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Ryan Pitts

@ryanpitts.bsky.social
1K followers 581 following 268 posts

Journalist, coder, community developer. Managing director, Big Local News at Stanford. “I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart, … who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward, who do what has to be done, again and again.”

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Reposted by Ryan Pitts
Trans Journalists Association @transjournalists.org · 29/07/2026
Level up your journalism career 📈 Apply for Level Up stipends (up to $1,000) to attend conferences, trainings, or leadership programs. Applications close September 1 (9AM PT) 
Open to journalists eligible for TJA membership. Apply HERE: bit.ly/TJA-LU
Text reads: Fund your professional development! Level Up. Apply now! transjournalists.org/level-up. Application cycle closes September 1, 2026, at 9AM PT / 7 AM CT / 6 AM ET. Trans Journalists Association logo below.
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Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Really excited that my friends at @biglocalnews.bsky.social have released DataTalk, a federal campaign finance agent that turns your questions about FEC data into data-backed answers. I helped a bit with this, and am very interested in feedback (as are the BLN folks). datatalk.biglocalnews.org
datatalk.biglocalnews.org
DataTalk
A campaign finance agent by Big Local News. Asks the FEC bulk data in plain English, shows its work.
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Alyson Hurt @alykat.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
📊 College students and recent grads: Come intern at NPR this fall/winter! Apply by June 21. ➡️ Editorial Graphics & Education Internship (with my graphics team + NPR's Education team): grnh.se/j2sbuy5f5us (remote-friendly/US-based) ➡️ All internships and more details: www.npr.org/about-npr/18...
grnh.se
Editorial Graphics & Education Internship - Fall 2026
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
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Hannah Recht @hannahrecht.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
How many collective news nerd hours are being spent hunting rapidly-changing district boundaries, making base maps, preparing them to join to election results data for live maps? Thrilled to share the AP Elections Map Files 🇺🇸 primed and ready for your results page. developer.ap.org/ap-elections...
developer.ap.org
AP Elections Map Files
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RANGE Media @rangemedia.co · 24/05/2026
Memorial Day weekend: the unofficial start of summer — and a perfect moment to go land the best job you've ever had. RANGE is hiring its first Membership & Marketing Manager. We're a worker-owned local newsroom in Spokane. $60–68k. You're gonna love it. Apply by June 12 → rangehiring.n...
A photo with the RANGE media logo and the words
Membership & Marketing Manager
Priority deadline: June 12, 2026
Spokane, WA · Full-time
$60,000–$68,000 DOE
Apply now
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Big Local News @biglocalnews.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Vocational programs can help struggling high school boys improve attendance, test scores, and graduation rates. But how accessible are they in your community? We have data from dozens of states and a reporting recipe to help you investigate local enrollment trends. biglocalnews.org/content/news...
biglocalnews.org
How you can use Common Core data to report on vocational and career & technical education opportunities in your state
Research shows that Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs can help struggling high school boys improve attendance rates, test scores, and graduation rates. But these schools aren’t available e...
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Ryan Pitts @ryanpitts.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
@jacobharr.is getting phone reports this morning of the first boatcar sighting of the year
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Alyson Hurt @alykat.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
@npr.org recently updated its guide to U.S. voter registration deadlines to reflect online/in person/mail deadlines for the 2026 primaries. Cheers to @hansilowang.bsky.social, Brent Jones and Ben Swasey for wrangling this. apps.npr.org/voter-regist...
apps.npr.org
How to register to vote and check your registration status
For the 2026 primary elections, NPR has collected deadlines and information on how to register to vote — online, in person or by mail — in every U.S. state and territory.
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Martin Shelton @mshelton.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
If you are a journalism instructor and want to get started teaching digital security for your students, we'd love to show you how. Sign up for our training for journalism educators. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com
Registration: FPF's J-school digital security training program
Register here for Freedom of the Press Foundation’s free, virtual training program designed to help you directly deliver critical content from our U.S. J-school digital security curriculum. Led by FPF...
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Daniel Wolfe @sadbumblebee.buzz · 05/02/2026
The Post was foolish enough to unleash a bevy of the world’s most talented multi-disciplinary journalists out there for their competition to scoop up. These are some of the most hard working and skilled people I know. Save this one and reshare it please! 📊
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Ryan Pitts @ryanpitts.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
None of this was necessary. None of it _had to happen_. Every single bit is a choice made by people who don't have to suffer the consequences. Up to us to help the people paying the price so that others can prosper, and to never ever ever forget who's making the choices.
