By: Mark Glennon*
Great! New information and perspective on a critical issue for Illinois. That’s probably what you thought, as we did, if you saw the headline in a Chicago Sun-Times article last week: “Why are so many people leaving Illinois?”
Crime, taxes, corruption, the economy? How much are those are really driving out-migration?
Sorry, those words don’t even appear in the article.
What the article does provide is a great illustration of much of what’s gone wrong on news pages.
Here’s the first thing you got if you clicked it: “Kyra Jones misses the food in Uptown. ‘There’s lots of great Ethiopian food, Nigerian food, Chinese food, Vietnamese food, said Jones, 30. ‘I think Chicago has the best food in the United States. And not only that, but you can find good food at all price ranges.’”
Yes, a random and meaningless anecdote was the introduction, as is common in news today. In this case, it turns out Ms. Jones moved to Los Angeles because she writes scripts for entertainment firms there, yet there’s no indication whatsoever that her reasons were typical in any way.
In fact, there’s not a shred of information in the article specific to Illinois about why people are leaving, as the headline promised to deliver. It gave only some bland generalities about migration from a sociologist and a demographer.
Perhaps the most fascinating issue in why people are leaving Illinois is politics, though it, too, was omitted in the Sun-Times column. A recent poll found a stunning 7% of voters nationally saying they intend to move in the next three years to a place more closely aligned with their political beliefs, and the number may be larger for Illinois. That means a massive, interstate re-sorting is going on with huge implications, as we wrote here.
Don’t they have the resources to do better?
The Sun-Times is jointly operated with WBEZ, the local NPR affiliate, in a nonprofit corporation. It raised $61 million in philanthropic contributions last year when WBEZ bought the Sun-Times, and WBEZ was typically raising over $25 million per year preceeding that. NPR has about a thousand employees.
With all that, they couldn’t put up a meaningful article?
Let me be clear, however, that the Sun-Times isn’t entirely bad. In my view, their coverage of Chicago government is usually appropriately tough and Fran Spielman’s news reports are particularly good. I wish I could say the same for WBEZ and NPR, where unbiased articles are rare.
The subject Sun-Times article was written by an intern. It’s nice that the Sun-Times would give her a byline but, jeez, some guidance would have been nice and maybe a less important topic. And is this how Northwestern University, from which she has a journalism degree, taught her to write a news story? I’m not naming her in hopes that she wises up and has a great career.
What baffles me is how differently mainstream journalists apparently perceive what readers want compared to what we’ve learned here at Wirepoints.
We get plenty of feedback from you, our readers. We see what you want, both in our own commentary and news stories we link to. You want to learn something you don’t already know. You want us to make our case in our commentary with facts and verifiable data. You want anecdotes for color only, supported by broader evidence. You want plain talk. If we wrote a piece like that Sun-Times article you’d hammer us, which is probably part of why most publications dropped their comment sections.
The rules for news stories were simple not too terribly long ago, which I learned in the exalted position of editor of my high school paper. Cover the who, what, when, where why and how, and put the most important points first in an “inverted pyramid.”
Why those rules disappeared is a mystery to me.
What I do know is that we are truly in a dark age for journalism. Far more important than the above is the brazen distortion and censorship, often in partnership with tech platforms and government, which is the genuine threat to democracy today.
We’ve also learned that rants don’t go over well, so I better stop now.
*Mark Glennon is founder of Wirepoints.
This column was updated to add the paragraph about political migration.
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
That is easy, just look around and see what you are living in. Talk to your friends that have moved and see how the like their new prosperous life. Ask them if they like being safe and having their families get a good education? Find out how they like the new car and truck paid for by the tax savings. Illinois is self-destructing and thinks the Federal government will help, I personally doubt it as too many people do not want to pay anyone else’s bills from their small SS checks. I will be gone ASAP taking with me my… Read more »
IL is in a death spiral. We need hard hitting facts across all sectors, especially media.
My monthly NPR donation is gonna get suspended unless the distateful truths are communicated.
I cancelled my Trib subscription when they ran a full page article on the bigotries experienced by (wait for it) LGBTQ fly fishermen. Oh the humanity!!!
