At the start of January, Jon Allsop, chief writer of Columbia Journalism Review’s newsletter, The Media Today, tuned back into the news after a two-month hiatus. On this week’s Kicker, Allsop discusses what he found upon his return: a “ghostland” of a Twitter feed and a keen awareness of the “trivial” nature of the news cycle. In conversation with Kyle Pope, CJR’s editor and publisher, Allsop also talks about what media trends he’ll be monitoring in the new year. Other CJR staffers – Pesha Magid, a Delacorte fellow; Mathew Ingram, CJR’s chief digital writer; and Amanda Darrach, a contributing producer – discuss the media issues they’re watching in a round-robin discussion with Pope. Subscribe to The Media Today newsletter at cjr.org/email