https://kolektiva.social/@noescape_vg 🏴🏳️⚧️🇵🇸
@noescapevg.com
They/Them // digital culture and its discontents // anarchist // noescapevg.com [email protected]
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This is what I've been working on all summer. It's my first book, called Escape Velocity: Explorations of Digital Culture and its Discontents 2019-2024. It's partially a retrospective of my time doing No Escape but it also features multiple revisions of old work and five entirely new essays.
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We're open! Roads are still bad so we don't suggest driving, but if you walk in we'll hook you up with some hot tea. Early events were canceled, but political prisoner letter writing with @blueridgeabc.bsky.social is still on for 3pm.
February 1, 2026 at 5:23 PM
We're open! Roads are still bad so we don't suggest driving, but if you walk in we'll hook you up with some hot tea. Early events were canceled, but political prisoner letter writing with @blueridgeabc.bsky.social is still on for 3pm.
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Troubles arise from felt experience. Issues emerge from the political system, broadly defined.
Why does this matter? Well, when people's troubles don't connect to what are called the issues, or when issues don't speak to troubles, democracy — and journalism — are working poorly indeed.
16/
Why does this matter? Well, when people's troubles don't connect to what are called the issues, or when issues don't speak to troubles, democracy — and journalism — are working poorly indeed.
16/
February 1, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Troubles arise from felt experience. Issues emerge from the political system, broadly defined.
Why does this matter? Well, when people's troubles don't connect to what are called the issues, or when issues don't speak to troubles, democracy — and journalism — are working poorly indeed.
16/
Why does this matter? Well, when people's troubles don't connect to what are called the issues, or when issues don't speak to troubles, democracy — and journalism — are working poorly indeed.
16/
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The great sociologist C. Wright Mills would distinguish between "troubles" and "issues."
My paraphrase: Troubles are the things people are actively worried about in their lives.
Mills: “An issue is a public matter: some value cherished by publics is felt to be threatened.” 15/
My paraphrase: Troubles are the things people are actively worried about in their lives.
Mills: “An issue is a public matter: some value cherished by publics is felt to be threatened.” 15/
February 1, 2026 at 5:01 PM
The great sociologist C. Wright Mills would distinguish between "troubles" and "issues."
My paraphrase: Troubles are the things people are actively worried about in their lives.
Mills: “An issue is a public matter: some value cherished by publics is felt to be threatened.” 15/
My paraphrase: Troubles are the things people are actively worried about in their lives.
Mills: “An issue is a public matter: some value cherished by publics is felt to be threatened.” 15/
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But — and here comes my distinction — if journalists let an ideology distort their reporting so as not to injure a cause they manifestly believe in, then their work has been unduly politicized.
Journalism is political. It should not be politicized. 14/ pressthink.org/2020/05/you-...
Journalism is political. It should not be politicized. 14/ pressthink.org/2020/05/you-...
You cannot keep from getting swept up in Trump's agenda without a firm grasp on your own - PressThink
The 2020 campaign is here. Those who are covering it had better figure out what they are for, or they will end up as his enablers— as they were in 2016.
pressthink.org
February 1, 2026 at 5:00 PM
But — and here comes my distinction — if journalists let an ideology distort their reporting so as not to injure a cause they manifestly believe in, then their work has been unduly politicized.
Journalism is political. It should not be politicized. 14/ pressthink.org/2020/05/you-...
Journalism is political. It should not be politicized. 14/ pressthink.org/2020/05/you-...
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What is "political" need not be politicized. This is a point I have tried to make again and again in my press criticism.
When TV journalists with Sunday morning shows push back against major party candiates who are floating poisonous charges without evidence, that is a political act... 13/
When TV journalists with Sunday morning shows push back against major party candiates who are floating poisonous charges without evidence, that is a political act... 13/
February 1, 2026 at 4:59 PM
What is "political" need not be politicized. This is a point I have tried to make again and again in my press criticism.
