A Letter From My Friend, the Editor
John Loeppky on the importance of indie media and knowing when to pick a fight.
Marianne Note: John Loeppky is a disabled freelance journalist, editor, and creator. He's a Canadian via Britain, a dear friend of mine, and he edits this newsletter. This week, he wrote it. To learn more about John, visit his website.
When Marianne texted me last week to say that a disgraced former Republican congressman, the type of person that I’m fond of saying one “should emigrate to avoid”, had retweeted an article we’d collaborated on, I don’t think my response was fit for publication.
That quote, by the way, is from a Rowan Atkinson sketch outside of the Mr. Bean-verse, though another one he performed about the same time, “Welcome to Hell,” felt distinctly more apt in that moment.
It says something, and not anything good, about the state of the world that my initial response to an article I edited getting thousands of views at an outlet that reposted it was, “Good god, I hope we don’t get harassed.” That article was about how a Missouri bill could lead to a chilling of free speech, a less educated student population, and teachers losing their livelihoods. In short, it’s the type of thing said Republican firebrand would usually be a sycophantic cheerleader for. The own goal against human decency we have come to expect from the American (and Canadian) far right wing.
Obligatory handwringing aside, how the piece came about is exactly why this newsletter is so important in our current media ecosystem. There is a lot of doom and gloom when it comes to the current state of media. Large media institutions are collapsing at a rate that would make any Richter-scale measuring instrument blush, journalists are prone to opining about the job market on LinkedIn, and there is no shortage of negative press throttling us every time we log in to our devices of choice. But here’s the thing: pessimism is not a business plan, hope is a radical thing, and independent media is the future of our media environment. Now, no one would accuse Marianne or me of being radical optimists. At best, we’re struggling pragmatists, but Marianne’s reporting is vital as we navigate an uncertain future.
We need to hear from Palestinian activists, we need to hear from communities living in news deserts, and we need to do that in a space that understands the reality of what audiences want and where legacy media falls short. We also need journalists who can be nimble. There are stories that legacy media have an easier time reporting, but they can’t move as quickly.
One of the reasons I signed on to this project is that Marianne has a commitment to fact-checking and transparency that would keep oligarch-led media leaders up at night. On a shoestring budget, Marianne has hired a freelance editor and a freelance fact checker. They are not afraid of telling the stories they want to tell.
As you can tell, I’m already a massive proponent of independent media, but too many small projects are overly enamoured with the trappings of fame. They want to post about how legacy media isn’t quoting their work—despite them having no editorial process to speak of. Or they want to be less of a journalist and more of a TikTok commentator. No shade to social media commentators, by the way, but it’s hard to do investigative work when every incoming email becomes cannon fodder for an algorithm rather than a place to dig in and look deeper.
I’m proud to call Marianne a friend and colleague, even if we may occasionally (fruitfully) disagree.
One time, long after Marianne and I met in a group chat meant for freelance journalists, I left a note saying a line they’d written in a pitch was “too combative.” In a lot of cases, legacy media has continued to embody that doctrine, the idea that being forthright, being blunt, is the wrong way to get things done. As friends and colleagues, Marianne and I agree that solutions-based journalism is the way forward.
They told me recently that one of the folks they interviewed for a story was hired because of what they shared on the record. That’s the kind of work we need more of, the type of journalism that shows what is going wrong and how people are changing that paradigm. When we both sides everything, especially when it comes to marginalized communities, when we leave ourselves out of the fray, we are doing our industry and our sources a disservice. Choosing to sit on the sidelines in the current political moment is a bit like being a weather correspondent who refuses to tell you whether it’s raining or not.
As for being combative, frankly, I wonder what Marianne would have to say now to elicit the same reaction. Now is the time for argumentative media, journalism that doesn’t just wax poetically about making change but actually puts in the work, media that shows radical candor.
Long may it continue.
Marianne Dhenin
Marianne Dhenin
Marianne Dhenin