Why Our Latest Show Is All About the Media
A look at 'First Draft' and why pro-Democracy journalism matters.
Last week, you may have caught the premiere of our latest show, First Draft: Your Look at the Headlines and the Journalists who Write Them.
I’m so honored to host this show. We had an incredible first guest: author and investigative journalist Nina Burleigh, who’s been breaking news about the Epstein scandal for COURIER Newsroom. This week, I’ll talk with award-winning author and journalist Jessica Valenti, who writes the Abortion, Every Day Substack.
Breaking Down the Trump-Epstein Bromance | Nina Burleigh Joins First Draft with Susan J. Demas
In this week’s premiere episode of First Draft: Your Look at the Headlines and the Journalists Who Write Them, Susan Demas and Nina Burleigh cut straight to the core of Trump’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein — a window into how power, money, and misogyny intertwined for decades. It was a “competition for female flesh,” where women were passed around li…
So why are we doing a show focused on the media? In a word: you. We see your frustrated comments about major news networks settling bogus lawsuits with Trump, sanewashing him daily, and covering his second term like it’s a reality show (The Apprentice: Fascism Edition).
We founded Lincoln Square as an independent media outlet dedicated to telling the truth. We will never kowtow to this lawless administration. We hold power to account — and that includes corporate media. So on this show, I’ll sometimes bring on media critics like Jennifer Schulze and Mark Jacob to talk about where coverage — and the industry — are falling short. I think of it as a system of checks and balances — something that Washington is in sore need of these days.
But I want to be clear. I love journalism — it’s why I’ve been a reporter, editor, and columnist for almost 25 years. I think that a free press is utterly essential in a Democracy. I’ve run three newsrooms and led them to hundreds of journalism awards. And I’ve covered seven presidential elections, two state government shutdowns, a global pandemic, and an attempted coup (occasionally having to drag my kids along on assignment).
I’ve been around for a lot of changes in the industry. And I’m so glad to be part of the growing movement of independent journalism here at Lincoln Square. But one thing hasn’t changed: There are so many enormously talented journalists doing vital work, whether it’s digging into the Trump administration or telling stories that matter in their local communities.
I think it’s important to highlight their work and talk to them about how they’ve reported these stories. So that’s what I’ll be doing every Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET — interviewing journalists from around the country who help us understand the world a little bit better.
If you have ideas for who I should talk to for upcoming shows, let me know in the comments. And if you haven’t become a Lincoln Loyal paid subscriber yet, I’d urge you to do so today. That’s how we’re able to bring you new shows like First Draft and It’s the Democracy, Stupid with Edward Eisendrath, which premieres at noon ET on Thursday, August 28.
Lincoln Square is less than six months old, but we’re one of the fastest-growing political Substacks. We’re committed to keep building our pro-Democracy community and providing you with the incisive, independent journalism you deserve. Please become a Lincoln Loyal member today.
This is exactly the issue we've needed to address for a long while now. The legacy media jumped all over Joe Biden for showing his age after the first presidential debate last year, and they turned Jack Tapper's screed into coverage fodder for weeks. Yet, through all of that Donald Trump has been saying downright lunatic things like banging on about Hannibal Lecter, and sharks vs batteries, and how much gold tat he's adding to OUR White House - all while the legacy media treats this like its totally normal. So, thank you for finally talking about the media and its lousy, lazy coverage of Trump. Media capitulation is one of the first ways countries lose their democracies.
Sorry to all for posting this concern here, but I've been making a monthly contribution to Lincoln Square for over two years, yet they want me to pay to "Upgrade". I've tried every means I can think of to resolve this but, for the past several months it's been impossible to reach their customer service. So now I've finally acquiesced to "upgrading" for a month so I can at least make my voice heard. You're losing me, Rick... your reporting is great but your cs sucks.