Category Archives: The Media

Quisling Wannabes

Posted on October 25, 2024 by Michael Froomkin

(I cancelled my subscription today.)

‘Washington Post’ won’t endorse in White House race for first time since 1980s — even though they editorialized that Trump is unfit to be President, and their news columns (frequently, if not frequently enough) make it obvious.

It’s not hard to imagine why owner Jeff Bezos did this: fear and greed. As Josh Marshall put it,

in the case of the Post, this is a bad and cowardly development. We can’t know for certain what went into these decisions. But the most obvious explanation is that they have billionaire owners who, especially in the case of Jeff Bezos, have other business interests which are vulnerable to adverse regulatory and contracting decisions as well as government harassment of other kinds. Those are very real threats and ones that a lawless president has a lot latitude to exact without much if any real prospect of redress. […]

The calculus is straightforward. If Harris wins the election, it doesn’t matter. Democratic administrations don’t play that way. Donald Trump’s do.

The big money is betting that there’s a real chance Trump gets elected. And in so doing helping make it so.

Kudos to Robert Kagan for immediately resigning, as an editorial contributor. Obviously these decisions will be harder for those employed by the Post full-time, and who find themselves in a dying industry where jobs are scarce. Even so…

Posted in 2024 Election, The Media, Trump | Leave a comment

The End of Civilization as We Knew It?

Posted on April 30, 2024 by Michael Froomkin


Dear Times subscriber,

Due to distribution changes in your area, Saturday delivery will no longer be available beginning May 11, 2024. As a result, your Saturday New York Times will be delivered on Sundays.

We realize this change isn’t ideal, and we apologize for the inconvenience.

As a Home Delivery subscriber, you also have All Access — The Times’s full digital experience — which is available to you for free. It includes News, plus Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter and The Athletic. With All Access you can continue to stay on top of all timely news every day of the week.

If you haven’t already been using your All Access subscription, you can start by visiting myaccount.nytimes.com and logging in with the email address and password associated with your account.

You can manage or make changes to your subscription online in your account, and you can cancel your subscription online anytime in your account settings, or during limited hours by chat or phone.

Our deep thanks for your subscription.

Sincerely,
Customer Care

Ok, first-world problem, but I’ve been reading the NYT seven days per week, on paper, since I was nine. Even for the five years I lived abroad I sustained myself with the newsprint methadone that was the International Herald Tribune. There’s not much use to a Saturday paper on Sunday.

I am irrationally cross about this.

Posted in The Media | Comments Off on The End of Civilization as We Knew It?

Real or Onion?

Posted on March 9, 2024 by Michael Froomkin

Time for another quiz.  Real or Onion: “GOP Stunned To Discover It’s Not Running Against A Cadaver In 2024”?

Answer below.

Continue reading →

Posted in Onion/Not-Onion | 3 Comments

I’ll be on WVUM Friday at 5:30pm

Posted on November 1, 2022 by Michael Froomkin

This Friday I’m scheduled to be interviewed on a political discussion program hosted on the U.M. campus station, WVUM 90.5 FM. The interview/discussion is part of a special one-off revival edition of The Monkey House which is part of Homecoming:

The Monkey House is a variety political radio talk show that originally aired from 2017 to 2019 on WVUM 90.5 FM, the University of Miami’s flagship radio station. The show was hosted by UM students Israel Aragon Bravo and Andre Rivero-Guevara, who frequently engaged in down-to-earth conversations on current events with friends, professors, campus leaders, politicians, artists, and other members of the UM/Miami community. Inspired by a DIY ethos, Israel and Andy were known for approaching discussions with candor, an air of levity, and a strong desire to connect with their listeners.

On Friday, Nov 4th, Israel and Andy will be making their one-off comeback ahead of the 2022 Midterms as part of WVUM’s annual Alumni Week events. In this episode, they will be discussing the state of U.S. democracy and some of the most important issues going into next week’s elections.

Joining them in this special discussion is University of Miami professor of law Michael Froomkin, who teaches Administrative Law, AI/Robot Law, and Jurisprudence, and is also known for his coverage of politics and local election recommendations on his personal blog on discourse.net. They will be discussing the ongoing threats to U.S. democracy and the ways it could be improved, as well his paper “Fixing the Senate.”

The show will broadcast on WVUM 90.5 FM this Friday, Nov 4th at 5 pm. The show can also be caught live on the web at wvum.org.

I’m told that my segment should start at 5:30pm.

Posted in 2022 Election, Florida, The Media | Comments Off on I’ll be on WVUM Friday at 5:30pm

“Back and Angrier than Ever”

Posted on October 5, 2022 by Michael Froomkin

Press Watch My brother’s blogging hiatus is over and, as he put it, “I’m back and angrier than ever.”

The newest offering is The facts need a bullhorn. I guess he’s shrill. But not without reason:

In just over a month, voters will decide the future of the United States, quite possibly sending it into a downward spiral of know-nothing autocracy, oppression, and white Christian nationalism. And if not this November, then quite possibly in 2024.

But far from shouting the news from the rooftops, our elite political reporters are mewling about dueling parties, polarization, and codependency.

They are failing to call out the hucksters, zealots, charlatans, loons, dupes, and agents of chaos who would lead our country to disaster. They don’t merely treat them with equanimity, they express admiration for their strategy and achievements.

There’s more, of course.

Posted in Dan Froomkin, The Media | 1 Comment

Real or Onion?

Posted on September 30, 2021 by Michael Froomkin

Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., questioned Tuesday if the United States should rethink its diplomatic relationship with Australia given its strict, military-enforced COVID-19 lockdowns…

“You know, you guys, look what’s going on in Australia right now. You know, they’re enforcing, after a year and a half, they’re still enforcing lockdowns by the military.”

“That’s not a free country. It’s not a free country at all. In fact, I mean, I wonder why we would still have the same diplomatic relations when they’re doing that. Is Australia freer than China, communist China, right now? I don’t know. The fact that that’s even a question tells you something has gone dramatically off the rails with some of this stuff.”

So, real or Onion? You decide, then click through for the answer.

Continue reading →

Posted in COVID-19, Florida, Onion/Not-Onion, Politics: International | Comments Off on Real or Onion?