The Objective’s favorite media reporting and criticism of 2025

It’s been a long year with a lot of journalism news.

The tip of the iceberg: Palestinian journalists continue to report amid ongoing genocide in Gaza. Layoffs abounded as newsrooms cut their budgets and foundations shifted priorities in response to the new presidential administration. The Wall Street Journal spread anti-trans misinformation in the wake of Charlie Kirk. The New York Times was cited 29 times in a case to limit trans healthcare while legacy newsrooms struggled to cover anti-trans policies from the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency. The mainstream news media continued to struggle with covering race and the rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion policies intended for desegregation. 

There have been some bright spots, though — from a historic court decision in favor of labor ended the NewsGuild’s longest strike to the ”Pulitzers” of prison newsrooms returning after a 35-year-hiatus and the continued emergence of new worker-owned newsrooms. 

I’m grateful for all the thoughtful, smart writers we’ve been able to work with this past year, and for those who have published the media criticism and reporting that sharpens my own analysis and understanding of the industry. To tip the hat to them, we asked fellow journalists (and I asked my co-director, Gabe Schneider) what’s stuck with them this year. The non-comprehensive list of those picks is below. 

—James Salanga, co-director of The Objective

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Reporting

From reckoning to retreat: Journalism’s DEI efforts are in decline, Hanaa’ Tameez via Nieman Lab
Picked by Gabe Schneider, co-director of The Objective

“Ultimately, racial equity is good until it’s hard for [the company] … No amount of ‘reckoning,’ programs, or whatever is the corporate equivalent of the black Instagram squares would result in anything that could potentially hurt their pockets.”

Journalists say U.S. newsrooms treat Palestine with fear and contempt, Laura Albast via Prism
Picked by James Salanga, co-director of The Objective  

“The moral question we need to be asking ourselves as journalists is do we want the landing point of our careers to be in newsrooms that ultimately supported the extermination of 2.2 million people?”

The Werewolf game: an interview with Google’s former news chief Richard Gingras, Natalia Antelava via Coda Story
Picked by community member

“Power protects itself not through crude censorship, but through relationships, by making you feel that asking the question would be a betrayal of someone who trusted you, who opened doors for you, and who would now suffer consequences.”

‘Facts, not fear’: Journalists navigate coverage of immigration enforcement actions under second Trump administration, Cat Caroll via the University of Wisconsin–Madison Center for Journalism Ethics
Picked by James Salanga

“ICE has long had a presence in Chicago, but that recent reporting would lead readers to believe they only recently showed up … the complexity of the U.S. immigration system demands journalists constantly be learning.”

Substack sent a push alert promoting a Nazi blog, Taylor Lorenz via Patreon
Picked by Gabe Schneider

“Many would-be subscribers refuse to support Substacks published by smaller creators because they don’t want any portion of their money going to a platform that they view as too tolerant of Nazis.”

From the Atlanta Race Massacre to Cop City: The AJC incites harm, Aja Arnold via Scalawag Magazine
Picked by James Salanga

“Every thread from the AJC’s coverage preceding, during, and following the 1906 race riots carries into the present day—paving a direct path to Cop City.”

Commentary

Genocide is not a matter of opinion, Boycott, Divest, Unsubscribe 
Picked by Gabe Schneider

“Allowing the most damning facts on the ground — like Israel’s systematic sniping of children — to be presented exclusively as a matter of opinion is journalistic malpractice.”

How trans visibility became a trap, Parker Molloy via The Verge
Picked by James Salanga

“The conservative groups archiving their posts are inadvertently creating an undeleteable record of trans existence, joy, and survival. They think they’re building a database of targets. What they’re actually building is proof that trans people have always been here.”

How right-wing media keeps baiting Chicago, H Kapp-Klote via The Chicago 312
Picked by Cayden Mak (who also interviewed author Kapp-Klote about this story), publisher of Convergence Magazine

“Right-wing media manipulates public perception, turning routine governance into clickbait scandals while shielding the actual corporate interests running the city.”

A reckoning comes for journalism philanthropy, Damaso Reyes via Nieman Lab
Picked by Alex Ip, publisher of The Xylom 

“Funders — including the American Journalism Project, which drove the creation of Houston Landing — have increasingly been picking the winners and losers in American journalism, with no consequences when their calls go badly wrong.”

American Cant, Brandy Jensen via Defector
Picked by community member 

“A decade ago, reporting back from the infernal regions of Trump’s America may have been a worthwhile undertaking. At this point, the demons have long been loosed upon the earth, and they are happy to speak for themselves.”

Urgent ideas for defending press freedom in Gaza, Azmat Khan, Meghnad Bose, and Lauren Watson via Columbia Journalism Review
Picked by Gabe Schneider

“Journalists outside in the West and all across the globe must support Palestinian journalists in Gaza financially and nonfinancially.” 

Journalism’s influencer obsession will age poorly, Tracie Powell via Nieman Lab
Picked by Alex Ip

“Influencers won’t save journalism. Algorithms won’t save journalism. Corporate platforms won’t save journalism. Communities will. But only if we pivot — fast.”

Pay me what you owe me, Evette Dionne via The Flytrap Media
Picked by James Salanga

“While I appreciate the in-memoriam tributes that abound when another indie outlet shutters, what I would appreciate more is supporting them while they exist.”