How do the suntimes and tribune stay in business? Are people still paying for subscriptions even though they only have a few good articles each day? Is it that charity money you mentioned that keeps them going? Are those charities funding only the far left? It seems like they are.
As long as Democrats and the liberal media keep telling everyone they don’t understand, criticize or dont care why people are leaving Illinois, they’re just gonna keep leaving. When they go, they take tax dollars and businesses with them. Oh well, who cares, who needs them? Well, alright then, plant another money tree in the back yard. It is what it is.
Bottom line the reasons don’t matter, it is the fact that over 200,000 people are year are leaving and that number is growing exponentially every year. This is a recipe for economic failure. Debt raising higher and higher, revenue streams going down. Berny Madoff would be proud of Illinois.
All she had to do was call a moving company. My buddy owns one and hears all the reasons about why people move out. Moved a guy out of the Gold Coast. His reason for leaving – someone was murdered across the street from where he lived.
The more I read articles like this, the more I’m tempted to write a book on the weaponization of the social sciences for business minded activists! LOL The Sun Times article is excellent, and you took the bait! Furthermore, you completely miss how it functions or why it works. Examination of the message through the lens of Information Warfare (IW) doctrine completely solves your mystery and answers your questions. Goals of IW are completely different from classic news reporting! Think of information warfare as extreme political brawling just below the threshold for violence. The cognitive domain, the information domain, and… Read more »
You are back to suggesting that we should suppress and not comment on stories we don’t like. That’s not how we do things here. That would be not only wrong but ineffective.
What? I’m all for free speech! Write about whatever you want! I’d like to think I provided clarification and a different perspective. “The rules for news stories were simple not too terribly long ago, which I learned in the exalted position of editor of my high school paper. Cover the who, what, when, where why and how, and put the most important points first in an “inverted pyramid.” Why those rules disappeared is a mystery to me.” Did I solve your mystery?? I think I understand your position, but you’re missing my point. I want to see articles calling this… Read more »
This isn’t Twitter, Davey Boy. Take your hateful, far-left-wing vitriol there, instead of harassing Mark on his employment of facts in any journalistic piece (like me).
Employment of facts? He’s carrying water for the left by parroting their garbage talking points. Instead of digging deeper, he’s blaming interns. LOL
Try reading farther than the first few sentences of my comment.
I’m trying to raise the bar and highlight the psychological manipulation encoded in left taking points and messaging.
Keep trying!
So as a reader of the Sun Times, or for that matter, any news publication, I now have to wonder if the author and the editor are conducting a psychosocial experiment on me? Is that the new purpose of the news page? If true, then propaganda is now a news organization’s mission and, if so, then their slow financial death is justified and should accelerate. If you’re right about IW, then our American press is more sinister than I thought, is abusing its first amendment rights and they should be taken away.
Dave, the sophisticated psychological manipulation you describe probably is used at high, federal levels, but it’s a simpler matter for articles like the one I criticized, which is just laziness, bias and stupidity. And saying I am carrying water for them in a piece that criticizes them is just plain nutty.
You’re setting an agenda and creating talking points! Out of all things you could post today after the Lightfoot loss, you post a column about people leaving Illinois?? We could be talking about gaining ground, cohesion, teaming up, etc. You pulled the same stunt a few months ago with Pritzker’s election and how Illinois will never change. STOP! Illinois is 90% red state. Yet, for some strange reason that consistently eludes the smartest and most successful members of society, Republicans always play like the Washington Generals against the Harlem Globe Trotters. It’s the same problem over and over again: Low… Read more »
Bwaaahaaahaahaa. That’s next level delusional. Hard to take anything you say seriously with ignorant statements like that.
True, PPF. But give me your response to this, which I intend to write about: IL is a moderate state. The progressive establishment in charge now is extremist by comparison and not representative of IL. We at Wirepoints are moderates who should not even be called conservative, except in comparison to that extremist left.
