Trying to Hide From Media

Article in the Daily Beast by Catherine Bouris, 6/17/25

Headline:  “Mike Lee Flees Questions About Deranged Assassin Tweet”

Subhead:  “The Utah senator was captured running from NBC journalists asking about his claim that Vance Boelter was a ‘Marxist.’ “

“Republican Sen. Mike Lee was caught fleeing from media questions about his inflammatory posts on the senseless murder of Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman.

“Over the weekend, the Utah senator posted a photo of Boelter in a latex mask, adding the caption, ‘This is what happens… When Marxists don’t get their way.’ The backlash was swift, with many pointing at the copious amount of evidence that suggests Boelter was a conservative.

“Now, a journalist for NBC News has shared a video of Lee running from questions about his post, including whether or not he regrets the tweet. Instead of answering, Lee and his staffers quickly walk away from the cameras, with one staffer attempting to cover the camera with his iPad. . .”

Read teh full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/mike-lee-flees-from-media-questions-about-his-marxist-assassin-tweet/

FCC Being Blown Up?


Article in Free Press, press release by Staff, 6/17/25

Headline:  “Senate Confirmation of Olivia Trusty Paves a Path for Trump’s Campaign to Control the Media”

Subhead:  “Her confirmation gives the FCC the Republican majority Chairman Carr needs to carry out the president’s dangerous agenda”

“WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate confirmed Olivia Trusty as a commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission. Trusty previously served as a top congressional staffer for Sen. Roger Wicker and Rep. Bob Latta, both Republicans.

“Upon her swearing in, Trusty will be the third member of the five-person Commission, with two recently created vacancies remaining. Her arrival will give FCC Chairman Brendan Carr a 2–1 Republican majority, likely allowing him to advance a number of controversial initiatives . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/senate-confirms-olivia-trusty-fcc-paves-path-trump-control-media

Still Attacking Media


Article in Poynter by Editorial Staff, 6/17/25

Headline:  “Opinion | 10 years of Trump, 10 years of media attacks”

Subhead:  “Donald Trump has turned phrases like ‘fake news’ and ‘enemy of the people’ into rallying cries to undermine the free press”

“It was 10 years ago Monday that Donald Trump rode down his golden escalator and announced that he was running for president. . .”

“But the world and our country — and the media — have definitely changed. . .”

“Among Blake’s items is “The decline of truth.” Blake writes, “At this point, Trump’s falsehoods often aren’t even treated as news. And that’s because, strictly speaking, they’re not new. He spouted more than 30,000 false and misleading claims in his first term, according to The Washington Post. That averages out to nearly one every hour for four years. And it hasn’t stopped. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/decade-donald-trump-fight-free-press/

Media Hoodwinked?


Article in Daily Kos by Bison 6/17/25

Headline:  “Let’s Not Be Hoodwinked Again by the Media on Trump’s G7 Debacle”

Subhead:  “The Media’s Silence on Trump’s G7 Embarrassment”

“I’m up far too early, listening to the news—and once again, the media is dancing around the truth. Donald Trump was laughed out of the G7. Full stop. He showed up with nothing—no substance, no strategy—just the same tired campaign slogans and his worn-out call to let Russia back into the G7, all of which fell flat with world leaders who’ve grown weary of the act. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/6/17/2328510/-Let-s-Not-Be-Hoodwinked-Again-by-the-Media-on-Trump-s-G7-Debacle

Iran and the Media


Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jon Alsop, 6/17/25

Headline:  “Strikes on Iran Reverberate Through the Media”

Subhead:  “In Iran, Israel hit a state broadcaster. In the US, MAGA media is at war about war.”

“Yesterday, Sahar Emami, an anchor on Iran’s state broadcaster, was on air in a studio covering Israeli strikes on the country—the fourth day of missiles flying back and forth between the two powers since Israel launched a massive attack on Iran’s nuclear program. ‘Listen, what you hear is the sound of the aggressor,’ Emami said. ‘You hear the sound of the aggressor attacking the truth.’ Suddenly, an almighty sound could be heard on the broadcast; Emami quickly stood up and walked off-set as the studio shook, fragments of debris fluttered down, and a whirl of smoke passed across the camera. Israel, it transpired, had struck the building.

“Iran’s state media is indeed a mouthpiece, but US press-freedom groups nonetheless condemned the strike.  . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/iran-israel-nuclear-deal-trump-framing-farsi-voa.php

Getting News from Social Media


Article in The Guardian by Michael Savage, 6/16/25

Headline:  “Social media overtakes TV as main source of news in US, analysis finds”

Subhead:  “Global study shows 54% of Americans receive news from social media, while the UK has highest proportion of news avoiders at 46%”

“Social media has overtaken television as a source of news in the US for the first time, according to a comprehensive analysis of media consumption confirming the rapid rise of “news influencers”.

