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@OliviaMesser
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editor in chief, the barbed wire. tina brown once called me “meticulous.” words in @rollingstone @slate @thedailybeast etc [email protected]
Joined May 2011
Filed a draft of a story I've been reporting for a year. For fun, I deleted all my tweets. Just pinning this. Very excited to get back to work on edits for SWWTG. Through writing it, I've become a better wordsmith and person, even if it was so transformative as to be painful
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this is one of those horrifyingly clear moments in history when you immediately know everything has changed but you can’t see how yet.
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just absolutely top tier mom texts
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I worry about grown folks who don’t realize that campaigning, for almost all of history, has involved giving basically the same speech in as many places as possible — so much so there’s a Parks episode from ~10 years ago about how boring it is for the candidate.
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@LoneStarLeft If what just happened was the attempted assassination of the former president, I guess that feels dramatic to me, but everyone’s making me feel like I’m being crazy.
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I'm single and in my 30s but I do eventually hope that one of the dumb Hinge dates I go on will turn into a partnership and maybe I could also one day have kids — just, can y'all quit being so weird about it? it really shouldn't matter this much to strangers.
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I believe this might be the best journalism I’ve helped make in my career to-date. It’s deeply personal and vulnerable. It’s local news with national relevance. And it gives urgent insight into a mysterious American archetype: a Trump-to-Harris voter.
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@LoneStarLeft I’m 33, and I’ve never seen anything like this in my lifetime. These images are going to exist forever.
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If one more casual reader from the northeast comments “it’s Texas 🙄” … do you think the women here don’t deserve the things you deserve? Listen to yourselves.
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Leaders in the Texas Senate have created a system in which lawmakers who sexually harass employees, interns, and students—a state crime—are seldom held accountable. As a result of a lack of records, the public is left in the dark.
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New data from @glaad shows that 10 of 93 anti-LGBTQ+ incidents in Texas in the last two years can be traced back to Chaya Raichik, the notorious online hatemonger better known as Libs Of TikTok.
In two years, there has been one murder and four other physical assaults in the state with the second-largest queer population in the country. "There’s a direct line between this rise in hate incidents and the state government’s 'crusade of cruelty.'".
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@Travexas I cannot fathom a conspiracy theory involving secret service members existing in the reality of bureaucratic government, but even if I could, how would anyone ever prove that with conviction?.
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This line is outdated, and it romanticizes a ladder she never climbed. I went from the daily in Waco to national media — and sure I benefitted from the cross-training in the end — but I was often jealous in New York of my younger colleagues who’d interned at BuzzFeed and knew.
hard to take any media feature that includes this quote too seriously
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@theashleyray IMO it’s the combo: some genuine chemistry, and there’s a talented actor doing a fun bit playing up that chemistry — knowing it will be good for his brand and increase her viewership, AND also those flirting skills are the result of practice.
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The right really convinced some people that abortion rights are all about the right to seek an abortion. I want the right to choose — or not — pregnancy. But I need people to hear this: The Texas women who died were just sick. They happened to be pregnant. Now they’re dead.
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wait Caitlin Clark is about to be earning the equivalent of a journalism salary???.
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Can’t wait for the episode about how they have to cover a mass shooting with no full-time staff and someone has to quit afterward because they have a mental breakdown even though another sister paper did send them a pizza in solidarity.
The new iteration of “The Office” has been picked up to series at Peacock. According to the official logline, the series will focus on “a dying historic Midwestern newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it with volunteer reporters.”
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Why are we putting folks like this on air.
.@cnn panelist @Ryangirdusky in response to @mehdihassan: “I hope your beeper doesn’t go off,” essentially calling him a terrorist. Girdusky drew a rebuke from host @abbydphillip, who warned him about “going too far.” He apologized. Phillip threw him off the show.
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launching a news outlet is v brat summer.
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Some of you have noticed that I’ve been uncharacteristically offline. This is why, and I remain on leave for a few weeks to handle a PTSD relapse. @CJR was dogged in its pursuit of my story, and because of what I do and who I am, I felt that I had no choice but answer their.