You’re not a conservative because there’s nothing left to conservative anymore. Calling yourself a moderate accedes and validates nearly a half a century of progressive values that, quite frankly, much of the world still abhors, like: anal marriage, LQBTQ+ grooming, child genital mutilation, liberalized drug use, the majority of children being raised illegitimate, globohomo as a new state religion, transgenderism, polygamy, mass unrestricted immigration, abortion up until birth intentionally soft on crime … Most people in the world today thinks this stuff is bat sh*t crazy. Most people who’ve ever lived think this is bat sh*t crazy. Our crazy cultural… Read more »
The only thing about moderation is that inherent in moderation is toleration like the classic liberal / libertarian – live and let live. But a moderate position is intrinsically incapable of fending off progressive values. why? Because the progressives are after your children. You may not be out to convert their children, but the progressive is after your kid, and if you’re in their way, they’ll take you down too. There are state laws now that make CA and VT sanctuary states for transgender kids, so if the parents object to their kid going trans, too bad, the parents have… Read more »
Illinois, like all other states, are filled with mostly moderates. The problem with most moderates though, is they don’t have the energy, time, or desire to follow most issues that impact their daily lives compared to the extremes of both parties. They tune into sound bites right before the election and they are offered up two choices that typically doesn’t align with their own beliefs. Many times it’s the lesser of two evils in their own mind. Now the Republican brand in Illinois has become so toxic in the state that the voters will tolerate unbelievable levels of progressive ideas… Read more »
Smart answers from all of you. My basic point, which I think none of you contradict, is that Wirepoints, for example, is neither right wing nor extreme, and that the usual name calling about right wing is unfounded.
My first thought as well, though correct more or less as a matter of geography.
Which, sociologically speaking, is entirely significant particularly insofar as Illinois is concerned, since the geographic locations of the two party’s members are as exclusive one of the other as are their voted political views.
We’re segregated, politically and geographically. Almost all of our neighbors think “politically” like we do as individuals.
That phenomena isn’t making things easier for us at the moment, I think.
It’s only correct if land was actually voting. Since it doesn’t, it is completely wrong. I never understand that geography/map flex.
Think about what I wrote, and try again.
Here’s some more clarification and suggestive goals of IW in political theater. The US military has been employing these overseas for over 100 years: 1.) To influence opposition strategy, tactics, and the disposition of operatives; 2.) To assist in immobilizing and containing political opposition; 3.) To induce opposition to change parties; 4.) To induce the capitulation of opposition parties; 5.) To reduce last ditch resistance of opposition; 6.) To encourage and support the operation of friendlies; 7.) To overload the intelligence and planning of opposition; 8.) To increase psychological impact of campaigns; 9.) To produce cleavages in opposition by raising… Read more »
‘The “Leave Illinois” campaign is modeled after the Boer prison system in South Africa, Hitler’s concentration camps, and the forced migration of American Indians.” Comparing an informal, disorganized and volunatary phenomenon to these organized, forced migrations and exterminations is a bit much. Such a person might be seen by others as unhinged.
I said modeled after, not inspired by! There’s no hint of comparison, either. There are cause and effect relationships between them. Social scientists have done a great job eliminating the guesswork out of human behavior and probabilities. Some professions have done a great job exploiting it and weaponizing it. I’d be happy to post some papers, if Wirepoints doesn’t mind hijacking their thread. Disorganized and voluntary is where we part ways, Giles. There’s a massive back end of political operatives and scientists behind the scenes employing probability and statistics math, machine learning, and information warfare to advance the interests of… Read more »
Are you still butthurt because your “buddy” Groot lost the election last night? Good. Now get a job.
Huh?? I’m suggesting people stay in Illinois and take proactive steps to win back government. Identifying political gambits rooted in behavioral psychology are central to my strategy. Please don’t fixate on up / down vote ratios, because they’re part of the problem.
I think your observations are very insightful.
Can you identify specific IW countermeasures which might work in Illinois?
