Sports Illustrated is on life support, Pitchfork has been folded into GQ and the Los Angeles Times just suffered a massive layoff. Needless to say, things are not going well in the world of journalism. Meredith, Jay and Ty discuss what has been going on in journalism and what the implications may be. The gang also tackles some trending issues during Sounds of the Week, including the border crisis showdown between the state of Texas and the federal government, racism in America and Millennials staying home on the weekends.

 

0:00 - Intro (Wet January, attending NFL games in subzero temps is dumb, mysterious KC Chiefs fans deaths)

14:23 - Sounds of the Week:

• Oklahoma Governor Argues States Can Just Ignore the Supreme Court if It ‘Gets Something Wrong’
• Nikki Haley on racism in America
• Millennials no longer going out on the weekends?

45:14 - Corporate takeover of journalism

 

Songs:

"UHF" - "Weird Al" Yankovic

"Trouble Every Day" - Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention

"Dirty Laundry" - Don Henley

 

Show notes:

• Supreme Court order in Department of Homeland Security v. Texas (mentioned during "Oklahoma Governor Argues States Can Just Ignore the Supreme Court if It ‘Gets Something Wrong’" Sounds of the Week entry)
• U.S. Supreme Court says Texas can’t block federal agents from the border (explanation of DHS v. Texas case and the SCOTUS order)
• The Court and Constitutional Interpretation (straight from the official SCOTUS website, a detailed explanation of the Supreme Court's role and the historical background, including the Federalist Papers and the landmark case of Marbury v. Madison)
• Letter of solidarity from GOP governors regarding Texas defying SCOTUS order in DHS v. Texas)
• Black U.S. senators throughout history (mentioned during the "Nikki Haley on racism in America" Sounds of the Week entry)
• Diversity of the 118th Congress (mentioned during the "Nikki Haley on racism in America" Sounds of the Week entry)
• People say weekends feel 'different' now and they no longer want to socialize, blaming the pandemic and the economy (supplemental reading for "Millennials no longer going out on the weekends?" Sounds of the Week entry)
• New Year's Eve at Times Square in 2024 vs. 2002 (mentioned during "Millennials no longer going out on the weekends?" Sounds of the Week entry)
• Sports Illustrated’s Deaths by a Thousand Cuts (main topic discussion; explains the fate of Sports Illustrated)
• Sports Illustrated Thrown Into Chaos With Mass Layoffs (another deep dive into the Sports Illustrated situation)
• Inside Pitchfork’s absorption into GQ: When ‘music media’ becomes ‘men’s media,’ what’s lost? (mentioned during main topic segment)
• Los Angeles Times to Slash Newsroom by Over 20% (mentioned during main topic segment)
• Sports Illustrated found publishing AI generated stories, photos and authors (mentioned during main topic segment; highlights how the publication was in turmoil before the latest corporate screwup)
• ‘Just Had a Pamper On’: Walmart Employee Says She Was Fired After Shaming Shopper Whose Shivering Toddler Was Underdressed for the Cold (mentioned during main topic when discussing all workers, not just celebrities, face repercussions for posting on social media)
• Trolls have flooded X with graphic Taylor Swift AI fakes (mentioned during main topic while discussing people posting fake stuff on social media...NO, we will not link to those photos)