6 ms·

The Washington Post kills off its "Democracy Dies In Darkness" slogan

41 points by choult 2y ago

baggachipz 2y ago
The only time they've been honest in years.
- tene80i 2y ago
  Care to back up that extraordinary claim?
  - baggachipz 2y ago
    My hyperbole was simply to express that they're finally going "mask off" and admitting they're not a serious, journalistic enterprise anymore. It's a shame to see them go from the exposers of Watergate to their current state of "nah we're just going to print ai-generated slop". Ever since Bezos started shoving his tentacles into every aspect of the paper, their trust and integrity has eroded to where we are now.
    - tene80i 2y ago
      I don’t read it much at all so I haven’t noticed this, but if it’s as you say then that’s a great shame.
    - yencabulator 2y ago
      That is a significantly better comment than your original, which reeked of yelling "fake news" and being mad at "the media".
pastureofplenty 2y ago
A bit like Google removing their "Don't Be Evil" motto
timewizard 2y ago
> Donald Trump’s first term, and now, as he threatens the fabric of democracy once more, The breathless hyperbole never ends. > That’s a little too much to bear. You were fine the first 4 years you'll be fine the next 4 years. > Instead, let’s focus on the fact that the paper’s new slogan is “Riveting Storytelling for All of America,” which specifically includes “conservatives” Oh no! A diverse point of view. Let's wring our hands throughout an entire article about a slogan change. :|
- readthenotes1 2y ago
  At least they are honest about storytelling and not journalism...
- nickthegreek 2y ago
  > You were fine the first 4 years you'll be fine the next 4 years. Women have less rights now than they did before his first term. That is an observable fact. Some of them are not fine. Some of them have died do that loss. Others have had their futures stripped or their paths altered in a way in which they did not want but by an outside Authority backed by the hand of the police and judicial system that will put them in jail for doing things that they were legally allowed to just before.
- soulofmischief 2y ago
  Other people don't have their heads in the sand and understand exactly what the incoming administration sets out to do, as they have been quite vocal about it. Yes, the last several presidents have also worked to weaken our democracy, but this time the effort is much more concerted among the administration, and detractors will be removed from their posts. It's not dramatic to be concerned with the health of our democracy or to recognize clear assaults on it.
- bryanlarsen 2y ago
  > You were fine the first 4 years you'll be fine the next 4 years. That's not a given. Donald Trump spent most of his first term on the golf course, with all of the work done by staffers. Those staffers were Bush staffers, so it's not surprising that the first Trump term felt like another Bush term in many ways. This White House has a very different set of staffers, and will result in a very different presidency.
TheCoelacanth 2y ago
Once people started realizing that it was an aspiration and not a warning, the slogan was on its last legs.
gatkinso 2y ago
the reason is simple - they lost
seydor 2y ago
I have nothing against dark themes either
anvandare 2y ago
I take it this means it has moved to the obituaries?
jlmcgraw 2y ago
“Democracy drowns in dollars” seems sadly more accurate
pinkmuffinere 2y ago
Slogans are _usually_ just for branding anyways. However, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” is a riveting, iconic statement, and moving away from it is almost certainly weakening the existing brand significantly. I don’t think companies generally weaken their brand like this just because of new presidents, so I feel that this sacrifice actually does indicate a real change in the paper’s direction :/. Selfishly I’m sad that “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was perceived to be too liberal, it’s so grizzled and brooding, like something Rorschach from “Watchmen” would say. It was so cool.
- jfengel 2y ago
  I didn't much care for that as a slogan. It doesn't really say what they do. It needs to be a call-to-action, not an identification of the problem. I understood it as a reaction to the sheer amount of lies passed off as news that influenced the 2016 election, and has not gotten any better. But I don't think "darkness" is a good metaphor for it. The problem isn't too little information, but too much, most of it bad. They needed something that said more clearly "We are committed to giving you the truth as best we can." I think they were hoping it was implicit, but I don't think it landed. That said, ditching it on the eve of the inauguration is just fantastic. Following their failure to endorse in 2024, it shouts, "Yeah, we're just throwing in the towel on that whole 'truth' thing". My advice, though: for a new slogan, find the guy who came up with "Take America Back". That's pure gold. It manages to say both "We're going to reinstate a whole lot of manifest injustices" and "The country should belong just to us, and those other guys don't deserve to live here" all at once, with just a hint of violence.
  - woleium 2y ago
    it really doesn’t need to say what they do when its the Washington Post you are talking about.
krapp 2y ago
Of course they do, because it doesn't. Democracy dies in broad daylight. It takes a bullet in the head like a mob hit in the center of town, and no one sees a damn thing.
- Molitor5901 2y ago
  Or at a political rally.
ivewonyoung 2y ago
According to NYT there is a new mission statement, but the "slogan" isn't changing: > After Donald J. Trump entered the White House in 2017, The Washington Post adopted a slogan that underscored the newspaper’s traditional role as a government watchdog: “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” > This week, as Mr. Trump prepares to re-enter the White House, the newspaper debuted a mission statement that evokes a more expansive view of The Post’s journalism, without death or darkness: “Riveting Storytelling for All of America.” > The statement is meant to be an internal rallying point for employees, according to two people with knowledge of the decision. Executives are not planning to replace its more strident public slogan. Suzi Watford, The Post’s chief strategy officer, has been previewing it to some employees this week. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/business/media/the-washington-post-new-mission.html?unlocked_article_code=1.pk4.N06W.Ggw2hDAVa7Xe&smid=url-share https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/business/media/the-washin...
- itsdrewmiller 2y ago
  The linked article is updated now too to clarify that the premise was incorrect.
ryandvm 2y ago
"Democracy, like mold, flourishes in darkness"
hackerbeat 2y ago
Trump and his sleazy tech bros will go down in history as the gravediggers of democracy.
jhanschoo 2y ago
Responding to the additional context int he reporting: If domestically-owned traditional journalism is not able to sustain itself in the US, I suppose that the more critically-minded people will turn to foreign-owned reporting like the traditional newswires like Reuters, AFP, AP for news, as well as new foreign state-funded ones like Al-Jazeera.
- Molitor5901 2y ago
  I have turned away from domestic reporting almost entirely and really just read European, Asian and Australian news. It's a mixture of distrust and burnt out on US media.
TMWNN 2y ago
World is healing

