Originally published at: The Original Sin of Digital Media Was the Belief That Digital Journalists Were Part of the Tech Business - TPM – Talking Points Memo
I want to begin this introduction to our 25th anniversary essay series by telling you what an exciting and must-read collection it is. Our team has commissioned 25 essays on the history of digital media, which more or less overlaps with the 25 years we’re celebrating here at TPM this year. We solicited contributions from…
3 Likes
This is a brilliant assessment of the past 20 years in Media, and especially journalism. In my decades in radio (mostly public radio) we always envied that “newspaper money” and worked to be as ubiquitous as the papers in our markets. Now Google, Youtube and Facebook have syphoned off more money out of media markets than the papers ever got, and your grassroots approach is appreciated and sustainable.
Even in public radio, we got very accustomed to growth in advertising/underwriting revenue - and planned the future on that - many colleagues focusing much more on that than donated / subscription relationship-based revenue.
In the next wave of this, being cohesive, agile (small) and based on a community (of interest and or location) looks to be much more achievable than the “hockey stick.” Bunts and singles and good defensive play wins games, too.
Cheers to the TPM crew and its supporters!
8 Likes
Extraordinarily insightful, as always. I can say (as a media elder), that digital media content providers walked into the same buzz saw that the early TV news professionals hit, that the innovators of FM radio ran into, etc etc. Money does not respect content. Content, and those who generate it, are at best a temporarily necessary pain in the ass…and need to be first controlled and then jettisoned as soon as possible. Ergo, 51% of web content is now AI generated. After 40 years in radio/TV in the US, and consulting internationally for 15+, I learned that almost any role in content generation eventually ends either in tears, or sitting at the end of the bar at closing time asking for one more round (or you join the trolls just to survive). Your diligence and creativity in maintaining the viability of TPM is to be respected for the near miracle it is. Thanks for everything.
10 Likes
Thanks for this Josh. I’ve been reading you since at least 2001, and supporting TMP from your first fundraiser and membership options. I watched the digital media fall apart, and now feel like I’m watching the end of the journalism I knew.
It’s great to have this resource in these times. You and ProPublica are my two “always support” sites. Here’s to another 25 years.
7 Likes
At least you’re not seeing the stagnation of the monopolists! The firms that benefited from lock-in, like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and long before them, Microsoft, are technically moribund. They’re actually laying people off in droves, and not because AI can do even vaguely production-worthy code. They just don’t have new services to offer.
That’s also why there’s so much hype around AI - they haven’t had anything else new to show for ages.
3 Likes
Why pay shareholders dividends with all those monopolistic profits when you can just light the money on fire instead?
4 Likes
Congratulations on making it to 25!
And with 25 commissioned essays marking this accomplishment and occasion, this will amount to one fine festschrift.
To 25 more successful years!
5 Likes
Congratulations on your success, I’m looking forward to this series about digital journalism. First-time commenter, but I’m among your “few dozen readers” from the Florida recount and a subscriber since the launch of the membership program. A Gen-Xer, I worked in politics in the late 90’s and subscribed to the American Prospect. Twenty-five years later, I’m an appellate lawyer, and I’ve probably read more of your words than any other person’s. Your writing—assured, direct, not too-fussy—has influenced my own for the better. Your perspective has helped shape my thinking about American politics. I appreciate your unique mix of liberal values, pragmatism, and optimism. Best to you and your excellent, unionized team. Thank you for the years of reporting and commentary, here’s to many more!
10 Likes
I’ve been reading TPM since I learned of your existence while working on the Al Franken show (2005) as a assistant video editor on the Sundance Channel version of the radio show. I very much enjoy your way of thinking and style of writing. I aspire to ingest multiple points of view to understand our world better, yet rarely have the time to do the deep thinking and analysis of all the information I’m taking in. I see you and TPM as part of my knowledge acquisition and digestion system for the liberal leaning point of view. TPM is smart, thoughtful and honest. What more can I ask for in a human (not AI) new reporting / analyzing organization. Thanks for all you do Josh, especially the hard decision making you needed to do in order to keep TPM strong during the onslaught.
I’m interesting in finding more organizations of your quality that represent other points of view. If anyone has suggestions for conservative and libertarian leaning ones let me know.
5 Likes
Just another voice to say thank you and congratulations to you and all your past, present, and (hopefully) future colleagues who’ve built TPM into what it is today.
As just a single example of what I’ve gained from this place, I have to note that Josh was the first one who brought my attention to the tRumPutin dynamic, for which I’m eternally grateful.
In the discussion of early internet blogs and culture, I also feel the need to give a posthumous shout out and thanks to Tulsan Terry Coppage, aka BartCop, who I first found early in the 2000 presidential primary season. 
