2019
January
25
Friday

Monitor Daily Podcast

January 25, 2019
Error loading media: File could not be played
 
00:0000:0000:00
00:00
Clayton Collins
Director of Editorial Innovation

About 1,000 jobs suddenly gone.

Journalism just felt that sting, from across several outlets. But those weren’t the jobs people were talking about before today’s announcement that government would temporarily reopen.

Most journalists would agree: Federal workers toiling without pay deserved the attention this week. Systems were getting strained

The FBI did have agents up early today to arrest longtime Trump associate Roger Stone on charges including obstruction, even though that agency had seen paychecks stop. The White House said his arrest had nothing to do with the president. (Read this deep profile of Mr. Stone by the Monitor’s Warren Richey, from November.)

Journalists had been anticipating action related to the Mueller probe and preparing to do their job as relayers of real-time information. It’s when media’s function turns to analysis that it gets complicated. Speed doesn’t help. Plenty of people – not just journalists – felt singed by their own hot takes on those Covington, Ky., teens. (We sent a writer to Covington. Her story is below.)

So where does the media stand with the US public? It has often seemed as though the travails of journalists were as likely to be hailed as lamented. And the travails part picked up this week with those deep cuts. But the week also delivered this: Despite concerns, engagement with news has surged, according to an Edelman report. Other studies have noted that trust in media is creeping up, especially where transparency around operations exists. Where people are doing their jobs.

Now to our five stories for your Friday.


You've read 3 of 3 free articles. Subscribe to continue.

Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Jose Cabezas/Reuters
A woman walking with other migrants from Honduras to the United States holds her daughter as they wait at the Mexico-border-bridge in Tecún Umán, Guatemala, Jan. 19. This migrant caravan faces a very different reception from Mexican officials than previous caravans.

On a day when US policy moved to keep asylum-seekers on the Mexican side of the border, we look at the action on Mexico’s own southern edge. What do immigration practices say about nations?

Christa Case Bryant /The Christian Science Monitor
MainStrasse in Covington, Ky., is chock-full of tidy brick row homes filled with unique shops and restaurants, and reflects the city’s broader effort to attract Millennials and the creative class as the former steel town strives to reinvent itself.

Covington Catholic High School isn’t even in Covington, Ky. It sits just outside the city limits. That fact seems emblematic of a US where an insatiable appetite for outrage doesn’t take time to examine the view from its downtown streets.

Europe is trying to redistribute copyright profits: from the Facebooks and to little publishers. Fair enough. This piece looks at why the law of unintended consequences looms large.

Andrea De Silva/Reuters/File
R&B artist R. Kelly performs in St. Lucia in 2013. After the documentary ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ aired this month, detailing allegations of sexual assault against teenage girls, both his label and publisher dropped him.

What happens to the artist as “enfant terrible” in an age of morality clauses and #MeToo? Does socially condemned behavior discredit a person’s artistic vision?

Difference-maker

Here’s a very different take on artistic vision: a look at how creative expression can transcend perceived limitations. It’s also about opportunity for artists who might otherwise be overlooked.


The Monitor's View

In southeast Europe, a region that triggered major wars in the 20th century, every step that douses fiery nationalism is welcome. On Friday, the Greek Parliament approved a measure to end a 27-year dispute with its northern neighbor over the official name for that country. After the vote, the neighbor commonly known as Macedonia will be called the Republic of North Macedonia. And the northern region of Greece also called Macedonia will retain its ancient name.

If the dispute seems arcane to outsiders, that is not the case for ardent nationalists in each country. Both peoples lay claim to the legacy of Alexander the Great, who came from the border area. Fears of losing their respective cultural identity and of a possible territorial invasion run deep.

In agreeing on a mutually acceptable name, each decided to put a higher ideal ahead of stubborn pride. That ideal is a more prosperous and integrated Europe. The Republic of North Macedonia, which voted last year for its new name, is expected to join NATO soon and eventually the European Union. For years, Greece, which is already a part of both blocs, vetoed membership for its neighbor, adding to tensions in the Balkans.

“Today we write a new page for the Balkans,” Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras posted on social media. “The hatred of nationalism, dispute and conflict will be replaced by friendship, peace and co-operation.”

In 1991, the Balkans exploded in conflict after the collapse of the Soviet empire and the former Yugoslavia. Only with NATO’s intervention and the lure of EU membership has the region begun to end wars, settle borders, and agree on names. Montenegro is now a NATO member. Bosnia recently held a peaceful election. And talks between Kosovo and Serbia appear hopeful.

The agreement between the two countries is also a rebuff to Russia. President Vladimir Putin has meddled in the dispute to prevent the expansion of the EU and NATO into a region he regards as part of historic Russian influence. In fact, the real influence in the Balkans is the desire of its people to live in democratic societies, tied together by the values of the EU.

If all goes as planned, Mr. Tsipras and his Macedonian counterpart, Zoran Zaev, could win the Nobel Peace Prize. Each had a long political struggle to redefine the identity of their nations. Such efforts are what help keep Europe at peace after decades of war. The bonds of affection are becoming greater on the Continent rather than the divisions of nationalism.


A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

Today’s contributor explores the idea that living our inherent integrity as God’s children brings joy and healing.


A message of love

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Greta Baier (c.) and other dancers with the nonprofit Born Dancing rehearse in New York before their winter performance. Born Dancing is founded on the belief that people of all ages and abilities should have access to every aspect of dance. (See story No. 3 in today’s Daily, above, and click on the blue button below to view more images.)
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Jacob Turcotte. )

A look ahead

Have a good weekend, and see you Monday. We’ll take a look at how coal-reliant Poland is trying to transition from fossil fuels in a way that doesn't leave the country’s coal miners in the dust.

More issues

2019
January
25
Friday
CSM logo

Why is Christian Science in our name?

Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The Christian Science Church, and we’ve always been transparent about that.

The Church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we’ve aimed “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind,” as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.

Here, you’ll find award-winning journalism not driven by commercial influences – a news organization that takes seriously its mission to uplift the world by seeking solutions and finding reasons for credible hope.

Explore values journalism About us