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never been so aware of the fact of my singleness and childlessness as I have been this week, and despite all the boundaries I have drawn between my public and private lives, it's starting to hurt my feelings!!!.
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When I stepped away from journalism in 2021, I really thought I might be done. I am kind of a mess today reading all these DMs and texts and emails about our Texas Monthly story. I can’t possibly express my gratitude for your time and attention and care in reading it.
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Well, as an IVF baby myself, this is …deeply moving. (Yes! Journalists can be IVF babies too!).
Walz gets emotional while talking about IVF and the audience starts chanting his daughter Hope's name. "I'm not crying, you're crying." 🥺
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do you think we WANT to be in the dating pool??? if all the men and women in my age group went to therapy and had their shit together, the number of single people in their 30s might go down on its own.
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it genuinely feels like we're having a referendum on the value of childless women, and that is really gross! I shouldn't even have the desire to add "also, I take care of my toddler nephew overnight at LEAST once a week and had him all last weekend" and yet!!!.
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this is just so… weird? I don’t have to pretend I don’t think this is weird, right.
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If this man had been to therapy he’d be able to just text his mom “I miss you” instead of self-sabotaging his way into a national scandal through bigotry.
Harrison Butker grew up wealthy because his mother, Elizabeth Keller Butker, is a medical physicist at the Emory University Department of Radiation Oncology.
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Halperin *is* the media. If he can’t land the story — or ruined his credibility via harassment so no one will run it — journalistic ethics gives him two options. 1) Pass it on to someone who can. 2) Drop it. Absurdly unethical to take vague, unverified info to the public.
Journalist Mark Halperin:. “I’ve been pitched a story about Donald Trump for about a week that if true, it would end his campaign.”. Why’s the media sitting on it?.
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@SnackMerritt @nikicaga it's one of my worst traits that i can't say things I don't believe 🙃.
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social battery so low I pretended to be asleep when they served snacks on the airplane just to avoid saying “no thanks” ☠️.
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Next story in my 10+ years of reporting on #txlege misconduct drops this week. Thirteen painstaking months (years really) of source building. Candidly, after so many — incredibly helpful — edits and meticulous lawyering and fact-checking, it’s hard for me to see it with clarity
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sorry but “the spirit of Jezebel” does, in fact, slap.
Well, that didn't take long. Christian nationalist Lance Wallnau is already warning that Kamala Harris represents "the spirit of Jezebel in a way that will be even more ominous than Hillary because she'll bring a racial component and she's younger."
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Just because someone has a big brand or lots of followers—or even routinely grabs big scoops—doesn't mean they can file clean copy or follow directions well or be kind to their coworkers. When you’re starting out, being a pleasure to work with matters much more than scoops.
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Jesus Christ, I’ve lived through a lot of hurricanes between growing up in Houston and then spending a few years in Florida — and I’ve never in my life heard someone speak like this.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor: “I can say this without any dramatization whatsoever: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you are going to die.”
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I could not be more proud of @iamLeslieRangel and the work she did on this piece. The extremely difficult conversations and follow-up questions. The photos and documents. The willingness to share this. The trust in our tiny newsroom.
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“If Hinchcliffe manages to cost Trump a swing state, he may have finally accomplished his goal in life: actually being funny.”.
"The issue with Tony Hinchcliffe’s jokes (for starters) is that there aren’t any punchlines," writes longtime comedian @briangaar. "There are no funny observations, the punchline is just that he’s daring to say something racist.".
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As a Texan, it was always a dream to be published in @TexasMonthly (The National Magazine of Texas), though I could probably never have guessed what for:
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Also, this isn’t my area, but it seems dumb if you're a Democrat writing off Texas. More people voted for Joe Biden in Texas in 2020 than did in all of New York state.
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I’ll say this once: I have no sense of humor about this shit. I take it very seriously, and I’m profoundly fucking sad. If you’re jokingly complimenting me at someone else’s expense, I don’t want it. Not in my DMs, not in my mentions. Do not fucking rope me into this.
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Really, this is the meat of this. It's not that the editorial team decided whether or not to endorse. It's that the owner did. And it breaks precedent.
A WaPo endorsement for president had been written and was ready to publish before Jeff Bezos decided the paper would not endorse.