41 points by choult 2y ago

baggachipz 2y ago

The only time they've been honest in years.

tene80i 2y ago
Care to back up that extraordinary claim?
- baggachipz 2y ago
  My hyperbole was simply to express that they're finally going "mask off" and admitting they're not a serious, journalistic enterprise anymore. It's a shame to see them go from the exposers of Watergate to their current state of "nah we're just going to print ai-generated slop". Ever since Bezos started shoving his tentacles into every aspect of the paper, their trust and integrity has eroded to where we are now.
  - tene80i 2y ago
    I don’t read it much at all so I haven’t noticed this, but if it’s as you say then that’s a great shame.
  - yencabulator 2y ago
    That is a significantly better comment than your original, which reeked of yelling "fake news" and being mad at "the media".

pastureofplenty 2y ago

A bit like Google removing their "Don't Be Evil" motto

timewizard 2y ago

> Donald Trump’s first term, and now, as he threatens the fabric of democracy once more, The breathless hyperbole never ends. > That’s a little too much to bear. You were fine the first 4 years you'll be fine the next 4 years. > Instead, let’s focus on the fact that the paper’s new slogan is “Riveting Storytelling for All of America,” which specifically includes “conservatives” Oh no! A diverse point of view. Let's wring our hands throughout an entire article about a slogan change. :|

readthenotes1 2y ago
At least they are honest about storytelling and not journalism...
nickthegreek 2y ago
> You were fine the first 4 years you'll be fine the next 4 years. Women have less rights now than they did before his first term. That is an observable fact. Some of them are not fine. Some of them have died do that loss. Others have had their futures stripped or their paths altered in a way in which they did not want but by an outside Authority backed by the hand of the police and judicial system that will put them in jail for doing things that they were legally allowed to just before.
soulofmischief 2y ago
Other people don't have their heads in the sand and understand exactly what the incoming administration sets out to do, as they have been quite vocal about it. Yes, the last several presidents have also worked to weaken our democracy, but this time the effort is much more concerted among the administration, and detractors will be removed from their posts. It's not dramatic to be concerned with the health of our democracy or to recognize clear assaults on it.
bryanlarsen 2y ago
> You were fine the first 4 years you'll be fine the next 4 years. That's not a given. Donald Trump spent most of his first term on the golf course, with all of the work done by staffers. Those staffers were Bush staffers, so it's not surprising that the first Trump term felt like another Bush term in many ways. This White House has a very different set of staffers, and will result in a very different presidency.