When TV journalists with Sunday morning shows push back against major party candiates who are floating poisonous charges without evidence, that is a political act... 13/
When TV journalists with Sunday morning shows push back against major party candiates who are floating poisonous charges without evidence, that is a political act... 13/
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Truth-seeking is what journalists see themselves as always doing. Find the truth. What could be simpler, right?
Refuge-seeking includes common practices like false balance, "both sides do it," steering the story "down the middle," and the depiction of "dueling realities" in a divided nation. 12/
Refuge-seeking includes common practices like false balance, "both sides do it," steering the story "down the middle," and the depiction of "dueling realities" in a divided nation. 12/
February 1, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Truth-seeking is what journalists see themselves as always doing. Find the truth. What could be simpler, right?
Refuge-seeking includes common practices like false balance, "both sides do it," steering the story "down the middle," and the depiction of "dueling realities" in a divided nation. 12/
Refuge-seeking includes common practices like false balance, "both sides do it," steering the story "down the middle," and the depiction of "dueling realities" in a divided nation. 12/
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My favorite description of refuge-seeking behavior in journalism comes from a former reporter for the Washington Post, Paul Taylor, in his 1990 book about election coverage. I have quoted it many times. 11/
February 1, 2026 at 4:53 PM
My favorite description of refuge-seeking behavior in journalism comes from a former reporter for the Washington Post, Paul Taylor, in his 1990 book about election coverage. I have quoted it many times. 11/
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Jay's third key distinction: truth-seeking vs. refuge-seeking behavior in journalism.
Truth-seeking needs no definition. It is finding out what actually happened— and telling us.
Refuge-seeking involves telling the story in a way that protects against anticipated attacks... 10/
Truth-seeking needs no definition. It is finding out what actually happened— and telling us.
Refuge-seeking involves telling the story in a way that protects against anticipated attacks... 10/
February 1, 2026 at 4:46 PM
Jay's third key distinction: truth-seeking vs. refuge-seeking behavior in journalism.
Truth-seeking needs no definition. It is finding out what actually happened— and telling us.
Refuge-seeking involves telling the story in a way that protects against anticipated attacks... 10/
Truth-seeking needs no definition. It is finding out what actually happened— and telling us.
Refuge-seeking involves telling the story in a way that protects against anticipated attacks... 10/
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For every retweet I will make Zuckerberg’s creep glasses 5% thicker
February 1, 2026 at 4:46 PM
For every retweet I will make Zuckerberg’s creep glasses 5% thicker
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Media, journalism, and the press are not interchangeable terms. Yet they are bound up with one another.
Media is the attention industry
Journalism is a social practice
The press is a key institution in a democracy
Put it all together: Journalists who work in the media carry forward "the press." 9/
Media is the attention industry
Journalism is a social practice
The press is a key institution in a democracy
Put it all together: Journalists who work in the media carry forward "the press." 9/
February 1, 2026 at 4:45 PM
Media, journalism, and the press are not interchangeable terms. Yet they are bound up with one another.
Media is the attention industry
Journalism is a social practice
The press is a key institution in a democracy
Put it all together: Journalists who work in the media carry forward "the press." 9/
Media is the attention industry
Journalism is a social practice
The press is a key institution in a democracy
Put it all together: Journalists who work in the media carry forward "the press." 9/
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Most journalists are employees of the media, and thus part of the attention business. This creates endless problems and compromises, which I read and hear about nonstop.
The press — to my way of thinking — is the institution that endures over time as journalists come in and out of it. 8/
The press — to my way of thinking — is the institution that endures over time as journalists come in and out of it. 8/
February 1, 2026 at 4:45 PM
Most journalists are employees of the media, and thus part of the attention business. This creates endless problems and compromises, which I read and hear about nonstop.
The press — to my way of thinking — is the institution that endures over time as journalists come in and out of it. 8/
The press — to my way of thinking — is the institution that endures over time as journalists come in and out of it. 8/
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Key distinction number two: journalism vs. the media (vs. the press)
I think of the media as the attention business, an industry whose product is audiences.
