News Media

Writing on the wall

Fear of school shootings feels a lot like fear of Omicron.

By Justin Katz | December 16, 2021 |

The Omicron count has begun in Rhode Island!  One: The case was detected in a woman in her 20s who lives in Providence County. The individual recently returned to Rhode Island from New York and had previously completed their primary vaccination series. She did not receive a booster shot, according to the health department. Two:…

A water drop and ripples

The rules are different for Democrats.

By Justin Katz | December 9, 2021 |

Now that she’s been confirmed as the U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, interest has surged in a video of her berating journalists outside her house while she was still a county district attorney back in January.  The bullying and defensiveness are noteworthy, of course.  It takes a certain personality type to tell a reporter she’s going…

Let’s Hear ALL Information about Omicron, Even the Positive

By Monique Chartier | November 29, 2021 |

A new variant of COVID-19, Omicron, (don’t ask what happened to Xi!) has been identified in South Africa. It took only a ten second search to find this important and comparatively positive information about Omicron. Omicron is reported to be seven times more contagious than the Delta variant and yet in the last two months,…

A black man driving into a parade

One way or another, the Wisconsin Christmas parade massacre is indicative of our perilous position.

By Justin Katz | November 22, 2021 |

Unfortunately, it’s a familiar sequence. A video hits social media showing a few seconds of some shocking incident.  At first it is universally passed along with expressions of horror, but very quickly, browsing users can begin to see most posts groping for political relevance. Facts begin to emerge, and if they serve a progressive narrative…

A water drop and ripples

Here’s more deliberately withheld context on Kenosha and Rittenhouse.

By Justin Katz | November 19, 2021 |

In keeping with my earlier post about being open to contextual details that may change how we ought to feel about events, note a bit of information from former New York Times reporter Nellie Bowles (about halfway down this page), concerning an article she wrote about the devastation to small businesses in Kenosha, which the paper’s editors…

A water drop and ripples

The parental-rights narrative is always being framed.

By Justin Katz | November 18, 2021 |

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen it characterized as “doubling down” before when a party to a lawsuit has appealed to a higher court, but here’s Sarah Doiron on WPRI: Several parents who are challenging the state’s school mask mandate are doubling down on their efforts by appealing a Rhode Island Superior Court judge’s…

A water drop and ripples

The media has the power to rewrite reality.

By Justin Katz | November 12, 2021 |

It shows you the power of the mainstream media to dictate what world people think they live in that even paying as much attention to this stuff as I do, I missed the second of three election-related stories the mainstream media downplayed, according to Ben Johnson: The legacy media celebrated India Walton, a self-described socialist…

Parker Gavigan

The revolving door between Rhode Island media and government continues.

By Justin Katz | November 10, 2021 |

My very few personal interactions with Parker Gavin over the years have confirmed that he’s a great guy, and it hardly needs my affirmation that he’s been a great reporter for WJAR.  That said, I continue to believe it’s harmful to our system of government when journalists see work for government and politicians as one…

A water drop and ripples

Reporters’ repeating PR language for government programs is a pet peeve of mine.

By Justin Katz | November 10, 2021 |

Note this closing paragraph, reported as fact, at the end of Melanie DaSivla’s WPRI report on Rhode Island officials’ glee at the anticipated influx of borrowed money for infrastructure from the federal government: The transformational legislation will also create millions of good-paying, union jobs across the country, reduce inflationary economic pressures, and ease supply chain…

A water drop and ripples

Boston Globe plays the straight man for SNL.

By Justin Katz | November 9, 2021 |

I have to admit that I found Kenneth Singletary’s write-up for the Boston Globe about a Saturday Night Live skit involving Rhode Island to be more humorous than the skit itself: Singletary plays the straight man (that’s a comedy term, for the woke out there) with his straight-news report: Strong looks worried. The newscast continues.…