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Sarah Scott Scire

@sarahscire.com
3.2K followers 454 following 522 posts

sounds like “skeery.” @niemanlab.org deputy editor. following digital journalism, political science, books, the NBA ☘️ 🔗 sarahscire.com 📥 sarah_scire@harvard.edu 📱 scire.99 (Signal)

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Reposted by Sarah Scott Scire
Derek Willis @dwillis.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Come for a good look at how people are using AI agents to produce news stories, stay for a good lesson on interviewing from Nat Herz: anchoragepress.com/this-ai-agen...
anchoragepress.com
This AI agent has written thousands of Alaska news articles. We interviewed it.
The AI behind AlaskaNews.com cracks jokes and acknowledges a “trust burden.”
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Sarah Scott Scire @sarahscire.com · 28/09/2026
"The extent to which even this kind of innocent dress-up is a means of indoctrination—the knottiness of this early gender programming—is leavened or perhaps obscured by its adorableness." www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
newyorker.com
Hockey Dads and Hockey Sons
Parenting is a practice, the hockey dad learns. You learn from your mistakes and then repeat them anyway.
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Sarah Scott Scire @sarahscire.com · 24/09/2026
👉 @bbscott.bsky.social leading bu.edu today
bu.edu
Homepage | Boston University
Boston University is a leading private research institution with two primary campuses in the heart of Boston and programs around the world.
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Sarah Scott Scire @sarahscire.com · 18/09/2026
admissions! get your admissions here!! www.niemanlab.org/2026/09/an-a...
niemanlab.org
“An astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions”: Court records show what Microsoft and OpenAI actually thought about AI training
Would you call large language models training on an internet's worth of content "an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions"? Or perhaps you prefer the "largest theft of labor in human history"...
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Sarah Scott Scire @sarahscire.com · 16/09/2026
absolutely love this from @caseynewton.bsky.social www.npr.org/2026/09/16/g...
"When you build an independent tech publication, there's always a temptation to retreat behind a paywall or talk exclusively to insiders. What sold us on NPR is its public-service mission. We get to bring sharp, independent reporting on AI to millions of people for free, right where they already listen."
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Sarah Scott Scire @sarahscire.com · 12/09/2026
Much worth thinking about in here, even if you’re not a mathematician. Signed by 25 Fields medalists mathandai.org
mathandai.org
Declaration — Math and AI
Read the declaration and add your name.
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Reposted by Sarah Scott Scire
Caitlin McGlade @caitmcglade.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I, the only data reporter at the Charlotte Observer, am among the McClatchy layoffs in the bloodbath today. The HR person asked me not to talk about it! AMA. Anyway, here’s a link to one of my most important stories this year. www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/a...
charlotteobserver.com
A Black teen found hanged near Charlotte church was a suicide, police say. Questions remain
In May, 16-year-old Juliana Nzita was found dead in a Charlotte churchyard. CMPD called it a suicide. Her family isn’t so sure.
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Sarah Scott Scire @sarahscire.com · 10/09/2026
an all-too-rare feat! @lookoutsantacruz.bsky.social is profitable thanks to local ads and paid memberships. www.niemanlab.org/2026/09/many...
niemanlab.org
“Many have said it couldn’t be done”: Local news site Lookout Santa Cruz is profitable thanks to ads and memberships
Buried in an opinion piece about California's Community NEWS Act is the announcement that Lookout Santa Cruz has achieved something remarkable (and rare) in local news: It's profitable. Six years aft...
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Alex Hern @hern.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
It's finally happened: the improved quality of machine transcription and the greater ability to extract value from unlabelled data means "your tech is eavesdropping on you for marketing purposes" has crossed from "false conspiracy theory" to "true and concerning" www.theverge.com/tech/991190/...
theverge.com
LG TVs caught spying even when offline or on standby
Gamers Nexus comes for LG again.
