Note to Readers

On some new names and bylines

Yesterday, we ran a story about a reorganization within the Department of Homeland Security co-written by Susan Schmidt, a name many readers recognized. She’s a former Washington Post writer, a winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and just generally a top-flight reporter, well-known among other things for her coverage of the labyrinthine Jack Abramoff affair.

Yesterday’s article was originally intended to come out in tandem with another piece announcing the launch of a larger series of reports Susan and I are working on along with a group of others at Racket, investigating the “Censorship-Industrial Complex.” That group includes some journalist names you’ll recognize, some names you won’t know or will know only by their Twitter handles, experienced researchers from the anti-disinformation space, and others.

There’s a longer explanation coming about what we’re all up to, but some news I learned yesterday convinced me to hold that piece until a bit later. As a result, Sue’s article ran without her receiving a proper introduction on the site, which I woke up feeling bad about this morning. So, allow me to welcome the sharp and meticulous Sue Schmidt to Racket, whose readers will learn more about what she and the rest of the team are doing soon. The topic is a big one, but we hope to have it wrestled down to manageable size (and a varied and interesting form) in the coming weeks. Thanks, and more TK.