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Reposted by Benjamin Toff

Heather Randell @heatherrandell.bsky.social · 2d

Economists! We’re hiring an assistant professor who focuses on domestic labor or public economics. The Humphrey School is wonderful and Minneapolis is the best city ever in my humble opinion.

More details here:
hr.myu.umn.edu/psc/hrprd/EM...

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

Job Description
Assistant Professor
About the Job
The Humphrey School of Public Affairs seeks applications for a full-time, tenure track faculty position at the assistant professor or advanced assistant professor level in social policy with a field of specialization in the domestic (U.S.) applied policy areas of labor or public economics. The faculty member will join a vibrant community of interdisciplinary scholars at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and support graduate students pursuing the Master of Public Policy (M.P.P.) and other master's-level professional degree programs, and the Ph.D. in Public Affairs program.
Successful candidates must demonstrate the potential to develop an innovative and socially impactful research portfolio that addresses contemporary questions related to social policy.

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Benjamin Toff @benjamintoff.bsky.social · 26d

“At age 82, three years before she went viral, Mom typed a few notes for anyone who might write her obit. At the end, she wrote: ‘This is more than anyone would want to know. Any obituary should leave out the frills underlined in color.’ Those frills included her 22 AP state writing awards.”

Barbara Ortutay @blanka.bsky.social · 26d

"Way back in 2012, the internet wasn’t yet the angry, shrieking wasteland it has become. A simple story about a no-nonsense lady in North Dakota could break through the noise." www.wsj.com/us-news/mari...

Marilyn Hagerty, Whose Column on Olive Garden Went Viral in 2012, Dies at 99

It was a simpler time online, her son recalls—and his no-nonsense mother broke through the noise for all the right reasons

www.wsj.com

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Benjamin Toff @benjamintoff.bsky.social · 28d

No better way to sow “workplace disharmony” than sending messages like this to faculty and staff…

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Reposted by Benjamin Toff

Hanaa’ Tameez @hanaatameez.bsky.social · Sep 11

This story — which asks what happened to all of those newsroom DEI jobs, committees, and promises from 2020 — is the hardest one I've ever worked on. I hope you'll spend some time with it today.

www.niemanlab.org/2025/09/from...

From reckoning to retreat: Journalism’s DEI efforts are in decline

www.niemanlab.org

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Benjamin Toff @benjamintoff.bsky.social · Sep 11

Would this destroy the business models of several leading social media companies? Yes. That’s just an added benefit.

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Benjamin Toff @benjamintoff.bsky.social · Sep 11

Can someone please build an AI tool that will read all your social media feeds, filter out the ads and garbage, and repackage it in a custom feed that aggregates content from across these services while providing users full control over how it is all displayed?

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Benjamin Toff @benjamintoff.bsky.social · Sep 2

If helpful, please feel free to share! We know from a lot of conversations we’ve been having through the LNIC that there remains a lot of confusion about this subject, especially among Press Forward local chapters. We’re always happy to discuss!

Benjamin Toff @benjamintoff.bsky.social · Sep 2

Each involves a variety of important research questions; however, many of the most urgent questions facing the industry require a more systematic approach and more standardized measures. That’s why we created the LNIC and what we’re working to establish.

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Benjamin Toff @benjamintoff.bsky.social · Sep 2

I argue that studies of how news and information flow through communities often focus on distinct factors:
— audiences
— journalists
— institutions
— content
— contexts
And different stakeholders have different reasons for conducting these studies.

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Benjamin Toff @benjamintoff.bsky.social · Sep 2

I wrote this piece for the Local News Impact Consortium, which tries to make sense of what everyone is talking about when they’re throwing around terms like “landscape scans,” “needs assessments,” “ecosystem analyses,” or “asset mapping.”

www.localnewsimpact.org/2025/09/01/a...

A Shared Vocabulary for Local News Ecosystem Research | Local News Impact Consortium

www.localnewsimpact.org

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Benjamin Toff @benjamintoff.bsky.social · Aug 28

Speaking of money, I’m not sure where they think they’re going to get the revenue to fund their newsroom without the enormous premium that print ads still command. These numbers in the story are very grim…

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Benjamin Toff @benjamintoff.bsky.social · Aug 15

I wish more people appreciated the importance of attention w/ regards to news. Being more transparent about ___, covering more stories on ___, or quoting the right/wrong people… lots of reasons these things matter for quality of journalism but if no one is paying attention, it won’t increase trust.