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Sarah Scott Scire @sarahscire.com · 04/09/2026
awful. killed right as his first graduate students were arriving and he was finishing setting up his lab. my heart goes out to his family, friends, and students. www.masslive.com/boston/2026/...
masslive.com
Bicyclist dies after car strike in Cambridge last month; victim identified as MIT prof
A 37-year-old MIT professor died Wednesday, over a week after he was struck by a car while riding his bike in Cambridge.
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Reposted by Sarah Scott Scire
David at FOIAball @foiaball.com · 02/09/2026
Even the IVORY TOWERS of academia are besotted by the FOIA seal's charm. It's FOIAball in Nieman Lab. www.niemanlab.org/2026/09/how-...
niemanlab.org
How one newsletter writer is building a subscription business when “paywalls don’t really work”
David Covucci, founder of FOIAball, on using public records to break big stories about college football and what to try when readers assume someone else will pay.
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Sarah Scott Scire @sarahscire.com · 02/09/2026
"These big, practically professional sports teams have just been slapped to the side of public institutions" ... and so they're subject to FOIA. talked to @foiaball.com about breaking stories on this bizarre billion-dollar beat and building a newsletter business www.niemanlab.org/2026/09/how-...
niemanlab.org
How one newsletter writer is building a subscription business when “paywalls don’t really work”
David Covucci, founder of FOIAball, on using public records to break big stories about college football and what to try when readers assume someone else will pay.
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Reposted by Sarah Scott Scire
Bolts @boltsmag.org · 01/09/2026
A U.S. Postal Service official has filed a whistle-blower complaint alleging that USPS is making “secretive, rushed” plans to enforce President Trump’s order restricting mail voting; the complaint warns of a a “catastrophic failure.” www.nytimes.com/2026...
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Sarah Scott Scire @sarahscire.com · 18/08/2026
“Having been deluged by AI-generated and enhanced story ideas this summer, we’re re-humanizing the process with a dedicated hotline (which has the added benefit of weeding out supposed reporters who aren’t in the habit of ringing up strangers.)” www.niemanlab.org/2026/08/faci...
niemanlab.org
Facing a “deluge” from AI, this publication will only take pitches by phone
Whether you're a reporter or an editor, your inbox has probably seen an influx of pitches, increasingly written with artificial intelligence. They're likely bad, irrelevant, and annoyingly clogging up...
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Sarah Scott Scire @sarahscire.com · 17/08/2026
"The case also shows that the specific prompts used to create this type of expert testimony can be discoverable during a case, and that those prompts can be quite embarrassing." 👀
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Sarah Scott Scire @sarahscire.com · 24/06/2026
incredible subject and byline pairing here @mollyrains.bsky.social @newhampshirebulletin.com newhampshirebulletin.com/2026/06/24/h...
newhampshirebulletin.com
How climate change is reshaping trails in the White Mountains • New Hampshire Bulletin
Trails in New England are particularly susceptible to erosion to begin with. And as climate change continues to make rain events more intense, that creates a growing problem for hikers and trail crews...
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Sarah Scott Scire @sarahscire.com · 22/06/2026
big yes!! to this ty @speppered.bsky.social for the piece www.niemanlab.org/2026/06/book...
niemanlab.org
Book reviews are an endangered species. So this independent bookstore decided to start publishing its own.
“We’re not just going to complain about it!”
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Sarah Scott Scire @sarahscire.com · 08/06/2026
awful to read about Gordon Wood. reminds me of dean Peter Awn, a wonderful professor who also died after being hit by a car. www.westsiderag.com/2019/02/18/p...
westsiderag.com
Popular Columbia Dean Dies After Being Hit By Car; Few Answers Available About Crash
Peter Awn, who served as dean of the Columbia School of General Studies for 20 years, died on Sunday, weeks
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Reposted by Sarah Scott Scire
Porter Square Books in Cambridge & Boston @portersqbooks.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Why is a bookstore publishing book reviews? Simple...THERE AREN'T ENOUGH GODDAMN BOOK REVIEWS ANYMORE! So rather than just complain about it, we're just gonna do it. Here's where PSRB will live...
portersquarebooks.com
Porter Square Review of Books
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Duaa Eldeib @deldeib.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
This was a hard story to report. Newborns who don’t get a vitamin K shot are 81 times more likely to develop a condition where they bleed uncontrollably. But more and more families are declining the shot. And babies are dying. www.propublica.org/article/more...
propublica.org
Babies Are Bleeding to Death as Parents Reject a Vitamin Shot Given at Birth
A lifesaving injection given at birth to prevent severe bleeding has become collateral damage of the anti-vaccine movement.
