Professor of Journalism, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I teach people who can't spell code to find stories and visuals in data with #rstats. Publish all my course books and tutorials at https://github.com/mattwaitehttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3mrayzsx26c2qAfter 19 years, @politifact.bsky.social this week retired the content management system I built for it so long ago. Bonkers to think it lasted that long, but in the age of AI creating code, its a reminder that it was always the idea, never the code, that mattered. https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/why-ideas-outlast-technology-in-journalism/22 Jul 2026 19:00 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrayzsx26c2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3mqcqwb6bvs2gI need Sam Waterston to voice this quote from Brown economist Roberto Serrano: "We cannot afford to have a society in which a significant fraction of our best young minds think that cheating is OK. That leads to a declining society, to a failed society … We cannot choose to become idiots."10 Jul 2026 18:15 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqcqwb6bvs2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3mpyog4ua6c2xMy idle summer brain combined yellow-journalism era philosophical fights over what the purpose of a newspaper was, Atari 2600 nostalgia, 2 Live Crew and AI to make a version of Pitfall with the algae-clogged reflecting pool as the obstacles: https://www.mattwaite.com/posts/2026-07-06-irrational-products-ai-and-2-live-crew/06 Jul 2026 18:03 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpyog4ua6c2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3mpd3q3wtsk2cI gave a cartoonishly corrupt organization hundreds of my dollars and turned it into a bucket list checkmark I’ll remember forever. AMA28 Jun 2026 04:03 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpd3q3wtsk2chttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3mpcwehjy3c2cFor more than 30 years, I’ve dreamed of going to a World Cup match. When the announcement of a North American World Cup came out, my son and I said we’d be happy to go to anyone anywhere. We’ve made it to the Disgrace Of Gijon revenge match by complete accident.28 Jun 2026 02:27 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpcwehjy3c2chttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3mov66kw37k2mHonestly, with people so bad at fact checking and so willing to believe AI, I'm cool with some of the models thinking I pitched for the Tampa Bay Rays. Realistically, I would have pitched from 2001-2003 when they lost 305 games and no one cared at all about them, but sure.22 Jun 2026 15:09 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mov66kw37k2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3mmtsizkqr22p@ryanpitts.bsky.social I think it may be time to renew our debate in light of this. [contains quote post or other embedded content]27 May 2026 15:17 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmtsizkqr22phttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3mmmhg4emoc2lNever doubted it for a second. #coys24 May 2026 17:10 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmmhg4emoc2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3mmjute6w7s2uWhy do I treat course evaluation reveal day like Christmas morning? Because where else do you get gems like this?23 May 2026 16:32 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmjute6w7s2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3mle74i7t3c2qIn the last faculty meeting talking about future changes to Canvas feels like Captain Smith holding a meeting about the return voyage on the Titanic while others deal with that loud bang and grinding noises that occurred earlier.08 May 2026 16:55 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mle74i7t3c2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3mlc2bpo3rs22Canvas/Instructure hacked (twice) during finals week. LMSes nationwide are currently useless.07 May 2026 20:23 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlc2bpo3rs22https://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3mjajpa7dn22kI have many thoughts about this:11 Apr 2026 19:04 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjajpa7dn22khttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3mhgnuxq2gs2bIt's not real ... but by the end of the weekend, it should be ... and that size. #nebrasketball #huskers19 Mar 2026 18:44 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhgnuxq2gs2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3mgs3a5fehc2pHow am I supposed to feel about things when right now, in Nebraska, the weather alerts are that it’s randomly snowing out of the blue … and the risk of wildfires is high today? Fire snow.11 Mar 2026 14:17 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgs3a5fehc2phttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3mfk5esizv22pIf Canvas doesn't view this as an existential threat, they have no idea how ready I am to replicate college in the 1980s. companion.ai/einstein https://companion.ai/einstein23 Feb 2026 17:09 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfk5esizv22phttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3md45ec7qwk2gAds in ChatGPT? I cannot *wait* to fail an essay because it says "Times v Sullivan is the backbone of press freedom in the United States, just like the Ford F-150 is the backbone of the American worker. F-150: Built Ford Tough."23 Jan 2026 16:41 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3md45ec7qwk2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3mbhzfze7bc24Always fun to dust off some old code ...02 Jan 2026 23:12 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbhzfze7bc24https://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3ma53rwlt522bI'll give you @kleinmatic.bsky.social with the shot: https://www.niemanlab.org/2025/12/show-your-work-makes-a-triumphant-return/16 Dec 2025 21:30 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3ma53rwlt522bhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3m7asiujqik27We made a better fake image of this in less than 5 minutes during a class on the evolution of fake news yesterday. Buckle up, society. https://bsky.app/profile/journalstar.com/post/3m7arj7c2hw24 [contains quote post or other embedded content]05 Dec 2025 15:29 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7asiujqik27https://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3m73nu7xbxk2cWhat I was confronted with:03 Dec 2025 14:23 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3m73nu7xbxk2chttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3m6k4acqcis2fIn the spirit of using AI to do dishes so I can do art, I tested out Antigravity/Gemini 3 with a gnarly PDF parsing job. What I got back was orders of magnitude better than any other tool I've used over a period of years: https://mattwaite.github.io/posts/2025-11-24-parsing-pdfs-with-antigravity/26 Nov 2025 14:52 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6k4acqcis2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3lkon7oily22dMidwest living in 2025: it is 75 degrees out. The sun is shining. The school district just called. School is cancelled tomorrow because of the blizzard coming.18 Mar 2025 21:43 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3lkon7oily22dhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3ljsvdmzh6c2jFor those who can't be in the room for my AI Starter Pack in R session, here's some notes/code examples we'll work through. If you can be there at 3:30, more demos in the session. #NICAR25 https://mattwaite.github.io/posts/r-llm-starter-pack/07 Mar 2025 20:54 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3ljsvdmzh6c2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3ljax5ge6js2yBack in 2009, when I somehow convinced a Florida newspaper to let me move to Nebraska and work remotely, we used to have a computer with Skype running all the time in the small office my group worked in. We could just talk like I was still in the room. It was really nice. https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/28/tech/skype-microsoft-shutdown/index.html28 Feb 2025 17:38 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3ljax5ge6js2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3lif3uac4nc2qNew report on the state of journalism in Nebraska: There are 9 counties without a single news organization in them. There are 16 county seats with no local news organization in them. More than half of the state's counties are covered by two or fewer journalists. newsmap.unl.edu https://newsmap.unl.edu/17 Feb 2025 15:48 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3lif3uac4nc2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3lfssxws2222oAsked AI for a header image for my AI + Journalism class to put into the LMS. Asked for something evocative of journalism's past and future, colorful and futuristic. What I got vs what my Gen X ass sees:15 Jan 2025 22:31 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3lfssxws2222ohttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3lfpybuc34k2iHow big is the Palisades fire compared to where you live? This will tell you: https://calmatters.org/environment/wildfires/2025/01/la-fires-size-mapped/ For me, probably 80% of Lincoln is wiped out centering the fire on campus. Everything from far West O east past 84th Street, from Pioneers in the south to Cornhusker Highway in the north.14 Jan 2025 19:28 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3lfpybuc34k2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/mattwaite.bsky.social/post/3lf6unppovs2yThe ability to reverse engineer a shitty agency's shitty website structure so I can make obviously public data usable is not the superpower I wanted, but it's the one I got.08 Jan 2025 00:07 +0000at://did:plc:br43fpekd6yulji6pdig6cgi/app.bsky.feed.post/3lf6unppovs2y