The NY Times has become the Susan Collins of mainstream media. Citizen journalists, like those here on Substack, documented the protests exhaustively. The revolution will be digitized.
The problem is that, yes, there are a lot of folks now doing yeoman's work, including Meidas, but I can't afford to donate to every one that I like. The fragmentation is a problem b/c of that and, of course, b/c any single one of them can't match the spread of their coverage which an entity like the Times has. Paul Krugman mentioned the other day that his new enterprise has something like 300k subscribers - but how many people read his column in the Times?
Well, to be fair, while allegedly being part of the "liberal media," the Times has schilled for Republicans forever. Remember Judith Miller in the run-up too the Iraq war? Maureen Dowd denigrating Al Gore in 2000? And then Obama ("Barry!") before his election? To say nothing of her initial supportive little chats with Trump in 2016? Oh, and I recall a huge antiwar demonstration re Iraq, either in NY City or DC, which the Times totally ignored. I would have cancelled them years ago if it were not for the sometimes excellent reporting they did.
That may be but they could never replace news organizations with the reach and budget to do on-depth investigative journalism. We absolutely still need those sources.
Yes….the New york Slimes* or ..as millions say after fat Carlos Slim bought them lock stock and barrel ..or..bailed them out…The Jew York Slimes…pushing 30 pieces of silver judeao bolshevist monopoly agitprop from its satanic inception..they are globally hated…classic jewish zionist pablum……understandably so..is sulsberger dead ?…Real New yorkers..the ones whio havent fled Jew York City in horror…still say the…Jew York Slimes is the best newspsper to clean up your dog do …or..if you like…place at the bottom of your Parrot Cage* We are sure this subtle wisdom will not fly over your heads….** Say goodbye to the Past…*….adios a la pasada**
I was in Boston. It was wall to wall people on the entirety of City Hall Plaza and Tremont street stretching back to the Boston Common. While we were there, organizers told us that drone photos led to an estimate of 100,000. I was shocked yesterday when I opened the Globe and couldn't find the coverage. Buried, and it gave an estimate of 30k. No way. I'm really angry. But I did see a video by a UK resident who said the coverage was much more prominent and accurate over there, and he said it means so much to them to see Americans pouring out into the streets in protest of this insanity and cruelty. So let's not be deterred!! I will be writing to the Glove today. This is bullshit, we deserve better from what's left of our press. ❤️🤍💙
There's been a lot of play online given to research that suggests if 3.5% of citizens mobilize, it's the tipping point to overthrow a regime. And we all know that seeing others protesting builds momentum. I see this as the underlying reason, conscious or not, to downplay the extent and size of the rallies.
I joined the hands-off rally in San Francisco, where there were probably at least 2000 people, but it was barely covered by the S.F. Chronicle. Very disappointing indeed, so much for liberal cities.
And there were protests all over the state with thousands and thousands more coming out. And these were not the “regular complainers” there was a gray haired guy at the Gloucester event that said this was his first protest ever.
I do agree strongly that this is a sign of obeying in advance by the wide swaths of the mainstream media. My wife and I attended the Washington, DC demonstration, only the second one in our lives as participants, though I observed many professionally throughout my diplomatic career on behalf of the USG. I was shocked at the muted coverage in the WaPo, but not surprised, as the saying goes.
The crowd seemed huge to me, well over 100,000, when we arrived 90 minutes after the start. I also noted the general air of joyful determination, light-hearted yet resolved among the throng. So many clever, satirical signs. So much positive, peaceful energy. Throughout my career working in authoritarian countries, I noted that dictators really hate satire and humor used against them, so this was a hopeful sign to my mind.
My daughter said her Reddit feed had several comments that the current president is in real trouble if there were so many “old white guys (like you) out protesting things besides Social Security and Medicare.”
I love this!! "My daughter said her Reddit feed had several comments that the current president is in real trouble if there were so many “old white guys (like you) out protesting things besides Social Security and Medicare.”
