Monday Open Thread [7.22.13]

You’ve probably heard that Nate Silver and FiveThirtyEight are leaving the NYT and going to ESPN/ABC. This deal will give him a chance to expand his franchise, it seems, but I just care about the political modeling, really. I’ll maintain a subscription to the NYT for his work, but won’t be getting cable to keep up with it, so do hope that the website is still the centerpiece of his work. TPM quotes Political (of all people) on why Nate left:

BEHIND THE CURTAIN – COURTING NATE SILVER: The battle for data whiz Nate Silver, fought secretly and aggressively by several of the nation’s top news executives for the better part of a year, was won by ESPN and ABC News (both part of The Walt Disney Company) after the 35-year-old was promised extensive air time, a role in the Oscars (airing on ABC through at least 2020), and a digital empire that may include websites devoted to weather, education, economics and other topics. When it came to money, Silver was aggressive but not greedy, according to people familiar with the negotiations. Instead, he was focused on how he could expand the franchise he had built around FiveThirtyEight(the total number of electoral votes). FiveThirtyEight.com began as a standalone blog in 2008, and became part of NYTimes.com in 2010 as part of a three-year licensing agreement that ends next month.

The UK used to be fairly aggressive about prosecuting gay men under their anti-homosexuality laws. Brilliant mathematician and Enigma codebreaker Alan Turing was one who had been prosecuted and convicted for gross indecency. Then he was sent to jail and subject to chemical castration and subsequently hung himself in his cell. It is looking like the UK government will posthumously pardon Turning, which, of course, doesn’t do much to right the wrong done to Turing. Perhaps this counts as an acknowledgement that the UK government was wrong to persecute its gay citizens this way.

And White House reporting icon Helen Thomas died on Saturday at age 92. She had one of the best seats to witness history when she wasn’t making it herself. It didn’t matter what President she was questioning, she always seemed focused and asked aggressive followups mainly (in my memory, at least) looking to probe the intersection of policy and politics — not minding in the least that she made her targets very uncomfortable. Rest in peace, Helen.

What interests you today?