Posts by algernon@journa.host
 (DIR) Post #ASfgLeICs0HhKMknAW by algernon@journa.host
       2023-02-14T05:00:07Z
       
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       Supporting #localnews, here is the frequently-updated story from Lansing State Journal on the #MSU shootings. 3 dead, 5 wounded, shooter at large. #Michigan https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2023/02/13/msu-police-order-students-staff-to-shelter-in-place-for-shots-fired-report-run-hide-fight/69901195007/
       
 (DIR) Post #ATNjRSj4JZ38EfH90K by algernon@journa.host
       2023-03-07T19:18:52Z
       
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       @seldo Well stated! This is what it’s like for me as well.
       
 (DIR) Post #ATVp2N7WAmtsbFoHvk by algernon@journa.host
       2023-03-11T17:01:34Z
       
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       @lowqualityfacts Though, to be frank, a lot of people do spout other people’s opinions and ideas as if they were their own. But I don’t suppose that’s what these posts have in mind.
       
 (DIR) Post #ATxSLJudEW9irnDgFk by algernon@journa.host
       2023-03-24T15:27:39Z
       
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       My #Twitter #checkmark appeared after all of us at the Las Cruces Sun-News helped the El Paso Times with coverage of the 2019 El Paso massacre. The Times lobbied for us to get #verified and may have paid for it -- I've never known for certain.Someone "gave" it to me and now, unless I pay for it, it will be taken away.I'm not paying. I've curtailed most activity on my personal account. Because nazis, censorship of journalists, and misinformation.
       
 (DIR) Post #ATxSLajufcgP3TKrPE by algernon@journa.host
       2023-03-24T15:33:25Z
       
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       I still have an account there, though, because people DM me there and because, well, journos and politicos insist on remaining there despite how Twitter functions now. Ethically, I think a #twittermigration en masse is appropriate and preferably in the fediverse to avoid a recurrence of the #twitter situation.But journos and politicos still think they depend on Twitter instead of the other way around, so they stay.
       
 (DIR) Post #ATxSLc0FyLLmyRzQWG by algernon@journa.host
       2023-03-24T15:49:49Z
       
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       In fact, I predict a lot of journos and politicos will not only stay on Twitter, they'll pay for the coveted check mark. It will be sad to see; but I bet it will happen. They'll stay, and lots will pay, unless and until Twitter crashes.    It would be far more ethical for public servants and news orgs to present a clear exodus and regroup in a decentralized space.Oh well. I like it here, anyway.
       
 (DIR) Post #AU1BrxiZqpoD02Orlg by algernon@journa.host
       2023-03-26T14:20:54Z
       
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       In December, Twitter infamously banned at least 10 accounts of reporters who reported about Elon Musk’s behavior and the Elonjet account among other things. Some were told they would be fully reinstated only if they deleted tweets Musk did not like. All of them, except apparently @micahflee, are back posting frequently on #Twitter. @w7voa wrote a substack about it but doesn’t disclose whether he censored himself in order to return.
       
 (DIR) Post #AU1BrzTPKCrYRZJmOu by algernon@journa.host
       2023-03-26T14:33:06Z
       
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       Bending the knee like this to a website’s owner brings up some important questions about journalistic ethics, beginning with the decision to give that kind of deference to the owner when it comes to reporting about him. What’s clear enough is that reporters can move their work elsewhere and stop contributing to #Twitter’s bottom line. These reporters simply don’t want to. That’s an ethical decision, and it’s not being widely discussed.
       
 (DIR) Post #AU1Bs1N6Gd0QKaNlqa by algernon@journa.host
       2023-03-26T14:40:29Z
       
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       It’s not even like the old problem of upsetting an advertiser. It’s a decision to acquiesce to the demands of Elon Musk because they buy into the idea that #Twitter is indispensable to #journalism. Which is not only a false proposition, it’s ethically unsound — especially with what I presume is a capitulation to Musk’s demand that he be allowed to censor reporting. Truth is, as far as making Twitter so giant we have much to answer for ourselves.
       
 (DIR) Post #AU1Bs38HigLLnDSy24 by algernon@journa.host
       2023-03-26T14:47:40Z
       
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       In December, the Society of Professional Journalists reacted to Musk’s action by stating, “The SPJ Code of Ethics states journalists must hold those in power accountable, while still minimizing harm. This includes reporting in real time and engaging directly with the public they serve. Twitter's action affects all journalists and goes against Musk's promise to uphold free speech on the platform.” I would argue acquiescing is a violation of that ethic.
       
 (DIR) Post #AU1Bs4x0xYW5QqCzk8 by algernon@journa.host
       2023-03-26T14:58:24Z
       
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       Besides ethics, what about the bottom line? When I worked for #Gannett, we were encouraged to watch our metrics. One thing I noticed: #Twitter engagement pretty much stayed on Twitter, where my stories were concerned. Compared to Facebook, the percentage of people opening stories from Twitter was minuscule. Twitter is about Twitter. It’s a community where these people simply want to hang out because they’re used to it — and to promote themselves.
       
 (DIR) Post #AU1Bs7EoSLwSWcYElM by algernon@journa.host
       2023-03-26T15:01:54Z
       
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       To be clear, I don’t think the decision to stay is purely craven. I think the fear of the unknown, and the pressure to have a prominent online presence, are major drivers. That’s what I get from @w7voa’s essay. Fear makes it hard to make clear ethical choices. That’s a human vulnerability. Yet, with kindness, I would urgently submit that we still need to think about this ethically. Otherwise, what are we about? What are we here to do?
       
 (DIR) Post #AV33WJjkTmzgfjP1jk by algernon@journa.host
       2023-04-25T23:49:29Z
       
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       “Mr. Cruz knew that the allegations he was echoing had already been reviewed and rejected by courts. And he knew that claims of voter fraud or the election being stolen were false,” an ethics complaint to the Texas bar  says. Reporting from @texastribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2022/05/18/ted-cruz-donald-trump-complaint-texas-bar/#TedCruz
       
 (DIR) Post #AV5U3VyMzh9BIkeTOS by algernon@journa.host
       2023-04-27T19:48:09Z
       
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       @lowqualityfacts I just hope your pleased with yourself, destroying democracy with your jokes.
       
 (DIR) Post #AVfC6TvsiTQgvObF0C by algernon@journa.host
       2023-05-14T17:27:07Z
       
       0 likes, 1 repeats
       
       @tristansnell Which demolishes Elon Musk’s defense that this was necessary for continued access to #Twitter in Turkey, doesn’t it?
       
 (DIR) Post #AhryjCxoeMOM0GUTCK by algernon@journa.host
       2024-05-06T04:09:43Z
       
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       Assigned a story with a cool angle to a freelance reporter. It involved attending a certain single-day festival. Two hours *after the festival began* the stringer texts me: “Hey, I’m sorry but I’m not going to be able to make it” and then came the chaser: She had decided the story I proposed, on an assignment she accepted, wasn’t “impactful” anyway.I’m flabbergasted.That ashy smell is of a bridge being burned. #journalism #partylikeaneditor #freelancing