Our local tv journalists actually did well by their reporting of our local protests (we had 4 in the central FL area), far better than national media. It was the lead story on most local channels & our local faux news actually did a credible report
I am a retired American newspaper reporter living in France. I read several online newspapers a day, both French and from the US. The French coverage of the "Hands Off" manifestations seemed much more prominent than what I saw in the NY Times and Washington Post. The headline even played among the 3 or 4 top stories on my apartment building's elevator news scroll. I was glad to be able to supplement that weak coverage here on Substack and on social media.
The Philadelphia Inquirer featured the story on A1 above the fold. It also noted the crowds exceeded those descending upon the city for the Super Bowl parade, which is something that would resonate locally. Not coincidentally the paper is owned by a foundation and not an oligarch seeking to kiss the ring.
This Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, MA) home page is no doubt behind their pay wall but maybe you can see the photos -- splashed across page one, two big color photo, huge headline: "Hands Off Everything."
I’ve been following you for years, since you wrote articles for the Sunday Buffalo News, and I so appreciate your insight during these dark times. I attended the protest in Niagara Square in downtown Buffalo where ~4,500 people attended. All ages were there, from strollers to wheelchairs, and all concerns were represented on signs. The most unique and my favorite was, “ Wide right stole my trophy, Far right stole my country.” Thank you again for your insight and information. It is appreciated.
Another factor is that the zone is flooded. Global markets are crashing, judges are being defied as people are deported with no due process, the federal government is being decimated, etc.
On a related topic, a story that has gotten far less attention than it deserves is the imprisonment in an ICE detention center in Louisiana of Rümeysa Öztürk, the Turkish student on the US on a Fulbright scholarship, whose student visa was cancelled solely because she wrote a peaceful, non-violent, lawful op-ed in the Tufts Daily stating her opinion about Israel and the Tufts administration.
It would be great for you to write a column about her. As I see it, her case is the most egregious example of how un-American the current administration is (and there’s no shortage of examples), as it is a blatant violation of the First Amendment.
Whether or not people agree with her calling on Tufts to divest from Israel, the idea that she could be arrested by masked federal agents and jailed for an opinion with no due process is absolutely terrifying.
Last week, Tufts said in a statement this week that the university “has no information to support the allegations that she was engaged in activities at Tufts that warrant her arrest and detention,” that her op-ed, “was not in violation of any Tufts policies” and that Tufts “has no further information suggesting that she has acted in a manner that would constitute a violation of the University’s understanding of the Immigration and Naturalization Act.” Yet Secretary of State Rubio accused her with no evidence of being “a social activist that tears up our university campuses.”
I was gratified to see a number of people at the NYC rally with signs mentioning her. But I’d love to see even more focus on her, as it is egregious that someone could be jailed for writing an op-ed. (I’m a Tufts grad and used to work for the Daily so this one really hits home!)
It's good that they put out the legal statement supporting Öztürk, but I'd love to see them do more. One of their students is imprisoned solely for writing an op-ed and they haven't spoken out at all, likely because they're worried about losing federal funding.
I went to the protest in Augusta Maine with 2 friends and it was magnificent. A huge turnout, estimated by the Kennebec Journal at 1000. I heard other estimates of 2000 and 3000. The Kennebec Journal and the Lewiston Sun online had photos and crowd size estimates of many of the protests large and small in central Maine including one in the South Paris/Norway area that they estimated had 300 people - that seems huge in a rural area with lots of republican voters. I too was mystified and disappointed by the de minimis coverage of the protests by the national press online.
Came here to say what you said. I was in Augusta, too. Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel and Sun Journal all used the same photos of various protests around the state with the caption “Over 1000…” as if that was the number for the whole state.
Thank you. This was my question all day yesterday and I was confused. The cabinet members et al on cbs and nbc were so offensive that I turned them off. No one called them on their lies. It does feel like the 30’s in Germany and I remember McCarthy. ‘If it doesn’t affect me personally, it isn’t happening/
I was in DC - big crowd, good energy and pissed off people. No counter protesters that I saw but lots of police. Lots of great signs but the best: Hands Off My Humans on my friend's Yellow Lab.
