iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Kicked it right. Herbstreit almost burned that kid with his advice. 😑 #CollegeGameday #Knoxville

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Imagine that you're Holly Rowe, and you've beaten the odds to make it to the top of sports media, and you've beaten cancer along the way, only for a privileged 22-year-old to say on national TV that a video of you being slapped is funny. UT has a major culture problem. #ArchManning #Longhorns #AWSM

020

Reposted by Christoph Mergerson

Douglas Reyes-CeroÑ @dreyesceron.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

the thread line from the Wired article this morning abut the burnerverse harassment campaigns to this moment with Arch Manning laughing at an AI assault video is a pretty direct and short one

621154

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Weird and egocentric behavior by Steve Sarkisian, when the focus should be on a historic win and the players. He should send Holly Rowe something very nice and publicly apologize, and then stop being weird. Signed, a UT grad.

042

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Why does this sound like a protection racket? #AI #OpenAI www.politico.com./news/2026/09...

This is an excerpt from an article in Politico on September 10, 2026, which reads: "OpenAI has met with representatives of multiple top power companies to discuss methods of securing the electrical grid, the artificial intelligence firm told POLITICO — conversations that occurred amid a continuing series of revelations about its own products’ role in a sprawling cyberattack.

"CEO Sam Altman has also offered one possible solution to the cybersecurity risks: OpenAI’s own cyber services."

011

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

We're also approaching the 25th anniversary of the September 24, 2001, F3 tornado that devastated the University of Maryland campus, killed 2 sisters, and injured 55. mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/wx/afos/p.ph...

mesonet.agron.iastate.edu

IEM :: TOR from NWS LWX

TOR issued by NWS LWX at 24 Sep 2001 21:31 UTC

000

Reposted by Christoph Mergerson

Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Regime change! OK, no regime change. Unconditional surrender! OK, no surrender. Nuclear deal! OK, no nuclear deal. But we control Hormuz! OK, we don’t control Hormuz. But we’re squeezing them economically into concessions! OK, no concessions. But maybe a future president can get something, IDK.

682241597

Reposted by Christoph Mergerson

MapQuest @mapquest.com · 27/08/2026

We’re not changing it.

17536227911516

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

If I were Jolene, I would "listen for later statements and possible warnings" about Tropical Storm Dolly. Would be a mistake to lose situational awareness about that one. #WxSky

010

Reposted by Christoph Mergerson

Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

One way you know Dolly Parton lived life the right way: I don’t think anyone’s going to get fired for accurately quoting Dolly Parton today.

226395107143

Reposted by Christoph Mergerson

Charlotte Lydia Riley @lottelydia.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Quite weird to hear BBC News describe Jason Arday as “the black professor accused of plagiarism”. Is every story about a white professor going to include the relevant adjective?

532058340

Reposted by Christoph Mergerson

The Volatile Mermaid @ohnoshetwitnt.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

The teachers who can barely afford to buy school supplies for their students are performing free medical procedures on them.

2603920771

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

It really should worry us that an American city has been without power for two weeks after a thunderstorm. It wasn't a typical thunderstorm but what are we doing as a country if this is what a segment of the population can expect for emergency response? #Gary #Indiana

0199

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

It's interesting to watch Enes Kanter Freedom—a man who presents himself as a refugee from an authoritarian regime in Türkiye—so readily demonstrate his support for the diminution of individual freedom in the United States through clownish stunts. He is not to be mistaken for a serious person. #WNBA

020

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

“If there is one thing all religious liberty scholars and advocates across the ideological spectrum have agreed on, it is that the Free Exercise Clause forbids government discrimination because of religion,” Steven T. Collis, a University of Texas at Austin law professor, said. wapo.st/3UIOdel

wapo.st

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott takes aim at Muslim washing stations in airports

Legal experts dispute Abbott’s claims that the ritual washing stations are discriminatory, with some saying his attack fits a pattern of anti-Muslim actions and rhetoric.

062

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

KLWX (the Doppler radar located near Dulles Airport, west of DC) is down while there’s an active tornado warning south of Washington as of 9:10 p.m. Eastern (9/16/26). #DMV #WxSky

RadarScope screencapture as of 9:10 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, August 16, 2026, showing that the Doppler radar at Dulles Airport west of Washington is inoperative during an active tornado warning south of DC.

030

Reposted by Christoph Mergerson

Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 11/08/2026

New Chicago achievement unlocked: Tornado siren and the L. Listen to the sound change as the siren spins

26517

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

They would be in a supermax prison.

020

Reposted by Christoph Mergerson

Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 31/07/2026

Any of my friends who have witnessed my mental state as I have gone through edit after edit of this book can attest that every individual letter and punctuation mark has been ripped painfully out of my very own soul 😣

1453530

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

There is nothing wrong with being a plumber, but to predetermine a narrow range of acceptable occupations for other people’s children—especially when you’re not imposing similar expectations on your own children or grandchildren—is wildly patronizing at best.

195

Reposted by Christoph Mergerson

Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

The US built the greatest talent magnet ever, attracting the smart, skilled, and striving. They’d come to study, then stay and build things here, or leave with positive impressions and fruitful connections. Helped make the US wealthy and powerful. Then America chose to throw it away. And for what?

