Brian Root

Brian Root

@imroot.bsky.social

Reporting team leader for @virginianpilot.bsky.social I’m probably very tired right now.

261 followers350 following110 posts

View full thread
Brian Root
@imroot.bsky.social

Just for a moment, my mom was back. I knew it wouldn't last but I also knew I would remember it for as long as I can remember anything about her.

View full thread
Brian Root
@imroot.bsky.social

And they had this little feature called the Fab Four, because of course they did. It involved a celebrity giving a list of their favorite Beatles songs, and we listened as ... sorry, I don't remember who ... said his #1 Beatles song was A Day in the Life, because of course it was.

Brian Root
@imroot.bsky.social

My mom and I had been in the car for at least 30 minutes and she had barely spoken. But she heard that Beatles take and suddenly ... "Bullshit. Songs in the Key of Life is the finest music recording ever made."

Brian Root
@imroot.bsky.social

It was getting close to the end, and I went to her house one sunny Saturday and took her on a little drive. I had Sirius/XM back then and when she was with me I usually kept it on one of the R&B/Motown channels. For whatever reason, that day we were listening to the Beatles channel.

Brian Root
@imroot.bsky.social

I really hope there is an afterlife, if only so my mom can meet Tim Curry. There is a reason I knew the lyrics to Time Warp before I ever saw the movie.

Brian Root
@imroot.bsky.social

Feel free to note that I called this more than a year ago.

Brian Root@imroot.bsky.social

For no particular reason, just wanted to mention that one of the aircraft carriers currently under construction is to be named the USS Doris Miller.

Brian Root
@imroot.bsky.social

Deadwood Lost The Wire - it was so cute when people said they were outraged by Season 5. TNG The Expanse Narcos Warrior The X-Files Breaking Bad Picket Fences Dick van Dyke Show Buffy Homicide The Americans Sesame Street

Sean T. Collins@seantcollins.com

Name your top 15 TV shows ever, gut instincts only Twin Peaks The Sopranos Mad Men Deadwood The Young Pope/The New Pope Too Old to Die Young Andor Boardwalk Empire The Prisoner Game of Thrones I, Claudius Industry Halt and Catch Fire The Terror (Season 1) Channel Zero

Brian Root
@imroot.bsky.social

The NYT failing to credit local orgs has been a thing for my entire career and it’s still galling. But the days of having different headlines are over, because everyone has to follow the same SEO rules and there are only so many ways to do that. Which is also galling.

Gillian Brockell@gillianbrockell.com

I hope @nickjudin.bsky.social doesn’t mind me saying this, but I got a peek behind the scenes this week and can tell you he put his whole heart—and his considerable reporting chops—into helping this family tell the world what ICE did to them. NYT repeated his work w/o care or credit. Infuriating.

Brian Root
@imroot.bsky.social

An irony that I think about from time to time: We have many better options for headlines and page design in print editions than on the Internet.

Brian Root
@imroot.bsky.social

Cult of Personality, by Living Colour. The song itself and I also (to my shame) didn’t know the opening quote was from Malcolm X. Had to ask a professor who said it and he was immediately suspicious of me. 🙂

This post is unavailable.
Brian Root
@imroot.bsky.social

Just in time to contribute to the discourse about anecdotal ledes, here is a story that Emma Brown has worked on for quite a while. Maybe give it a look? www.dailypress.com/2026/03/06/v...

dailypress.comA Virginia Beach man spent a month in immigration detention. Now, he faces an uncertain future: ‘I have to start again’The man came to the U.S. seven years ago seeking asylum from Honduras. After his arrest by ICE, he spent time at a detention center in Farmville — a harrowing experience he said haunts him daily.
Brian Root
@imroot.bsky.social

Lol just saw a post from someone who says they never read anecdotal ledes. It's like Bluesky knows I'm editing a long story about a man detained by ICE ... with an anecdotal lede. If your attention span exceeds that of a hummingbird, you should give it a look when it posts later today.

