As a media writer, I spend a smart part of my workday eating information: printed products, websites, cable and broadcast television news, social media sites, public radio, and even specialty programs on satellite radio.
The past few weeks have produced a dizzying amount and diversity of news, from the presidential debate that ousted President Joe Biden from the race to the shooting at a rally hosted by former President Donald Trump to Biden’s official resignation of Vice President Kamala Harris. . the presumptive Democratic candidate.
When was the last time something was close to this kind of news cycle? Maybe in 2020, when COVID-19 virtually shut down the world and Biden fought Trump for the US presidency.
And every day, from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed and dozens of times in between, there are two Internet sites that I constantly check: the New York Times and the Washington Post. Not because I have to. , but because I need it. It is a habit that is born from the excellence of the journalism that is done there.
The paintings made through those two iconic establishments over the past month have been nothing short of magnificent. The Times and Post have not only expertly delved into the stories discussed above, but continue to produce ordinary paintings about two wars, i. e. , what it’s like to fall in the Middle East; elections in France and Venezuela; and now the Olympic Games.
In addition, they continue to produce skillfully written articles on topics ranging from the weather to books about summer, videos, and bizarre topics like paper checks.
Take Sunday as an example, as I write this.
The New York Times online page began with an article about how “Trump’s rally shooter was one step ahead of the Secret Service. “And there was Shawn McCreesh’s article, “Bitcoin Believers: 24 Hours in Trump’s Code-Changing Campaign. “
Other headlines included “Anguish in Town Over Loss of 12 Young Men to Rocket Attack,” as well as meme stories of Kamala Harris, who could be his running mate, and Trump’s running mate, J. D. Vance.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post wrote about “How Kamala Harris Took Control of the Democratic Party”; “Inside the tough Peter Thiel network that established J. D. Vance,” and a desirable story about Vance’s wife in “Usha Vance told her friends that Trump horrified her. ” Now he is running to elect him.
These stories not only echo others. They are original, with in-depth reporting and enthusiasm.
Was the canopy perfect? Of course not. There will be occasional op-eds that seem founded more on the author’s non-public politics than reality, although that’s also what makes publications like the Times and the Post so interesting: They offer a wide diversity of voices.
What’s noteworthy about the Post’s work is that it’s being done as the paper goes through adjustments in its leadership and controversies involving its new editor. Even with a new editor and a great deal of uncertainty about its future, either from a control and monetary perspective, Post reporters continue to publish must-read books.
The stories I mentioned above are just a few of the stories that appear on the most prominent pages of their homepages. Continue to look for stories about pedicures, television, Melinda French Gates, and more.
It is very easy to consume media and detect defects. The Times and Post recently posed many questions to critics.
But in one of the most significant weeks in our nation’s history, the two newspapers considered the popularity gold of American journalism lived up to their reputations.
The quantity and, above all, the quality of his paintings is in line with what we expect from the Times and the Post.
But that doesn’t make it any less impressive.
On Friday night, X owner Elon Musk reposted a video of Vice President Kamala Harris with negative comments about President Joe Biden and even herself.
One problem: manipulated video.
Ali Swenson of the Associated Press wrote: “Two experts specializing in AI-generated media tested the sound of the fake ad and showed that much of it was AI generated technology. One of them, Hany Farid, an expert in virtual forensics at the University of California, Berkeley, said the video showed the power of generative AI and deepfaux.
In an email to Swenson, Farid said: “The AI-generated voice is very good. Although most people probably wouldn’t say it’s Vice President Harris’ voice, the video is even more difficult because the words are in her voice.
Is this true? Although many, basically because of its scandalous content, will consider it false, others may not.
Ken Bensinger of the New York Times wrote: “The edition posted a message that the video was a ‘parody. ‘” Musk reposted the video on his own account 8 hours later, but made no such disclosure, saying only: “This is Incredible. ” Musk’s post, followed by a laughing emoji, which has since been viewed 98 million times, appears to go against X’s policies, which prohibit sharing “synthetic, manipulated or out-of-context media that They can simply lie or confuse other people and do harm. ”
Musk and the tweeter did not respond to media questions. In a statement, Harris’ campaign said, “Other Americans need the true freedom, opportunity and security that Vice President Harris provides — not Elon Musk’s manipulated false lies. ” and Donald Trump.
It’s a quiet weekend in terms of political news. Well, compared to the last two weekends. Two weeks ago, on July 17, Trump was shot and killed at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Then, last weekend, on July 21, President Joe Biden announced that he would not run for reelection. .
So last weekend passed in silence, even as Trump and Harris continued to deliver their speeches to the American people.
