“The News Business Sinks Even Closer to Rock Bottom,” The Atlantic
This smart piece by Alexis Madrigal offers a concise explanation of just how Google and Facebook, with the help of news outlets themselves, put a stranglehold on the news business model. Now, we’re to the part of the story where news organizations are asking Congress for the right to collectively negotiate against the internet giants. Even if the companies want to help, can technology fix what it broke? —Greta Kaul, data reporter
“Is the most powerful lobbyist in Washington losing its grip?” The Washington Post
This should be the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s time in Washington, D.C. with a business person in the White House and a GOP-controlled Congress. But Steven Mufson of the Washington Post writes of turmoil within its membership over issues that split companies including climate change, health care and the border-adjustment tax. —Peter Callaghan, local government reporter
“How Trump Is Transforming Rural America,” The New Yorker
Six months after Donald Trump took office, Peter Hessler of The New Yorker looks back at a small Colorado city that went all-out for Trump during the election, only to find out that voters still remain loyal, despite ongoing chaos in his administration and inability to pass signature legislation. — Ibrahim Hirsi, workforce and immigration reporter.
“Are We as Doomed as That New York Magazine Article Says?,” The Atlantic
You may or may not have read New York Magazine’s big cover story — the most read in the publication’s history — on climate change, and about how our future is going to be hotter, deadlier, and more toxic. It was a scary, forceful story, and it sparked a worthwhile debate: what’s the best way to talk about climate change and its dangers? Over at the Atlantic, climate writer Robinson Meyer has a thoughtful refection on the difficulty of communicating climate change, a phenomenon that scientists broadly agree is happening and is caused by humans — but where projections about how bad things might get vary widely. Whether or not you read the New York story or not, Meyer’s exploration of how we think and talk about climate change is worth reading. —Sam Brodey, Washington correspondent