Brian Root
@imroot.bsky.social

Fwiw, the chancellor of William & Mary is former defense secretary Robert Gates. Do with that what you will.

Scott Horton@robertscotthorton.bsky.social

Hegseth to US military: if you get into MIT, we won't let you attend because of the risk that you will be exposed to ideas hostile to MAGA when you study there.

Brian Root
@imroot.bsky.social

Charlie’s Seafood, on Shore Drive in Virginia Beach. The food was very good - the crab soup was very good - but I remember it so fondly because my grandparents took us there often when I was little. It hits hard when I think about it now.

This post is unavailable.
Brian Root
@imroot.bsky.social

This story was funny until I got to this sentence, then it became hilarious … Investigators later found matching zip ties in her Maserati SUV.

Catherine Rampell@crampell.bsky.social

sorry what newjerseyglobe.com/congress/van...

newjerseyglobe.comEx-Van Drew staffer staged fake attack, writing 'Trump Whore' across her stomach and alleging men held her down and cut her body - New Jersey GlobeA 26-year-old Ocean City woman who claimed she was brutally assaulted because she worked for Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Ocean City) instead orchestrated the

Brian Root reposted

Adam Serwer
@adamserwer.bsky.social

Editors have a really hard job, and the good ones can make something unreadable readable, and the great ones can make something unreadable into something good. But they're basically invisible, until someone tries to write without one.

Brian Root
@imroot.bsky.social

I guess I’m getting old and grumpy but all the major news org stories about Portland seem just … insane. I mean, that city has writers and photographers in it. Hire a couple of them for a week and actually document what is happening there. This is not difficult.

Brian Root reposted

Barry Petchesky
@barryp.bsky.social

A colt named Journalism is the betting favorite in this weekend's Kentucky Derby. If metaphor carries the day, that poor horse is gonna break down and get boltgunned right to hell in front of millions.

Brian Root
@imroot.bsky.social

This story is fabulous

Outside Magazine@outsidemag.bsky.social

Meet the famous Alaskan husky—and Iditarod finisher—who got miffed at a musher and chomped her truck’s brake lines. (Allegedly. Because a lot of people think this pup is innocent.)

outsideonline.comBlowhole the Sled Dog Became a Social Media Star—But Was He a Criminal First?Meet Blowhole, an Alaskan husky—and Iditarod finisher—who got miffed at a musher and chomped her brake lines. (Allegedly. Because a lot of people think this Internet-famous pup is innocent.)
Brian Root
@imroot.bsky.social

There's a scene with Hackman, Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe and their characters hate each other and it absolutely rules

Benjy Sarlin@benjysarlin.bsky.social

Gene Hackman dying seems a good time to tell you that Sam Raimi made a western called The Quick and the Dead, absolutely every cool actor is in it, Hackman destroys in every scene as the Big Bad, and for weird reasons 1995 America decided it was bad and erased it from memory

Brian Root
@imroot.bsky.social

But can they subscribe to any site that -uses- content from The Association Press? Because that's everybody. ESPN, Variety, Fox News - you name it.

Dave Keating@davekeating.substack.com

The US State Department is forcing all of its employees to cancel subscriptions to any Trump-unfriendly media.

Brian Root
@imroot.bsky.social

“On Saturday, Acting Executive Editor Matt Murray told editors that the paper should not cover itself.” lol. Really looking forward to not reading anything from the Post about their next Pulitzer.

Amanda Becker@amandabecker.bsky.social

Thrilled that Gold - an editor beloved by reporters - has found a newsroom that values her expertise and managerial skill. www.npr.org/2024/12/09/n...

npr.orgTop 'Washington Post' editor kills article on deputy's departureWashington Post Acting Executive Editor Matt Murray killed a story about the departure of a veteran and popular editor for a senior position at the New York Times.

You are up to date.