To be fair, the initial protests of the Tea Party movement also didn't catch much attention. As they became more ubiquitous the media started covering them better. I'm getting most of my news filtered through social media feeds and they were lit up with protest coverage. The new media environment may find traditional media as a lagging indicator instead of a breaking one.
Boston Globe had a national story on page 11 with a subhed saying “thousands” of people. It did lead Metro but as you wrote vastly underreported the turnout. I think it’s a combination of all three of your theories.
I was at Boston Common and in the “march” to Government Center. The “thousands” was an insult to the TENS OF THOUSANDS who were there and looked to see some coverage in “our” paper. I am not a crowd size expert, but I estimate the crowd at at least 2x the size of a Fenway Park sellout game (so 2x 35k) - the Common to GC streets were choked full for an hour as the crowd moved that usual 10 min walk. NYC has wide streets where a march can march. We have 18th century streets not capable of holding this many people - and the sound system at both the Common and GC could not reach even halfway to the edge of the crowd. if the Globe was interested in reporting on the event this is what they could have easily seen and honestly told their readers. Everyone who was there was surprised and disappointed at the non-coverage.
The Tucson newspaper, the Arizona Daily Star, had the Hands Off demonstrations front and center on the first page. There were thousands of protestors in Tucson and nearby towns. I attended one in a relatively small street corner location - constant horn honking and thumbs up from passing vehicles (including every semi) and only five “thumbs down” grouches. It was joyous and determined.
I don't know how much the big media players matter anymore. I have thought a lot about that. I am 66, I grew up with 3 major networks, 2 local papers (Buffalo Evening News and Courier Express), and and a small town newspaper (East Aurora Advertiser).
That is not what young people today experience. They are being informed by Tik Tok, You Tube, IG, et al.
We are living in a world where information is particularly choen by a particular audience. I see how the youngs are caught up in their own lives (justifiably so) working, raising kids, yada yada yada and don't have the luxury of staying informed at the level that I can.
I think we are collectively reaping what was sown by Social Media writ large. Their are far too many folks in this world that lack the critical thinking skills needed to participate in Democracy. It seems the only way a good 50% of us will become informed is when the consequences of their actions affect them personally (and I am not even certain of that).
We are going through what the Black women have been telling us about for DECADES.
I'm seeing far more photos and videos of the rallies on Threads than anywhere in the legacy media. Including a repost of a TikTok video of Eminem leading a chant at his concert of F Trump.
The NY Times has become the Susan Collins of mainstream media. Citizen journalists, like those here on Substack, documented the protests exhaustively. The revolution will be digitized.
Excellent analogy.
We're witnessing the death of corporate media in real time - and that's a good thing!
https://www.meidasplus.com/p/corporate-news-loses-big-to-meidas
Meidas claims it's getting 1.6 million more daily views than Fox News and 240k more “likes” a day than they get.
https://www.meidasplus.com/p/fox-news-is-in-total-panic-over-meidasomg
That said - Newsweek is actually telling people about the April 19 protests-
https://www.newsweek.com/nationwide-trump-protest-april19-50501-handsoff-2056119
That's really excellent coverage.
The problem is that, yes, there are a lot of folks now doing yeoman's work, including Meidas, but I can't afford to donate to every one that I like. The fragmentation is a problem b/c of that and, of course, b/c any single one of them can't match the spread of their coverage which an entity like the Times has. Paul Krugman mentioned the other day that his new enterprise has something like 300k subscribers - but how many people read his column in the Times?
Thanks for sharing these links!
You're welcome. Surely a big part of GOP strategy is to make people feel isolated and despair.
Once upon a time - like 20 years ago as digital media and citizen journalism emerged - I gave a presentation about this very subject.
https://albellenchia.substack.com/p/deja-vu?r=7wk5d
An interesting marker is this 2017 story by Australian journalist Chris Uhlmann-
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-11/how-chris-uhlmanns-g20-takedown-of-donald-trump-went-viral/8695144
At the time it was splashed across the NYT.