Journalism is a social practice, the purpose of which is to keep publics informed and hold power to account. 7/
I think of the media as the attention business, an industry whose product is audiences.
Journalism is a social practice, the purpose of which is to keep publics informed and hold power to account. 7/
February 1, 2026 at 4:44 PM
Key distinction number two: journalism vs. the media (vs. the press)
I think of the media as the attention business, an industry whose product is audiences.
Journalism is a social practice, the purpose of which is to keep publics informed and hold power to account. 7/
I think of the media as the attention business, an industry whose product is audiences.
Journalism is a social practice, the purpose of which is to keep publics informed and hold power to account. 7/
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Audience vs. public, cont.
When people share common problems but don't realize it, they are an "inchoate" public. (John Dewey.)
One reason the presidential debates used to be such a big deal is that they are one of the few occasions when the audience is the public and vice versa.
6/
When people share common problems but don't realize it, they are an "inchoate" public. (John Dewey.)
One reason the presidential debates used to be such a big deal is that they are one of the few occasions when the audience is the public and vice versa.
6/
February 1, 2026 at 4:39 PM
Audience vs. public, cont.
When people share common problems but don't realize it, they are an "inchoate" public. (John Dewey.)
One reason the presidential debates used to be such a big deal is that they are one of the few occasions when the audience is the public and vice versa.
6/
When people share common problems but don't realize it, they are an "inchoate" public. (John Dewey.)
One reason the presidential debates used to be such a big deal is that they are one of the few occasions when the audience is the public and vice versa.
6/
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And here we go with some key distinctions I use to do my work.
An audience is not a public.
"Audience" suggests people attending to a common object, typically a performance or spectacle.
A public is people with different interests who live in the same space and share common problems. 5/
An audience is not a public.
"Audience" suggests people attending to a common object, typically a performance or spectacle.
A public is people with different interests who live in the same space and share common problems. 5/
February 1, 2026 at 4:36 PM
And here we go with some key distinctions I use to do my work.
An audience is not a public.
"Audience" suggests people attending to a common object, typically a performance or spectacle.
A public is people with different interests who live in the same space and share common problems. 5/
An audience is not a public.
"Audience" suggests people attending to a common object, typically a performance or spectacle.
A public is people with different interests who live in the same space and share common problems. 5/
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For those who don't know me, I recently retired as a journalism professor at NYU. I kept the role of press critic who writes about the media and politics, and journalism's struggle for survival. I have a PhD in media studies, and 35 years experience in puzzling through problems in press behavor. 4/
February 1, 2026 at 4:35 PM
For those who don't know me, I recently retired as a journalism professor at NYU. I kept the role of press critic who writes about the media and politics, and journalism's struggle for survival. I have a PhD in media studies, and 35 years experience in puzzling through problems in press behavor. 4/
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These notes about some of the distinctions I draw in order to do my work were written under the influence of two masters of the form: the French critic Roland Barthes, and the political philosopher Hannah Arendt, known for her striking distinctions— such as labor vs. work. 3/
February 1, 2026 at 4:34 PM
These notes about some of the distinctions I draw in order to do my work were written under the influence of two masters of the form: the French critic Roland Barthes, and the political philosopher Hannah Arendt, known for her striking distinctions— such as labor vs. work. 3/
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For distinctions to do their work, the terms have to be sufficiently close so that prying them apart clears a space for thought.
If I write, "bending is not the same as breaking, well, who said it was? That one is going nowhere. But "naked is not the same as nude..." That's an idea with legs. 2/
If I write, "bending is not the same as breaking, well, who said it was? That one is going nowhere. But "naked is not the same as nude..." That's an idea with legs. 2/
February 1, 2026 at 4:33 PM
For distinctions to do their work, the terms have to be sufficiently close so that prying them apart clears a space for thought.
