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Michael Calderone

@calderone.bsky.social
10K followers 492 following 215 posts

Deputy Editor, Intelligencer

PostsRepliesMedia
Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I caught up with @jimacosta.bsky.social — someone who knows firsthand of Trump White House press attacks — about how news outlets are showing solidarity, but also how they can push back harder nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
Press Finally Shows Some Solidarity After Trump White House Ban
When the president banned CNN and others from the premises, fellow journalists stepped up. Jim Acosta thinks they should do more.
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I spoke with @akbarshahidahmed.bsky.social about how the Biden administration bungled Gaza and the ongoing political fallout for Democrats ahead of Tuesday’s launch of “Crossing the Red Line” nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
The Long Shadow of Biden’s Gaza Fiasco
Can Kamala Harris chart a new course on the Israel-Palestinian conflict?
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
CNN, MS NOW, and Politico are filing a joint lawsuit today against the Trump administration “to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes.”
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
“After January 6, 2021, you can’t rule anything out,” Maggie Haberman tells @errollouis.bsky.social. “And yes, there is a desire to use the Insurrection Act.” nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
Don’t Tune Out Trump’s Midterms Sabotage
After January 6, says the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, “you can’t rule anything out.”
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John Herrman @jwherrman.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Registering my prediction that decades of rationalist AI discourse will not simply Scale Up nymag.com/intelligence...
AI-world rationalists are nothing if not concerned about rhetoric, of course, and have been practicing for many years on one another. Over the weekend, Dario Amodei, Anthropics CEO and co-founder, made an additional appeal for "pacing" AI progress, promising to embed third-party evaluators in his company with
"employee-like" access, calling once again for
"democratic countries" to "coordinate to establish common safety standards," and advising the United States and other democratic governments to "attempt to coordinate with authoritarian governments, to the extent this is possible." Altman and Musk — alongside numerous company employees and outside Al-safety advocates — offered their support for Amodei's post on X in an unusual moment of consensus within the commercially competitive, ideologically disunited, but nonetheless insular world of AI. But they, and we, shouldn't assume that if worries about catastrophic artificial-intelligence tail risks become a fixture in our politics, we'll simply see long-running intra-AI debates about safety, acceleration, and alignment blown up to the scale of the electorate. Instead of a rationalist discourse writ large, we may expect something polarized to new and distinct extremes with unpredictable input from a wide range of people who don't share, for example, the premise that the creation of dangerously powerful runaway Al is inevitable, much less necessary or perhaps even possible — a different sort of fast-moving scenario, more familiar and human, over which Al insiders' sense of control will be brief or illusory.In the data-center backlash, we have early evidence of the intense and not entirely coherent energies that can result from people being told something is inevitable.
And while there's a scramble among various politicians to draft state and federal AI bills around technical approaches such as model training, testing; deployment, and export, the only political rhetoric that has confronted AI predictions in their fullness — as existential risks, as producing conscious beings deserving of status, as systems that could upend the world as we know it - has been, to use one of the great euphemisms of our time, fairly populist. On the left, Bernie Sanders is interviewing doomers and took the Hugging Face incident and the industry's own rhetoric as a chance to offer a simple response: Okay, then, fucking stop!
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
My conversation with @jacobweisberg.bsky.social about his new book chronicling Trump's collaborators: "Profiles in Cowardice" nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
Donald Trump Couldn’t Do It Alone
Jacob Weisberg chronicles the enablers of his return to power and fateful second term.
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Ben Terris talks construction with Trump — and whether he’s building monuments to himself. “Nobody will do it once I’m gone,” Trump says. “When I leave here, nobody will.” nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
Inside Trump’s Ballroom Obsession
The president’s bid for architectural immortality is barreling toward completion.
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Cristian Farias @cristianfarias.com · 03/09/2026
I wrote about Nolan Wells—and about how the truth, and nothing but the truth, is the one thing his family is rightfully demanding. They deserve nothing less. Not many of my peers are covering this story, so here I attempt to make sense of the vacuum, legal or otherwise. nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
What We Owe Nolan Wells
As the investigation drags on, and internet sleuthing fills the void, justice requires getting to the truth and nothing but.
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New York Magazine @nymag.com · 03/09/2026
Gloria Steinem, the writer and activist who helped found this magazine before she became the public face of the American women’s movement, died Wednesday at her home in New York City. She was 92.