Kevin Collins @kwcollins.bsky.social · Aug 15

If you work in message testing or persuasive communication, this may be the most importantly paper you will read this month, perhaps all year. From @carnes.bsky.social and Henderson in @bjpols.bsky.social

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

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Benjamin Toff @benjamintoff.bsky.social · Aug 15

Being a faculty member at a university has never been a big part of how I define my identity and I mostly haven’t had much patience for battles over faculty governance. But THIS from the president and general counsel of Harvard’s AAUP chapter really resonates…
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/14/o...

Quote text from op-ed: “The role of faculty is fundamental. We are the teachers, researchers, and writers who have committed our professional lives to learning and free inquiry, working together with students to advance truth with rigor, independence, and integrity for the collective benefit of society. That commitment means that, unlike our distant governing boards, we will not give up so easily — no matter what kind of deals are signed in our name.”

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Reposted by Benjamin Toff

Neil Lewis, Jr. @neillewisjr.bsky.social · Aug 10

I missed this news before (but suspect we'll see more announcements like this in the coming months):

"The department also hopes to resume admissions for the fall 2027 class. However, no new applications will be accepted this cycle."

www.michigandaily.com/news/news-br...

UMich cancels doctoral epidemiology program admissions for 2026

The University of Michigan School of Public Health will not admit a 2025-2026 admissions cycle cohort to its PhD in Epidemiologic Sciences program.

www.michigandaily.com

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Benjamin Toff @benjamintoff.bsky.social · Aug 8

This seems very very bad

Michael Clemens @mclem.org · Aug 8

The White House is taking new steps to undermine every international student at our universities.

It has approved a new rule restricting student visas to 4 years max. That's not long enough for PhD students, or about half of undergrads, to finish their degree.

Likely to enter force within days.

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Benjamin Toff @benjamintoff.bsky.social · Aug 5

Would be curious to hear directly from leadership @ MPR News but guessing it’s due to deliberate decisions years ago to invest heavily in digital operations combined with being in market with lots of interest, support for local news. (And paywalls for @startribune.com, @pioneerpress.bsky.social).

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Benjamin Toff @benjamintoff.bsky.social · Aug 5

Interesting how far ahead of other public media sites @mprnews.org is in their online reach with @laist.com in second (also under nonprofit parent org APMG).

Jay Rosen @jayrosen.bsky.social · Aug 5

Top 25 local public media sites, ranked by estimated monthly visits to their websites in June 2025. www.niemanlab.org/2025/08/thes...

Hey, @joshuabenton.com What is WNYC doing at number 11 when it has the largest market in the country?

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Reposted by Benjamin Toff

COPAFS @copafs.bsky.social · Aug 2

AEA Statement on Dismissal of BLS Comm.

"The independence of the federal statistical agencies is essential to the proper functioning of a modern economy. Accurate, timely, and impartial statistics are the foundation upon which households, businesses, and policymakers make critical decisions."

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Reposted by Benjamin Toff

Andrew R. Flores @aflor017.github.io · Jul 25

We’re hiring a junior colleague in AP @au-spa.bsky.social

Please share broadly & questions can come to me! (I’m chair!)

american.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/AU/job/Main-...

Assistant Professor, Department of Government

American University is a student-centered research institution located in Washington, DC, with highly-ranked schools and colleges, internationally-renowned faculty, and a reputation for creating meani...

american.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com

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Reposted by Benjamin Toff

Joshua Benton @joshuabenton.com · Jul 23

Attention Patrick Soon-Shiong, Jon Stewart, and anyone else who needs reminding:

No, the Green Bay Packers are not a realistic business model for your local newspaper

www.niemanlab.org/2022/08/no-t...

No, the Green Bay Packers are not a realistic business model for your local newspaper

Until the news business adopts NFL-style revenue sharing — which, um, it won't — the Packers are more of an exception than a useful metaphor.

www.niemanlab.org

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Reposted by Benjamin Toff

lauragarbes.bsky.social @lauragarbes.bsky.social · Jul 21

Copy of my book just arrived in the mail today! Feels unreal. You can preorder it here: press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...

A book cover with title “Listeners Like Who? Exclusion and Resistance in the Public Radio Industry”

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Benjamin Toff @benjamintoff.bsky.social · Jul 18

Among the many things outrageous in this story, what kind of nonprofit news organization forces its own journalists to sign “non-disparagement and confidentiality agreements as a condition of severance?”