Sarah Scott Scire

Once synonymous with independent writers, Substack is increasingly home to established publishers. buff.ly/npEXtVO

I am QTing this because I do not think it'll age well.

“We’re fighting wars," Trump said. "We can’t take care of daycare." apnews.com/article/elec...

one fun thing — the cursor on @wired.com is a Nathan Fielder head this morning

“The internet is a store but it used to be a library” hits me like a slug to the chest

NEW: Virtually every news organization has a Meta business account. Meta’s new terms say it can scrape websites “associated with” those accounts—and use the content to “train” its products. @andrewdeck.bsky.social and I on what this means for publishers: www.niemanlab.org/2026/10/meta...

there's much work to be done @speppered.bsky.social on new annual @localnewsini.bsky.social report www.niemanlab.org/2026/10/from...

“We’re in their shit. They’re not in ours”: USA Today Co. execs defend Palantir deal buff.ly/XqiEXCp

and if you love our "What We're Reading" section (know you do!) it's now easier to see on the @niemanlab.org homepage good work by @joshuabenton.com www.niemanlab.org/2026/10/niem...

a beautiful and very sad piece www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/n...

"Looking through its 'iLog,' a daily account of what it had been using its energy on, I was taken aback when I saw my name, the 'first human outside [who] asked for more.'" bookgossip.substack.com/p/the-ai-age...

Nieman Lab wrote about The State of Hell Gate in 2026. www.niemanlab.org/2026/10/subs...

Columbia Journalism School will pause its M.A. program to complete "a critical evaluation” of the curriculum. www.niemanlab.org/2026/10/colu...

Come for a good look at how people are using AI agents to produce news stories, stay for a good lesson on interviewing from Nat Herz: anchoragepress.com/this-ai-agen...

"The extent to which even this kind of innocent dress-up is a means of indoctrination—the knottiness of this early gender programming—is leavened or perhaps obscured by its adorableness." www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

admissions! get your admissions here!! www.niemanlab.org/2026/09/an-a...

absolutely love this from @caseynewton.bsky.social www.npr.org/2026/09/16/g...

I, the only data reporter at the Charlotte Observer, am among the McClatchy layoffs in the bloodbath today. The HR person asked me not to talk about it! AMA. Anyway, here’s a link to one of my most important stories this year. www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/a...

an all-too-rare feat! @lookoutsantacruz.bsky.social is profitable thanks to local ads and paid memberships. www.niemanlab.org/2026/09/many...

It's finally happened: the improved quality of machine transcription and the greater ability to extract value from unlabelled data means "your tech is eavesdropping on you for marketing purposes" has crossed from "false conspiracy theory" to "true and concerning" www.theverge.com/tech/991190/...

awful. killed right as his first graduate students were arriving and he was finishing setting up his lab. my heart goes out to his family, friends, and students. www.masslive.com/boston/2026/...

Even the IVORY TOWERS of academia are besotted by the FOIA seal's charm. It's FOIAball in Nieman Lab. www.niemanlab.org/2026/09/how-...

"These big, practically professional sports teams have just been slapped to the side of public institutions" ... and so they're subject to FOIA. talked to @foiaball.com about breaking stories on this bizarre billion-dollar beat and building a newsletter business www.niemanlab.org/2026/09/how-...

A U.S. Postal Service official has filed a whistle-blower complaint alleging that USPS is making “secretive, rushed” plans to enforce President Trump’s order restricting mail voting; the complaint warns of a a “catastrophic failure.” www.nytimes.com/2026...

“Having been deluged by AI-generated and enhanced story ideas this summer, we’re re-humanizing the process with a dedicated hotline (which has the added benefit of weeding out supposed reporters who aren’t in the habit of ringing up strangers.)” www.niemanlab.org/2026/08/faci...

"The case also shows that the specific prompts used to create this type of expert testimony can be discoverable during a case, and that those prompts can be quite embarrassing." 👀

incredible subject and byline pairing here @mollyrains.bsky.social @newhampshirebulletin.com newhampshirebulletin.com/2026/06/24/h...

big yes!! to this ty @speppered.bsky.social for the piece www.niemanlab.org/2026/06/book...

awful to read about Gordon Wood. reminds me of dean Peter Awn, a wonderful professor who also died after being hit by a car. www.westsiderag.com/2019/02/18/p...

Why is a bookstore publishing book reviews? Simple...THERE AREN'T ENOUGH GODDAMN BOOK REVIEWS ANYMORE! So rather than just complain about it, we're just gonna do it. Here's where PSRB will live...

This was a hard story to report. Newborns who don’t get a vitamin K shot are 81 times more likely to develop a condition where they bleed uncontrollably. But more and more families are declining the shot. And babies are dying. www.propublica.org/article/more...

Layoffs in the Information sector (which includes much of tech) jumped in March, to their highest level on record outside the pandemic spike. Notable because the earlier wave of tech layoff announcements really didn't show up in the data.

RightsCon's cancellation marks a major escalation in transnational repression and is a testament to China’s influence on global digital rights far beyond its borders, writes Article19's Michael Caster. He calls for a true reckoning with China’s influence and meaningful cross-movement coordination.

"'What kinds of editorial businesses can only be built around a human being' feels like it is going to become a more and more important question." I spoke with @caseynewton.bsky.social about how he's revamping his newsletter to compete with AI:

"Last week, the Los Angeles school board passed a resolution requiring the district to restrict student access to YouTube, eliminate digital devices entirely through first grade and develop screen time limits for higher grades — becoming the first major U.S. school system to do so."

"When people were discovering radiation—‘Oh, radiation’s really good. We should put radium in everything! We should put radium in beverages!’ We’re in this weird, unregulated moment in AI where we just think it’s wonderful and put it everywhere: ‘Let’s put AI in TVs! Let’s put AI in our furniture!’”

So glad this story is gaining traction & wanted to highlight that @andrewdeck.bsky.social at @niemanlab.org broke the news that NYT/Guardian/USA Today were blocking IA earlier this year. Encourage all to read: www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/news...

Yesterday, the ProPublica Guild walked off the job in the first strike by a major U.S. newsroom over, at least in part, AI protections. I spoke with striking journalists and union leaders on the picket line in New York for @niemanlab.org. www.niemanlab.org/2026/04/prop...

not to be earnest on here but I've been loving interviewing news creators for @niemanlab.org's Creators of Record series. It’s a good reminder on this beat that journalism’s future isn’t just about preserving what was, but that it's being invented every day. 🧵:

People should actually be very alarmed that while AP's business model is shot to bits, Americans are still very much reliant on the news it delivers. The alternatives in some cases are inferior or non-existent. apnews.com/article/news...

got a very special assignment! will be back at @niemanlab.org in the fall after maternity leave.

This is a good lesson for journalists: Use plain language to state true things clearly.