Melanie Sill
@melaniesill.bsky.social
Board chair, @NCLocal nonpartisan local news hub. Former top editor News & Observer, SacBee, KPCC/LAist. Posting on journalism's role in democracy and how people can get the information they need
Reposted by Melanie Sill
Startling speech by a city council member after newsroom cuts at the Lexington, KY Herald Leader.
Urge you to watch, listen and learn of the bond that a good newspaper can create without losing its independence.
Owner: Hedge fund Chatham Asset Management
kiesow.net/how-to-talk-... via kiesow.net
Urge you to watch, listen and learn of the bond that a good newspaper can create without losing its independence.
Owner: Hedge fund Chatham Asset Management
kiesow.net/how-to-talk-... via kiesow.net
How to talk about the local news crisis: We are all worse off.
Last week, McClatchy rolled out the latest round of destructive cuts to its local reporting staff. The cuts themselves are barely newsworthy within the industry at this point, though the futility of '...
kiesow.net
September 17, 2026 at 2:04 AM
Startling speech by a city council member after newsroom cuts at the Lexington, KY Herald Leader.
Urge you to watch, listen and learn of the bond that a good newspaper can create without losing its independence.
Owner: Hedge fund Chatham Asset Management
kiesow.net/how-to-talk-... via kiesow.net
Urge you to watch, listen and learn of the bond that a good newspaper can create without losing its independence.
Owner: Hedge fund Chatham Asset Management
kiesow.net/how-to-talk-... via kiesow.net
Reposted by Melanie Sill
All journalists need to read this terrific Bill Grueskin story about how the New York Times made multiple mistakes in defaming a college athlete. An NYT editor actually testified: “Yes, we got a fact wrong, but that doesn’t mean we did anything wrong before publishing the story.”
A shaky anonymous source; a jab about a “hillbilly ambulance chaser” lawyer; a flub that allowed a skeptical editor’s email to become public; an internal text exchange raising doubts about the story:
I looked into how the NYT lost its first US libel case in >50 years.
www.cjr.org/news/how-the...
I looked into how the NYT lost its first US libel case in >50 years.
www.cjr.org/news/how-the...
How the New York Times lost a defamation trial.
An anonymous source, a “hillbilly ambulance chaser” text message, and the newsroom’s first defamation defeat in this country in more than fifty years.
www.cjr.org
September 17, 2026 at 11:57 AM
All journalists need to read this terrific Bill Grueskin story about how the New York Times made multiple mistakes in defaming a college athlete. An NYT editor actually testified: “Yes, we got a fact wrong, but that doesn’t mean we did anything wrong before publishing the story.”
Reposted by Melanie Sill
Trump, in North Carolina calls North Carolina "one of the worst" states "in the whole nation"
September 16, 2026 at 11:35 PM
Trump, in North Carolina calls North Carolina "one of the worst" states "in the whole nation"
Reposted by Melanie Sill
The USPS can't be trusted anymore. Straight to the ballot box or polling place
Auditors observed election mail at 14 processing facilities and 73 delivery units and found significant flaws in the handling of ballots.
In some locations, management wasn’t familiar with ballot processing requirements.
In some locations, management wasn’t familiar with ballot processing requirements.
U.S. Postal Service Failed to Properly Handle Some Ballots During This Year’s Primary Elections, Audit Finds
An inspector general’s audit found a lack of training for post office staff, deficiencies in how ballots were tracked and errors leading to delays. Experts say it raises questions ahead of the midterm...
www.propublica.org
September 13, 2026 at 2:45 PM
The USPS can't be trusted anymore. Straight to the ballot box or polling place
Unasked/unanswered in today's major media coverage: What are the US objectives in Iran? Are we at war? What do members of Congress say. What's the president's authority and limits? Questions asked early on, but dropped.
September 9, 2026 at 12:48 PM
Unasked/unanswered in today's major media coverage: What are the US objectives in Iran? Are we at war? What do members of Congress say. What's the president's authority and limits? Questions asked early on, but dropped.
Welcome to the worst hours of journalism each week, when politicians get on TV and spin things and reporters treat this as news. Cover what they're doing, not what they're saying.
September 6, 2026 at 2:25 PM
Welcome to the worst hours of journalism each week, when politicians get on TV and spin things and reporters treat this as news. Cover what they're doing, not what they're saying.
A pattern in daily journalism is that big and obvious questions stop being asked in ongoing coverage: Where is the Secretary of State? What happened to Trump's promise to end this war before he even took office? What are the US objectives? Similar with Iran war, ICE, much more.
Doubt America has devolved into a dictatorship and a kleptocracy? Jared Kushner is not a govt official. He’s just the son in law of Trump. Where are the experts? Where are the professionals appointed and confirmed? What a disgrace .
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/05/w...
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/05/w...
