Study Hall Digest 6/25/2018

By Study Hall staff writer Allegra Hobbs (@allegraehobbs)

Racked to Fold

Beloved fashion and retail news site Racked will die and be reborn as a Vox vertical called The Goods this coming fall — the site was bought by Vox in 2013 as part of Curbed Network, which also includes Curbed and Eater, and Vox has since struggled to facilitate growth for the site. It remains to be seen what this means in terms of output and personnel — Racked editor Julia Rubin declined to answer questions along those lines — but the site did send out a series of tweets pledging the “same reporting and storytelling you’ve come to expect from Racked.”

Peace and Stability at the LA Times??

After a long period of upheaval, the LA Times has a new leader and seems to have something resembling a clear path forward. Norman Pearlstine is the fourth top editor to be hired to the paper in the last year, but the first to be appointed by its new owner, billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, who bought the paper from Tronc earlier this year to the immense relief of its long-suffering staff. And the reception for Pearlstine seems warm so far. The LA Times piece on the appointment describes a “jubilant” meeting with employees. “Let’s put Tronc in the trunk and we’re done,” said Soon-Shiong at the meeting, to applause from those gathered.

Would You Play the Tape?

What does bold, empathetic, rigorous journalism look like in the face of suffering on a large scale? Does the unprecedented nature of the current circumstances — a serially dishonest administration enforcing callous policies and the relentless availability of documentation — call for unorthodox methods? When ProPublica published audio of young children screaming and crying while being ripped from their parents, it went viral. Shortly after, the White House held a press briefing on the administration’s family separation policy. New York Magazine White House correspondent Olivia Nuzzi chose to play the audio during the briefing — a choice she says was not acknowledged by Homeland Security Secretary Kristjen Nielson, but seemed to spark annoyance and panic from nearby officials. Nuzzi later told the Washington Post, “It felt like the right thing to do — that if I didn’t do it, I would feel cowardly.” I’m not saying playing the audio was a particularly radical act, but it is notable because it absolutely feels more like an activist action than a journalistic one. That’s not a criticism, simply an observation in line with the ongoing conversation on where activism ends and journalism begins, and whether the two can, should, or inevitably do overlap. I lean towards the latter of those options, and am constantly returning to Danielle Tcholakian’s excellent Longreads piece on the subject, which asserts journalism itself may be a form of activism.

WaPo Blacklisted a Freelancer Over a Retweet

Maybe I’m naive, but this made my jaw drop. Freelance writer Abby Seiff wrote for the Columbia Journalism Review about having a story killed by the Washington Post simply because she retweeted a criticism of its work. The pettiness on display here is just staggering — she didn’t even criticize the work herself! She retweeted another person’s criticism! And it seems to have been relatively mild! The Post got very condescending and paternalistic and all “you can try us again in a few months if you’re good.” Fuck that (am I banned from pitching the Post now). Fortunately Seiff put them on blast instead, and the Post quickly issued an apology when it learned her piece was in the works. Has anyone else had a similar experience? I’m genuinely curious and would be interested in hearing about it.

New Yorker Fact Checker Resigns Over Totally Understandable Mistake

Writer Talia Lavin, who had worked as a fact checker at the New Yorker for three years, resigned from the magazine this past week after mistaking a tattoo on an ICE forensics analyst for an Iron Cross. It’s actually a symbol representing the platoon he served with in Afghanistan, but you’d be forgiven (or SHOULD be forgiven) for assuming otherwise at a first glance. In any case, as soon as Lavin learned she was mistaken she deleted the offending tweet and swiftly apologized. That wasn’t enough for ICE, however, which put out a statement targeting Lavin. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Wow, it seems that a private citizen who made a reasonable and honest mistake that was quickly rectified is being held to a far higher moral standard than the federal agency slamming her for said mistake.” I mean, I am also thinking that!

Long Read of the Week: A Writer Grapples with the Anti-Trans Work of Her Past

Donna Minkowitz penned a mea culpa for the admittedly anti-trans framing of her Village Voice story on Brandon Teena, the trans man who was brutally murdered in Fall City, Nebraska in the winter of 1993 — the story that provided the basis for the movie Boys Don’t Cry. Minkowitz writes that she deeply regrets portraying Brandon as essentially a lesbian who hated “her” body as a result of trauma.

The apology may be decades late, but it seems genuinely felt and the writer clearly identifies and owns up to her mistakes. Meanwhile, Jesse fucking Singal is being paid to write blatantly transphobic bullshit for a prestigious national publication and seems pretty much immune to the very valid and thoughtful criticisms of his recent cover story. Read Harron Walker on Singal if you’re looking for an antidote to that piece.

Quick Links

Soul Cycle is launching a media division, according to the Hollywood Reporter. I wonder if it will all be near-incomprehensible inspirational jargon.

And Graydon Carter is launching his own media company, according to the New York Post, which will focus on wealthy European families. Just what we need. That Graydon Carter sure can read a room.

BuzzFeed France is going on strike to protest the site’s closure. Maybe U.S. media workers can learn a thing or two from them.

If you want to read a truly bizarre/horny review of The Incredibles 2, here it is.