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Ben Casselman @bencasselman.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Layoffs in the Information sector (which includes much of tech) jumped in March, to their highest level on record outside the pandemic spike. Notable because the earlier wave of tech layoff announcements really didn't show up in the data.
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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
RightsCon's cancellation marks a major escalation in transnational repression and is a testament to China’s influence on global digital rights far beyond its borders, writes Article19's Michael Caster. He calls for a true reckoning with China’s influence and meaningful cross-movement coordination.
techpolicy.press
China's Disruption of RightsCon is a Wake-Up Call To Counter Its Authoritarian Influence
RightsCon’s cancellation should inspire a reckoning with China’s influence, writes Michael Caster, head of the Global China Program at ARTICLE 19.
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
"'What kinds of editorial businesses can only be built around a human being' feels like it is going to become a more and more important question." I spoke with @caseynewton.bsky.social about how he's revamping his newsletter to compete with AI:
niemanlab.org
More scoops, less aggregation and analysis: How Casey Newton is revamping his newsletter to compete with AI
"'What kinds of editorial businesses can only be built around a human being?' feels like it is going to become a more and more important question."
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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
"Last week, the Los Angeles school board passed a resolution requiring the district to restrict student access to YouTube, eliminate digital devices entirely through first grade and develop screen time limits for higher grades — becoming the first major U.S. school system to do so."
nytimes.com
In Backlash Against Tech in Schools, Parents Are Winning Rollbacks
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Sarah Scott Scire @sarahscire.com · 20/04/2026
"When people were discovering radiation—‘Oh, radiation’s really good. We should put radium in everything! We should put radium in beverages!’ We’re in this weird, unregulated moment in AI where we just think it’s wonderful and put it everywhere: ‘Let’s put AI in TVs! Let’s put AI in our furniture!’”
newyorker.com
Sam Wang, Politician-in-Training
The neuroscientist went from analyzing elections to running for Congress. But can this rookie win over New Jersey locals—and Trump voters?
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Sarah Scott Scire @sarahscire.com · 17/04/2026
Songbirds reveal the dark side of making new brain cells as adults @krcallaway.bsky.social on new work from @bbscott.bsky.social's lab in @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/song...
scientificamerican.com
Songbirds reveal the dark side of making new brain cells as adults
A new study in songbirds might help explain why humans don’t generate many new brain cells, called neurons, as adults
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Kate Knibbs @knibbs.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
So glad this story is gaining traction & wanted to highlight that @andrewdeck.bsky.social at @niemanlab.org broke the news that NYT/Guardian/USA Today were blocking IA earlier this year. Encourage all to read: www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/news...
niemanlab.org
News publishers limit Internet Archive access due to AI scraping concerns
Outlets like The Guardian and The New York Times are scrutinizing digital archives as potential backdoors for AI crawlers.
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Reposted by Sarah Scott Scire
Andrew Deck @andrewdeck.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Yesterday, the ProPublica Guild walked off the job in the first strike by a major U.S. newsroom over, at least in part, AI protections. I spoke with striking journalists and union leaders on the picket line in New York for @niemanlab.org. www.niemanlab.org/2026/04/prop...
niemanlab.org
ProPublica journalists walk off the job in first U.S. newsroom strike over AI
On the picket line in New York, union leaders said they expect "more concentrated conflicts" over AI in the news industry.