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Hansi Lo Wang (he/him) @hansilowang.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
BREAKING: The Census Bureau is scaling down this year's major #2030Census field test by reducing the six planned test sites to two — Spartanburg, S.C., & Huntsville, Ala. — while adding plans to test replacing temporary census workers with U.S. Postal Service staff, according to the Federal Register
federalregister.gov
Public Inspection: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: 2026 Operational Test in Support of the 2030 Census
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: 2026 Operational Test in Support of the 2030 Census
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Ryan Pitts @ryanpitts.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
“HB 2641 prohibits all Washington state law enforcement agencies from hiring anyone who was hired as a sworn officer of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on or after January 20, 2025.” housedemocrats.wa.gov/simmons/2026...
housedemocrats.wa.gov
Rep. Simmons introduces ICE Out Act of 2026 prohibiting hiring of ICE officers – Tarra Simmons
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Ryan Pitts @ryanpitts.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
"The work that client firms are settling for is not better when it’s produced by AI, but it’s cheaper, and deemed 'good enough.'" www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/i-was-forc...
bloodinthemachine.com
"I was forced to use AI until the day I was laid off." Copywriters reveal how AI has decimated their industry
Copywriters were one of the first to have their jobs targeted by AI firms. These are their stories, three years into the AI era.
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Ryan Pitts @ryanpitts.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Earlier this year I got to drive two great friends to their citizenship ceremony, and a whole group of us celebrated with them after. It was so joyful! They’re from one of the countries on this list. Relieved and grateful we got to be there with them then, and just sickened to read this now.
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innes mck @innes.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
The problem with computer jobs is that it's all in your head. You can't touch or eat the code you write, it's too abstract. You need to find something to make with your hands if you want to stay okay
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K Petrin @petrinkae.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
If you know me, you know I donated a ton of time and energy to building this org from 2023-2024. I’m grateful that led to hiring full-time staff in 2025. I hope we can keep building. Will you help? bit.ly/tja_pride
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dan sinker @dansinker.com · 02/12/2025
This Giving Tuesday, considering tossing some cash to OpenNews, the journalism org I founded in 2011. OpenNews has evolved a lot since back in the day, with new & amazing leaders, but remains a crucial connector among people doing vital work in newsrooms. opennews.networkforgood.com
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RANGE Media @rangemedia.co · 26/11/2025
In October, statewide news reported that a sheriff's deputy in Texas searched thousands of Flock cameras in Washington for 'Had an abortion, search for female.’ New documents obtained by RANGE show Spokane County Sheriff's Office cameras were accessed in that search:
rangemedia.co
Texas deputy searched Spokane County Flock cameras for a woman who had an abortion– RANGE Media
Amidst nationwide and state scrutiny of the cameras, Spokane County’s Flock network was used by an out-of-state cop looking for a woman who had an abortion.
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Ryan Pitts @ryanpitts.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
cool economy we’ve got, can’t stop spending wages on personal devices or else productivity gains will stop rolling up to owners and investors
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Ryan Pitts @ryanpitts.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
Tetris mode! Featuring StateFace! Elegant tools from a different age source.opennews.org/articles/how... (So cool that Election Night Replay from 2012 still works election2012.npr.org and I totally forgot about the Big Boards, designed for second screen first election2012.npr.org/bigboard/pre...)
source.opennews.org
How NPR Designed Their Live Elections News App
The Electris project, from concept to Election Night
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Ryan Pitts @ryanpitts.bsky.social · 26/10/2025
love you Chicago
A table with whistles and Spanish-language zines being made with information about what to do when you see ICE officers raiding a neighborhood
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Ryan Pitts @ryanpitts.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
"The impulse to view everything in terms of efficiency, of reducing costs and maximizing output, is radically overapplied in the modern world." lareviewofbooks.org/article/life...
lareviewofbooks.org
Life Is More Than an Engineering Problem | Los Angeles Review of Books
Julien Crockett speaks with Ted Chiang about the search for a perfect language, the state of AI, and the future direction of technology.
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Leah Sottile @leahsottile.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
Read this thread from a great Portland reporter! The New York Times running this story today is absolutely calculated. It has been positioning Portland for years as a progressive villain. Also: why send a reporter from the Bay when the NYT has at least two reporters who actually live in Portland.
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Joe Germuska @joe.germuska.com · 16/09/2025
Today is International Democracy Day. City Bureau’s Documenters program puts regular folks right into local public meetings where it happens. We have a generous match going on this week so if you’ve got the means, consider a donation and see it doubled! mailchi.mp/citybureau.o...
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Ian Dees @iandees.bsky.social · 14/09/2025
FYI for @censusreporter.org users, we're planning on skipping the data load for ACS 1-year because there's some changes that would make it confusing to have the newer 1-year and older 5-year in the same display. Stay tuned for the 5-year release in December!
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Ryan Pitts @ryanpitts.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
@tylerjfisher.com waiting for your review of the new deftones
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Ryan Pitts @ryanpitts.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
This is such a great moment to be joining the team at @biglocalnews.bsky.social! We have so much important work ahead and I’m thrilled to be a part of it. biglocalnews.org/content/news...
biglocalnews.org
Ryan Pitts joins Big Local News as managing director
Data, tools and collaborations that empower journalists to better cover their community. A project at Stanford University.
