Michael Socolow

Over an image of the website Our World in Data, this text: "Our World in Data: Catnip for the Curious A Resource from Oxford University, filled with fascinating data."

Catnip for the Curious: @ourworldindata.org isn't exactly a secret, but, like Reddit's Data Is Beautiful, it's filled with fascinating infographics & information about trends in our contemporary world.

The latest in the Lint Trap.

linttrapofhistory.substack.com/p/our-world-...

image of a stylized seahawk head mask

Cool story: The Seattle Seahawks helmet logo comes from a mask of the Kwakwaka’wakw people of British Columbia.

But it resides in a museum at the University of Maine.

umaine.edu/news/blog/20...

Don’t trust the news media? That’s good Journalism has been fodder for politicians’ contempt for generations. A huge percentage of the public doesn’t trust the news media either. That mistrust isn’t a bad thing in a democracy.

Low trust in the media?

Not a problem: “Everyone in a democracy is a certified media critic, which is as it should be"
-Michael Schudson

"An enduring democracy will encourage rather than discourage media criticism."
Me in @us.theconversation.com a few years ago

theconversation.com/dont-trust-t...

It's kind of amazing the @nytimes.com was positively profiling High School "Tik Tok clubs" just 6 years ago (T. Lorenz) and now it's positively reporting that High Schools around the U.S.A. are banning cell phones.

A far-right activist is running for Bangor City Council Richard Ward is one of 11 potential candidates considering running for three open seats on the Bangor City Council this November.

A neo-Nazi who drives around town in his Adolf Hitler T-shirt waving a "1488" flag is running for City Council in Bangor, Maine.

I'm not sure if this is common elsewhere in the U.S.A. these days?

He says his profession is "free speech activist."

www.bangordailynews.com/2025/08/18/b...

Democrats need to pin unaffordability + inflation on Trump. It's his weakness. Don't talk about negotiating with him.
Take ownership of shut down with a message that'll resonate:

"We can't afford it..."
"We can't afford it..."
"We can't afford to..."

Be very, very disciplined and repetitive.

Every Democrat should begin *every* media response with:

"We can't afford it."

"We can't afford higher prices and more unemployment. Nobody can afford to buy a house. Nobody can get a job. Everyone knows things are getting much worse. That's why we're shutting it down. It's not working." (2/3)

This is obviously a Frank Luntz-tested message that works.

It indicts Democrats [via metaphor & synecdoche] almost perfectly, and disarms/weakens their strongest point by including "healthcare" in verbiage.

Democrats need rhetocial clarity:
"We can't afford it."
That's it. Repeat over + over (1/3)

Even if you're 100% correct [and I think you are], none of that matters in the 2025 media environment.
What 4 or 5-word message can Democrats repeat endlessly [whether true or not] that will resonate in people's heads for the win? That they're not even trying is telling.
It's all that matters.

Republicans: "Healthcare for illegal immigrants."

Four words, repeated continuously by every Republican. Complete message discipline.
Everyone's heard them by now & will continue to hear them.

Democrats: ?

The difference in precise, succinct, direct messaging is astounding.

A cartoon of a female chimpanzee plucking a hair off the back of a male chimpanzee. Text: "Well, well - another blond hair - Conducting a little more 'research' with that Jane Goodall tramp?"

RIP Jane Goodall, who could take a joke:

"In the aftermath, Goodall reached out to Larson, and the two became friends; Larson even licensed the cartoon to the Institute to produce a t-shirt that was then used to raise funds."

screenrant.com/far-side-con...

Beta Gems: Another Youtube Channel Filled with Wonderful and Weird Lost Video Objects Culled from over 1,000 videotapes, little snippets from a pop culture world that's disappeared

Beta Gems: A very cool + curated YouTube channel [created by Jay Allen Sanford of The San Diego Reader] is filled with weird + wonderful lost objects, culled from over 1,000 videotapes.

The latest in the Lint Trap.

linttrapofhistory.substack.com/p/beta-gems-...

Editorial overhaul: Washington Post's new opinion chief feels the weight of the challenges ahead The Washington Post's new opinion editor Adam O'Neal spoke with Fox News Digital about the challenges he faces as he reshapes the paper's editorial pages.

The @postopinions.bsky.social's reinvention is like if Coca Cola insisted on pumping out New Coke forever & stopped making classic Coke.

They know *exactly* who's willing to pay for subscriptions, yet they don't care.

I guess revenue doesn't matter at this point?

www.foxnews.com/media/editor...

48 Million People Follow Television's Most Celebrated Reporters An advertisement from 1959 reminds us of a different - and perhaps much healthier - informational environment

Remembering when "48 million Americans followed Televsion's Most Celebrated Reporters"
"Audience members wouldn’t fabricate ridiculous fictions, tell them to friends, and pretend they got them from Murrow or Cronkite" (in 1959)
Latest in the Lint Trap

linttrapofhistory.substack.com/p/48-million...

In retrospect, it seems all that proud chest-thumping over the "victory of the Constitution" over Nixon & his authoritarian illegalities in 1974 was premature?

Our "long national nightmare" about Presidents acting illegally didn't end - it was just put in abeyance for a few decades.

The Federal Communications Commission investigates CBS News 2025 ? No, 1961. And Robert F. Kennedy wanted information about Captain Kangaroo, too.

