New FCC Head Proposed

Article in Slashdot by Msmash, 11/18/24

Headline:  “Trunp Picks Carr to Head FFC to Fight ‘Censorship’ Cartel’ ”

“Donald Trump has named FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr to chair the U.S. communications regulator when he takes office in January 2025, citing Carr’s stance against what Trump called ‘regulatory lawfare.’ Carr, a lawyer and longtime Republican who has served at the FCC under both Trump and Biden administrations, has emerged as a vocal critic of major social media companies’ content moderation practices.

” ‘Humbled and honored’ by the appointment, Carr pledged on X to ‘dismantle the censorship cartel.’ As the FCC’s senior Republican commissioner, Carr has advocated for stricter oversight of technology companies, pushing for transparency rules on platforms like Google and Facebook.”

https://news.slashdot.org/story/24/11/18/1445208/trump-picks-carr-to-head-fcc-with-pledge-to-fight-censorship-cartel

Looking for White House Job? Apply at Fox News

Watch your chickens!

Article in Media Matters Written by Media Matters Staff, 11/18/24

Headline:  “Donald Trump is using Fox News as a staffing agency”: Matt Gertz discusses with On The Media the revolving door between Fox and the second Trump administration”

“GERTZ: This is how Trump gets his news. This is how his worldview is changed. It’s one segment at a time.

“GLADSTONE: He has a certain set of skills, certainly as a Fox News host, right? But secretary of defense needs a different set of skills.

“GERTZ: Right. The set of skills that you need for being a Fox News host is understanding how to push the buttons of the MAGA faithful. And the way that Fox hosts traditionally do that is by making those viewers afraid, making those viewers angry.

“GLADSTONE: You’ve also noticed that this revolving door also works the other way. Several Trump staffers signed on with Fox News after Trump left office.

“GERTZ: During or after his term, yes. Tom Homan was previously the head of ICE. After he retired from ICE in summer of 2018, he got a job at Fox News. He would denounce Democrats for standing against Trump’s border policies. He would call for evermore draconian measures. He would say the things that Donald Trump wanted to hear.”

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/donald-trump-using-fox-news-staffing-agency-matt-gertz-discusses-media-revolving-door

 

More Media Abandon X


Article in Common Dreams by Olivia Rosane, 11/15/24

Headline:  “Major Media Reform Group Says Goodbye to Musk’s ‘Toxic Twitter'”

Subhead:  “It’s clear that X will not correct course under Musk’s leadership, and it’s time for Free Press to exit.”

“Media watchdog Free Press announced on Thursday that it would leave the social media platform formerly known as Twitter over concerns about owner Elon Musk’s platforming of hateful speech, fostering an increase of disinformation, and his intensifying harassment of critics

“In doing so, the advocacy group joined the more than 100,000 U.S. users who have abandoned Musk’s X following Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election last week. Musk aggressively used the site to boost Trump and his campaign, promoting him with tweets worth $24 million and spreading disinformation about the Democratic Party and the integrity of U.S. voting infrastructure.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/free-press-leaves-toxic-twitter

Traditional Media vs. Social Media


Article in Mediaite by Zachary Leeman , 11/19/24

Headline:   “Morning Joe’s Mike Barnicle Fears for Cable News After Social Media Poll: ‘I Don’t Know How We Make Ourselves Relevant Again’ “

“Barnicle admitted he doesn’t have a clue how cable news and mainstream media can compete with quick snippets on social media.

“ ‘I don’t know how we make ourselves relevant again because we can’t compete with 20 second snippets on an iPhone, walking up the street and getting your entire news digest of the day in less than a minute on your phone as you’re walking in a crowd with coffee in one hand and your phone in the other. I don’t know how we catch up to that,’ he said.”

https://www.mediaite.com/media/morning-joes-mike-barnicle-fears-for-cable-news-after-social-media-poll-i-dont-know-how-we-make-ourselves-relevant-again/

Media Group in India Sues OpenAI


Posted in Slashdot by msmash on Tuesday 1/19/024

Headline:  “Indian News Agency Sues OpenAI Alleging Copyright Infringement (techcrunch.com)”

“One of India’s largest news agencies, Asian News International, has sued OpenAI in a case that could set a precedent for how AI companies use copyrighted news content in the world’s most populous nation.

“From a report: Asian News International filed a 287-page lawsuit in the Delhi High Court on Monday, alleging the AI company illegally used its content to train its AI models and generated false information attributed to the news agency. The case marks the first time an Indian media organization has taken legal action against OpenAI over copyright claims.”

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/24/11/19/1718229/indian-news-agency-sues-openai-alleging-copyright-infringement

Journalism Difficult in Venezuela


Article in Citizens to Protect Journalists, 11/19/24

Headline:  “CPJ, partners document Venezuela’s intensified repression of journalists in new report”

“Venezuela has seen a sharp rise in journalist repression following the disputed July 28 reelection of President Nicolás Maduro amid fraud allegations, according to a new report published by the Committee to Protect Journalists with seven other press freedom groups.