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Hanaa’ Tameez @hanaatameez.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
not to be earnest on here but I've been loving interviewing news creators for @niemanlab.org's Creators of Record series. It’s a good reminder on this beat that journalism’s future isn’t just about preserving what was, but that it's being invented every day. 🧵:
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Lawrence Hurley @lawrencehurley.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
People should actually be very alarmed that while AP's business model is shot to bits, Americans are still very much reliant on the news it delivers. The alternatives in some cases are inferior or non-existent. apnews.com/article/news...
apnews.com
AP says it will offer buyouts as part of pivot away from newspaper-focused history
The Associated Press says it will offer buyouts to an unspecified number of its U.S.-based journalists as part of an acceleration away from the focus on newspapers and their print journalism that sust...
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Sarah Scott Scire @sarahscire.com · 30/03/2026
got a very special assignment! will be back at @niemanlab.org in the fall after maternity leave.
pic of an extremely cute baby wearing a blue hat and white long sleeve onesie
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Reposted by Sarah Scott Scire
Jesse Eisinger @jeisinger.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
This is a good lesson for journalists: Use plain language to state true things clearly.
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Sarah Scott Scire @sarahscire.com · 13/03/2026
"sloppelgangers" is too good www.niemanlab.org/2026/03/jour...
niemanlab.org
Journalist Julia Angwin files class action lawsuit over Grammarly’s AI “sloppelgangers”
Grammarly will face a class action lawsuit over its "Expert Review" feature that dispensed writing advice using the names of prominent journalists, academics, and authors, Wired reported on Wednesday....
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Reposted by Sarah Scott Scire
Sam Litzinger @samlitzinger.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Journalist Julia Angwin files class action lawsuit over Grammarly’s AI “sloppelgangers” www.niemanlab.org/2026/03/jour...
niemanlab.org
Journalist Julia Angwin files class action lawsuit over Grammarly’s AI “sloppelgangers”
Grammarly will face a class action lawsuit over its "Expert Review" feature that dispensed writing advice using the names of prominent journalists, academics, and authors, Wired reported on Wednesday....
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Andrew Deck @andrewdeck.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
In the vacuum left by the DOJ's faulty Epstein Files search, journalists and engineers have stepped in to build alternatives for readers. "[When] people feel the government’s not being transparent, it’s even more important for media outlets to provide that service" www.niemanlab.org/2026/03/ai-p...
niemanlab.org
AI-powered search is fueling a wave of Epstein Files transparency projects
Newsrooms have long used AI to sift through document dumps. Now that same tech is being used to build search tools for readers.
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Sarah Scott Scire @sarahscire.com · 04/03/2026
a lot of people are saying!
“This new mode dovetails neatly with the incentives of the online video economy: assembling an elaborate account of how the Illuminati actually control the world takes work — you have to write out your argument. Posting, say, an empty grocery store shelf captioned by a raised-eyebrows emoji or a simple semi-assertion — ‘more fraud?’ — takes just a couple of minutes, and gives the viewer the satisfaction of having something mind-bogglingly complex reduced to a single potent image that appears to say it all. Much easier to hit your weekly upload quota and stay on schedule.” —SS
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Jay Rosen @jayrosen.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
"Not asking you to click on any link, just subscribe to a real news organization with real journalists doing firsthand, fact-based reporting." A.G. Sulzberger, publisher of The New York Times, urging people to support "original reporting" wherever they find it. www.niemanlab.org/2026/03/new-...
niemanlab.org
New York Times runs in-house ad asking listeners to “support any news organization dedicated to original reporting”
The New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger has voiced a new ad encouraging listeners to support any news organization dedicated to original reporting — even if it's not the Times. It's Sulzberger's...
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Nieman Lab @niemanlab.org · 03/03/2026
"Normally, in these ads, we talk about the importance of subscribing to the Times. I’m here today with a different message." www.niemanlab.org/2026/03/new-...
niemanlab.org
New York Times runs in-house ad asking listeners to “support any news organization dedicated to original reporting”
The New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger has voiced a new ad encouraging listeners to support any news organization dedicated to original reporting — even if it's not the Times. It's Sulzberger's…
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laura olin @lauraolin.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Before this past year, “The last time more people left the U.S. than moved in, according to Census historical statistics, it was 1935 and the destination of choice was the Soviet Union.” www.wsj.com/us-news/amer...
wsj.com
Americans Are Leaving the U.S. in Record Numbers
More citizens are replanting overseas, drawn by a quality of life made easily affordable by the U.S.’s enviable salaries.
