Leaving Milk Out for the Neighbors

Me: Hello! [what do you need?]

Coworker: Happy (insert day of week here)! Are you ready for the weekend, haha? [I can’t tell you what I need yet. Social protocol dictates I continue to make small talk for awhile first]

Me: Ha ha, yeah, I’m pretty much always ready for the weekend. How about you? [I recognize the protocol but am feeling some internal frustration about it]

Coworker: I’m doing great! Working from home is crazy, my dogs love that I’m always here though! [For some reason I’m still not telling you what I need]

Me: Yeah, I get that. [Maybe if I stop engaging you’ll tell me]

Coworker: My kids are still adjusting to this whole virtual classroom thing, too. It’s really different. [I’m going to keep going whether you engage or not. I can’t stop. I won’t stop.]

Me: Yeah, I bet. [Please. Please, I’m begging you. Just tell me what you want. I know you want something.]

Coworker: You’re working from home now too, right? [At this point I’ve trapped us both in small talk hell of my own creation.]

Me: Yes. It’s definitely something else. [I believe in you. You can do this. Just tell me what you need. Please.]

Coworker: It’s so weird not to see everyone in the office every day huh? [Help me. I can’t stop. Help.]

Me: Yes [I will switch to single-word responses in hopes of freeing us both from this hell]

Coworker: So I don’t want to keep you too long, but I wanted to know if you still had the link to that training from last week? [Thank you. You have freed me. We can now conduct our business transaction and go about our day. I am forever in your debt.]

Me: Sure thing, I’ll email it to you! :) [I’ll be friendly again so you know I’m not upset with you for getting trapped in the bondage of social protocol]

Also love is real.

ok so AOC’s tips for consuming news critically are???? phenomenal??? they’re better than my entire undergraduate education in political communication. it took my entire career up until this point in news media to learn this stuff. she is SPOT on. 

to expand on a few of her points:

1) If you like a piece of reporting someone has done, follow the JOURNALIST, not the outlet. Digital news organizations come and go, traditional news lays people off, and freelancers don’t always work for the same place, but someone who really puts in the work that you come to trust their reporting is valuable. You have no idea what it means to be able to say “you know, I don’t know if I believe what all these news outlets are saying on this, but I know X reporter does a lot of work on this and I trust their work on it.”

2) In that same vein, you should trust public radio and print outlets more than TV (or YouTubers - both TV and YouTubers are looking for views and ad money). Seriously, I work in TV, and this is NOT a knock on TV producers at all, it’s just that TV has to work on a 24/7 news cycle, and sometimes they get stuff wrong because they have to do it quickly, or on a certain production schedule, or it has to be visual, or it has to get viewers. It is often the written/print reporters translating their scripts into published articles online who are doing the fact checking, if any. This isn’t to say all print and public radio is gospel (it sure as shit isn’t), but it’s a good place to start. 

3) Most people can’t afford a news subscription, however if you can afford Spotify or Netflix, you should subscribe to your local newspaper or public radio station. What AOC doesn’t mention here about newspapers specifically, is that you need to REALLY check if that newspaper has a) been gobbled up by a hedge fund b) has some sort of weird conservative slant. Do some research first. Also, if you can’t afford a local newspaper subscription, 99.99% of the time your library card includes subscriptions to some sort of news service, that will get you behind many paywalls. Check your library system’s digital services for what news services they offer and how to log in.

6 Screenshots from Instagram stories by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @ aoc

1. An image of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, seen from behind, being interviewed by a pack of reporters. Overlaid is the following text:

“[In an Instagram comment bubble, a question from a follower] Do you actually see truth in media? Or is it hyped for more views?

[Response Text] OK so first things first: journalists & members of the press are people with jobs that are overworked, underpaid and underappreciated. So I’m not here to dump on them because they deal with enough. I respect them a lot and admire those who conduct their work with integrity.

But the institutions and incentives in media overall is absolutely incentivized towards conflict and drama, because that is what generates clicks, views, and revenue. That said, when you see a FACT that is reported, cited, and verified by several reputable outlets, 99.999% it’s going to be true.

HOWEVER! there is a BIG difference between a fact and the STORY. And the STORY (often the headline) that’s told surrounding the fact is frequently stretched, mischaracterized, or dramatized to get you to click. Sometimes the STORY is so misleading that even thought it contains FACTS it is told in such a way that people will walk away thinking the wrong thing, or just getting angry about something that’s actually not a big deal. And that creates lack of trust in media & institutions, and overall polarization. I will give you an example.”

