Dear Sandy #7

Welcome to What’s Helping Today, a newsletter about the everyday work of staying alive on earth, written by author and journalist Sandy Ernest Allen.

I received this question and asked if I could answer it more widely. For context, I’ll add this querent is trans and more politically conservative (than yours truly for example) …

“Question for you. I have refused to pay for the NY times since they ignored the contributors letter. But I still want to know what they are publishing. I assume you also find yourself compelled to be aware of their content? If so, what is your solution? I used to pay for Washington Post and Atlantic. But both have disappointed me enough over the years that I will not give them money.”

Hi!

First off, thanks for letting me answer this question more widely, here, for others as well.

I sure have lived these quandaries, myself …

I also appreciate you refusing to pay for the NYT since the contributors’ letter — which I co-signed before it was delivered. (I’m a dues-paying TJA member.)

I signed the letter by name (even though I’m a nobody basically … ) for personal reasons that’ll make more sense, perhaps. And yeah, the Times leadership at the time: Gaslit us, totally blew us off, pretended they hadn’t even gotten our letter.

Which shocked me (I admit). And which totally sucked. Them pretending in essence that we were “activists”—and not fellow journalists, editors and other media professionals (and others) expressing grave concern.

I agree there’s a conundrum in terms of like, how do we trans folk in particular pay attention to the NYT (if we want to still?? do we want to?) versus like, not supporting them … at all. Maybe not even paying them any mind … as well as the other outlets you mentioned … Which I agree, they’ve disappointed me through the years, transphobia-wise, as well … (As did Harper’s.) I’m disappointed not just as a reader but also as a journalist who used to pitch them.

I get how as a trans person (speaking for myself), just ignoring the likes of the NYT can feel impossible — given our era, given the viciousness of alllll the transphobia everywhere nowadays, given how a huge outlet like that shapes not just our media but our very world. See: the NYT’s crappy, transphobic coverage being cited in the likes of Skrmetti … (of course).

There’s then the issue of like …

How should one even get the news anymore?

(Which believe me I’ve struggled with for many years now.)

Myself, I haven’t ever watched cable news or anything like that. I haven’t just listened to the likes of NPR since the 2016 election, irritated by how often they’d just play this president’s voice.

Back in my BuzzFeed News days I mostly followed lots of fellow journalists on Twitter, so that was how I got my news back then and for some years after (until Twitter became too transphobic for me to remain, as a “visible” trans person). These days, I do find following many (trans) journalists on Bluesky helpful.

The other (news) media I myself rely on …

As I’ve mentioned on here before, I subscribe to certain (independent, queer/trans) newsletters, like Law Dork and Assigned Media and The Present Age.

Some mainstream outlets doing mostly good work lately, especially trans-coverage-wise: Teen Vogue, WIRED, Rolling Stone … also (no joke) The Onion.

Some queer / feminist ones: The 19th, Them …

In terms of podcasts that do more topical analysis … for years I’ve listened to Chris Hayes’ podcast (intermittently). I do listen to some of the newsier eps of We Can Do Hard Things.

What else …

Lately I’ve really appreciated checking out my former colleague Ryan Broderick’s Panic World — great discussions re: how the internet has broken reality.

My (fav) podcast If Books Could Kill did an excellent Skrmetti analysis … unsurprisingly. (Patreon only. Another show I do support and if you can you should too!)

For fellow HV/Catskills locals BTW, I like the Catskill Crew newsletter … not for news, but for regional events, etc.

Then there’s that other question of like, how do I pay attention to whatever latest shenanigans the NYT is up to?? 

For many years, I’ve felt that conundrum of both like, wanting to pay attention, and also not … (again, my reasons complex).

This week I’m honored to be on a podcast I love — Cancel Me, Daddy — talking about this exactly: My relationship with the NYT’s transphobia … and their latest, 6-part trans youth healthcare-focused podcast. Vis a vis some literal former colleagues of mine, from my BF News days …

The CMD episode is out for the show’s Patreon subscribers right now! So, support their show if you want early access … Otherwise it will be available everywhere else later this week I believe, including on YouTube.

Over the weekend, I finally published my (long! insidery!) two-part transphobia-in-culture/media analysis, as a sometime companion to our conversation.

I’m re-linking it all here for anyone interested. This is intended especially for fellow media professionals perhaps … though others may find it interesting:

Anyone new to my whole ‘cis allyship post’, situation (analyzed in-depth in the two posts above), I recommend you first start here:

What’s Helping Today: Speaking of YouTube … to my utter delight yesterday, I randomly happened to remember that the Mad Chat episodes — which, icymi, I’d thought were maybe long lost, as did my producer, for technical reasons — were just all right there! On YouTube!

I hope you’ll check the show out, if you haven’t before!

I’d love to get the episodes back everywhere else eventually, but hey at least they’re somewhere!

I re-listened to a bunch of them yesterday, overjoyed (there were only 10, a pilot season). IMO: They really held up. They’re pretty evergreen (as we’d intended them to be) … my voice being an octave lower notwithstanding … amongst other details … like NY legalizing pot meanwhile.

Heck: Even the NYT was a fan of Mad Chat …

Thanks for listening,
Sandy

p.s. I keep meaning to say (here), but: I adored this book! Highly recommended to … everybody …

p.p.s. Media types! Mental health professionals! I’m now available for hire, to consult …

p.p.p.s. I’m also available as a speaker …

p.p.p.p.s. Re-sharing my latest essay, for Eater, on being a “trad trans” dude …

p.p.p.p.p.s. Thanks to all who’ve read/shared/said nice stuff about the Eater essay. I really appreciated it. I’m proud of how this one came out.

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