A good attitude goes a long way and is contagious! Morale is extremely important and a prerequisite to getting anything done; I can’t say this enough, and high ranking military strategists don’t deviate much from good sports coaches. It’s truly universal. The “leave Illinois” campaign is no different from trash talk, telling someone they have no chance of scoring a basket. I get the vibe that most commenters here are very successful and sophisticated. Managing a company, setting up a team for a business transaction, or preparing for litigation is not much different than playing politics. You need to do… Read more »
So, to advance the ball toward the goal line, perhaps we could focus on specific tactics, specific planned plays? First though, on this narrow topic of information warfare, may we first agree on certain descriptions of the problem? There are media reports by sources self-described as “respected”, and motivated to enhance profits/power of a narrow group of political/private sector actors. Any given set of reported information may or may not be “true” (with “true” defined as inclusion of all facts relevant to story, and absence of adjectives/ adverbs serving to skew a reader toward a presumption of “good” or “bad”).… Read more »
At this point, I think it’s best to work on morale and do research. Wirepoints is doing great with their crime reporting. “There are no adverse consequences to purveyors of misinformation so long as it is by “the winning team”. Those motivated to enhance profits/power of a narrow group of political/private sector actors are highly compensated. Those critical thinkers who would stop them are not only uncompensated, they are subject to personal attacks by a well-funded enemy.” You’re over-thinking it at this point. Relax. I had the same attitude when I started this journey, and it took me a while… Read more »
“Misinformation is a loaded word!” This is why I wanted a mutually agreed definition (“Any given set of reported information may or may not be “true” (with “true” defined as inclusion of all facts relevant to story, and absence of adjectives/ adverbs serving to skew a reader toward a presumption of “good” or “bad”).” “Let’s focus on raising morale, collecting info, and figuring out what to do with it.” I disagree that there is time. People who flee have complex motivations which are not being examined. People who stay have complex motivations which are, (imo), being misrepresented. Can you agree… Read more »
Information warfare is totally different from traditional conceptions of rhetoric and persuasive communication. From skimming through your comment above, definitions are fluid. Definitions mean different things to different people. Definitions change over time. A good example is the word “fascist.” The social sciences can address complex emotions and reliably predict and / or modify behavior. Regarding facts, there are immediate facts and facts that require extra effort, time, and or interpretation by experts. Both have distinct advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore, they are worthless unless presented by a person or entity that is credible and has social prestige. Your ideas are… Read more »
I will read it, but am not convinced that gaining a deeper understanding will save us. Maybe I haven’t defined the problem well enough (the problem which I believe is the set from which all subsets flow, and that is political corruption; I define corruption as unequal application of the law by those empowered to do so). I believe lack of objective journalism flows from, or is a subset of, political corruption. “Furthermore, they are worthless unless presented by a person or entity that is credible and has social prestige.” So maybe such an entity doesn’t exist nowadays. But court… Read more »
I think you’re trying to reinvent the wheel and making the erroneous assumption that we’re in an unprecedented environment. Everything you’re mentioning has happened before in the past, and lessons were learned. Research has thoroughly evaluated and accounted for all ramifications. Experiments have been designed to isolate variables. Resulting material has been peer-reviewed and perfected. Countless authors have written textbooks that are pedagogically sound on everything from winning an argument to nuclear warfare strategy. This is a small collection of contemporary materials. I’m not advocating that you resort to these techniques or set up an insurgency in Old Town, but… Read more »
I don’t think it’s possible to convince my suburban neighbor Karen, with short hair and several mental problems, to change her mind on anything, and certainly not with subtle or overt conditioning. You can’t change the people who live in IL. These people are hysterical and irrational. The reasonable ones are leaving and now we attract the crazy ones. No amount of agitprop or psyops is going to fix this problem. They’re as committed to their cause as the Taliban. The US gov spent trillions trying to psyops those people into a western democracy with globohomo everything everywhere all the… Read more »
The stuff works. Conditioning is how they got messed up in the first place! Hysterical and irrational are usually the most likely to take action. I’m doing them a favor by sorting them out. LOL
You completely misunderstood my point. Probably my fault. I am speaking about specifics, not metaanalysis. What has not been tried yet here is monetization of crowdsouced “good guy behavior”, protected from disappearance; internet scrubbing by bad actors, economic failures of newspapers’ and other media rendering archives unreachable, deliberate re-writing of history . It hadn’t been necessary before, because religion implied sufficient rewards of social acceptance for following rules of moral conduct. Religion has been largely rendered a badge of social demerit, and any conduct seems to be considered justifiable so long as it is in pursuit of the prevailing tribal… Read more »
You’re touching on all the topics I’ve already suggested you look into further! You’re making superficial assumptions and generalizations, too. You can’t get bad guys arrested if you can’t communicate effectively to the public what they did wrong or why it matters. Crowdsourcing is being tried as we speak. It’s not going to make a difference if you can’t get the word out. What’s the common denominator here? Communication! Communication channels! Communicating effectively and having a good attitude are precursors to getting any results! Modern communication technology has the potential to enslave or liberate. The public, including you, needs to… Read more »
Regarding collection info that I mentioned earlier, collection of information, researching it, and communicating the findings effectively is what the game is all about. Sorry If I’m being vague or jumping around. This thread is getting long.
