In case anybody who works at Washington Post or LA Times is reading this, I’d just like to point out:
You have the text of that endorsement,
and you have the facts and your own thoughts about being silenced by your billionaire master, thoughts which you can surely put in words,
and SOMEBODY has the password the CMS
and SOMEBODY has the DNS credentials
and SOMEBODY sends that final draft to press
and in no cases is that “somebody” the paper’s owner. Just saying.
Attached: 1 image @[email protected] @[email protected] Not the whole thing, but you get the drift...
I also appreciate this:
https://mastodon.online/@xankarn/113370665757537683
But let’s be clear: opinion authors making a polite and eloquent objection are bringing lawn signs to gun fight.
Critics say that these apologies are window dressing. They don’t produce the structural change that’s needed. But laying bare the history is a necessary step, and victims, in some cases, will say: “The truth is itself reparative.” #historicaljustice #histodons https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/25/biden-apologizes-indian-boarding-schools
@inthehands Is there a real person somewhere in america who is waiting on the endorsement of a specific paper? A person who has been scrupulous on learning nothing about both the current election cycle and the forty+ years we have known these candidates.
Is there a person awaiting the GWB endorsement that wouldn't already know who Cheney is and was?
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for WaPo/LA Times/newspaper hate. It's just weird that _this_ is why people are getting mad at the paper now
@level2wizard
1. People grossly overestimate the prevalence of their own circle of experience; you’re likely doing that in imagining that endorsements don’t influence anyone.
2. Regardless, beside the point: this an unambiguous crossing of a red line by billionaire owners. Not “oh, seems like maybe there’s undue influence;” just ownership nakedly overriding editorial integrity. Caesar crossing the Rubicon.
@inthehands 1. Fair point, like many things about the mythical American voter I clearly have no concept. I'm sure my neolib circle of friends will have Strong Opinions about papers that don't endorse when I see them next, but they've also been locked-in for Biden (and then Harris) for months and the endorsement isn't changing their minds.
2. Ugh, who cares, this is true of newspapers since forever (cf Hearst). Independent journalists are all we have, and they're struggling
It's the "Dad, what were you doing when Nazis took over America" thing.
If you remain "neutral" in the face of evil, you endorse it.
@ViennaMike @inthehands as a working-class person working in tech, and parental unit in a four-person single-car family I don't have that luxury. Even if I were to take away the ~$20-100 a month we spend on amazon it is negligible compared to a single small corporation on AWS' average spend of >$50k a month.
https://www.duckbillgroup.com , a company that helps lower company's AWS spend, won't even talk to you until your monthly bill is over 200k.
By not endorsing Harris they are supporting the destruction of women"s rights. The "Free Press" has turned their face to fascism and suppression of half our population. That's why.
of COURSE everything the same organ has done is suspect! It's a newspaper!
from a portion of https://mastodon.social/@level2wizard/113373290842754405 --
"Ugh, who cares, this is true of newspapers since forever (cf Hearst). Independent journalists are all we have, and they're struggling."
I cannot fathom anyone supporting a paper solely on branding; if that is how you make decisions then ... cool, I guess? I do not understand your decision tree here
@level2wizard Okay, that's fine. I have to assume that you're just incapable of knowing anything about anything, any time, then, since HOW CAN YOU TRUST ANYONE, duuuude??
This is the kind of argument I used to make when I was stoned at 2 am in college. It's boring and useless.
Goodbye.
I'm with you. But this isn't just about people probably losing their jobs. The boss said don't do it, so if someone logs into the CMS and does it anyway, here comes 18 USC 1030(a)(5).
@inthehands I feel similarly:
Editors at Washington Post and LA Times should take a full-page ad in their own (or each other's) papers and get out their endorsement for US president. Problem solved. #journalism #uspol #endorsement #Election2024 #freePress #WaPo #LA_Times
@inthehands I half expected the Washington Post to be hosted entirely on AWS, which the owner would ostensibly have control over, but at least the web frontend is Akamaied. 🤔
(But DNS is at least halfway on AWS, to my original point. 🙄)
Margaret Cushing
Paul Cantrell
Marsh Gardiner 🌱🐝
Byron 
Wulfy—Speaker to the machines
ViennaMike
LAUREN
Virginicus
WesDym
Greg Bell
Covidiocracy
Sean Murthy
Jima 