2. A screenshot from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s DNC convention speech. She is shown head and shoulders wearing a lapel mic. Overlaid is the following text.

“Remember this? This was my DNC Convention speech to procedurally nominate Bernie. It was pre-recorded and approved by the DNC, Biden campaign, and Bernie. The DNC provided and advisory to the media DAYS ahead of time that I would be seconding Bernie’s procedural nomination.

This happens at EVERY single convention (Dolores Huerta did Hillary Clinton’s in ‘08, etc) and ironically it is considered an important step in UNITING the party by paying respect to the second-place finished and their supporters and sets up a process so we all come together via roll call in the end.

But how did @ nbcnews cover it? ➡”

3. A screenshot from a tweet by @ NBCNews on Twitter. The tweet reads:

NBC News (@ NBCNews): “In One of the shortest speeches of the DNC, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez did not endorse Joe Biden. “I hereby second the nomination of Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont for president of the United States of America”. nbcnews.to/2Clp24c”

Overlaid is the following text:

“NBC immediately framed this normal process as “AOC doesn’t endorse Joe Biden” when they KNEW this was normal and were ADVISED that the whole point of my role WASN’T to do that!

But educating people on the process doesn’t generate as much clicks or money, so they framed this as controversially as possible. The FACT is true - I didn’t endorse Biden in this 60 sec clip - but the STORY was at best irresponsible.

This actually made my life hell in the immediate aftermath. 20-30 million people were watching on convention nights. Floods of people, misled by NBC, directed a ton of abuse my way and I was cast as “going rogue” and harming the party. A lot of moderate Democrats used this as an opportunity to send a lot of hatred, anger, and vitriol my way.

All for fulfilling a 60 second role that I was asked to do. And @ nbcnews has yet to apologize.

This stuff happens all the time.

(NBC quietly took down the tweet in the middle of the night - after it already went viral)”

4. An image of AOC using her phone with her feet propped up on a table. The following text is overlaid:

“My tips for consuming media & staying informed:

- Don’t rely on only one source. Every outlet has their own biases and habits, even if they don’t want to admit it. Read multiple outlets to determine YOUR perspective.

- Get an idea for each outlet’s slant / vibe / perspective / whatever you want to call it. Media bias rarely shows up as “this outlet is out to get X politician” (though there are some hacky, 2nd/3rd tier outlets or websites that are that way), but it’s more often a bias towards a certain class perspective that’s out of touch, or it’s a bias against context they DON’T have ie race. For example, a lot of newsrooms don’t have enough empowered BIPOC journalists, so their coverage can be really tone deaf towards race, or gender, or class, etc.

- Identify journalists whose work you respect and trust. They often specialize in topics you are interested in, from politics to gaming. Follow them. I find that to be a lot more illuminating than just blanket loyalty to an outlet

- Take a beat. Many headlines are designed to triggers an emotional response. So if you have the inclination to get angry, pause.

 - Also: many journalists are not responsible for the headlines above their work. Which I find really sad, bc they will put in a ton of work on an article just for an editor to put in a horrible headline that undercuts all the work they just did. I believe digital headlines should be held to higher editorial standards to preserve people’s trust.

I believe we should hold headlines accountable too.”

5. An image of AOC surrounded by a press pack with mics and cameras. The following text is overlaid:

“This also does NOT mean that news you dislike or disagree with isn’t true!

But as a person in the whirlwind of it, it can feel quite unfair at times bc so much of it leans on lazy tropes and narratives.

This is why I’m pretty assertive about correcting the record, logging my disagreements with certain takes, and commanding my own narrative. Because if they do it to me, they will do it to every other person who isn’t traditionally seen as part of the political class. I see this as precedent-setting for other leaders who are on their way. It’s a lot of work thought, like a whole other job on top of a job on top of a job.”

6. A black background with white text overlaid:

“Lastly:

✅ Support local journalism!

✅ Keep an eye out for journalists whose work you admire

✅ Respect new and verified reporting, research more if you’re interested

✅ Don’t fall down the “fake news” wormhole but still keep a critical eye

✅ PAY FOR A NEWS SUBSCRIPTION! (if you can). News outlets that don’t have to chase click ads as much can invest in investigatory journalism”