If I write, "bending is not the same as breaking, well, who said it was? That one is going nowhere. But "naked is not the same as nude..." That's an idea with legs. 2/
If I write, "bending is not the same as breaking, well, who said it was? That one is going nowhere. But "naked is not the same as nude..." That's an idea with legs. 2/
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"When in doubt, draw a distinction."
Not sure where he got it, but in grad school one of my teachers taught me that.
This (long) thread is about the key distinctions I rely on as a critic. There's a Twitter version from 2021. This one builds on that one.
I will post them one at a time. Ready?
Not sure where he got it, but in grad school one of my teachers taught me that.
This (long) thread is about the key distinctions I rely on as a critic. There's a Twitter version from 2021. This one builds on that one.
I will post them one at a time. Ready?
February 1, 2026 at 4:31 PM
"When in doubt, draw a distinction."
Not sure where he got it, but in grad school one of my teachers taught me that.
This (long) thread is about the key distinctions I rely on as a critic. There's a Twitter version from 2021. This one builds on that one.
I will post them one at a time. Ready?
Not sure where he got it, but in grad school one of my teachers taught me that.
This (long) thread is about the key distinctions I rely on as a critic. There's a Twitter version from 2021. This one builds on that one.
I will post them one at a time. Ready?
It's very cool to watch new revelations come out like "this leading sociobiologist was talking to Epstein about keeping a stock of trans women sex slaves"
definitely not psychically damaging
definitely not psychically damaging
February 1, 2026 at 4:41 PM
It's very cool to watch new revelations come out like "this leading sociobiologist was talking to Epstein about keeping a stock of trans women sex slaves"
definitely not psychically damaging
definitely not psychically damaging
Bumpin’ one last time:
Beep beep, special delivery! I've got a medium sized package and a small package for y'all today! First up: a review of Skate Story that I think is really more an examination of vibes. noescapevg.com/ruminations-...
Ruminations on Skate Story
There is something inherently anarchic about skateboarding.
noescapevg.com
February 1, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Bumpin’ one last time:
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Just wanted to share a great gif of @unarmedoracle.bsky.social from the show tonight.
I can see many useful applications.
(thanks to RedRaptor on the LRR Discord)
I can see many useful applications.
(thanks to RedRaptor on the LRR Discord)
February 1, 2026 at 7:48 AM
Just wanted to share a great gif of @unarmedoracle.bsky.social from the show tonight.
I can see many useful applications.
(thanks to RedRaptor on the LRR Discord)
I can see many useful applications.
(thanks to RedRaptor on the LRR Discord)
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I regret nothing. This was months old. Dunno if the technofetishist oligarchs running this racist shitshow of a webbed site took note since they’re really trying to make people love data centers or some lickspittle trying to knock my account. Fuck en all. I was right then. I’m right now. Fuck em.
February 1, 2026 at 7:09 AM
I regret nothing. This was months old. Dunno if the technofetishist oligarchs running this racist shitshow of a webbed site took note since they’re really trying to make people love data centers or some lickspittle trying to knock my account. Fuck en all. I was right then. I’m right now. Fuck em.
look, shit might be terrible and we might be in the midst of a bitter struggle against the government but I got all my laundry done today and despite taking a much-too-long nap I've also managed to get a bunch of reading done for the CritDist monthly roundup. So, hey, sometimes things are good
February 1, 2026 at 7:02 AM
look, shit might be terrible and we might be in the midst of a bitter struggle against the government but I got all my laundry done today and despite taking a much-too-long nap I've also managed to get a bunch of reading done for the CritDist monthly roundup. So, hey, sometimes things are good
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They aren’t deescalating anything. They’re claiming new extra-constitutional powers.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...
ICE Expands Power of Agents to Arrest People Without Warrants
www.nytimes.com
January 31, 2026 at 11:30 PM
They aren’t deescalating anything. They’re claiming new extra-constitutional powers.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...