Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman will be returning to North Dakota, this time to turn herself in after a warrant was issued for her arrest. Goodman was one of the few reporters in the country to cover the Standing Rock protests of the Dakota Access Pipeline, where she found instances of construction workers and security guards assaulting protesters with pepper spray, dogs, and their own hands. Prosecutor Ladd Erickson charged her with a riot misdemeanor, saying that Goodman was there as an activist and not a journalist. At The Nation, Lizzy Ratner writes that this is unprecedented and dangerous for working journalists: “By the same distorted logic, every muckraking news gatherer from Ida Tarbell and Upton Sinclair on through I.F. Stone, and, yes, today’s Matt Taibbi . . . was not a journalist but an activist flirting with arrest.”
Mi-Ai Parrish, president of the Arizona Republic, responded to the death threats received by the paper after its historic endorsement of Hillary Clinton. The paper has been inundated with calls and letters, some referring to reporter Don Bolles, who was killed by a car bomb decades earlier—even their door-to-door subscription sales people have been harassed. “We made our choice soberly. We knew it would be unpopular with many people,” writes Parrish. “We knew that, although we had clearly stated our objections to Trump, it would be a big deal for a conservative editorial board in a conservative state to break ranks from the party.”
Margaret Atwood talks to The Guardian about one of the possible reasons Trump appeals to so many people: “He brings out the temper-tantrum-throwing wilful brat in all of us. ‘Why can’t I do what I want? Why can’t I have what I want? Those other people are stopping me. Those other people have a bigger lollipop that I do, I’m going to take their lollipop away from them.’ But on the other hand, he couples that with the most amazing whining.”
The New York Times take a look at Andrew Kaczynski’s recent transition from BuzzFeed to CNN, which was precipitated by a Google chat last summer with Tim Miller, the former communications director for Jeb Bush’s campaign. “Mr. Miller said CNN could use someone like Mr. Kaczynski, especially given how difficult it was to fact-check the loose-lipped Republican nominee. ‘LOL,’ Mr. Kaczynski replied.”
Univision chairman Haim Saban talks to Bloomberg about the Clintons, Power Rangers, and his company’s acquisition of Gawker Media. Saban thinks that despite the rocky start, the purchase was a wise choice based on their target audiences: “Hipsters and Hispanics, two of the fastest-growing demographics in the U.S.”
Peter Thiel will be donating $1.25 million to Donald Trump’s campaign. Although Thiel had spoken in favor of the candidate at the Republican National Convention, his silence after the Access Hollywood tape was released had caused speculation as to whether he was still supporting the candidate.