today in tabs: the right wing media companies are fightingggggg
ALSO: what you need to know about the MAGA "Cruel Kids," Instagram wants to compete with TikTok on iPads, the making of the the viral Honey Deuce, and more
Happy Friday, September 5th. A belated bunny bunny rabbit rabbit!
WELCOME :)
Just a reminder: every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.
Want to do a super fun, super cool rapid interview for this newsletter like the one below??? Reply to this email or hit the button below. Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, ☕️, etc?
And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), that would be so appreciated 🙏
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Thanks for bearing with me through the first week of law school into an Icelandic adventure! We will be back to our regularly scheduled programming for a good long while now. Please keep those law school tips coming, and please enjoy this picture from the Glacier Lagoon (gotta take pics of these while we can) ❄️
Today, we have texts from my brilliant and lovely friend, Bridget Schwartz! Bridget was probably behind a lot of your favorite politics-meets-culture content last year, and now she is building online community and political power over at Oath (P.S. true story, I send Oath to all of my family and friends who are looking to donate but aren’t sure to whom or how – highly recommend keeping it in your pocket.) Enjoy!
The MAGA kids are not all White
In this version of the story of the Trump 2.0 coalition, Pearson and his pals are not just savvy young politicos partying on the dime of a tech company. They are the vanguard of a new GOP — a party that managed, at least this past November, to pull out of its demographic death spiral by appealing to a younger, less monochromatic generation of Americans. (WaPo, 9/2)
Newsmax sues Fox News, calling it a monopoly that abuses its power
The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida against the Fox News Network and its parent company, Fox Corp, accused Fox of engaging in “an exclusionary scheme to increase and maintain its dominance in the market for US right-leaning pay TV news.” (CNN News, 9/3)
Political ad spending expected to hit new record, surpassing 2022 midterms by 20%
That number for the 2025-2026 midterm season makes it the most expensive midterm cycle in history, surpassing spending for 2021-2022, which clocked in at $8.9 billion, by more than 20%. And it’s inching close to AdImpact’s price tag for the 2024 presidential election cycle, which reached $11.2 billion. (NBC News, 9/2)
House Republicans help kill effort to censure Rep. LaMonica McIver
McIver denied wrongdoing, with her lawyers explaining that an “unnecessary, reckless, and disproportionate escalation” by federal agents led to “chaos and a serious scuffle involving a great deal of physical contact.” (POLITICO, 9/3)
Lucy’s note: Apparently, one of them voted against censuring her by accident… but still, wanted to take a moment to appreciate a very rare moment of some folks stepping across the aisle to do the right thing!
‘Unrestrained’ Chinese Cyberattackers May Have Stolen Data From Almost Every American
But a sweeping cyberattack by a group known as Salt Typhoon is China’s most ambitious yet, experts and officials have concluded after a year of investigating it. It targeted more than 80 countries and may have stolen information from nearly every American, officials said. (NYT, 9/4)
Instagram rolls out iPad app with Reels at the center to take on TikTok
The new app, available globally on devices running iPadOS 15.1 and later, opens directly to a Reels feed — a nod to what Instagram calls 'lean-back entertainment' — with Stories pinned at the top and one-tap access to messaging. (Reuters, 9/3)
Why Cringe Marketing Is The Most Honest Form Of Brand Engagement Right Now
Cringe marketing flips everything we were taught about good branding on its head. It leans into rough edits, awkward timing, hyperbolic reactions and self-deprecating humor. But underneath the messiness is a clear trend: Audiences, especially the younger ones, are done with perfection. (Forbes, 9/3)
She Avenged Caitlin Clark on the Court. Now Sponsors (and the Right) Love Her.
Her motivations may not have been self-serving, but that one day created tremendous financial opportunity for Ms. Cunningham. She has also experienced increased attention from a conservative ecosystem that has lately shown interest in women’s basketball. (NYT, 9/1)
Publications aimed at LGBTQ+ audiences face discrimination from advertisers, editors warn
Publications aimed at LGBTQ+ and other diverse audiences are facing “good old-fashioned discrimination” as advertisers avoid them after political attacks on diversity and inclusion campaigns, editors have said. Senior figures at publications aimed at the gay community and other minority groups said a previous “gold rush” to work with such titles was over. (The Guardian, 8/31)
Glassware Is Getting Weird and Wobbly
The New York City-based glass artist Dana Arbib considers such special pieces an antidote to throwaway consumer culture. After shuttering her 10-year-old fashion label, A Peace Treaty, in 2019, she “made a list of things I didn’t want in my next career, and overproduction and waste were at the top,” she says. “I wanted to make heirlooms.” (NYT Style Magazine, 9/1)
The Honey Deuce Is the Breakout Star of the U.S. Open—We Got the Official Recipe
In 2006, Grey Goose commissioned cookbook author and mixologist Nick Mautone to create a cocktail for the tournament. Taking inspiration from the bright green tennis balls, Mautone chose balls of honeydew melon as the garnish, then worked to develop a fruity cocktail to match. (All Recipes, 9/5)
How Do You Design A Book Cover That Captures An Entire Story?
You need to work within a familiar framework so people can understand the concept, which makes visual culture a key part of graphic design. I really enjoy looking at typography because it’s the essential part of design – without typography, it would just be an image. (Service95, 9/2)
Extra Credit 🤓
Some newsletters I thought were excellent recently:
“Creators Take Over SNL 🌜” from The Publish Press
New cool newsletter about creator news that I somehow just learned about!
“The US Population Could Shrink in 2025, For the First Time Ever” from
“How Democrats can fight back against the Missouri GOP's new gerrymander” from
I really like the redistricting round-up section.
That’s all for now – I’ll see you on Tuesday!