“In a watershed moment for the US media, 54% of Americans said they received news from social media, according to the research carried out after President Trump’s second inauguration. Half said they sourced news from the once all-powerful TV networks. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/jun/17/social-media-overtakes-tv-as-main-source-of-news-in-us-analysis-finds

– – – – –

Article in Poynter by Angela Fu, 6/16/25

Headline:  “Americans turn to social media and video for news more than any other source”

Subhead:  “A new Reuters Institute report also found that 7% of Americans use AI chatbots to access news”

“Social media and video networks have overtaken television to become the most widely used source of news among Americans, according to a new Reuters Institute report.

“In a survey conducted at the end of January and beginning of February, 54% of Americans said they had accessed news via social and video networks within the past week. TV and online news sites were the next most common sources, with roughly half of respondents saying they had gotten news from those media. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2025/where-do-americans-get-news/

Media History Repeated?


Article in Columbia Journalism Review by John Alsop, 6/16/25

Headline:  “The Other Echoes of 2020”

Subhead:  “How this media moment mirrors the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing, beyond police attacks on the press.”

Last week, I wrote in this newsletter about attacks, mostly perpetrated by law enforcement, on journalists covering the protests that followed the recent immigration raids in Los Angeles, and how they echoed the summer of 2020, when police assaulted journalists covering the protests that followed the murder of George Floyd: an Australian TV reporter was hit while talking to camera, which also happened in 2020; ditto the on-air detention of a CNN correspondent; as of last Monday, the US Press Freedom Tracker was working to document at least twenty-six anti-press incidents in LA . . . As last week progressed, the echoes continued: the confirmed number of injured Australian journalists alone jumped to three; an LA police officer was caught on camera shoving and screaming at an ABC journalist; as of Friday, the Press Freedom Tracker was working to document at least fifty anti-press incidents.  . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/other-echoes-2020-floyd-padilla-australia.php

Rightist Propaganda Blames Commies


Article in Daily Kos by Bill Berkowitz, 6/15/25

Headline:  “During Run-Up to ‘No Kings,’ Right-Wing Media Called It an Orchestrated Marxist Elite-Driven Event”

“During the run-up to ‘No Kings,’ Donald Trump’s Christian Right supporters and media outlets, armed with just about every tired trope in their hate-filled arsenal, unloaded on the upcoming demonstrations. ‘USA Today Network Goes Full Commie-Promotes Marxist Riots,’ was the headline at Richard Viguerie’s Conservative HQ. The media outlet described ‘No Kings’ as a coordinated effort by ‘Marxist’ organizations, paid for by George Soros, to attack the Trump administration.

“Phil Hotsenpiller, who founded American Faith after Trump was defeated in the 2020 election, warned of the ‘disturbing agenda’ of the No Kings rallies: ‘to crush Donald Trump’s influence, undermine constitutional authority, and destabilize American sovereignty’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/6/16/2328395/-During-Run-Up-to-No-Kings-Right-Wing-Media-Called-It-an-Orchestrated-Marxist-Elite-Driven-Event?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

No Coverage for Disasters?


Article in Indian Country Today by Annie Rosenthal and Chad Bradley, 6/16/25

Headline:  “What defunding public media would mean for the West”

Subhead: “Data show that rural, tribal and Western stations would be most impacted by the Trump administration’s attempt to cut funding for the Center for Public Broadcasting. “

“Late last fall, members of Bethel, Alaska’s search and rescue team met at the local public radio station, KYUK, for a program called River Watch. Over an hour and a half, they took calls from listeners around the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, comparing notes on the safety of the ice at different points along the Kuskokwim River. . .”

“He wanted to warn listeners in other towns: “There is no trail right now. None of the open water is marked. So it’s advised not to be traveling back and forth from Aniak.”

KYUK is the only daily news source for the region, which is roughly the size of Oregon, and River Watch is a staple of its programming. . .”

Read the full article at:  

https://ictnews.org/news/what-defunding-public-media-would-mean-for-the-west/

Media are Changing


Article in Daily Kos by Muriel Vieux, 6/16/25

Headline:  “Media’s changing landscape”

“One of the good things happening in our media landscape today that has been interesting to observe, is seeing anchors that have been fired or let go from mainstream media, creating their own YouTube or other streaming media services, and it’s their transformation that is interesting to watch.

“Those anchors that I use to yell at on my screen, to effing pick a lane, to stop flip-flopping seem to have found their footing and that tells me a lot (more) about how anchors are constrained when it comes to main stream media. Not only are their stances clearer, but their personalities are also punching through now that they don’t have to restrict themselves. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/6/16/2328404/-Media-s-changing-landscape?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web