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
“We know how this story is being dismissed by our former industry,” @joyannreid.bsky.social tells @cristianfarias.com nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
What We Owe Nolan Wells
As the investigation drags on, and internet sleuthing fills the void, justice requires getting to the truth and nothing but.
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Powerful @cristianfarias.com piece on getting to the truth about what happened to Nolan Wells nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
What We Owe Nolan Wells
As the investigation drags on, and internet sleuthing fills the void, justice requires getting to the truth and nothing but.
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Fighting Trump’s Agenda Starts in the States @errollouis.bsky.social talks to Daniel Squadron of the @statesprojectus.bsky.social nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
Fighting Trump’s Agenda Starts in the States
Daniel Squadron wants voters to tune out the cable news slugfests.
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
New: @nateweisberg.bsky.social on @neeratanden.bsky.social’s battle with the left nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
Neera Tanden, Establishment Warrior
She returned to the Center for American Progress to fight Trump. She’s spent much of her time fighting her left flank instead.
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
I spoke with Erik Slavin, the Stars and Stripes editor who, along with two fired colleagues, is suing the Pentagon for violating First Amendment rights. nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
Why the Editor of Stars and Stripes Is Suing the Pentagon
Journalist Erik Slavin speaks about his firing, the paper’s USS Abraham Lincoln reporting, and how covering the military has “fundamentally changed.”
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Yes, Trump will be invited to next year's White House Correspondents' Dinner I spoke with Fox News correspondent and new WHCA president about the criticism of last month's event and how the group is responding to the president duping the press. nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
What to Do About Trump Duping the Press
White House Correspondents’ Association president Jacqui Heinrich discusses the plane switcheroo and why Trump will be invited to next year’s dinner.
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
New from @farhip.bsky.social: Inside Wes Moore's escalating feud with Sinclair chief and Baltimore Sun owner David D. Smith — and how it points to 2028 nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
Wes Moore’s Media War
An escalating feud with the Baltimore Sun’s conservative owner could have 2028 repercussions.
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Dispatch from @jakelahut.bsky.social in Grand Rapids nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
Abdul El-Sayed Is Already Eyeing Race Against ‘Weak’ Mike Rogers
Ahead of Tuesday’s primary, the Michigan progressive talks about how he’d take on the GOP in November and why he wants to debate J.D. Vance.
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Zanny Minton Beddoes @zannymb.economist.com · 02/08/2026
I enjoyed speaking to @calderone.bsky.social @nymag.com about my Insider interview with Elon Musk and the reaction since the conversation. We also discussed @economist.com’s video strategy and how we’re covering American politics ahead of the midterms. Read the full interview
bit.ly
Economist’s Zanny Minton Beddoes Is ‘Bemused’ by Elon Musk’s Post-Interview Jabs
Zanny Minton Beddoes opens up about her explosive sit-down with the Tesla and SpaceX chief.
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Zanny Minton Beddoes challenged Elon Musk on his role in the Trump administration and the ominous vision of Europe he amplifies on X. I talked with the Economist's top editor about this explosive sit-down and her goal with "The Insider" series x.com/mlcalderone/...
x.com
Michael Calderone (@mlcalderone) on X
I talked to @zannymb about her explosive and revealing interview with Elon Musk and the Economist's video strategy https://t.co/8W5HXsBtoA
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner redo takes place tonight — and Trump’s presence again at issue. “We should not be on the same stage as him in honoring the First Amendment,” one veteran reporter told me. “It’s incoherent.” nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
Trump Press Attacks Loom Over White House Correspondents’ Dinner Do-over
One reporter says “it’s incoherent” to invite Trump to the First Amendment gala after the Feds subpoenaed Times reporters and threatened broadcasters.
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
New response from White House Correspondents' Association following letter urging the group to use Friday's dinner to "forcefully oppose the Trump administration’s attacks on journalists and on freedom of the press."
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
New York Times executive editor Joe Kahn condemns the Trump administration’s “naked attempt to intimidate” journalists and “prevent the Times and other independent news media from doing important reporting protected by the First Amendment.” nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
Times Vows to Fight ‘Legal Abuse’ From Trump Administration
Executive editor Joe Kahn condemned the administration’s “naked attempt to intimidate” five Times journalists by issuing subpoenas.
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
“At the end of the day,” said one longtime on-air reporter, “Trump is going to want some heads on a plate.” nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
CNN Boss Is Feeling the Tension as Paramount Merger Looms
Mark Thompson is warning the new ownership against ‘messing with’ the network.