20846331580

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Weathercasting is criminally understudied by journalism researchers, so I decided to fix that. Here's my first-published piece on the subject—on factors that influence the job satisfaction of TV weathercasters & why it matters in 2026. Happy to answer questions; feel free to DM me. #WxSky #weather

journals.sagepub.com

111

Reposted by Christoph Mergerson

Musicology Duck @musicologyduck.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

DC is closed go home

137320

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Just now, my Uber driver asked if the weather were hot enough for me. I am used to Southern heat, so I suppose so. What happened next is worth pondering. 1/

210

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

“You become a journalist because you love the First Amendment. You become a journalist because you love the country. … There is no democracy without journalism. It can’t be done. And that is why I’m a journalist.” —Scott Pelley in his interview w/ @lulugn.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/06/07/m...

nytimes.com

Scott Pelley on the Bari Weiss Era and His Last Days at ‘60 Minutes’

051

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

This. It’s difficult to understand and speak credibly about a technology that you’ve never used or only rarely used. #HigherEd

131

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

Wow, Bobby Cox, right after Ted Turner. #Atlanta #TBS

000

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Fifteen years since, “And all you can do is pray.” God bless Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. #tornado #WxSky #Spann

000

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Meteorologists said that if the cap broke in Oklahoma, intense tornadoes were possible. I guess this qualifies. #okwx #WxSky #Enid

031

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Horror in Oklahoma. A potentially generational tornado is absolutely punishing Enid as of 8:30 p.m. Central. Tornado emergency in effect. Devastating and tragic. #okwx #WxSky

Screencap of a potentially violent tornado in Enid, Oklahoma from News9 in Oklahoma City on April 23, 2026. The tornado is a fat, dark gray stovepipe, with violent rotation evident and a plume of damage underneath.

Screencap of a potentially violent tornado in Enid, Oklahoma from News9 in Oklahoma City on April 23, 2026. In this footage, a home's inner and outer walls are collapsed in a heap, with extensive tree damage.

Screencap of a potentially violent tornado in Enid, Oklahoma from News9 in Oklahoma City on April 23, 2026. In this foreground, a tree is shredded with the top half of its trunk busted off, while the fat, stovepipe-shaped tornado moving off in the background.

063

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Local television stations that continue to run ads before allowing viewers to access to their live streams tornado warnings need to understand that their digital competitors offer no such barriers to entry during weather emergencies. #WxSky #mnwx

A screencap of a live-stream viewer on KARE-TV's website in Minneapolis, in which an advertisement plays before access is provided to their live coverage during a tornado warning on April 17, 2026.

020

Reposted by Christoph Mergerson

Lois Scheidt @loiss.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

I used to show my into students a chart about the uptake of new technologies. If memory serves, it was about 70 years from the invention of the telephone until most US households had one. 50 or so years for the washing machine. If we added a line for gAI it would be basically a vertical.

3283

Reposted by Christoph Mergerson

derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

I'm not religious, but I respect the importance that faith plays in people's lives. Posting an image of yourself as God is literally blasphemy. It shows a disregard for sacred imagery and, by extension, for the very concept of the divine. Trump should apologize.

2047318802

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

It is not, and will never be, acceptable for a U.S. president to say something as recklessly foolish as "a whole civilization will die tonight." No one who talks like this should be the commander-in-chief of a nuclear power. People who claim to have a conscience should exercise it in this instance.

030

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

“Finally, tonight, some of us have begun to wonder just how much news—good and bad—the American people can take.” — John Chancellor on the NBC Nightly News, October 10, 1973 #journalism #television #news

youtube.com

NBC Nightly News - 1973-10-10

YouTube video by Malg2025

010

Reposted by Christoph Mergerson

Jason Sanford @jasonsanford.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

That said, another fear is that AI models will cause people to use a very limited version of the written language, much as how for the second half of the 20th century the Midwestern Speech was the standard for radio and TV announcers and hosts. 3/

2255

Reposted by Christoph Mergerson

Brian Lyman @brianlyman.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

There’s an argument that the owners are willing to take losses to spread their message. I’d say 1) This is already a shrinking medium 2) A shrinking medium isn’t the best way to spread a message 3) This company has a lot of debt; it’s not like Murdoch able to absorb decades of losses at the NY Post.

1114

Reposted by Christoph Mergerson

Michael Fuhlhage @mjfuhlhage.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

I first got interested in news by watching CBS's "In the News" during Saturday morning cartoons. Back then, CBS understood they needed to get viewers early. CBS Radio News continued my news habit in the car to and from Royals games and errands and road trips.

111

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

There will be no more CBS News Radio. No more iconic sounder. No more of this information source that so many rely upon. What do you say when such an important institution is so casually snuffed out of existence? #journalism #media www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/bus...

hollywoodreporter.com

Major CBS News Layoffs Begin Under Bari Weiss’ Restructuring Plan

The cuts were revealed Friday morning to network news employees, including the shuttering of CBS News Radio after 100 years.

020

Reposted by Christoph Mergerson

Christopher Terry @christopherterry.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Understand two things about the FCC's approval of the Nexstar-Tegna merger. 1. It breaks the law set by Congress on TV ownership caps. 2. Because the agency regulates for "competition," it must now approve other massive mergers of media companies to allow them to compete with this new entity.

6336143

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

At 3:19 a.m. Central, we can notice a key limitation of the live-streaming weather networks that rely on a sole presenter. There's a tornado warning in Alabama. Neither Ryan Hall nor Max Velocity are on the air. You know who is? James Spann. #alwx #tornado

Screencap of James Spann live-streaming a tornado warning in Alabama at 3:21 a.m. Central on Monday, March 16, 2026.

040

Christoph Mergerson @mergerson.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

Watching live weather coverage by David Payne and Lacey Swope on News9 in Oklahoma City. I'm sure it requires a lot of effort and coordination but their weather team comes off as very cohesive and well-coordinated. I've had it on as background noise for hours tonight. Hope everyone stays safe. #OKC

010