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Census API Tracker @censusapitracker.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
Hello, Bluesky! This account automatically posts updates when the Census Bureau APIs add or remove datasets. See the full tracker at www.hrecht.com/census-api-d...
hrecht.com
Tracking Census Dataset Changes
See when the U.S. Census Bureau adds or removes datasets.
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Ryan Pitts @ryanpitts.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
proud to be a board member for @rangemedia.co because (among so many other reasons) I know they'll never ever publish something that looks like this Support local news, everyone.
a New York Times roundtable article that asks "Is There a Smart Way to Cede Power to Donald Trump?"
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Gerald Rich @gerald.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
Hey! I helped make this and you should check this out. Interested in expanding this to your state? Reach out to @biglocalnews.bsky.social
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Ryan Pitts @ryanpitts.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
@wmhartnett.bsky.social unexpected Gerard Manley Hopkins shoutout djunah.bandcamp.com/album/femina...
djunah.bandcamp.com
Femina Furens, by Djunah
10 track album
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Lewis Raven Wallace @lewispants.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
I am seeking a volunteer to help organize some things for @interruptcrim.bsky.social's journalism fellowship (me!) during the coming 1-2 weeks. Should be a few hours of pretty fun computer work requiring a bit of spreadsheet know-how. Anyone interested?
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The Marshall Project @themarshallproject.org · 16/07/2025
🔎 We launched Investigate This! for journalists who want to use our datasets and reporting to craft original criminal justice stories in their own communities. Check out our free story toolkits with resources:
themarshallproject.org
Investigate This! | The Marshall Project
Criminal justice datasets and reporting resources from The Marshall Project
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kate b. @katebitz.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
things are getting dicey here in spokane. please pay attention.
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Joe Germuska @joe.germuska.com · 14/07/2025
“the only AI-related business strategy that makes any sense is one where media companies/journos go to great pains to show their audiences that they are human beings & that the work they are doing is worth supporting because it is human work vital to their audiences.” www.404media.co/the-medias-p...
404media.co
The Media's Pivot to AI Is Not Real and Not Going to Work
AI is not going to save media companies, and forcing journalists to use AI is not a business model.
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Josh Pasek @joshpasek.com · 01/07/2025
Setting the groundwork for a combination of electoral manipulation and the malignant use of US statistical agencies. Very dangerous stuff.
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Courtney Milan @courtneymilan.com · 12/06/2025
But the media keeps covering it as if it's riots, as if things are burning to the ground instead of shrubbery set on fire by flashbangs. The media keeps acting as if peaceful protests are violent.
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Courtney Milan @courtneymilan.com · 12/06/2025
There have been instances of property damage. There have been some instances of retaliatory self-defense. But none of those things are violent, not the way that shooting rubber bullets or tear gas is.
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Leah Sottile @leahsottile.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
Spokane, Washington mayor issues curfew tonight in response to ICE protest. Follow worker-owned @rangemedia.co for updates.
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Karen Attiah @karenattiah.bsky.social · 08/06/2025
“A 2010 study that analyzed 40 years of protest coverage in five major newspapers, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, found that the papers depicted protests — even peaceful ones — as nuisances rather than as necessary functions of democracy.”
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Ryan Pitts @ryanpitts.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
“The Minneapolis police department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.”
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Voces Internship of Idaho @vocesinternship.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
A Voces internship this fall is the perfect way to get PAID to explore a media or journalism career. No experience or journalism major required. Apply by June 8 at vocesinternship.com
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K Petrin @petrinkae.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
The TJA is trying to raise $10,000 for our 5-year anniversary. We have $2,700 in challenge pledges committed for this @transjournalists.org fundraiser, so a $5 donation goes twice as far. Personally, I'm trying to raise $1,000 to support our work. donorbox.org/reclaim-tran...
donorbox.org
Help us reclaim trans narratives! - Kae Petrin's Fundraiser on Donorbox
I'm fundraising $1,000 for the Trans Journalists Association's 5-year anniversary campaign.Thanks to $2,700 of challenge pledges from our community, your $5 donation means that the TJA will see $10 of...
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Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
Don’t sleep on this
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mandy brown @aworkinglibrary.com · 30/05/2025
I’ve spent the last year reading, thinking, and talking with workers about AI and I’ve concluded that AI is not a technology—it’s an *ideology*, and it must be engaged with as such. aworkinglibrary.com/writing/toolmen
aworkinglibrary.com
Toolmen
Even the best weapon is an unhappy tool.
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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 28/05/2025
A police stop is enough to make someone less likely to vote, recent research has found. "Voting is a reflection of our belief that we’re part of the system, that our voice matters." boltsmag.org/a-polic...
boltsmag.org
A Police Stop Is Enough to Make Someone Less Likely to Vote
New research shows how the communities that are most heavily policed are pushed away from politics and from having a say in changing policy.
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