Putin Meets Witkoff and Kushner in Moscow to Discuss Ukraine War
President Vladimir V. Putin ordered a pause in strikes on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, ahead of the meeting with President Trump’s envoys: his son-in-law Jared Kushner and the businessman Steve Witkoff.
www.nytimes.com
September 6, 2026 at 12:10 PM
A pattern in daily journalism is that big and obvious questions stop being asked in ongoing coverage: Where is the Secretary of State? What happened to Trump's promise to end this war before he even took office? What are the US objectives? Similar with Iran war, ICE, much more.
Terrific reporting from @wral.bsky.social on the UNC football investigation — as the high-paid GM steps down, Bill Belicheck's son and whole program under scrutiny
Nothing good has happened with UNC football since Bill Belichick was hired. Thanks to the Board of Trustees for forcing the hiring. www.wral.com/sports/north...
Lombardi out as UNC investigators probe allegations of drug use, sex among players, staff
Lawyers investigating UNC football questioned people about allegations involving assistant Steve Belichick and, separately, about a possible sexual relationship between at least one employee and at le...
www.wral.com
September 4, 2026 at 10:46 AM
Terrific reporting from @wral.bsky.social on the UNC football investigation — as the high-paid GM steps down, Bill Belicheck's son and whole program under scrutiny
Remember when the United States had a Congress?
AHAHAHAHAHA! The House canceled votes for the last two weeks of September!
September 3, 2026 at 3:02 PM
Remember when the United States had a Congress?
Reposted by Melanie Sill
jfc, Google. When he renames America as the United States of Donald J. Trump, are you going to do that too?
Google Maps has now capitulated to Donald Trump and changed the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America.
Apple Maps still uses the correct name.
Apple Maps still uses the correct name.
August 30, 2026 at 9:34 AM
jfc, Google. When he renames America as the United States of Donald J. Trump, are you going to do that too?
Reposted by Melanie Sill
Will @axios ever say, “Thanks for the call, Mr. President, but you’ve lied to me too many times. We’re not printing that.”
Narrator: Apparently not.
www.axios.com/2026/08/28/t...
Narrator: Apparently not.
www.axios.com/2026/08/28/t...
"That sucker is open": U.S. gains the upper hand in the battle for Hormuz
The U.S. has eroded Iran's main source of leverage.
www.axios.com
August 28, 2026 at 12:21 PM
Will @axios ever say, “Thanks for the call, Mr. President, but you’ve lied to me too many times. We’re not printing that.”
Narrator: Apparently not.
www.axios.com/2026/08/28/t...
Narrator: Apparently not.
www.axios.com/2026/08/28/t...
Reposted by Melanie Sill
North Carolina had a milestone on Saturday: Independent voters rose past the 40% share among registered voters.
Even though 2 out of 5 voters are independent/unaffiliated, NC law prohibits independent voters from serving their state on the 5-member State Board of Elections.
#ncpol #ncga
Even though 2 out of 5 voters are independent/unaffiliated, NC law prohibits independent voters from serving their state on the 5-member State Board of Elections.
#ncpol #ncga
August 24, 2026 at 10:27 PM
Good accountability reporting from @nbcnews.com
Pay attention to actions, not rhetoric: Sen. Ron Johnson is the author of a budget just this month that envisions public debt rising from >$41 trillion to >$58 trillion in a decade. His name is on the document and the numbers are explicitly written out.
August 22, 2026 at 11:43 AM
Good accountability reporting from @nbcnews.com
Reposted by Melanie Sill
Lara Korte, who was just fired from Stars & Stripes, has been covering the relocation of personnel from Bahrain for months and did a great piece today on 1,300 Navy family members displaced from Bahrain who are stuck in limbo given the damage to the Bahrain base. www.stripes.com/branches/nav...
August 21, 2026 at 9:50 PM
Lara Korte, who was just fired from Stars & Stripes, has been covering the relocation of personnel from Bahrain for months and did a great piece today on 1,300 Navy family members displaced from Bahrain who are stuck in limbo given the damage to the Bahrain base. www.stripes.com/branches/nav...
Questions for the US leading news outlets and journalists: Is the United States at war? What are members of Conress saying and doing as the president issues threats against Iran, Oman and others? These questions were raised early and dropped. Accountability requires sticking with them.
August 18, 2026 at 5:17 PM
Questions for the US leading news outlets and journalists: Is the United States at war? What are members of Conress saying and doing as the president issues threats against Iran, Oman and others? These questions were raised early and dropped. Accountability requires sticking with them.
Reposted by Melanie Sill
Gonna go with @kairyssdal.bsky.social on this one, but honestly, it’s a close call
August 16, 2026 at 12:35 AM
Gonna go with @kairyssdal.bsky.social on this one, but honestly, it’s a close call
Reposted by Melanie Sill
We've got quite the story for you 🧵
You and I — all of us taxpayers — funded this $533 million artillery plant outside of Dallas.
It hasn’t produced a single usable shell.
Yet the defense contractor, General Dynamics, has never been held publicly accountable. Nor has it had to pay a penny back… 1/
It hasn’t produced a single usable shell.
