Converting clichés into journalism

Journalists, as a group, have to believe that the act of writing can bring light to darkness, help our fellow-citizens make sense of the world, and compose the first draft of history. The job, in many ways, is about converting chaos into clichés, in order to satisfy the profession’s clichés about its own importance.

-- Jay Caspian Kang

"The Futile Race to Label Paul Pelosi’s Attacker"

The New Yorker -- October 30, 2022

Um, well duh me too

Steely Dan, the band famous for a certain brand of cynical, pristine nineteen-seventies jazz-infused rock, released their first album, “Can’t Buy a Thrill,” fifty years ago. They have retained a core of perfectionistic, hyperverbal fans ever since.

-- Chelsea Leu

"My Unlikely Connection to Steely Dan"

The New Yorker (October 12, 2022)