Losing My Perspicacity December 12, 2024

Good morning and Happy Tuesday!

I’m going to start today by doing what I’ve done across my social media platforms: Asking people to commit to protecting reporters in the new year. Yesterday, I included the news that the Senate voted down a bipartisan bill that increased protection for journalists, at a time when the incoming President and his nominee to head up the FBI have threatened to imprison journalists for telling the truth.

Sadly, that’s not the only threat facing our industry. Yesterday, Gizmodo published a story on ads run by a generative AI company in San Francisco, encouraging companies to use AI rather than hiring actual humans. The ad claims AI is preferable to blood-and-flesh employees for reasons like:

Live employees and their pesky desires not to live for their jobs! They also waste time using the bathroom every day. And don’t get me started on them wanting time off for things like “having a baby” and “being seriously ill.”

Sadly, this is already happening. Several sports outlets, including Sports Illustrated, have been caught publishing AI-generated articles (too often without informing their readers), and stories generated by bots have invaded perhaps our most crucial news space: local journalism.

According to an Oregon Public Broadcasting investigation, some out-of-state journalists have had their identities stolen and used on Oregon outlet’s bylines by AI bots.

If the private equity companies that have bought up media outlets to strip them down and sell them for parts have their way, we’ll have far fewer journalists and far more AI bots writing the news in the near future. At my last job, we had to push back daily against management’s desire to use AI in the newsroom. But it doesn’t have to be this way. There are ways to fight back, but those in the media need our help.

And by the way, this is who some in the media want to turn the news over to:

This, along with the Trump administration, seems like a great plan for America.

Here’s how you can help keep the journalists in journalism:

• Be intentional about what you read and share. These days, the success of a story isn’t judged by its impact on the world but by how many clicks it garners. Don’t click on stories published by outlets that use generative AI.

• One way to avoid accidentally clicking on AI-generated stories is to do your best to click on stories written by your favorite outlets and writers. At least one outlet has been caught putting fake bylines and headshots on stories that were probably written by bots. But if you know the author is an actual person whose work you follow, you’re much less likely to support AI accidentally.

• Be intentional about how you use Google. Many outlets encourage their journalists to stuff their lede with keywords and use other SEO measures to make it appear at the very top of a Google search. Clicking on those stories rewards people who write for Google instead of for their readers. Take a moment and scroll down through your Google results to find an outlet you trust before handing your click to a company that’s forcing its reporters to troll through Google rankings for stories. Just as you can vote with your wallet, you can also vote with your clicks.

• Finally, support human journalists, writers, artists, and other creatives however you can. Subscribing to paid content (like newsletters) and buying physical art are two ways, but so are liking and sharing their work on social media and encouraging your friends and family to do the same.

I don’t believe that AI taking over is a done deal, but we’re at the precipe right now. Many media owners got into the business to make money, and AI seems to them an easy way to do it. After all, despite its devastating effect on the environment and the souls of creatives, AI is a lot cheaper to manage than people are. But maybe we can still show those in charge that using AI will cause them to lose their audience. That’s the hope I’m holding on to.

Today: Caitlin Clark’s fans are finally starting to get it; Aaron Rodgers is the least self-aware person on planet Earth; Nancy Mace really misses the spotlight; and The High Note.

And away we go.

Caitlin Clark’s right-wing fans are upset

TIME Magazine named Caitlin Clark its Athlete of the Year earlier this week. In the interview that accompanied the honor, Clark spoke to white privilege and its effect on her career:

That went over with the MAGA segment of Clark’s fandom about as well as you would expect.

The WNBA’s 2025 season is going to be interesting. There’s a new team in the mix (The Golden State Valkyries), the WNBA Players Association will be negotiating a new deal with the league, and (crosses all my fingers and toes) we just might get rid of the toxic fans that were never there for the basketball and were always there for the racial culture war.

A girl can dream.

Good Lord, Aaron Rodgers

We all know Aaron Rodgers is living in a galaxy-brained, chem-trailed, darkness retreat of a reality, but he never ceases to amaze me with his lack of self-awareness.

For some reason, YouTube won’t allow me to embed Rodgers’ most recent comments on The Pat McAfee Show, but you can watch the video here.

As for the comments themselves:

Says the football player who has been paid over a million dollars to spout his brain-dead views on the efficacy of vaccines on a sports talk show. And apropos of nothing, the reason we don’t have great SportsCenter moments like we did when Dan Patrick, Keith Olbermann, Stuart Scott, and Craig Kilborn hosted is because ESPN decided to promote shows like McAfee’s instead of decent shows like Outside the Lines and oldhead SportsCenter.

God, he’s so obtuse.

Nancy Mace demands your attention again

It’s been a few weeks since Nancy Mace had the spotlight due to her cruel and pointless war over who can use the same Capitol Hill bathroom as her. Obviously, the lack of attention is starting to get to her. Why do I say that? I’m so glad you asked.

Mace is now claiming she was “physically accosted” by a “pro-trans man” on federal grounds, resulting in an injury to her arm. Today, Mace was seen walking the hall of Congress with her arm in a sling.

Mace reported the “accosting” to the police, who have since arrested the person in question. The problem? Several eye-witnesses say Mace’s version of events is completely false.

Meanwhile, Mace is milking this alleged injury for all it’s worth. She’s been posting about the incident non-stop on X for the last 24 hours, and is absolutely gooey over “President Trump calling to check on me.”

The High Note

Each day, I do my best to leave you with some hope in your heart as you face the day. Here are a few things that made me smile today:

• An anonymous $3.5 million donation to the Milwaukee Art Museum means that children 12 and under will now be able to visit for free.

• Taylor Swift gave her Eras Tour crew bonuses totaling $197 million.

• Senator Elizabeth Warren has introduced the Accountable Capitalism Act, which aims to force corporations away from maximizing shareholder value and towards supporting employees.

• And finally, sometimes the wrong number is the right number.

Survive and advance today! The weekend is almost here!