That would not happen today. The NYT is more interested in crushing independent, clever journalism than in promoting it-
https://www.cjr.org/analysis/paul-krugman-leaving-new-york-times-heavy-hand-editing-less-frequent-columns-newsletter.php
Perhaps young journalists in legacy media know this and decide that they won't get too ambitious about telling truth to the world.
The NYT has become Pravda.
Well, to be fair, while allegedly being part of the "liberal media," the Times has schilled for Republicans forever. Remember Judith Miller in the run-up too the Iraq war? Maureen Dowd denigrating Al Gore in 2000? And then Obama ("Barry!") before his election? To say nothing of her initial supportive little chats with Trump in 2016? Oh, and I recall a huge antiwar demonstration re Iraq, either in NY City or DC, which the Times totally ignored. I would have cancelled them years ago if it were not for the sometimes excellent reporting they did.
that description couldn’t be more apropos.
That may be but they could never replace news organizations with the reach and budget to do on-depth investigative journalism. We absolutely still need those sources.
True but we can no longer depend on them doing their job.
Sadly, that are failing us, and not utilizing their resources for public benefit.
Yes….the New york Slimes* or ..as millions say after fat Carlos Slim bought them lock stock and barrel ..or..bailed them out…The Jew York Slimes…pushing 30 pieces of silver judeao bolshevist monopoly agitprop from its satanic inception..they are globally hated…classic jewish zionist pablum……understandably so..is sulsberger dead ?…Real New yorkers..the ones whio havent fled Jew York City in horror…still say the…Jew York Slimes is the best newspsper to clean up your dog do …or..if you like…place at the bottom of your Parrot Cage* We are sure this subtle wisdom will not fly over your heads….** Say goodbye to the Past…*….adios a la pasada**
I was in Boston. It was wall to wall people on the entirety of City Hall Plaza and Tremont street stretching back to the Boston Common. While we were there, organizers told us that drone photos led to an estimate of 100,000. I was shocked yesterday when I opened the Globe and couldn't find the coverage. Buried, and it gave an estimate of 30k. No way. I'm really angry. But I did see a video by a UK resident who said the coverage was much more prominent and accurate over there, and he said it means so much to them to see Americans pouring out into the streets in protest of this insanity and cruelty. So let's not be deterred!! I will be writing to the Glove today. This is bullshit, we deserve better from what's left of our press. ❤️🤍💙
There's been a lot of play online given to research that suggests if 3.5% of citizens mobilize, it's the tipping point to overthrow a regime. And we all know that seeing others protesting builds momentum. I see this as the underlying reason, conscious or not, to downplay the extent and size of the rallies.
I joined the hands-off rally in San Francisco, where there were probably at least 2000 people, but it was barely covered by the S.F. Chronicle. Very disappointing indeed, so much for liberal cities.
And there were protests all over the state with thousands and thousands more coming out. And these were not the “regular complainers” there was a gray haired guy at the Gloucester event that said this was his first protest ever.
The pictures of the turnout in Boston were incredible. And it makes me so mad that it was downplayed. I went in Buffalo, my first protest as well.
Please don’t let us down - i cant be out there but i need to see that others are
I do agree strongly that this is a sign of obeying in advance by the wide swaths of the mainstream media. My wife and I attended the Washington, DC demonstration, only the second one in our lives as participants, though I observed many professionally throughout my diplomatic career on behalf of the USG. I was shocked at the muted coverage in the WaPo, but not surprised, as the saying goes.
The crowd seemed huge to me, well over 100,000, when we arrived 90 minutes after the start. I also noted the general air of joyful determination, light-hearted yet resolved among the throng. So many clever, satirical signs. So much positive, peaceful energy. Throughout my career working in authoritarian countries, I noted that dictators really hate satire and humor used against them, so this was a hopeful sign to my mind.
My daughter said her Reddit feed had several comments that the current president is in real trouble if there were so many “old white guys (like you) out protesting things besides Social Security and Medicare.”
I love this!! "My daughter said her Reddit feed had several comments that the current president is in real trouble if there were so many “old white guys (like you) out protesting things besides Social Security and Medicare.”
You don't get to complain about the death of local news if you're going to make excuses for not covering significant local events like this
I presume that when you say "you," you're talking about local news outlets and not Margaret Sullivan?