I know you are not hearing me. That’s OK. But I am still interested in understanding exactly what it is YOU want! Specifically.
I think the main reason that kids get into journalism these days is to be an activist, and to “tell the truth” of their ideology and causes. It seems that children and young adults have been coached at greater lengths to “be involved” and to agitate for their causes. I think this comes primarily from adults who have the same outlook, such as teachers. Every article in this lens is thus an activism piece, not a neutral display of the core tenets of journalism. Then, you combine it with Leftist editors and publishers and you have nothing but ideology and… Read more »
Of course it fails to address the real reasons. Simply, by acknowledging why folks are getting the heck out, it would require an investigation into what factors contributed to those issues… Well, progressive policies and liberal, union led government. An inability of politicians to do there job of representing the people and not themselves… An inability to look their constituents in the eye and place the burden back on them to support themselves and raise their children to be contributing members of society, not the wildlings we see committing all of this crime… Telling these folks they need to impart… Read more »
Ask all the Chitty of Chicago Cops why they all Flee to Punta Gorda, Florida as soon as the overly generous pension money starts to flow?
Maybe it is the crime, and the high taxes, you never know.
I will be exiting because of family safety, highest taxes and Government that seems to work against the honest hard-working families.
Trust in media is at an all time low
https://news.gallup.com/poll/403166/americans-trust-media-remains-near-record-low.aspx
I read the headline and then the article, expecting to hear some of the reasons why we left IL. The first thing is the woman missing Chicago food. Well, guess what. Here in SC we’ve experienced a whole different food experience, Low Country cooking with shrimp boils and exotic spices. Love collard greens with all different recipes, not easily found in Chicago. With the $10K we save in property taxes and low sales tax, we can afford to eat out more often. Sure, they don’t do pizza like in Chicago, but you can easily order Chicago pizza and Portillo’s menu… Read more »
SC is great, love vacationing there. Someone needs to reign in that dummy that proposed a $500 tax to move there. Not a large amount of money but it would make me reconsider moving there because you worry what’s next. People are moving there because of taxes like that and now you want to hit them with what they are fleeing.
Read that, their reasoning is stupid. Just because property taxes are low, people should pay to move there? Might write to several legislators.
Just came back from Boca Raton, Fl. and they have Vienna hot dogs and Chicago style pizza. The streets and beaches are safe and clean. More restaurants than you could ever go to in a lifetime. There are lots of places with great food and activities outside the Chitty of Chicago. I Should never have come back.
“And is this how Northwestern University, from which she has a journalism degree, taught her to write a news story?”
Sadly, I suspect this was exactly how woke-n-progressive Northwestern’s Journalism Department trained her to write a “news” article.
Apples don’t fall far from the tree….
Even us normally mild-mannered people are feeling the need to rant these days. We’ve tried to be polite and play nice for far too long. So rant away Mark!
Mark the Sun Times is a RAG there`s no honest reporting of any kind every story is slanted to the Marxist Ideology of the paper
Ohhh, a Marxist disagreed
Great piece! I can refer you to Matt Taibbi for some interesting thoughts on your musings.