4 Likes
Thank you for the past 25 years; I believe I found Josh back at the beginning of the Bush administration…. and I’ve been a paying member for years. I appreciate the broader view of politics and explanation of the real exercise of power that I get at TPM (esp. from the “lapsed historian” Josh) — the content is not just gossip and click-bait. I’m a computer engineer from the mid-west, now in New Hampshire, so although I’ve been in engineering development for years it was never in Silicon Valley. I am naturally suspicious of tech-company claims and hype but we all have to deal with it.
And as I write this my phone pinged, and Reuters tells me “US courts set to run out of money, begins furloughs as shutdown lingers” — yeah. And who does this benefit? Yeah Trump ! INSERT PROFANITY HERE.
Anyway here’s to another 25 years at TPM.
8 Likes
TPM is an absolute treasure. Absolutely invaluable.
I’m grateful that it’s here and still here.
4 Likes
Heartfelt and enthusiastic CONGRATULATIONS on TPM’s 25th Anniversary! If I remember correctly, I was introduced to your writing and expository news narrative through Marci’s great website, firedoglake. I’ve been a committed and appreciative reader ever since. Through TPM, Josh and his excellent band of journalists and writers have helped broaden my understanding of the events of our time with context, critical analysis, and information accuracy as faithful companions to the ongoing story. I’ve appreciated the hints of what it takes to master the skills and critical investments required behind the scenes in order to produce and share such a gift. The added value and entertainment from the Comments section are icing on the cake! Many thanks to all of you for enriching my life.
6 Likes
Thanks Josh—Mark and I have been enjoying your thoughtful analysis since you were blogging at the Dupont Circle Starbucks. Congratulations and thank you for keeping TPM as my favorite source of news and commentary Sybil T
4 Likes
Thank you for being here these 25 years. I found your site early on when I was still reeling from the Supreme Court’s decision on Bush v. Gore. Reading your post about the early days reminded me of a phrase you used then, “collaborative journalism” (if memory serves correctly). There was and still is a sense of transparency about how your reporting comes together that inspires trust and confidence. I can’t imagine dealing with the era we are in now without TPM.
5 Likes
More information, more precise data, powerful ways to process the data. Yet, the researcher has to dumb down the discussion to the point of meaninglessness, become the public voice of science as in Sagan or Krugman, or find a journalist who can understand the details and express them to a wider audience. AI just can’t do that. Take, for example, chicken nutrition. The concept of “chicken” varies tremendously from a nutrient and health perspective depending on whether it’s an industrially produced chicken or a free-range chicken that has enjoyed opportunities to find a wide variety of nutrients. Diet, exercise and stress affect the metabolite levels of the chicken, as well as the health value of dietary options (e.g. soy-based feeds are very poor in key nutrients). Every once in a while a Schlosser or a Pollan will take a swing at explaining the short-comings of modern food production, but clearly they do not get a large enough platform. That is reserved for political non-analysis from the likes of RFK jr.
At a broader level, we should think about the mental nutrition good journalism provides. It keeps civic and social discussion on track. Trump is a great example of marketing junk ideas and finding servers to pass out junk to the masses. He makes people forget the value of clear thinking and deep understanding.
3 Likes
Firedoglake. That takes me back.
3 Likes
I know!!! I love reading all the postings here from people who rarely post. Here’s to more interactions!
4 Likes
Thank you for righting the ship. So many digital news sites went under over those years, and I’m sure there were times when it looked grim. However, I like to think that TPM survives due to your skills not just as a journalist but as a woodworker. You certainly hone your craft.
I have read TPM sporadically since its beginning, often coming around to it during election cycles. Since I retired a few years ago, I’ve become a daily reader. I appreciate much of the coverage, but most enjoy your ‘lapsed historian’s’ view of our political landscape. You offer insights and overviews that others do not–or, more likely, cannot–offer. It seems like the new series tackles another topic ripe for historical analysis. Congrats on many levels. And, I love the vintage graphic display.
2 Likes
I first came across TPM in the fall of 2000, and never left. It’s an addiction – one I feed everyday. Now I know why.
I, too, am a “media elder,” having spent just short of 40 years now – and counting – in newsrooms as a reporter. The reason I have been so affixed on TPM was some mix of respect and professional envy, both at your writing and your vast network of reader/sources. Sitting out here in the Midwest, I wondered how one person, seemingly alone behind a keyboard as I was, could be so knowledgeable and prescient about what was going on around us. It wasn’t until you literally saved Social Security in the wake of the 2004 election (“I have political capital. I’m going to spend it.”) with the help of your readers that I figured out why I was always so eager to log in to TPM everyday: It wasn’t just the education, it was the community, and the instantaneous feedback you received on your journalism.
As my own career has advanced, the lessons I learned from watching “you” become “us” and then “we” have shaped my own beliefs about how this craft ought to be saved. And they’ve made me proud of every dollar I’ve contributed over the years – even more so with the grace, collegiality and professionalism you showed when your staff unionized.
Thanks for the awesome essay, Josh. And thanks again for feeding my daily addiction.
3 Likes