Student Journalists Under Threat?


Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Meghnad Bose, 5/6/25

Headline:  “A Student Journalist Covered a Pro-Palestine Protest. Soon, Her Graduation Came Under Threat.”

Subhead:  “A botched challenge to press freedom at Columbia University’s Barnard College.”

“. . .In early April, Georgia Dillane, a Barnard senior who works at WKCR, Columbia’s radio station, got a “fact-finding” email from Barnard’s Community Accountability, Response, and Emergency Services (CARES) that would eventually place her graduation under threat.”

“. . .Gary Maroni, the director of CARES, had written to each of them requesting a meeting ‘to provide any information you would like to share, including information that refutes any suggestion that you were involved, are a witness, or have information about this incident’ . . .”

“Dillane, Gamble, and the rest of the WKCR team were taken aback. “There would potentially be questions about what I knew as a journalist having an ear to what was going on, and they would try to extract that from me,” Dillane said. She didn’t want to violate journalistic ethics, or her sources’ trust. “I owe it to those that I report for, WKCR and its listeners, to be honest, truthful, and objective,” she said. “To pander to the calls of the administration to extract information to then target students is not something that I feel morally aligned with. . .”

https://www.cjr.org/news/student-journalist-columbia-covered-a-pro-palestine-protest-graduation-under-threat.php

Influential Media Empire at Stake


Article in AP by Staff, 4/6/25

Headline:  “Nevada hearing may give first public view into legal spat over control of Murdoch media empir

“A hearing Wednesday before Nevada’s high court could provide the first public window into a secretive legal dispute over who will control Rupert Murdoch’s powerful media empire after he dies.

“The case has been unfolding behind closed doors in state court in Reno, with most documents under seal. But reporting by The New York Times, which said it obtained some of the documents, revealed Murdoch’s efforts to keep just one of his sons, Lachlan, in charge and ensure that Fox News maintains its conservative editorial slant.

“Media outlets including the Times and The Associated Press are now asking the Nevada Supreme Court to unseal the case and make future hearings public. The court is scheduled to hear arguments in the afternoon in Carson City, the capital. . .”

“Murdoch’s media empire, which also includes The Wall Street Journal and New York Post, spans continents and helped to shape modern American politics. Lachlan Murdoch has been the head of Fox News and News Corp. since his father stepped down in 2023.”

https://apnews.com/article/rupert-murdoch-media-empire-family-trust-nevada-a36b4a453630f8848d5d4282e813e94d

Happy World Press Freedom Day!


Article in The Guardian by Michael Savage, 5/3/25

Headline:  ” ‘A cocktail for a misinformed world’: why China and Russia are cheering Trump’s attacks on media”

Subhead:  “Today on World Press Freedom Day, there are warnings that US attempts to withdraw from promoting independent journalism will have far-reaching effects”

“As Donald Trump’s executive order in March led to the shuttering of Voice of America (VOA) – the global broadcaster whose roots date back to the fight against Nazi propaganda – he quickly attracted support from figures not used to aligning themselves with any US administration.

“Trump had ordered the US Agency for Global Media, the federal agency that funds VOA and other groups promoting independent journalism overseas, to be ‘eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law’. The decision suddenly halted programming in 49 languages to more than 425 million people. . .”

“It used to be that the US would put pressure on other countries for undermining free expression. . .”

“In Moscow, Margarita Simonyan, the hardline editor-in-chief of the state broadcaster RT described it as an “awesome decision”. The Global Times, an English-language Chinese state media publication, crowed that the broadcasters had been discarded by the White House “like a dirty rag”, ending their “propaganda poison’ ”

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/ng-interactive/2025/may/03/a-cocktail-for-a-misinformed-world-why-china-and-russia-are-cheering-trumps-attacks-on-us-media

Foxhole Safe Space for Incoming-Media


Article in Media Matters by Harrison Ray & Isanella Sherk, 5/1/25

Headline:  “Key Trump officials appeared more than 500 times on Fox networks in the first 100 days of his presidency”

Subhead:  Fox networks remain a safe space for administration figures”

“Key Trump administration officials appeared on Fox networks over 500 times in his first 100 days in office. President Donald Trump’s “border czar” Thomas Homan led all officials with at least 59 appearances while Fox News’ Hannity led all shows with 71 interviews.

“Trump officials appeared on Fox networks on 96 of the administration’s first 100 days. The number of daily appearances by key officials was highest on both February 3, following Trump’s announcement of his first set of tariffs, and March 4, seemingly to prime the Fox audience for his congressional address that evening, with at least 13 appearances on each day. . .”

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/key-trump-officials-appeared-more-500-times-fox-networks-first-100-days-his-presidency

NPR – Warm, Fuzzy Treatment?


