Benjamin Toff

“At age 82, three years before she went viral, Mom typed a few notes for anyone who might write her obit. At the end, she wrote: ‘This is more than anyone would want to know. Any obituary should leave out the frills underlined in color.’ Those frills included her 22 AP state writing awards.”

No better way to sow “workplace disharmony” than sending messages like this to faculty and staff…

From reckoning to retreat: Journalism’s DEI efforts are in decline Diversity-related newsroom jobs haven't totally disappeared — but they also haven't stuck.

This story — which asks what happened to all of those newsroom DEI jobs, committees, and promises from 2020 — is the hardest one I've ever worked on. I hope you'll spend some time with it today.

www.niemanlab.org/2025/09/from...

Would this destroy the business models of several leading social media companies? Yes. That’s just an added benefit.

Can someone please build an AI tool that will read all your social media feeds, filter out the ads and garbage, and repackage it in a custom feed that aggregates content from across these services while providing users full control over how it is all displayed?

If helpful, please feel free to share! We know from a lot of conversations we’ve been having through the LNIC that there remains a lot of confusion about this subject, especially among Press Forward local chapters. We’re always happy to discuss!

Each involves a variety of important research questions; however, many of the most urgent questions facing the industry require a more systematic approach and more standardized measures. That’s why we created the LNIC and what we’re working to establish.

I argue that studies of how news and information flow through communities often focus on distinct factors:
— audiences
— journalists
— institutions
— content
— contexts
And different stakeholders have different reasons for conducting these studies.

I wrote this piece for the Local News Impact Consortium, which tries to make sense of what everyone is talking about when they’re throwing around terms like “landscape scans,” “needs assessments,” “ecosystem analyses,” or “asset mapping.”

www.localnewsimpact.org/2025/09/01/a...

Speaking of money, I’m not sure where they think they’re going to get the revenue to fund their newsroom without the enormous premium that print ads still command. These numbers in the story are very grim…

I wish more people appreciated the importance of attention w/ regards to news. Being more transparent about ___, covering more stories on ___, or quoting the right/wrong people… lots of reasons these things matter for quality of journalism but if no one is paying attention, it won’t increase trust.

Quote text from op-ed: “The role of faculty is fundamental. We are the teachers, researchers, and writers who have committed our professional lives to learning and free inquiry, working together with students to advance truth with rigor, independence, and integrity for the collective benefit of society. That commitment means that, unlike our distant governing boards, we will not give up so easily — no matter what kind of deals are signed in our name.”

Being a faculty member at a university has never been a big part of how I define my identity and I mostly haven’t had much patience for battles over faculty governance. But THIS from the president and general counsel of Harvard’s AAUP chapter really resonates…
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/14/o...

UMich cancels doctoral epidemiology program admissions for 2026 The University of Michigan School of Public Health will not admit a 2025-2026 admissions cycle cohort to its PhD in Epidemiologic Sciences program.

I missed this news before (but suspect we'll see more announcements like this in the coming months):

"The department also hopes to resume admissions for the fall 2027 class. However, no new applications will be accepted this cycle."

www.michigandaily.com/news/news-br...

This seems very very bad

Would be curious to hear directly from leadership @ MPR News but guessing it’s due to deliberate decisions years ago to invest heavily in digital operations combined with being in market with lots of interest, support for local news. (And paywalls for @startribune.com, @pioneerpress.bsky.social).

Interesting how far ahead of other public media sites @mprnews.org is in their online reach with @laist.com in second (also under nonprofit parent org APMG).

AEA Statement on Dismissal of BLS Comm.

"The independence of the federal statistical agencies is essential to the proper functioning of a modern economy. Accurate, timely, and impartial statistics are the foundation upon which households, businesses, and policymakers make critical decisions."

We’re hiring a junior colleague in AP @au-spa.bsky.social

Please share broadly & questions can come to me! (I’m chair!)

american.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/AU/job/Main-...

No, the Green Bay Packers are not a realistic business model for your local newspaper Until the news business adopts NFL-style revenue sharing — which, um, it won't — the Packers are more of an exception than a useful metaphor.

Attention Patrick Soon-Shiong, Jon Stewart, and anyone else who needs reminding:

No, the Green Bay Packers are not a realistic business model for your local newspaper

www.niemanlab.org/2022/08/no-t...

A book cover with title “Listeners Like Who? Exclusion and Resistance in the Public Radio Industry”

Copy of my book just arrived in the mail today! Feels unreal. You can preorder it here: press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...

Among the many things outrageous in this story, what kind of nonprofit news organization forces its own journalists to sign “non-disparagement and confidentiality agreements as a condition of severance?”

Sure was terrifying enjoying the orchestra the other day in a Minneapolis park…

Hurray! Congrats Dr. @ljlincoln.bsky.social!

It Happened to Me: Goldy Gopher Came to My Gay Wedding - Racket Goldy’s in-your-face affection knows no labels or limits, though his fee and time constraints are nonnegotiable.

This is ridiculously fun.

Opinion | Holy Water Couldn’t Save My Husband. MAHA Wouldn’t Have Either.

If you can read only one thing this morning, let it be this from the wonderful @dannagal.bsky.social

Mario Guevara, the metro Atlanta-based Spanish-language reporter who built a mass audience with his coverage of immigration raids, could be deported following his arrest at a protest over the weekend, according to his attorney. A lawyer for Guevara told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged what is known as a “detainer” against the journalist, which is often the first step in deportation procedures.

ICE is attempting to deport an Atlanta-based Spanish-language reporter from El Salvador who has been covering their immigration abductions. He has legal work authorization and a path to a green card.

This is pretty obviously an assault on the free press.

www.ajc.com/news/2025/06...

How Mark Zuckerberg unleashed his inner brawler The boss’s transformation shocked liberals at Meta, but his closest allies say this is who he was all along

The truth about Mark Zuckerberg’s macho-man makeover https://on.ft.com/4kP4U09

📘 Hazel Gaudet-Erskine Best Book Award 2025

Avoiding the News: Reluctant Audiences for Journalism

By @benjamintoff.bsky.social, Ruth Palmer & Rasmus Kleis Nielsen

cup.columbia.edu/book/avoidin...

Using original survey data from April, @povertyscholar.bsky.social and I demonstrate three key themes about public opinion about Medicaid:

1) people support the program -- including across red (74%) and blue (78% states) {thread}

Reuters Institute researchers receive major awards for work broadening understanding of trust in news Our colleagues and former staff received the awards at the International Communication Association's annual conference in Denver (United States).

So honored and grateful to have received The Wolfgang Donsbach Outstanding Article of the Year Award from the #ICA25 @icajsd.bsky.social for a paper with my colleagues from the @reutersinstitute.bsky.social Trust in News Project: reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/reuters...