Associated Press media editor David Bauder published an article about how news from past weekends temporarily reached the American public: “Even on quiet summer weekends, massive news spread to millions of people faster than ever before. “
Take the news from Biden. Bauder wrote: “At 1:46 p. m. At the time Biden released his X announcement, an estimated 215,000 other people were connected to one of the 124 major U. S. news sites. U. S. Fifteen minutes later, those sites had 893,000 readers, according to Chartbeat, another 3,580 people logged on to the site on the day 1:46 p. m. Nearly an hour later, at 2:43 p. m. , the Associated Press online news site reached its afternoon peak with 18,936 new visitors. . com and its news app saw their usage increase fivefold within 20 minutes of the news being published, the network said.
Bauder added: “The television networks broke into the normal programming of history between 13:50 and 14:04. During the relatively quiet quarter hour before 2 p. m. , a total of 2. 69 million people watched CNN, Fox News Channel or MSNBC, Nielsen said. Viewership on those three channels reached 6. 84 million between 2 p. m. and the 4 p. m. Si to this we add ABC and CBS, which also had a special policy in those times, there were at least 9. 27 million more people following the story. on television.
My Poynter colleague Kelly McBride recently surveyed friends, family, and social networks to find out how quickly they learned about the Trump rally shooting and how satisfied they were with the media coverage. I recently logged on, but if you missed it, be sure to check it out.
A kind spectacle is presented on Friday at the Eiffel Tower as the opening rite of the 2024 Summer Olympics. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Friday night’s viewership for the Olympics’ opening rites drew significant numbers for NBC. Nearly 29 million viewers watched it on NBC platforms, making it the most-watched Opening Ceremony since the 2012 London Games. This year’s viewership represents a big jump from the 2021 Tokyo Games. Delayed by COVID, they drew 17. 9 million viewers, their lowest point in 33 years.
I must admit that this year’s numbers surprised me. I think NBC would do well to get closer to the Rio 2016 audience. But this year, the 26 million viewer mark surpassed the mark of the opening in Rio.
Viewership numbers were strong despite combined criticism related to NBC’s coverage. NBC has tried something a little different. Host Mike Tirico, the network’s top sportscaster, was joined by former NFL wonder Peyton Manning and singer and TV host Kelly Clarkson.
NBC’s coverage, as is the case, took a more general fan interest approach. It is not aimed so much at die-hard sports enthusiasts or even Olympic sports enthusiasts. It is more aimed at the casual viewer who needs to be entertained through the “show”. It looks more like a Thanksgiving parade.
For some, this technique worked. For others, this is the case.
Arthur Weinstein of Awful Anusing noted that enthusiasts were frustrated that Clarkson would shout “wow” or “cool” every time there was a new segment at the ceremony.
Chris Bumbaca of USA Today wrote, “Tirico is the most productive of the most productive when it comes to hosting and play-by-play, and it’s his typical self. “But Manning and Clarkson were distracting, at best, productive, and at worst, brutal to watch out for.
Los Angeles Times television critic Robert Lloyd wrote, “The commentary, through Mike Tirico, Kelly Clarkson, and Peyton Manning, had the effect of other people talking about a play, or that jarring feeling when you’re in a foreign country and suddenly you hear American lyrics. “They would probably have been presented at a disadvantage, given the secrecy surrounding the production and a non-native understanding of French culture and history. But beyond the type of sports statistics that no spectator will stay in their heads. For longer than it takes to express them, they talked at length about how they felt and what they imagined athletes would feel. This transformed the athletes’ parade into a Macy’s parade.
Overall, I found the transmission to be good. You know what you’re getting into when you see an Olympic opening ceremony. If you’re bothered by the occasional “wow” about anything that seems interesting, you probably haven’t gotten the note about what you’re looking for. And there’s a lot of interesting stuff.
The broadcast effectively contributed to the uniqueness of the ceremony. Instead of taking place in a stadium, as usual, it took place on the Seine in Paris.
The Washington Post’s Jerry Brewer wrote: “It wasn’t the best night, but Paris didn’t have to be the best. It just had to be Paris. Perhaps only Paris has staged such a spectacle: a traveling opening rite that traversed a city for the first time in Olympic history, an occasion that resembled a championship parade, combined with a telethon-long concert and an interactive film that exploded. the wall between film and live performance.
But Mike Hale, television critic for the New York Times, wrote: “The decision to abandon the classic format of the occasion (the long formal parade of athletes entering a stadium) for a river procession along the Seine interspersed with performances had a double effect. This transformed the ritual into something bigger, more varied and more occasionally entertaining. But it also turned it into something else: just another inflated display designed for television, like a halftime exhibition, an awards show or. a Christmas parade that exists to advertise and perpetuate itself.
Do you have any comments or advice? Email Tom Jones, senior media editor at Poynter, at tjones@poynter. org.
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