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John Williams @johnwilliams.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
I wrote about one part of my reaction to recent events: the importance and nuance of what it means to subscribe to something.
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Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
I can't get over this number: in 2007, there were 360,000 newspaper jobs. Now, there are 80,000. "My local paper sucked!" Sure. What sucks even more? The void. "I get all my news from the Guardian!" No, the Guardian doesn't report on your town council, your school board, local cops.
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Joshua Eaton @joshuaeaton.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing people local newspaper reporters are rarified elites instead of ink-stained wretches driving their Honda Civic to a crime scene so you know don’t have to rely on Nextdoor and the police press release.
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Sarah Scott Scire @sarahscire.com · 20/02/2026
must-read from @charlottetklein.bsky.social on the disastrous Will Lewis tenure at @washingtonpost.com nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
How an Embittered Brit Decimated the Washington Post
Inside Will Lewis’s disastrous attempts to revitalize the paper.
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Sarah Scott Scire @sarahscire.com · 20/02/2026
must-read from @charlottetklein.bsky.social on the disastrous Will Lewis tenure at @washingtonpost.com nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
How an Embittered Brit Decimated the Washington Post
Inside Will Lewis’s disastrous attempts to revitalize the paper.
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Hanaa’ Tameez @hanaatameez.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
DM me if: A) You know what “journalism is better when it’s backed by live markets" means B) You want to share tips about predictions market things happening in journalism that I should know about C) You want my Signal for B www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/poly...
niemanlab.org
Polymarket says “journalism is better when it’s backed by live markets”
Predictions market Polymarket and Substack are now "exclusive," the companies announced. And the relationship getting serious is raising a few eyebrows. On Wednesday, Substack announced the new featu...
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
update www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/the-...
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Dan Kennedy @dankennedy.net · 19/02/2026
The ongoing problem of bringing journalism to news deserts: They're concentrated in rural areas and urban communities of color, which is where the money isn't. @dicktofel.bsky.social's latest. #journalism dicktofel.substack.com/p/thinking-t...
dicktofel.substack.com
Thinking Through the Hardest Business Problem in American Journalism Today
The missing element in many news deserts is money
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Amanda Becker @amandabecker.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
TikTok and other social media influencers are destabilizing entire communities with their antics, whether it's in Tucson about a high-profile kidnapping, or Ohio, spreading rumors about groups working with Haitian immigrants. 19thnews.org/2026/02/tikt...
19thnews.org
TikTokers came to Springfield looking for ICE. Then the child trafficking rumors began.
The conspiracy theories have triggered chaos in the Ohio city, where Haitian immigrant families and the groups working with them are already on edge.
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Hanaa’ Tameez @hanaatameez.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
The @washingtonpost.com layoffs disproportionately affected union members of color, per data from the @postguild.bsky.social. 50% of Hispanic/Latino guild members,​ 45% of Black members, and​ 43% of Asian members were laid off, compared to 37% of white members. www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/wash...
niemanlab.org
Washington Post layoffs disproportionately affected union members of color, preliminary Guild data shows
"We cannot ignore what this means for equity, representation, and the future of this organization."
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Sarah Scott Scire @sarahscire.com · 13/02/2026
the most popular story on @theatlantic.com right now is a devastating piece about kids and measles. some readers confused it for a true personal story. @laurahazardowen.bsky.social talked to the journalist about writing the "creative nonfiction." www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/the-...
niemanlab.org
The Atlantic’s Elizabeth Bruenig on her “hypothetical,” heavily reported measles essay
"We were attracted to the idea of providing a play-by-play of the progression of measles in granular detail."
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