Donald Trump pardons the turkey Gobble. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
Thanksgiving ideally brings families together in the spirit of gratitude and celebration, but it’s become almost a cliché that such gatherings can test those bonds, with the obligatory “crazy uncle” at the end of the table.
Trying to navigate the holidays can pose particular challenges for people who discuss politics for a living, who can’t beg off those kinds of uncomfortable conversations by, say, changing the topic to work. For those who might be dreading such encounters, Status caught up with media professionals across the industry to hear how those deeply immersed in the news of the day approach the subject, if at all, with their family and friends around the Thanksgiving table, in an era where echo chambers and the partisan divide can easily escalate tensions within family settings.
Everyone handles the mix of family and politics differently. Some families declare a full moratorium on political talk during Thanksgiving just to keep the peace—trading those arguments for debates about football instead. Others try to sidestep tension by simply avoiding the relatives most likely to spark it, though that’s not always an option.
▶︎ Mike Allen, co-founder and executive editor of Axios, proposed…
The rest of this story is for paid subscribers only.
Already a subscriber? Sign in.
Scoop-driven reporting and sharp-edged analysis. See why The Wall Street Journal declared Status a “must-read.”
Olivia Nuzzi and Ryan Lizza. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for CBS News)
Nuzzi’s Sourcing Scandal: On Wednesday afternoon, Ryan Lizza lit up inboxes once again, with new details about ex-fiancée Olivia Nuzzi, leveling allegations of serious journalistic misconduct against Vanity Fair’s newly installed West Coast editor. Lizza claimed that Nuzzi made it a mission to get her hands on negative coverage of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., ahead of publication, as well as opposition research and potential whistleblowers, to feed that information back to the presidential candidate in an effort to help him politically. Meanwhile, Nuzzi was selling out her sources to RFK Jr., Lizza alleged, specifically gaining their trust to provide him with sensitive information—then assisting in efforts to “out leakers” and disloyal staffers. "Olivia had essentially become a private political operative for Bobby Kennedy, while publicly posing as a hard-nosed reporter," Lizza wrote.
If true, Lizza’s third serialized edition of this ongoing Substack soap would…
The remainder of this newsletter is for paid subscribers only.
Scoop-driven reporting and sharp-edged analysis. See why thousands of industry professionals rely on Status.
Already a subscriber? Sign in.
A subscription gets you full access to our nightly newsletter, which includes:
✅ Essential reporting on and analysis of the Fourth Estate, Silicon Valley, Hollywood, the Information Wars, and more.
✅ Hand-curated links to the most consequential stories moving the needle in the key corridors of the industry.
✅ Unlimited access to our online archive where you can read previous editions of the newsletter.