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I'll also just be crystal clear here that the main reason I don't have a partner or children is that I've been focusing on work I care about and healing and trying to grow as a person, and I'm very very happy with those choices.
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Unfortunately the entire landscape has changed. And local journalism is so, so important. But we often glamorize a journey that was kinda brutal and awful sometimes. Covering local stabbings and house fires didn’t set me up as easily as she makes it sound.
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Texas is just two weeks away from executing a man whose conviction was based on debunked “junk science,” and even the former lead detective says he’s “embarrassed” to have played a role in the case. Short of a miracle, he may die anyway.
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My favorite thing about Bosco is definitely that she gives off a vibe like she’s haunted by a long lost love who died at sea
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If I could train anyone today from scratch, I’d have them do 6 months at a small daily AND 6 months at like 2015-era BuzzFeed or Daily Beast. For every data training and source-building exercise, a corresponding training for newsworthiness and voice and compelling headlines.
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anyway, just a reminder that while we're reporting out the ways the discourse is mobilizing this or that group of people, journalists are also unfortunately humans and constituents with personal stakes that it would be disingenuous to pretend aren't real.
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A Tale of Two Texases. except Beyoncé and Allred are actually from Texas. Cruz is Canadian, and Rogan is from California.
BREAKING: U.S. Sen. @TedCruz will join Trump’s news conference in Austin on Friday. Sets up dueling appearances between the incumbent and his opponent, U.S. Rep. @ColinAllredTX, who will rally with Harris in Houston hours later.
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okay, journalism mental health transparency moment: my resting heart rate was 89 last night, and I would love some recommendations for ways to fill my next 48 hours with ways to lower that boi.
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and: sometimes acknowledging your viewpoint is better for the work than pretending you don't have one.
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@iamLeslieRangel Deeply deeply grateful too for @CaraReports this week — just a phenomenal editor who helped shape, edit, and guide this reported essay into the world. Same for @espiers, who is an exceptional mentor and adviser.
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if they don't hire former local reporters who worked at small-town papers to write and consult on this incredibly strange world that those of us who lived it know is mired in trauma and legal and societal thorns, the journalism world will collectively lose its f*cking mind.
Welp -- looks like there will be an Office spin-off from Greg Daniels and Michael Koman. But it's about a "dying historic Midwestern newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it with volunteer reporters.". I have 1,000 thoughts.
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During twelve months of reporting and more than a hundred hours of interviews with current and former elected officials, legislative staffers, interns, and lobbyists, @CaraReports and I found new allegations involving individual lawmakers. But the problem is bigger than that.
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This is your reminder that taking a break from journalism can make you better at it. Don't be afraid to pause when you need to. It'll be there when you get back.
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Ten days from now, Robert Roberson will be put to death for a crime that many now agree didn't even happen. If you haven't read about this case, I encourage you to do so.
Texas is just two weeks away from executing a man whose conviction was based on debunked “junk science,” and even the former lead detective says he’s “embarrassed” to have played a role in the case. Short of a miracle, he may die anyway.
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I really thought my mom might get to see a woman president in her lifetime, and now that feels unimaginable.
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@CaraReports Texas law requires employers to take immediate & appropriate action if they “know” or “should have known” that harassment was occurring. Instead of exercising that expansive control and investigative powers, leaders in the Senate have punted responsibility when complaints arise.
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Some topline notes — because it's a long, complex story. There are allegations about senators Charles Schwertner, Borris Miles, and the office of Jose Menéndez. We also spoke, for the first time, to the woman who filed the Title IX complaint against Schwertner in 2018.
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@MoiraDonegan He could have avoided the booing if he hadn’t competed, that’s the thing. Assaulting someone truly doesn’t even keep you from competing at the top of your field. He’s complaining the experience is unpleasant?? Don’t do it then. Do something less high profile???.
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We’d like your help to make some mischief by buying Infowars at auction and using it for our absurd-joke-filled progressive journalism purposes. @thebarbedwiretx .
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not for nothing, I had to do a lot more community service hours than this just to graduate from high school with an IB diploma.