Recalling that time Kennedy's FCC and Attorney General both suspected something was fishy about... Captain Kangaroo?

CBS President Frank Stanton responded, trying to clear the Captain's good name.

linttrapofhistory.substack.com/p/the-federa...

There's no longer a David Brinkley, Eric Sevareid, or Andy Rooney to point out obvious [bipartisan] realities to tens of millions of TV viewers who aren't really engaging them.

For example: This country needs to get better at keeping guns out of the hands of lunatics.

Related: A new study shows integrating AI in the workplace is hurting productivity, as workers need to fix AI slop before they're embarrassed by it.

www.404media.co/ai-workslop-...

The algorithm will see you now - Works in Progress Magazine Radiology combines digital images, clear benchmarks, and repeatable tasks. But replacing humans with AI is harder than it seems.

If AI can't do radiology - which involves pattern recognition, digital inputs, and clear benchmarks (metrics) - than its future is in more trouble than I thought.

Of course, it's early. But right now AI is failing at the one medical specialty that was must vulnerable to it.

Evacuation Day (New York) - Wikipedia

On Nov. 25, 1783, the British evacuated New York City.

Gov. Clinton hosted a dinner at Fraunces Tavern for Gen. Washington & his staff. They drank 13 toasts to commemorate the occasion.

The 11th toast: "May America be an Asylum to the persecuted of the Earth."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evacuat...

Over the image of computer screen showing a google search, the following text is written: "Is AI Hiding Your Past Publications? A Warning for Journalists, Authors and Scholars We all know Google search is terrible now. But AI might be worse - it might be actively hiding your past published work by pretending no public link exists on the web."

Link rot's bad.
But with enshitified search, you might find even your old published stuff can't be easily located anymore.
AI's making this much worse.

How I discovered some of my past publications are being hidden by AI.

The Latest in the Lint Trap

linttrapofhistory.substack.com/p/is-ai-hidi...

Disney Sure Picked an Interesting Week for a Big Streaming Price Hike Four of its popular plans, including the Disney+ and Hulu bundle, will cost more.

Disney hiking the price of Disney+ (Hulu, ESPN, etc.) on *the same day* it brings Kimmel back illustrates how unimportant TV ratings are compared to streaming distribution numbers in 2025.

The Sinclair/Nexstar affiliate issues probably matter much less than subs.

www.vulture.com/article/disn...

Larry Ellison, a Media Mogul Like No Other

“Everything is consolidating,” said Michael Socolow, a media historian at the University of Maine... "To have the opportunity to establish an editorial line across TikTok, CBS News and CNN — that’s a new world.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/t...

Even as Jimmy Kimmel returns to the airwaves, TV networks remain more vulnerable to political pressure than ever before President Nixon tried and failed to cancel ‘The Dick Cavett Show.’ Since then, deregulation and consolidation have made media conglomerates more willing to accommodate those in power.

I didn't know Nixon despised Dick Cavett, and tried to cancel his ABC late night show - but couldn't.

Every now and then it feels like Tricky Dick Nixon died for Donald Trump's sins.

Great @oscarwinberg.bsky.social + Sage Goodwin @theconversation.com op-ed

theconversation.com/even-as-jimm...

When you think about the gigantic investment in AI, there's basically 2 possible outcomes:

1. It succeeds, and therefore results in massive unemployment.

2. It fails, resulting in the Wall Street bubble bursting, causing a stock market crash.

How'd we get here?

My guess:
ABC's going to pull a "Colbert" on Kimmel.
They'll bring him back to fulfill contractual obligations, they'll let him say a little something tomorrow night, but they won't sign a new contract with him & his show will be off the air in a few months.

A Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger could give Trump even more influence over US media – shaping the news and culture Americans watch and stream The proposed Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery merger would concentrate oversight of two prominent newsrooms – CNN and CBS – under one owner with strong ties to Donald Trump.

Great to see this out in the wild, co-authored w/ @ppopiel.bsky.social @sydneyforde.bsky.social @theine.bsky.social, with excellent editorial support from @theconversation.com @democracyeditor.bsky.social who expertly & expeditiously shepherded it start to finish. theconversation.com/a-paramount-...

YouTube video by romynastore Earth Wind & Fire September in BRAZIL 1980

Do you remember?

It's Earth, Wind & Fire Day.

*(Isn't it wild how every September 21st turns out to be glorious, sunny and perfect? Thanks to these guys!)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLig...

Image of a shirtless Pittsburgh Steeler football player Lynn Swann wearing a baseball cap, with the text: "Historic [Chicago] Video Digitized: The MediaBurn Archive. The Media Burn Archive, out of Chicago, has digitized and made available some very interesting (and historic) video."

The @mediaburn.bsky.social Archive is an extraordinary primary source resource, filled with "Lost Objects" from video history that are fascinating, funny, and thought-provoking.

If you've never kicked around it, go check it out.

The latest in the Lint Trap.

open.substack.com/pub/linttrap...

Very good point.
In 1930s, Liberty League (& others) tried pointing out FDR used the FCC to censor Republicans and he acted like a "radio demagogue" which was dismissed.
But he was elected 4 times & 22nd Amendment was passed in 1951 (in part) to acknowledge the danger of demagogue/new media combo.