsibility. A lot of the time it just produces a more expensive form of selfishness.
I also appreciate the warning, because you are right that a lot of these headlines are the kind that can wreck your peace before breakfast. At a certain point, protecting your sanity is a political survival skill too. Thank you for reading and for flagging it.
I appreciate independent media first by following to Substack for Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance who has given invaluable insight into the courts and decisions impacting people’s rights and executive overreach. That led me to subscribe to the Lincoln Project, Square and many others. I cannot believe some of the corporate media broadcasts given the limitations that are exercised by the US president and his administration. The press secretary screeches lies all day long. That’s enough to get me tuned out
❤️💙❤️ Laura, I really appreciate this, and I think that path you described is one a lot of people have taken. They start with one trusted independent voice, and then that opens the door to a whole ecosystem of writers and outlets who are actually trying to inform people instead of just managing optics. Joyce Vance is absolutely a wealth of knowledge, and I love listening to Sisters in Law. She has a great way of making complicated legal and institutional issues feel clear without dumbing them down.
And that point about the courts, executive overreach, and decisions affecting people’s rights is exactly why independent media matters so much right now. A lot of corporate outlets will mention these things, but they often flatten the stakes or package them in a way that makes the danger sound abstract when it is actually very real.
You are also right to be frustrated by the limitations and pressures that are being exercised by this administration. When power is being abused so openly, it is maddening to watch parts of the corporate press still behave like they are covering a normal presidency with normal guardrails. It creates this surreal disconnect where the reality is alarming, but the coverage is still trying to sound measured for the sake of sounding respectable.
And yes, I completely get why the press secretary is enough to make you tune out. When someone is standing at the podium lying, deflecting, and insulting the audience’s intelligence all day, there is only so much of that performance a person can take before deciding their time is better spent elsewhere. Thank you for reading and for being here.
One of the things missing from this general conversation about news deserts and broadcast consolidation is access and availability and yes, cost. Not everyone can afford cable or streaming or subscriptions. When I first moved to the city where I live now, my TV and an antenna could pick up PBS, Fox (not Fox News, regular Fox), CBS, NBC and a couple of independent channels. That was 10 years ago. Now I can’t get anything on my TV or radio. I have to listen to the radio on my phone and watch PBS on a device. During this time, the grocery store has stopped carrying single copies of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. (They might still stock USA Today, but I didn’t see last time I was there.) in addition, the Barnes and Noble in town closed, so magazines are harder to come by. It’s not just the daily newspapers closing, it’s the entire information universe shrinking and becoming more costly and more cumbersome to access.
Especially with what is going on now, I would appreciate the option of picking up a daily or Sunday paper without making a longterm financial commitment and selling my information. (A not insignificant side issue: if I get one more data breach letter or password compromised notification, my head is going to explode.)
That last sentence, I really feel that too. We've had so many serious data breaches that we have our credit locked and a financial monitoring service, also our real estate deed is "locked" in our townships's office. I opted in to a data removal service to scrub info off of web data collectors, I reject and dump cookies, opting out of everything I can. I'm not sure what to do about our medical records which have been compromised as well. It would be nice to just buy a Sunday paper and be done with it but no.....
Absolutely. The kicker? One of the more recent breaches apparently occurred when I went to pay / check on my property taxes. The notice came from a contractor. I almost threw it out, thinking it was a scam. Schmucks.
🎶🎶❤️💙 Postcards From Home, this is such an important point, and you are not the only person who has made it. One thing that can get lost in these conversations is that access is not just about ideology or quality. It is also about cost, convenience, geography, and infrastructure. If local papers disappear, bookstores close, grocery stores stop carrying newspapers, radio gets thinner, and people cannot easily pick up even basic broadcast signals anymore, then the whole information universe really is shrinking for ordinary people. That is a real loss.
And your example makes that especially clear. Ten years ago, you could still pick up PBS, Fox, CBS, NBC, and a few independent channels with a TV and antenna. Now even that has become harder, and what used to be ambient access to information has turned into a scavenger hunt spread across phones, devices, streaming subscriptions, and whatever still happens to be stocked in a store. That is not progress. That is a more fragmented and more expensive system that puts better information further out of reach.
That is also why I may have to write an article at some point about how to consume independent media, because I do not think anyone should ever feel an obligation to pay for everything. That is just not realistic. For myself, I am grateful for every paid subscriber and every free subscriber. Free subscribers are part of the choir, and the choir sings. The mere act of reading, sharing, and helping our work travel is valuable. The people with extra money will pay for what they believe brings them value, but the mere act of sharing our work is enough, and I mean that.