I'm talking about anyone who rhapsodises about local journalism in general terms but doesn't practise it in particular instances like this
Gotcha.
Our local tv journalists actually did well by their reporting of our local protests (we had 4 in the central FL area), far better than national media. It was the lead story on most local channels & our local faux news actually did a credible report
I am a retired American newspaper reporter living in France. I read several online newspapers a day, both French and from the US. The French coverage of the "Hands Off" manifestations seemed much more prominent than what I saw in the NY Times and Washington Post. The headline even played among the 3 or 4 top stories on my apartment building's elevator news scroll. I was glad to be able to supplement that weak coverage here on Substack and on social media.
The Philadelphia Inquirer featured the story on A1 above the fold. It also noted the crowds exceeded those descending upon the city for the Super Bowl parade, which is something that would resonate locally. Not coincidentally the paper is owned by a foundation and not an oligarch seeking to kiss the ring.
Love the Inky!
Go Philly! I’m a native who moved to SF Bay Area decades ago, and have been proud of my hometown many times in the Era of the Orange One (Go Gritty!).
This Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, MA) home page is no doubt behind their pay wall but maybe you can see the photos -- splashed across page one, two big color photo, huge headline: "Hands Off Everything."
https://berkshireeagle-ma.newsmemory.com/?token=ce1983c8924ef3d208c7239acb29271f_67f3b24c_437de6_0
Thanks! That should have been all over America.
I’ve been following you for years, since you wrote articles for the Sunday Buffalo News, and I so appreciate your insight during these dark times. I attended the protest in Niagara Square in downtown Buffalo where ~4,500 people attended. All ages were there, from strollers to wheelchairs, and all concerns were represented on signs. The most unique and my favorite was, “ Wide right stole my trophy, Far right stole my country.” Thank you again for your insight and information. It is appreciated.
Clever sign. Thank you!
I was there with you. That was my favorite sign, too!
😀
My favorite from Ithaca NY was short and sweet: "What Cory Said"! I'll be stealing that! LOL!!
I saw a few of those too. Love that!
As a long suffering Bills fan......hands down 100% for creativity.
Go Bills. F Trump.
With you 💯%
Another factor is that the zone is flooded. Global markets are crashing, judges are being defied as people are deported with no due process, the federal government is being decimated, etc.
On a related topic, a story that has gotten far less attention than it deserves is the imprisonment in an ICE detention center in Louisiana of Rümeysa Öztürk, the Turkish student on the US on a Fulbright scholarship, whose student visa was cancelled solely because she wrote a peaceful, non-violent, lawful op-ed in the Tufts Daily stating her opinion about Israel and the Tufts administration.
It would be great for you to write a column about her. As I see it, her case is the most egregious example of how un-American the current administration is (and there’s no shortage of examples), as it is a blatant violation of the First Amendment.
Whether or not people agree with her calling on Tufts to divest from Israel, the idea that she could be arrested by masked federal agents and jailed for an opinion with no due process is absolutely terrifying.
Last week, Tufts said in a statement this week that the university “has no information to support the allegations that she was engaged in activities at Tufts that warrant her arrest and detention,” that her op-ed, “was not in violation of any Tufts policies” and that Tufts “has no further information suggesting that she has acted in a manner that would constitute a violation of the University’s understanding of the Immigration and Naturalization Act.” Yet Secretary of State Rubio accused her with no evidence of being “a social activist that tears up our university campuses.”
I was gratified to see a number of people at the NYC rally with signs mentioning her. But I’d love to see even more focus on her, as it is egregious that someone could be jailed for writing an op-ed. (I’m a Tufts grad and used to work for the Daily so this one really hits home!)
Yay for Tufts! Sounds like they will not cave. Let’s hope.
It's good that they put out the legal statement supporting Öztürk, but I'd love to see them do more. One of their students is imprisoned solely for writing an op-ed and they haven't spoken out at all, likely because they're worried about losing federal funding.