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Deep look inside CNN as Paramount merger looms: nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
CNN Boss Warns Against ‘Messing’ With Network
Mark Thompson, like his many employees, is feeling the tension as Paramount merger looms.
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New York Magazine @nymag.com · 29/06/2026
A source close to the Guthries denied that Savannah Guthrie had ever been pressured to share details about her family; it had always been her choice. No one had imagined how wrong it could go. “You don’t make those decisions thinking something like this is going to happen,” they said.
vulture.com
The Today Show Goes Dark
Savannah Guthrie brought optimism and faith to Today. Can it survive her tragedy?
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New York Magazine @nymag.com · 24/06/2026
“I haven’t internalized it yet,” Jalen Brunson said. “But I know that down the line, I’ll feel the effects of it.” For our Cover Story, the King of New York reflects on his championship win, the new heights of his fame, and what his team means to him: tinyurl.com/asvb4p83
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
"It’s a government run by half a dozen people, and the most senior people in the U.S. government across agencies have no earthly idea what’s actually happening." From my interview with Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan on their new book, "Regime Change" nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan Say Reporting Trump Book ‘Almost Killed Us’
Regime Change authors discuss how Trump wields power much differently in his second term.
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Intelligencer @intelligencer.com · 25/06/2026
His opponents thought Tuesday night might offer an opening. It very much did not, writes political reporter David Freedlander.
nymag.com
Zohran Mamdani Tightened His Grip on New York Politics
His opponents thought Tuesday night might offer an opening. It very much did not, writes political reporter David Freedlander.
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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
from tpm alum tom kludt
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Hours before Jim Dolan announced Knicks accepted Trump's invite to go to the White House, Jalen Brunson said this: “We haven’t discussed it. But as a team, we’ll discuss it and we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
Jalen Brunson’s Victory Lap
Tagging along with the MVP as Knicks fans exhale and the city erupts.
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Latest @nymag.com cover story is up: Tom Kludt caught up with Jalen Brunson and those closest to him to capture an exhilarating moment for the man the Knicks, and the city nymag.com/intelligence...
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
Scott Pelley says Bari Weiss tried to inject bias into his reporting on the killing of Renee Good, putting “a thumb on the scale for the president’s version of events.” nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
Scott Pelley Wants Bari Weiss Removed and ‘Sanity’ Restored at 60 Minutes
The former correspondent accuses Weiss of trying to inject bias into his ‘60 Minutes’ report on the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
“It seems almost impossible for me to imagine what kind of a show they can put on in September.” Steve Kroft on the new regime at ''60 Minutes" nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
Steve Kroft Says the 60 Minutes We’ve Known ‘No Longer Exists’
The CBS News veteran laments Bari Weiss’s overhaul and fears for the show’s future.
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Would you sell Knicks Finals tickets for 10k? 50k? What about 100k? Tom Kludt checks in with season tickets holders as prices surge nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
Knicks Diehards Wrestle With Attending Finals or Cashing In
“I could send one of my daughters to college,” says a longtime season-ticket holder.
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
I just talked to Nick Bilton, whose appointment as the new EP of '60 Minutes,' sent shockwaves through the network nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
How Nick Bilton Took the Helm at 60 Minutes
Bari Weiss is putting her stamp on the famous newsmagazine, an opportunity for change and a major risk.
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
I talked to FCC commissioner @agomezfcc.bsky.social about Colbert's exit, probing 'The View,' foreign investment in Paramount-WBD deal — and why capitulating to Trump doesn't work nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
The Democrat in Trump’s Administration Urging the Media to ‘Stiffen Its Spine’
FCC commissioner Anna Gomez discusses Stephen Colbert’s exit, the looming Paramount-WBD deal, and why capitulation doesn’t work.
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New York Magazine @nymag.com · 28/05/2026
The recent discoveries of AI hallucinations in nonfiction books has underscored the unique vulnerabilities of the publishing industry, reports Charlotte Klein.
nymag.com
Nonfiction Book Publishers Aren’t Remotely Ready for AI
The recent discoveries of AI hallucinations in nonfiction books has underscored the unique vulnerabilities of the publishing industry, reports Charlotte Klein.
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Cristian Farias @cristianfarias.com · 22/05/2026
The only acceptable response to Louisiana v. Callais is to treat it as anti-canon — a ruling that so distorts our foundational law, betrays Black voters, and tears the nation in half deserves no less than wholesale repudiation. Me in @nymag.com. nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
Louisiana v. Callais Belongs in the Supreme Court’s Anti-canon
Like Dred Scott and past repudiated rulings, the justices’ latest betrayal of Black Americans can’t be the last word.