So I really appreciate you raising this, because it broadens the conversation beyond “corporate media bad, independent media good” and gets to the harder reality: even good information has to be reachable. If people cannot afford it, cannot find it, or have to jump through ten hoops just to access it, then democracy is still losing something important. Thank you for this thoughtful comment.
I guess you've answered all my questions. My husband pretty much said similar to you about how politics DOES sway with "established" networks News organizations. And our current leader is making sure they "obey" but when a new administration moves in that is different from the current that NEWS cycle will change again for those that are FCC controlled. Oh a btw I was one of them that "moved" from Main News to substack because I want a bit of truth in my newscasts.
PJ, I think you and your husband are both touching on something very real. Politics has always influenced media to some degree, but the pressure can become especially visible when regulators and administrations start signaling what kind of coverage they prefer. Networks that rely on licenses, mergers, and regulatory approvals often become very aware of who is in power, and sometimes that affects the tone of their coverage.
You’re also right that those dynamics can shift when administrations change. Different FCC leadership and different regulatory priorities can absolutely change the environment media companies operate in. That doesn’t mean every newsroom is taking marching orders, but the broader corporate structure they operate inside of is definitely sensitive to political winds.
And I completely understand your decision to move from mainstream news to Substack. A lot of people made that same move because they wanted more direct analysis and fewer layers between the writer and the reader. It doesn’t mean every independent voice is perfect, but it does mean you can hear people thinking out loud and explaining their reasoning rather than watching a polished panel segment designed to fill six minutes of airtime.
I appreciate you reading and sharing your experience. That shift you described—from traditional news to independent voices—is happening with a lot of people right now.
The other thing we need to have is a more structured government that was removed when 47 took office again. Structured Government actually goes by Constitutional rules which we haven't seen a year and several months. And Congress needs to go back to less accommodating members that allow things to proceed without any spine to back it up!
Noah, what you’re saying is very true. The cost can add up fast, especially if you’re following a bunch of writers you genuinely like. That is part of why a lot of us on Substack keep the articles themselves free and charge more for things like interactions, community features, and extra perks instead.
And honestly, I would not feel bad at all about not paying for everything. Nobody can subscribe to everybody. That’s just real life. The fact that you’re reading, commenting, and sharing is already meaningful support, and it matters more than people think.
Thank you for being here. I really do appreciate it.
Beautifully expressed. Thank you.
Stalin, Cheeto, And A Clown Shoe
In a wonderful and poignant article over at Democracy Docket(https://bit.ly/3PkS3rr) Marc Elias puts the CNPP(Christian Nationalist Pedo Party) cabinet clown show in ritualistic humiliation by the Der Fuhrer Cheeto
Using Alexander Solzhenitzen’s novel in understanding autocratic behavior Elias describes Cheeto’s attitude about shoes saying “you can really tell a lot about a man by his shoe size” This perfectly sums up Cheeto’s demented perverted sick malignant narcissistic mind
And the whole world is paying for it in spades with the looney tunes in office with his “have a feeling in my bones” as to when to end the war Meanwhile the global economy suffers Sir what power you have, Sir!! WE the People have the CNPP to thank for this Vote these clowns out of office this November
Its very Putin like, accept the Corporations doing the dirty work to destroy Media (bring all Media into line and only pro regime news). Investigative journalism will only be found on these independent platforms now, so sad as I can only afford a few, Lincoln Square is one.
Here in Pittsburgh, we're about to lose our 240-year-old newspaper. A lot of people are afraid that we're not going to know what's going on anymore. But I don't think so. We have a number of independent, not for profit organizations that are focus on most of the traditional sections of a traditional newspaper: politics, business, neighborhoods, sports, the arts, etc. Most have indicated an intention to step up their coverage, and collaborate. Add the local PBS and NPR stations, and I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll be fine.
I have not watched any corporate news, 60 Minutes nothing on TV. I've only watched Substack and independent journalist for 3 to 4 years now and some of those independent journalist were on before Sub- stack ever became an app. I just don't trust them. They deceive us. They don't have any morals or values anymore of what they do , even the people who buy these big conglomerate companies. They have no idea it's just all control for them. They're ruining our America and I just can't stand it. It makes me very sad to look at our America now to what it was when I growing up in the 50s , 60s , 70s and 80s. It's just so immoral of what they have done now. We have is very immoral and evil . The president he had two terms and finally this term he's destroying us unfortunately😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Thank you. We've long stopped watching corporate news for almost 3 decades, early on because of our unwillingness to support/pay for Fox as part of a cable package subscription. Because we tend to live in rural locations it was hard to get "over the air" television even with boosted antennas so we got our news in print or later online so we never got in the habit of watching the news.
