Frightening evidence of the election's sky-high stakes

Plus, spreading the word to 4,000 media executives on the need for pro-democracy coverage

Welcome to another episode of “not the odds, but the stakes” — the new focus of this newsletter between now and Nov. 5.

I explained why I’m doing this in an earlier post and many of you gave me encouragement. As always, I credit NYU’s Jay Rosen for his memorable phrasing. Thanks to the hundreds of new subscribers who joined us here after that post. We’re nearly at 10,000.

So here goes:

Sometimes comics do a better job job of informing us than journalists do. That’s very much the case with the recent piece the great John Oliver did, detailing a sweeping arch-conservative plan called Project 2025. Everybody in America needs to know about it, but not enough do.

On his HBO show, "Last Week Tonight,” Oliver explored Project 2025 and what could happen as a result in a second Trump term. The episode is both funny and effective. (Find a link at the bottom of this post.)

Oliver details this radical plan for the next four years under Trump. Hatched by right-wingers who were frustrated that Trump was stymied in his first term by dutiful civil servants and democratic guardrails, it aims to get rid of all that pesky stuff. With loyalists installed in government he and his allies can really rock and roll toward full-on autocracy. It’s scary.

I wish that the mainstream media would do the work that Oliver does so well here — stating memorably and powerfully what is at stake in a way that breaks through.

There has been some very good coverage in mainstream media, including prominently in the New York Times (“If Trump Wins”) but it’s not nearly enough. These “stakes” stories are vastly overwhelmed by “odds” stories — polls and punditry — many of them fraught with false equivalence and misleading framing. They are the norm; the stakes story are the exception.

I try to preach this message, especially to news leaders. I had an excellent opportunity last week to speak to about 4,000 media executives via a video podcast hosted by Mike Blinder, publisher of Editor & Publisher magazine, a media-industry publication that is now mostly published online.

Mike had seen my post here announcing the “stakes not odds” refocus and wondered if I’d speak directly to his influential audience. It was too good a chance to pass up, and his vodcast has just posted. I hope it will actually influence coverage between now and the election.

---

---

Separately, I’ve been interviewed a lot in the past week about the turmoil at the Washington Post, including by BBC Radio, CNN, El Pais in Spain, La Nacion in Argentina and, Friday, on the PBS NewsHour. I explain why this internal tumult matters far beyond the DC beltway. I talk about Post owner Jeff Bezos’s crucial role in making sure that the storied newspaper he bought in 2013 doesn’t turn into some version of a Murdoch tabloid. I’m impressed by the way Post reporters have dug into the story about their own publisher’s checkered background; that’s never easy. It’s also impressive that the paper has given them free rein to do so.

Thanks so much for your interest, and special thanks to those of you who respond so thoughtfully in the comments, and to those who — in becoming paid subscribers — offered supportive messages that they allow me to share publicly. I hope to live up to this confidence, especially at such a crucial time.

Finally, here’s the John Oliver episode. Be sure to catch the part about people who hate Cheerios, and what would happen if they applied for a job at the cereal manufacturer. I laughed out loud.

And let me know, in the comments, your thoughts on this week’s presidential debate. Are you planning to watch? Will you cover your eyes?

---