Journalism that matters
If you haven’t heard of me, it’s because I’ve spent most of my career behind the scenes writing and producing for Dan Rather, Keith Olbermann, Chris Hayes, Lawrence O’Donnell, Rachel Maddow, Anderson Cooper, and a ton of other folks.
Even when it wasn’t part of my job, I’ve always broken news, breaking stories about the powerful and how the system is rigged against the powerless. Without trafficking in speculation or outrage-bait. Far too much of our journalism — from fringe to mainstream — is focused on feeding us info-bits that feel like they mean something (about what’s going to happen, or who someone really is) but don’t actually have any bearing on the material lives of everyday people.
Until I was laid off in January 2024, I oversaw the original reporting of The Young Turks. Since then, I’ve been counting on reader support to continue breaking news here on Substack.
Here’s what one well-known political scientist has to say about my work:
“Jonathan Larsen is a first rate investigative reporter … He just started a Substack. Subscribe! I did.” — Norm Ornstein
And here’s Mr. Rather:
Jonathan is a first-rate, world-class professional… As a reporter, he’s a deep-digger with an unrelenting dedication to fairness and accuracy.”
I’m obviously extremely lucky to have worked with the people I have. My ethos for journalism is that “evil” is a poor explanation for human behavior. That applies to both muggers and presidents.
I tend to reject simple and simplistic explanations for…why things are happening. People aren’t perfectly logical, but anyone telling you that people are doing bad things because they’re crazy or evil is selling you something you shouldn’t be buying.
A lot of big accounts out there rile everyone up and rack up likes by calling out people for being evil. My moral high ground isn’t enough for me to make that my calling. So I focus on revealing destructive forces at work and crappy systems. And, yes, exposing the people responsible.
It’s my belief that elevation and illumination are how we get to a better place. I appreciate your support for these aspirations.
And if that’s too earnest and saccharine for you, you should probably subscribe to The Fucking News!