As the years passed we observed punches pulled, both-siding, the right wing slant (liberal bias, oh please, total grievance BS) particularly in the past 15 years and have slowly pulled away from the three letter station and cable news online platforms, only checking in for rounding out our coverage on super important issues like a Gulf War that we've once again been dog-walked into. So no CNN panel discussions (hair pulling madness) with Jennings like characters that surely do raise one's blood pressure. We have enough on our plates without that.
I suppose that we are early adopters of indy media, both print and online broadcast. As various outlets disappoint regularly as a pattern we let them go. As we discover more media, particularly those with good fit and broad coverage, we follow first, then subscribe. Right now Wired is one of our more valuable online publications, not because I'm a gear head, far from it actually, but their political coverage has been bang on.
I too was rooting for Netflix but I suspect the price got too steep, CNN didn't fit in their profile and the DC meeting that I didn't know about may have cooled their jets. Netflix likely made the right call for their company and like you said, other than being bellwethers for a consolidating autocratic regime, who cares about CBS, CNN?
I thought a key component of journalism is to present the facts succinctly. TOO LONG
Barbara, believe it or not—contrary to what you think—long-form journalism is an actual sub-genre of journalism. It’s a style built around deep reporting, narrative storytelling, and analysis rather than quick headlines. Google it.
Long-form pieces are intentionally longer because they dig into context, history, and consequences that short news briefs can’t cover. Many of them run 2,000 words or more and focus on in-depth reporting and storytelling instead of quick summaries.
That’s the kind of journalism I write. It’s not for everyone, and that’s okay.
Lincoln Square, at the conclusion of any article, kindly include a bullet point highlighting key takeaways and how we can help to support the issues.
I have indeed made my choice and eschew almost all corporate media, deciding to spend my time and money on independent media. I am happy to include The Bulwark and Lincoln Square among them.
All of this is so true. I had watched CNN for years, and I became so frustrated with the really ridiculous opposing viewpoints that I couldn't stand it anymore. Serendipity let me to Lincoln Square before I was even familiar with the concept of Substack. I have since subscribed to LS and others, cancelled cable, and never looked back. Thank you, Kristoffer, for this great article!!
❤️💙❤️ Candace, thank you so much, and I completely understand what you mean about CNN. A lot of people stayed with those outlets for years out of habit or loyalty, only to reach a point where the constant “opposing viewpoint” framing stopped feeling informative and started feeling ridiculous. At some point it becomes less about helping people understand the world and more about staging conflict for its own sake.
I also love what you said about serendipity leading you to Lincoln Square before you even really knew what Substack was. That is how a lot of people seem to find this world. They are not necessarily looking for a new platform at first. They are looking for honesty, clarity, and analysis that does not insult their intelligence, and then they realize there is a whole ecosystem built around that.
And good for you for cancelling cable and not looking back. I think a lot of people are reaching that same conclusion, especially when they realize they are paying a premium for a product that increasingly leaves them more frustrated than informed.
Thank you again for reading, for subscribing, and for being here. I really appreciate it.
Thank you Kristoffer.....
Nice commentary, Kristoffer. It is interesting that corporate media seems to be on a suicide mission. I gave up on it several years ago when it seemed like the talking heads in the even were intent on fueling rage and not providing information. The endless stream of mergers and takeovers mean that the wheat to chaff ratio is going in the wrong direction as subscription prices increase. Our local rag (The Austin-American Birdcage Liner) now devotes nearly a half page every day to reporting the weather; this in addition to the full page courtesy of {in}Accuweather. Local food reporters have been terminated, and reading about something cooking in Nashville just doesn't interest me. Unfortunately, there is no alternative here in Austin. I am happy to subscribe to a variety of Substacks. And yes, fortunately I can afford to stream those things that interest us.
💯 Jeff, that is exactly it, and unfortunately so many people in the comments are saying the same thing. A lot of folks walked away from corporate media years ago because it stopped feeling like a source of information and started feeling like a machine for agitation, spectacle, and empty noise.
