Broken trust. The Columbia Journalism Review has this look at the curious case of the Houston Chronicle‘s Mike Ward, who was fired after accusations about the veracity of his work were raised. After a thorough review, it turns out a lot of it didn’t pan out.
The Watcher. A college friend sent me this story, which I mistakenly read (and was subsequently hooked on) while walking my dog at 2 in the morning. Be sure to read it well before bedtime, lest you get nightmares.
Putting the “Me” in GoFundMe. Sometimes, feel-good stories are too good be true.
Wait, North Korea is conning us… again? Say it ain’t so! Eli Lake has this write-up at Bloomberg.
The “junkyard dog” bites back. Our assistant opinion editor Adam Rubenstein was on the business end of Rep. Steve King’s Twitter feed. Rep. King dared TWS to release audio confirming Rubenstein’s reporting of a King campaign event, and well, we did. Here’s Adam on the whole experience in the New York Times, talking about a Congressman who denies referring to immigrants as “dirt” all the while calling a reporter a “dog.” Weird!
Of course St. Louis is the test market for an alcoholic Keurig. Isn’t the point of enjoying cocktails knowing how to make them? Perhaps not. My former hometown is yet another test kitchen for booze, as was the case when I was in college. (Reminds a bit of this half-decade old ad for a home tap system called Tap King sold in Australia.)
Looking back at Alan Greenberg’s memos. The former head of Bear Stearns certainly had a way with words.
Bold strategy, Cotton! Let’s see if it pays off for him. Huffington Post reporter Zach Carter has a new strategy for reporting, and it’s called “burn all your potential sources.” It hasn’t seemed to work for him just yet. Maybe after a few more it will catch on.
For the foamers among us. Here’s some old time train stuff.
“Time will tell… Sooner or later, time will tell…” If you’re about my age, you remember this (and many other quotes) from the best video game of the 1990s, Command & Conquer’s Red Alert. The game exists 20-plus years later as a freebie, and there’s even a fan-made reboot. But the original team is coming back together to give us a glorious proper remake.
Uh, what? The FBI is apparently probing a sexuality wellness company. It gets much weirder, but only if you dare click through.
Do you love smart speakers? What about getting your news on them? NiemanLab thinks that this is a growth industry. What are your thoughts? Would you like to get more TWS content on your smart device? (Email me below!)
Move over, HQ2. Elon Musk is already building tunnels and telling the public about them when they’re nearly done. Voters aren’t happy.
The Aldi/Lidl effect. The pair of German discount grocers is changing the way America does business, especially when it comes to private label groceries.
A new podcast to bookmark! My former roommate Andrew Heaton has a great new podcast with The Blaze. I joined him today for episode No. 4 to talk about Jeff Bezos and crony capitalism. Make sure to subscribe! (If you use Google Podcasts, use this link.)
Another podcast to try out. Audrey Scagnelli has launched her “Sanity” podcast, which is also a few episodes in. A little bit about her podcast: “If you find yourself exhausted by the 24/7 news cycle, if you feel hungry for optimism, and if you’re resisting the urge to stick your head in the sand, our hope is Sanity is the platform for you. Here you’ll hear from moderates, liberals, conservatives – and some non-politicals, too – united by a common belief in the importance of listening to each other, and in the possibilities of pragmatism and collaboration.” Be sure to check it out!
Is time travel real? That’s what one client of a company acting attorney general Matt Whitaker worked for believed, among other interesting ideas…
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