How is everyone’s weekend going? I Hope everyone had a terrific Thanksgiving holiday and after taking a week off, we’re back with another edition of the Six.
Today we share articles on continuous screw ups from mainstream media, dismal report card for Illinois schools, college football coaches keep getting richer and a wild deer on the attack in North Carolina.
Let’s proceed with the Six.
When All Media Narratives Collapse.
Andrew Sullivan is one of the better media critics working today. What makes Sullivan so good is he’s freed from the shackles of legacy media editors, of protecting corporate interests. He can write what he thinks and what needs to be said. In this essay, via his excellent Substack newsletter, The Weekly Dish, Sullivan drops a tough but fair multi-count indictment of the United States mainstream media.
State Report Cards Reveal Declines Along All Demographics.
It was only a matter of time before tangible evidence emerged of the negative impact of in-person school closings and forced masking on students. We finally have data in the state of Illinois, courtesy of the Illinois Department of Education. This past week, ISBE released numbers from schools that administered the Illinois Assessment of Readiness. The results show dramatic declines in academic achievement and chronic absenteeism. The Chicago Tribune provides more detail and context.
Big Contracts, Big Buyouts, Big Pressure.
We’ve long known the concept of amateurism in college sports is from a bygone era. College athletics is big business now; football it’s a billion-dollar business. We were reminded of that cultural reality this part week, when coaches at Notre Dame and Oklahoma left their jobs for other programs and $100 million dollar contracts. The NY Times analyzes what it all means and if the trend in ridiculous contracts for coaches will continue on an upward trajectory.
Virginia Is For Amazon Lovers.
How powerful is Amazon? The corporation hasn’t just accumulated a mammoth amount of sensitive personal information on its customers. A group of reporters from Reuters obtained internal documents that show how a former aide to Presidents Obama and Biden helped Amazon build a lobbying juggernaut that has gutted legislation in two dozen states that would have given consumers more control of their data. The details of some of the secrets that Amazon knows, gleaned through Alexa, are chilling.
The Best HBO Shows Of All Time.
We’re big fans of lists here at the Six and of HBO. My favorite shows are typically HBO shows, including Succession, running right now. I don’t love this list from Variety—Succession is No. 13 which kind of ridiculous—but The Sopranos is rightfully at the top of the heap (and Curb Your Enthusiasm is a preeettttty good No. 7). Happy Eastbound and Down made the top 20 here as Danny McBride is one of my all-time favorite television characters.
Deer Attacks Dog, Of Course It’s On Video.
We are at the tail end of what is referred to as “rutting” season or mating season for deers. High testosterone levels can transform deers into angry creatures and backyards can be dangerous for household pets. This story is from Charlotte, North Carolina with accompanying video of a deer attacking a family dog. Pretty wild stuff; the dog was shaken up pretty good but reports say will be OK.
Have a great rest of your weekend everybody. Thanks for reading as always.
Have a suggestion for the Sunday Six? Send email to jon@jonjkerr.com