Your point about mergers and takeovers is also dead on. As consolidation keeps growing, the wheat-to-chaff ratio gets worse while people are somehow expected to pay more for less substance. That is a rotten deal, and people can feel it even if executives keep pretending otherwise.
And that local example is especially telling. When a paper starts devoting that much space to filler, syndicated material, and content that has nothing to do with what readers actually care about in their own city, it stops feeling like a local paper and starts feeling like a branded shell. Losing food reporters and replacing useful local coverage with weather padding and distant lifestyle content is exactly how these outlets hollow themselves out.
It also says a lot that there is no real alternative there in Austin. That is part of the problem too. In a lot of places, people are not choosing independent media because it is trendy. They are choosing it because the traditional product has become so watered down, overpriced, and disconnected from community needs that it barely serves its original purpose anymore.
I am glad you have found Substacks that are worth your time, and I appreciate you being here.
BILLIONAIRES are reportedly breaking their Giving Pledge that Warrren Buffet established to give a sizable portion of their wealth to charity. Some are apparently redirecting this already pledged money to influence the elections. (Source NYTs. There are names mentioned)
Warning: If you want to maintain your sanity today, don’t read the NYTs - this is far from the worse headline in today’s paper
This is so so depressing, I find their greed unfathomable, I guess the power just goes to their heads and and morals out the door . Absolutely no one needs to live in Poverty if these immoral people could pay their fair share. I can't help thinking of the French Revolution.
Jessica, that is crazy, but I learned a long time ago that billionaires will not save us. Too many of them treat democracy like a hobby, philanthropy like branding, and political influence like a private investment portfolio.
And if what you’re describing is happening—people redirecting money that was supposed to go toward public good into election influence—that says everything about the rot at the top. It is one more reminder that immense wealth does not automatically produce civic responsibility. A lot of the time it just produces a more expensive form of selfishness.
I also appreciate the warning, because you are right that a lot of these headlines are the kind that can wreck your peace before breakfast. At a certain point, protecting your sanity is a political survival skill too. Thank you for reading and for flagging it.
I appreciate independent media first by following to Substack for Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance who has given invaluable insight into the courts and decisions impacting people’s rights and executive overreach. That led me to subscribe to the Lincoln Project, Square and many others. I cannot believe some of the corporate media broadcasts given the limitations that are exercised by the US president and his administration. The press secretary screeches lies all day long. That’s enough to get me tuned out
❤️💙❤️ Laura, I really appreciate this, and I think that path you described is one a lot of people have taken. They start with one trusted independent voice, and then that opens the door to a whole ecosystem of writers and outlets who are actually trying to inform people instead of just managing optics. Joyce Vance is absolutely a wealth of knowledge, and I love listening to Sisters in Law. She has a great way of making complicated legal and institutional issues feel clear without dumbing them down.
And that point about the courts, executive overreach, and decisions affecting people’s rights is exactly why independent media matters so much right now. A lot of corporate outlets will mention these things, but they often flatten the stakes or package them in a way that makes the danger sound abstract when it is actually very real.
You are also right to be frustrated by the limitations and pressures that are being exercised by this administration. When power is being abused so openly, it is maddening to watch parts of the corporate press still behave like they are covering a normal presidency with normal guardrails. It creates this surreal disconnect where the reality is alarming, but the coverage is still trying to sound measured for the sake of sounding respectable.
And yes, I completely get why the press secretary is enough to make you tune out. When someone is standing at the podium lying, deflecting, and insulting the audience’s intelligence all day, there is only so much of that performance a person can take before deciding their time is better spent elsewhere. Thank you for reading and for being here.
One of the things missing from this general conversation about news deserts and broadcast consolidation is access and availability and yes, cost. Not everyone can afford cable or streaming or subscriptions. When I first moved to the city where I live now, my TV and an antenna could pick up PBS, Fox (not Fox News, regular Fox), CBS, NBC and a couple of independent channels. That was 10 years ago. Now I can’t get anything on my TV or radio. I have to listen to the radio on my phone and watch PBS on a device. During this time, the grocery store has stopped carrying single copies of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. (They might still stock USA Today, but I didn’t see last time I was there.) in addition, the Barnes and Noble in town closed, so magazines are harder to come by. It’s not just the daily newspapers closing, it’s the entire information universe shrinking and becoming more costly and more cumbersome to access.
I really feel this as a non-cable subscribing rural household. Everything we get now is online.