Yet the defense contractor, General Dynamics, has never been held publicly accountable. Nor has it had to pay a penny back… 1/
August 15, 2026 at 3:42 PM
We've got quite the story for you 🧵
Reposted by Melanie Sill
Yeah, see, the thing is, a lot of them didn’t. Survive, that is.
August 13, 2026 at 11:59 PM
Yeah, see, the thing is, a lot of them didn’t. Survive, that is.
Reposted by Melanie Sill
Prediction markets are not predictive and should not be covered as news
August 12, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Prediction markets are not predictive and should not be covered as news
I don't care why the polls were off. I care that national political journalism still doesn't know how to cover voters — and, more broadly, what's happening in people's lives and grassroots politics that shows up in votes.
August 12, 2026 at 9:13 PM
I don't care why the polls were off. I care that national political journalism still doesn't know how to cover voters — and, more broadly, what's happening in people's lives and grassroots politics that shows up in votes.
Reposted by Melanie Sill
The complaints cite a ProPublica report detailing how CBS and Paramount have for years given FCC commissioners luxury gala tickets, which the commissioners accepted even as the FCC was reviewing or about to review major Paramount business decisions.
FCC Commissioners Face Ethics Complaints for Taking Luxury Gifts From Paramount
Citing a ProPublica report on Paramount providing luxury Kennedy Center gala tickets to FCC officials, the complaints note that commissioners accepted the gifts while the FCC was reviewing or about…
www.propublica.org
August 9, 2026 at 3:00 AM
The complaints cite a ProPublica report detailing how CBS and Paramount have for years given FCC commissioners luxury gala tickets, which the commissioners accepted even as the FCC was reviewing or about to review major Paramount business decisions.
Reposted by Melanie Sill
President Trump wants to soften one of the strongest legal protections American workers have: the right to hold an employer accountable when retirement savings are mishandled.
Here's what you need to know: propub.li/4g078bJ
Here's what you need to know: propub.li/4g078bJ
August 8, 2026 at 3:45 PM
President Trump wants to soften one of the strongest legal protections American workers have: the right to hold an employer accountable when retirement savings are mishandled.
Here's what you need to know: propub.li/4g078bJ
Here's what you need to know: propub.li/4g078bJ
One obvious lesson of NYT primaries coverage: The paper is more dug in than ever on horse race coverage, partisan labeling, and fixation on ideological differences as dysfunction. Read the Times for its investigative journalism: it does not know how to cover the electorate or grassroots issues
August 5, 2026 at 6:05 PM
One obvious lesson of NYT primaries coverage: The paper is more dug in than ever on horse race coverage, partisan labeling, and fixation on ideological differences as dysfunction. Read the Times for its investigative journalism: it does not know how to cover the electorate or grassroots issues
Reposted by Melanie Sill
Prisciliano Trejo Ricano came to the U.S. at 3yrs old.
ICE took him this June. He was 29.
He told his family he didn't feel right but ICE wouldn't give him medical attention.
After a month, ICE finally moved him to a hospital
Prisciliano died five days later
enlacelatinonc.org/en/Young-Mex...
ICE took him this June. He was 29.
He told his family he didn't feel right but ICE wouldn't give him medical attention.
After a month, ICE finally moved him to a hospital
Prisciliano died five days later
enlacelatinonc.org/en/Young-Mex...
A young Mexican man living in Durham died in ICE custody.
News in Spanish about politics, immigration and community issues for Latinos in North Carolina.
enlacelatinonc.org
July 30, 2026 at 5:50 PM
Prisciliano Trejo Ricano came to the U.S. at 3yrs old.
ICE took him this June. He was 29.
He told his family he didn't feel right but ICE wouldn't give him medical attention.
After a month, ICE finally moved him to a hospital
Prisciliano died five days later
enlacelatinonc.org/en/Young-Mex...
ICE took him this June. He was 29.
He told his family he didn't feel right but ICE wouldn't give him medical attention.
After a month, ICE finally moved him to a hospital
Prisciliano died five days later
enlacelatinonc.org/en/Young-Mex...
Reposted by Melanie Sill
Running out of body bags, using forklifts to transfer corpses into makeshift morgues, a mortician conducting 200 funerals in a month when he usually does 30, crematories running at double capacity…
And these senators just want to memory-hole it all
www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/n...
And these senators just want to memory-hole it all
www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/n...
‘We Ran Out of Space’: Bodies Pile Up as N.Y. Struggles to Bury Its Dead (Gift Article)
The coronavirus crisis is overwhelming New York’s system for burying the dead.
www.nytimes.com
July 30, 2026 at 2:03 AM
Running out of body bags, using forklifts to transfer corpses into makeshift morgues, a mortician conducting 200 funerals in a month when he usually does 30, crematories running at double capacity…
And these senators just want to memory-hole it all
www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/n...
And these senators just want to memory-hole it all
www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/n...