TheCoelacanth 2y ago

Once people started realizing that it was an aspiration and not a warning, the slogan was on its last legs.

gatkinso 2y ago

the reason is simple - they lost

seydor 2y ago

I have nothing against dark themes either

anvandare 2y ago

I take it this means it has moved to the obituaries?

jlmcgraw 2y ago

“Democracy drowns in dollars” seems sadly more accurate

pinkmuffinere 2y ago

Slogans are _usually_ just for branding anyways. However, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” is a riveting, iconic statement, and moving away from it is almost certainly weakening the existing brand significantly. I don’t think companies generally weaken their brand like this just because of new presidents, so I feel that this sacrifice actually does indicate a real change in the paper’s direction :/. Selfishly I’m sad that “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was perceived to be too liberal, it’s so grizzled and brooding, like something Rorschach from “Watchmen” would say. It was so cool.

jfengel 2y ago
I didn't much care for that as a slogan. It doesn't really say what they do. It needs to be a call-to-action, not an identification of the problem. I understood it as a reaction to the sheer amount of lies passed off as news that influenced the 2016 election, and has not gotten any better. But I don't think "darkness" is a good metaphor for it. The problem isn't too little information, but too much, most of it bad. They needed something that said more clearly "We are committed to giving you the truth as best we can." I think they were hoping it was implicit, but I don't think it landed. That said, ditching it on the eve of the inauguration is just fantastic. Following their failure to endorse in 2024, it shouts, "Yeah, we're just throwing in the towel on that whole 'truth' thing". My advice, though: for a new slogan, find the guy who came up with "Take America Back". That's pure gold. It manages to say both "We're going to reinstate a whole lot of manifest injustices" and "The country should belong just to us, and those other guys don't deserve to live here" all at once, with just a hint of violence.
- woleium 2y ago
  it really doesn’t need to say what they do when its the Washington Post you are talking about.

krapp 2y ago

Of course they do, because it doesn't. Democracy dies in broad daylight. It takes a bullet in the head like a mob hit in the center of town, and no one sees a damn thing.

Molitor5901 2y ago
Or at a political rally.

ivewonyoung 2y ago

According to NYT there is a new mission statement, but the "slogan" isn't changing: > After Donald J. Trump entered the White House in 2017, The Washington Post adopted a slogan that underscored the newspaper’s traditional role as a government watchdog: “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” > This week, as Mr. Trump prepares to re-enter the White House, the newspaper debuted a mission statement that evokes a more expansive view of The Post’s journalism, without death or darkness: “Riveting Storytelling for All of America.” > The statement is meant to be an internal rallying point for employees, according to two people with knowledge of the decision. Executives are not planning to replace its more strident public slogan. Suzi Watford, The Post’s chief strategy officer, has been previewing it to some employees this week. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/business/media/the-washington-post-new-mission.html?unlocked_article_code=1.pk4.N06W.Ggw2hDAVa7Xe&smid=url-share https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/business/media/the-washin...

itsdrewmiller 2y ago
The linked article is updated now too to clarify that the premise was incorrect.

ryandvm 2y ago

"Democracy, like mold, flourishes in darkness"

hackerbeat 2y ago

Trump and his sleazy tech bros will go down in history as the gravediggers of democracy.

jhanschoo 2y ago

Responding to the additional context int he reporting: If domestically-owned traditional journalism is not able to sustain itself in the US, I suppose that the more critically-minded people will turn to foreign-owned reporting like the traditional newswires like Reuters, AFP, AP for news, as well as new foreign state-funded ones like Al-Jazeera.

Molitor5901 2y ago
I have turned away from domestic reporting almost entirely and really just read European, Asian and Australian news. It's a mixture of distrust and burnt out on US media.

TMWNN 2y ago

World is healing