Especially with what is going on now, I would appreciate the option of picking up a daily or Sunday paper without making a longterm financial commitment and selling my information. (A not insignificant side issue: if I get one more data breach letter or password compromised notification, my head is going to explode.)
That last sentence, I really feel that too. We've had so many serious data breaches that we have our credit locked and a financial monitoring service, also our real estate deed is "locked" in our townships's office. I opted in to a data removal service to scrub info off of web data collectors, I reject and dump cookies, opting out of everything I can. I'm not sure what to do about our medical records which have been compromised as well. It would be nice to just buy a Sunday paper and be done with it but no.....
Ugh! What a world.....
Absolutely. The kicker? One of the more recent breaches apparently occurred when I went to pay / check on my property taxes. The notice came from a contractor. I almost threw it out, thinking it was a scam. Schmucks.
🎶🎶❤️💙 Postcards From Home, this is such an important point, and you are not the only person who has made it. One thing that can get lost in these conversations is that access is not just about ideology or quality. It is also about cost, convenience, geography, and infrastructure. If local papers disappear, bookstores close, grocery stores stop carrying newspapers, radio gets thinner, and people cannot easily pick up even basic broadcast signals anymore, then the whole information universe really is shrinking for ordinary people. That is a real loss.
And your example makes that especially clear. Ten years ago, you could still pick up PBS, Fox, CBS, NBC, and a few independent channels with a TV and antenna. Now even that has become harder, and what used to be ambient access to information has turned into a scavenger hunt spread across phones, devices, streaming subscriptions, and whatever still happens to be stocked in a store. That is not progress. That is a more fragmented and more expensive system that puts better information further out of reach.
That is also why I may have to write an article at some point about how to consume independent media, because I do not think anyone should ever feel an obligation to pay for everything. That is just not realistic. For myself, I am grateful for every paid subscriber and every free subscriber. Free subscribers are part of the choir, and the choir sings. The mere act of reading, sharing, and helping our work travel is valuable. The people with extra money will pay for what they believe brings them value, but the mere act of sharing our work is enough, and I mean that.
So I really appreciate you raising this, because it broadens the conversation beyond “corporate media bad, independent media good” and gets to the harder reality: even good information has to be reachable. If people cannot afford it, cannot find it, or have to jump through ten hoops just to access it, then democracy is still losing something important. Thank you for this thoughtful comment.
I guess you've answered all my questions. My husband pretty much said similar to you about how politics DOES sway with "established" networks News organizations. And our current leader is making sure they "obey" but when a new administration moves in that is different from the current that NEWS cycle will change again for those that are FCC controlled. Oh a btw I was one of them that "moved" from Main News to substack because I want a bit of truth in my newscasts.
PJ, I think you and your husband are both touching on something very real. Politics has always influenced media to some degree, but the pressure can become especially visible when regulators and administrations start signaling what kind of coverage they prefer. Networks that rely on licenses, mergers, and regulatory approvals often become very aware of who is in power, and sometimes that affects the tone of their coverage.
You’re also right that those dynamics can shift when administrations change. Different FCC leadership and different regulatory priorities can absolutely change the environment media companies operate in. That doesn’t mean every newsroom is taking marching orders, but the broader corporate structure they operate inside of is definitely sensitive to political winds.
And I completely understand your decision to move from mainstream news to Substack. A lot of people made that same move because they wanted more direct analysis and fewer layers between the writer and the reader. It doesn’t mean every independent voice is perfect, but it does mean you can hear people thinking out loud and explaining their reasoning rather than watching a polished panel segment designed to fill six minutes of airtime.
I appreciate you reading and sharing your experience. That shift you described—from traditional news to independent voices—is happening with a lot of people right now.
The other thing we need to have is a more structured government that was removed when 47 took office again. Structured Government actually goes by Constitutional rules which we haven't seen a year and several months. And Congress needs to go back to less accommodating members that allow things to proceed without any spine to back it up!
Me too.
I love Substack, however....The cost of each one is such that I could be spending over $1,000 per year to read my favorite writers
Noah, what you’re saying is very true. The cost can add up fast, especially if you’re following a bunch of writers you genuinely like. That is part of why a lot of us on Substack keep the articles themselves free and charge more for things like interactions, community features, and extra perks instead.
And honestly, I would not feel bad at all about not paying for everything. Nobody can subscribe to everybody. That’s just real life. The fact that you’re reading, commenting, and sharing is already meaningful support, and it matters more than people think.
Thank you for being here. I really do appreciate it.
Yes. I really pick and choose because it can get prohibitive.