UPDATE: Paxton perform 100 hours of community service in Collin County, take 15 hours of legal ethics education and pay a restitution of about $300,000. At the end of 18 months, the charges will be dismissed.
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We had some big storms this morning so I had to give Edith her meds and she’s been so cute and sleepy all day
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I also want to be crystal clear on this: This is not a comprehensive list of allegations. Several other women who work at the Capitol confirmed they’d experienced sexual harassment but were unwilling to speak for this story, even anonymously, for fear of professional blowback.
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And: @ben_c_rowen is the reason this story is in Texas Monthly today. The professionalism, attention to detail, 7+ hour meetings, working from home through COVID the past few days. He did more for this piece than any editor has ever done for one of my stories.
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The sources who trusted us, who we were in contact with for months — in some cases years — made this happen. You’ll never know some of their names, but they’ve done so much. The interviews with us, the corroborations, the fact-checking — it was exhaustive and arduous.
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According to the Secretary of the Senate, Patsy Spaw, only one “official sexual harassment complaint” has ever been lodged and investigated by her office. In 2001, she fired three women after a Senate employee complained she was the target lesbian "seduction" and "recruitment.".
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How do people on the east coast stay up to watch SNL 😅 I’m on central time, and I’m struggling.
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@MediumSizeMeech She’s Michael Scott and he’s doing the Jim Halpert face to literally every camera in sight.
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do you guys think my cup is big enough
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some days you refuse to ever click on another nypost headline ever again and then others—.
38-pound rescue cat Crumbs gets stuck in shoe rack while trying to escape from fat camp: ‘He caused a ruckus’
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Y’all know Edith, right?
the childless cat lady rhetoric is deeply alienating. some of us are childless dog ladies.
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yeah your husband's ex-wife is an impressive endorsement for anyone tbh.
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🎶 you wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me 🎶. [That time at the Waco Tribune-Herald when I was assigned to cover AND participate in the 2015 rodeo’s goat-roping contest.]
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Alright I changed my photo to one where I didn't have to photoshop out the glitter balloons in the background
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The attorney for one of those women spoke to us: “In my heart of hearts I think [she] got fired because she was gay,” Karl Bayer told Texas Monthly, “and the whole thing could have exposed, ‘Oh my god, the Senate has hired gay people.’ ”.
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“The government should stay out of your business and out of your bedroom,” Lady Tosha, 52, tells @iamLeslieRangel at the Kamala Harris rally tonight, minutes before an OBGYN took the stage to speak. “Women are dying.” @thebarbedwiretx.
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The Senate contends, to this today, that it has never received or investigated any sexual harassment complaints against men.
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edith got groomed today and they sent me these photos, I—
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The thing is, @harrysiegel is a fantastic journalist with excellent ethics, the kind of reporter who gets jazzed about notebooks and data. Not traffic-obsessed. An analyst who cares deeply about facts and how to make them accessible. I’d trust him on any story, any day.
Hey @harrysiegel everyone has an opinion. It’s a shame .the Daily News chose to share yours — wild inaccuracies and all. It’s true we don’t track “defecation,” but we do track murder — and you managed to get that wrong. Rest assured, we will continue to enforce the law and make.
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Pam is one of maybe a dozen people — more probably — who provided advice, support, and an ear when I needed it. I'm so grateful. This story absolutely wouldn't exist without the people who listened and helped us over some grueling months of work.
A blockbuster investigation, a year in the making, from @OliviaMesser and @CaraReports: “How the Texas Senate Buries Sexual Harassment Complaints and Enables Bad Actors.” .
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@thebarbedwiretx @iamLeslieRangel @ColinAllredTX Our story, filed at 3:12 a.m.: . In the end, it didn’t really matter which political party Kamala Harris was representing. Texas women needed someone to acknowledge the pain, terror, and heartbreak that an abortion ban has caused. And she did.
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not often you're able to say "well at least Ken Paxton wasn't under investigation for sex trafficking".
When they're saying "I'd rather it'd been Paxton" you know it's bad.
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finally blocked someone who has been emailing me daily "press releases" on 3+ different accounts (including my personal one) for years about a subject that isn't in my coverage area or geographic area pls clap.
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