“The report details a heightened environment of fear, stigmatization, and criminalization of independent voices, creating ‘news deserts’ where millions of Venezuelans lack access to reliable local news. From July 1 to August 28, 2024, six journalists have been detained, with four facing charges of terrorism and incitement to hatred under the 2017 Law Against Hate.”

https://cpj.org/2024/11/cpj-partners-document-venezuelas-intensified-repression-of-journalists-in-new-report/

Media Properly Acknowledge the Leader

Article in Mediaite by Colby Hall, 11’18’24

Headline:  “Bitterly Divided Mediasphere Unites To Destroy Joe and Mika Meeting With Trump: ‘Annals of Shamelessness…’ “

Subhead:  “The most vocal critiques came from Trump’s most loyal media surrogates and past advisors:”

“The political media ecosphere has been bitterly divided over Donald Trump, but an effort by Morning Joe’s co-hosts to bridge the divide and ‘restart communications’ has ushered in a harmonic convergence of the chattering class, though not in the manner Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski may have intended.”

“. . . the stated goal of the MSNBC morning show hosts as “time for a new approach” was viewed less laudably by nattering nabobs. Instead, it was derided as evidence that Scarborough and Brzezinski seemed to not believe in the conviction of their previous criticisms. The criticism came from provocateurs and thought leaders from both ends of the political spectrum.”

https://www.mediaite.com/news/bitterly-divided-mediasphere-unites-to-destroy-joe-and-mika-meeting-with-trump-annals-of-shamelessness/

——————————————–

Article in The Hill by Dominick Mastrangelo, 11/18/24

Headline:  ” ‘Morning Joe’ Scarborough, Brzezinski say they traveled to Mar-a-Lago to meet Trump”

Headline:  “Nikki Haley says ‘Morning Joe’ hosts met Trump for ratings “

“Former GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley suggested Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, co-hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” met with President-elect Trump at Mar-a-Lago as a ploy to maintaining ratings.

“Let’s be clear, Joe and Mika didn’t suddenly see the light, they saw their ratings,” Haley wrote on the social platform X on Monday. “They realized they needed Trump for their survival.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/4995692-morning-joe-scarborough-brzezinski-say-they-traveled-to-mar-a-lago-to-meet-trump/

——————————————–

Article in Huff Post by Graeme Demianyk, 11/18/24

Headline:  “JOE & MIKA KISS THE RING AT MAR-A-LAGO!AT MAR-A-LAGO!
… BUT CLAIM THEY WON’T ‘NORMALIZE’ TRUMP”

“In a prepared monologue on their Monday show, Brzezinski explained they decided to reach out to Trump’s team to see if they could have “the opportunity to speak with the president-elect” after being dismayed by his Cabinet picks.”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/morning-joe-trump-scarborough-mika-brzezinski_n_673b4621e4b0f7e185133c89

 

Where People Get Their Fake News


Article on AP by Haleluya Hadero, 11/18/24

Headline:  “About 20% of Americans regularly get their news from influencers on social media, report says”

About one in five Americans – and a virtually identical share of Republicans and Democrats – regularly get their news from digital influencers who are more likely to be found on the social media platform X, according to a report released Monday by the Pew Research Center.

The findings, drawn from a survey of more than 10,000 U.S. adults and an analysis of social media posts posted this summer by influencers, provide an indication of how Americans consumed the news during the height of the U.S. presidential campaign that President-elect Donald Trump ultimately won.

https://apnews.com/article/influencers-election-trump-harris-news-eacd42bce73d6e11cbc760caf28c993a

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Article in The Hill by Joanne Haner

Headline:  “1 in 5 get news from social media influencers: Pew poll “

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/4996144-news-influencers-social-media/

Media Using Facts Too Liberal?


Article in The Washington Post by Megan McArdle, 11/18/24

Headline:  “Opinion Liberal media bias is hurting Democrats. Really.”

Subhead:  “Diminishing trust in media shows Democrats should not rely on friendly referees.”

“Democrats got good at working friendly media refs in the era when most voters got their political news from three networks, one or two local papers and a handful of political magazines. But the old gatekeepers no longer have those monopolies; now they control access to a much smaller walled garden, full of nice liberals talking to each other. Outside, the messages they don’t want to hear are racing through the untamed jungle of new media: podcasts, YouTube streams and social media sites.

“The gatekeepers know this, hence all the complaints about ‘misinformation’ and ‘disinformation.’ Unfortunately, the only people who can hear their denunciations are the folks at the garden party.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/11/18/media-bias-democrats-harris/

More of the Incredible Shrinking Media


Article in The Guardian by Anna Betts, 11/18/24

Associated Press to cut 8% of staff through layoffs and buyouts

Agency president says fewer than half of cuts should affect news division as 121 people reportedly given buyout offers

“The Associated Press announced on Monday that it plans to reduce its workforce by 8% through a combination of voluntary buyouts and layoffs.

“In an internal email obtained by the Guardian, AP’s president, Daisy Veerasingham, informed staff that adapting to industry challenges requires “making some difficult changes so we can invest more fully in our future”.

” ‘We all know this is a time of transformation in the media sector,’ the email said. “Our customers – both who they are and what they need from us – are changing rapidly.”

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/nov/18/associated-press-layoffs