Mark Jacob

Chicago

Freelance Writer and Editor, Local News Initiative at Freelance

Ex-editor at Chicago Tribune & Sun-Times. Co-author of 10 books. Subscribe to my free newsletter on politics & media at https://t.co/K4nW7WYdyZ

Articles

5 ways major media can seek redemption

3 days ago | stopthepresses.news | Mark Jacob

The Trump regime is defying the courts. Federal agents are grabbing people off the streets and jailing them for exercising their 1st Amendment rights. Trump is extorting universities and law firms. It’s a dictatorship-in-progress. The mainstream news media have helped bring us to this disaster with both-sidesing, sane-washing, and cheap fascination with Trump’s supposed “entertainment” skills. They had a duty to warn, and they largely failed.
Karoline Leavitt is a professional liar

1 week ago | stopthepresses.news | Mark Jacob

Before Karoline Leavitt became White House press secretary, she made a video for the radical Project 2025. Advising future right-wing political appointees, she said: “Sometimes you’re going to have to ‘fake it till you make it’ a little bit.”But Leavitt is faking it more than a little bit.
20 ‘rude’ questions the media should ask

2 weeks ago | stopthepresses.news | Mark Jacob

Newsmakers know journalists have a short attention span. They know if they can stave off questions long enough, most reporters will move on to something else. And if the reporters keep asking tough questions, some politicians will deny them access. The journalists may even get in trouble with their own bosses if their questions come across as rude. That’s why newsmakers get away with a lot these days.
The New York Times is on the wrong side of history

3 weeks ago | stopthepresses.news | Mark Jacob

Over the weekend, the New York Times published a pompous editorial headlined, “The Democrats Are in Denial About 2024.” The editorial wasn’t wrong – much of the party’s leadership is indeed in denial – but the obvious, ignored fact is that the Times is in denial too. During the 2024 campaign, the Times sane-washed Trump’s mental unfitness, downplayed MAGA fascism, and sometimes treated a political turning point for our country as a source of lighthearted amusement.
How people power can beat MAGA money and meanness

1 month ago | stopthepresses.news | Mark Jacob

The pace of the MAGA power grab is breathtaking. We’re seeing capitulation among Big Tech, universities, lawyers, and the news media. On the other hand, there’s a growing sense of outrage among Americans who understand the nightmare that’s descending. We need more people to be alarmed and take action. It’s not too late. Here are some steps to take. Get out and protest.
The Trump regime retreats on promised Agent Orange cleanup

1 month ago | stopthepresses.news | Mark Jacob

The Trump administration’s reckless mishandling of a promised Agent Orange cleanup in Vietnam is the topic of a strong ProPublica story that Steven Beschloss and I highlight in a new On-Target video. The U.S. is trashing its credibility around the world by pulling back on commitments made under USAID, the foreign aid agency under attack by Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Beschloss is author of the outstanding “America, America” newsletter. Consider subscribing.
Useless Democrats: Schumer, Newsom, Emanuel

1 month ago | stopthepresses.news | Mark Jacob

During the Cold War, people on the right accused liberals of being “useful idiots” who were manipulated into pushing the communist agenda without realizing it. That accusation was usually unfair. But these days, some Democrats are serving as useful idiots of a different sort, enabling Republican authoritarianism without seemingly realizing it. That was evident last week when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats surrendered to MAGA on federal spending.
JD Vance further antagonizes America's allies

1 month ago | stopthepresses.news | Mark Jacob

The On-Target videos by Steven Beschloss and me highlight news outlets that are standing strong as MAGA authoritarianism puts journalism under siege. The British-based Guardian is one of the standouts, with excellent reporting on how the Trump regime alienates allies.
Trump is mentally unfit. Why won’t major media say so?

1 month ago | stopthepresses.news | Mark Jacob

I’m one of those people who thought Joe Biden’s debate performance last June was such a 40-car pileup that he earned the criticism he got. But I wish the media would stop grading on a curve and give Donald Trump that kind of treatment, too. Instead, the media set the bar so low for Trump that it’s underground. Is Trump suffering from dementia? Is he just a lazy thinker? Is he imprisoned in his own fantasy world? It may be a combination of those things. I’m not diagnosing him.
Can political media break the addiction to access?

1 month ago | stopthepresses.news | Mark Jacob

Donald Trump’s ban against the Associated Press covering White House events is an outrageous assault on freedom of the press. It may have a positive effect, though, if it makes the news media more aggressive and resourceful and less dependent on news items that politicians dole out. After all, journalism shouldn’t look like feeding time at the aquarium.