Collaborative Journalism

Afterglow: Jim Acosta & Heather Cox Richardson

Earlier this evening, I had the honor of folding my laundry while listening to Jim Acosta interviewing Heather Cox Richardson on his Substack show.

Except it wasn’t simply Jim Acosta hosting and interviewing Heather Cox Richardson on the Jim Acosta show, it was Jim Acosta interviewing Heather Cox Richardson while Heather Cox Richardson interviewed Jim Acosta right back.

It wasn’t an interview. It was a conversation. About ICE. About the Epstein list.

And, the more rarely discussed topic that made me tremble with emotion as I folded my unmentionables:

The most recent attacks on our freedom of speech. The cowardly late-night defunding of PBS, NPR… this corrupt administration’s efforts to ban certain news outlets from the White House Press Room. Trump’s threat to sue the Wall Street Journal. Along with our neighbors, our American pride, our access to healthcare, and the value of the American dollar, our words are on the long list of precious things they want to take from us. And we must cling to these for dear life, as these are our primary mode of coming together against tyranny.

Jim and Heather discussed this topic at length, both remarking that when corrupt leaders make enemies of those who are simply telling the truth, those “enemies” find a way to become the new, free media. The success of Substack, TikTok, BlueSky: all a team effort.

“Community news,” Heather called it. Unbound by a boss, an editor, a wardrobe budget, or a make-up room. As Heather and Jim were free to jump into the live stream from their respective states, I was free to tune in from my plant-filled yoga room surrounded by the piles of lacy bits I had been neglecting.

For now, this sort of news is mostly free.

The only way to keep it free, truthful, constantly engaging, and ever-growing, I suspect, is to keep it community-focused. I feel so strongly about teamwork, about the value of time, the motivation offered by body-doubling, and the power of scheduled friendly chats that I would go so far as to suggest a revised title to the nickname coined by Heather:

Instead of community news, perhaps we can call it “collaborative news”. Because as much as I wish I could claim to be the type to lay around and read independent article after independent article…that’s not me. Like many, I am in a constant state of anxiety and craving friendly faces, human interaction, a bit of laughter, and a “live” notification popping up on my phone to remind me to engage with others in real time. These things help me feel alive when democracy feels rather dead.

We are not dead. We are not alone. We can join hands and continue discussing the hard truths. We don’t have to be famous to discuss these things nor do we need hundreds of followers. It’s also ok to discuss regular, everyday realities and complexities that still exist under the MAGA shadow: Addiction, family, language, sensuality, break-ups, learning, work-life balance, clean foods, sexy cars, good books, pretty gardens, sweat, art…

Let’s continue to collaborate. Tag me in for a live chat anytime—I’m a big fan of listening. I’m an even bigger fan of swapping mundane stories that seem meaningless in a terrifying political landscape but are, in fact, the whole point of politics. Is it news? It is journalism? I say, YES! We have a right to be ourselves, and we should totally do it together.

I’m guessing Jim Acosta has posted today’s stream recording by now: Go check out one of the best collaborations I’ve heard all week. Drop a comment if there were other good ones out there I’ve missed.