Jamal’s Apple Watch

On Saturday, pro-government Turkish newspaper Sabah reported that Turkish officials have audio recordings of the torture and murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a US-based Saudi journalist who went missing on October 2nd after entering the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul and is presumed dead at the hands of a Saudi hit squad. The newspaper claims that Khashoggi recorded his own death on his Apple Watch and transmitted the audio files to his iPhone, held by his fiancée on the street outside the consulate.

That’s a memorable but unlikely story. Smartwatches connect to cellphones via Bluetooth, and it’s doubtful a signal could travel that far, and the likely recording app only transfers audio files after the watch wearer turns it off, a hard task for the deceased. If Turkish agents have such recordings, it’s most likely because they have the Saudi consulate bugged, and they spread the watch story as cover.

Mr. Khashoggi was a permanent resident of the U.S., so maybe the American ambassadors to Turkey and Saudi Arabia can look into the matter. Oh wait, President Trump still hasn’t appointed anyone to those crucial diplomatic posts.

Trump Praises Congressman Who Body-Slammed a Reporter

Remember when Montana GOP congressional candidate Greg Gianforte body-slammed a reporter to the ground and punched him, was convicted of a misdemeanor and won his special election? He’s campaigning for a full term in Congress, so naturally Donald Trump endorses him:

“I’ll tell you what: This man has fought — in more ways than one — for your state. He has fought for your state. Greg Gianforte. He is a fighter and a winner.”

More:

“President Trump celebrates the body-slam of a reporter in Montana,” Eric Wemple, Washington Post

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Death of a Young Black Journalist

“The most basic instinct of a local reporter is to take the importance of her neighbors as a given. In a community like Anacostia—where more than ninety per cent of residents are African-American, one in two kids lives below the poverty line, and incarceration and unemployment rates are among the nation’s highest—this is another way of saying that black lives matter.”

— “Death of a Young Black Journalist,” Sarah Stillman, The New Yorker

More:

“Charnice Milton Was Killed in Community She Loved,” Richard Prince, The Root

“Charnice Milton,” NotionsCapital

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Charnice Milton

Washington DC journalist Charnice Milton was fatally shot on May 27th while waiting for a bus. A graduate of Ball State University with a Masters Degree from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, she is missed by the members of her profession and the community she covered. Her killers, a group of illegal dirt bike riders who have roared through several DC neighborhoods over the past few years, have not been apprehended.

More:

“Charnice Milton Was Killed in Community She Loved,” Richard Prince, The Root

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Brenda Starr Turns in Her Press Card

Brenda Star, Reporter, filed her last story today. Like many print journalists in these days of downsizing, she was let go. Her 70 years of seniority didn’t protect her. Ms. Starr emptied her desk into a copy paper box and a security guard escorted her from the newsroom.

Frankly, after all this time, most of the names in Ms. Starr’s Rolodex were pretty stale.  If you’re the under-paid young whippersnapper who replaced Brenda, a Rolodex is an analog contact manager.