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Trump’s "treason" sticky note and DOJ crackdown on Iran coverage nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
Trump’s DOJ Cracks Down on Iran Coverage
As Trump talks “treason,” acting AG Todd Blanche says reporters “should not be surprised” to be subpoenaed in a leak probe.
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
The ‘Chaos’ Inside OpenAI Is Spilling Out in Court What we’ve learned so far in the Elon Musk-Sam Altman face-off nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
The ‘Chaos’ Inside OpenAI Is Spilling Out in Court
Elon Musk’s lawsuit reignites a feud with Sam Altman that could upend the tech world.
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Joe Adalian @tvmojoe.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
We’ve known for decades that CNN would be in the first sentence of Ted Turner’s obituary. But he did far more than start a news channel: He shaped the whole cable business, and with it, a big chunk of our culture. My appreciation of an icon, up now at @vulture.com www.vulture.com/article/ted-...
vulture.com
The Man Who Made Cable Cool
Ted Turner placed a series of big bets on a nascent TV industry — and reshaped pop culture along the way.
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
My conversation with @aseitzwald.bsky.social on Graham Platner’s ability to survive scandal, his engagement with voters and the media, and the politics of posting through it www.thewrap.com/commentary-a...
thewrap.com
The Media Front: Graham Platner and ‘Post Through It’ Politics
Graham Platner phenomenon, Tony Dokoupil drops, Trump targets Kimmel and press freedom under threat
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Elon Musk has posted 850 times on race — touting whites’ role in eliminating slavery, rallying white people to stand up for their race, for example — over seven months. Two experts say his positions are “standard … white supremacy.” He’s on the verge of the biggest IPO in history. wapo.st/4mRC7d5
wapo.st
Elon Musk’s near-daily online posts about race are turning off some fans
Elon Musk posted almost daily about race on X in recent months, a Washington Post analysis found, at times sharing views experts said echoed white supremacy.
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Talking with @mollyjongfast.bsky.social about the press corps toasting the First Amendment on Saturday night alongside Donald Trump and his allies podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...
podcasts.apple.com
Meredith Shiner & Michael Calderone
Podcast Episode · Fast Politics with Molly Jong-Fast · April 23 · 50m
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Very excited to join @nymag.com and work with the brilliant @intelligencer.com team
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
‘More Stories, More Inventory’: Inside the Backlash to McClatchy’s AI News Tool | Exclusive Corbin Bolies reports: www.thewrap.com/media-platfo...
thewrap.com
‘More Stories, More Inventory’: Inside the Backlash to McClatchy’s AI News Tool | Exclusive
Unions representing the Miami Herald, the Sacramento Bee and the Kansas City Star have filed grievances against the company over its AI push.
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Journalists Urge White House Correspondents’ Association to Confront Trump at Dinner: ‘These Are Not Normal Times’ www.thewrap.com/media-platfo...
thewrap.com
Journalists Urge White House Correspondents’ Association to Confront Trump at Dinner: ‘These Are Not Normal Times’
More than 250 former journalists sent a letter to the White House Correspondents’ Association on Monday urging the organization to “forcefully demonstrate opposition to President Donald Trump’s effort...
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
“I think every single newsroom contract going forward will mention artificial intelligence,” NewsGuild-CWA president @jschleuss.com tells me for this week’s Media Front newsletter AI arrives at the newsroom bargaining table: www.thewrap.com/media-platfo...
thewrap.com
The Media Front: AI Arrives at the Newsroom Bargaining Table
AI has become a major sticking point in the union bargaining for newsrooms across the country, including CBS News 24/7.
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Scott Nover @scottnover.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
NPR announced Thursday it recevied a $113M windfall from two donors — months after Congress stripped federal funding to public media. One anonymous donor gave $33M. Connie Ballmer gave $80M, the largest single gift for a living donor in NPR's history. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
washingtonpost.com
NPR receives $113 million from two donors after federal funding cut
Billionaire Connie Ballmer and an anonymous donor showered the radio giant in donations, months after Congress stripped federal dollars for public media.
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Jay Rosen @jayrosen.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Compare Don Lemon's decision: “I'm not interested in dressing up in a tuxedo, sipping champagne, and pretending everything is normal..." with Dylan Byers, "very exclusive party ahead of the White House Correspondents’ Association" with its "bipartisan comity."
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