If you're interested, here's an op-ed I wrote in the Tufts Daily calling on them to do more. https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2025/04/op-eds-alums-respond-to-the-detainment-of-rumeysa-ozturk
I went to the protest in Augusta Maine with 2 friends and it was magnificent. A huge turnout, estimated by the Kennebec Journal at 1000. I heard other estimates of 2000 and 3000. The Kennebec Journal and the Lewiston Sun online had photos and crowd size estimates of many of the protests large and small in central Maine including one in the South Paris/Norway area that they estimated had 300 people - that seems huge in a rural area with lots of republican voters. I too was mystified and disappointed by the de minimis coverage of the protests by the national press online.
Came here to say what you said. I was in Augusta, too. Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel and Sun Journal all used the same photos of various protests around the state with the caption “Over 1000…” as if that was the number for the whole state.
Thank you. This was my question all day yesterday and I was confused. The cabinet members et al on cbs and nbc were so offensive that I turned them off. No one called them on their lies. It does feel like the 30’s in Germany and I remember McCarthy. ‘If it doesn’t affect me personally, it isn’t happening/
meh! seems to be attitude
The MN had the protests as the headline on the Sunday print version.
I was in DC - big crowd, good energy and pissed off people. No counter protesters that I saw but lots of police. Lots of great signs but the best: Hands Off My Humans on my friend's Yellow Lab.
My dog stayed home for this one but wears a “Dogs against Doge” sign to the TeslaTakedown rallies on other Saturdays.
Was favorite sign spotted Sat in Boston (worn with aplomb by a golden)
To be fair, the initial protests of the Tea Party movement also didn't catch much attention. As they became more ubiquitous the media started covering them better. I'm getting most of my news filtered through social media feeds and they were lit up with protest coverage. The new media environment may find traditional media as a lagging indicator instead of a breaking one.
The Tea Party movement was a right wing astroturf, not grass roots, movement heavily funded by the Kochs.
This is a really important and wise insight. Many thanks for sharing.
Boston Globe had a national story on page 11 with a subhed saying “thousands” of people. It did lead Metro but as you wrote vastly underreported the turnout. I think it’s a combination of all three of your theories.
I was at Boston Common and in the “march” to Government Center. The “thousands” was an insult to the TENS OF THOUSANDS who were there and looked to see some coverage in “our” paper. I am not a crowd size expert, but I estimate the crowd at at least 2x the size of a Fenway Park sellout game (so 2x 35k) - the Common to GC streets were choked full for an hour as the crowd moved that usual 10 min walk. NYC has wide streets where a march can march. We have 18th century streets not capable of holding this many people - and the sound system at both the Common and GC could not reach even halfway to the edge of the crowd. if the Globe was interested in reporting on the event this is what they could have easily seen and honestly told their readers. Everyone who was there was surprised and disappointed at the non-coverage.
The Tucson newspaper, the Arizona Daily Star, had the Hands Off demonstrations front and center on the first page. There were thousands of protestors in Tucson and nearby towns. I attended one in a relatively small street corner location - constant horn honking and thumbs up from passing vehicles (including every semi) and only five “thumbs down” grouches. It was joyous and determined.
Interesting, thanks!
I don't know how much the big media players matter anymore. I have thought a lot about that. I am 66, I grew up with 3 major networks, 2 local papers (Buffalo Evening News and Courier Express), and and a small town newspaper (East Aurora Advertiser).
That is not what young people today experience. They are being informed by Tik Tok, You Tube, IG, et al.
We are living in a world where information is particularly choen by a particular audience. I see how the youngs are caught up in their own lives (justifiably so) working, raising kids, yada yada yada and don't have the luxury of staying informed at the level that I can.
I think we are collectively reaping what was sown by Social Media writ large. Their are far too many folks in this world that lack the critical thinking skills needed to participate in Democracy. It seems the only way a good 50% of us will become informed is when the consequences of their actions affect them personally (and I am not even certain of that).
We are going through what the Black women have been telling us about for DECADES.
I'm seeing far more photos and videos of the rallies on Threads than anywhere in the legacy media. Including a repost of a TikTok video of Eminem leading a chant at his concert of F Trump.