Article in Fair by Julie Hollar, 5/2/25

Headline: “Hey NPR, Free Speech Isn’t Just a Vibe”

Green Card–holding students are being abducted from the streets by agents of the state for attending protests and writing op-eds. News outlets are being investigated by the FCC for reporting that displeases the president. Federal web pages are being scrubbed of a lengthy list of words, including ‘race,’ ‘transgender,’ ‘women’ and ‘climate.’

NPR responded to this shocking government attack on free speech with a Morning Edition series on ‘The State of the First Amendment,’ whose introductory episode’s headline (4/7/25) declared freedom of speech to be ‘shifting under the Trump administration’; it promised that the show would be ‘exploring how.’

“The wishy-washy language wasn’t a promising start, and the segment only went downhill from there, taking an ‘on the one hand/on the other hand’ framing to an assault on core democratic rights. . .”

https://fair.org/home/hey-npr-free-speech-isnt-just-a-vibe/

Another Hit to the Media


Article in The Guardian by Margaret Sullivan, 5/1/25

Headline:  “The loss of editorial freedom at 60 Minutes is a sorry milestone for US media”

Subhead:  “What has happened with 60 Minutes is a high-octane version of what’s happening everywhere in Trump 2.0″

“There have been so many red alerts for press freedom in the United States over the past few months that it can be hard to know which ones really matter.

“The one at CBS’s 60 Minutes really matters.

“It came as a one-two punch. First, Bill Owens, the highly respected executive producer of the venerable news show stepped down, writing in a letter to employees that he no longer felt he had crucial editorial independence. It had become clear, he wrote, “that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it”.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/01/60-minutes-press-freedom

PBS is Subversive?


Article in Mediaite by Michael Luciano, 4/30/25

Headline:  ” ‘Ok, But Sesame Street?’ Jake Tapper Taken Aback When House Republican Likens PBS to North Korean Media”

“CNN’s Jake Tapper sparred with Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) over funding for PBS, which the lawmaker compared to state-sponsored propaganda à la China and North Korea.

“Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has said he is looking to eliminate funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which administers PBS and NPR, and receives about $500 million a year from Congress. The CPB is also funded by individual donors, grants, and sponsorships. Still, a loss of federal funding would be the biggest hit to PBS since Larry David attacked Elmo on live television last year.. . .”

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/ok-but-sesame-street-jake-tapper-taken-aback-when-house-republican-likens-pbs-to-north-korean-media/

Don’t like News-Channel Polls?

Article in The Hill by Dominick Mastrangelo, 4/29/25

Headline:  “Stephen Miller tells Fox News anchor on air: Fire your pollster “

“Top White House aide Stephen Miller told Fox News anchor John Roberts that the network should fire its polling team during a live interview on Tuesday.

“After Roberts laid out a Fox News poll for Miller showing President Trump getting higher marks on issues like immigration and the border than on the economy and tariffs, he asked Miller point blank: “A lot of people think he’s spending too much time on tariffs and not enough time on the economy and lowering prices. What do you say?”

“ ‘I don’t want to make things weird for you, John,’ Miller responded. ‘But it is our opinion that Fox News needs to fire its pollster. And I won’t surprise you with that … but the Fox News pollster has always been wrong about President Trump.’ . . .”

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5273148-stephen-miller-fox-news-trump-polls/

Rt. Wing Media Women


Article in The Guardian by Anna Silman, 4/25/25

Headline:  “Now comes the ‘womanosphere’: the anti-feminist media telling women to be thin, fertile and Republican”

Subhead:  “A crop of conservative personalities such as Brett Cooper and Candace Owens, and outlets like Evie, are convincing young women of a gender-essentialist worldview”

“Analyses of the 2024 election widely heralded the ‘manosphere’ – the coalition of bro podcasters and YouTubers popular with male audiences – as key to delivering Donald Trump’s victory. According to an AP poll, 56% of men under age 30 went for Trump compared with 41% four years prior. . .”

“Now, there are the beginnings of an organized effort to create a similar alternative rightwing media ecosystem targeting young female US audiences – one of the few demographics that has, until now, leaned substantially Democratic.

“This new ‘womanosphere’ includes (Brett) Cooper’s channel as well as lifestyle magazines like the Conservateur and Evie, Candace Owens’s Club Candace, Alex Clark’s Maha (‘Make America Healthy Again’) talkshow Culture Apothecary, conservative Christian influencer Allie Beth Stuckey’s Relatable, and swimmer turned anti-transgender activist Riley Gaines’s podcast Gaines For Girls. . . . the female answer to Tate. . .”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/24/womanosphere-conservative-women

60 Minutes CBS Shame?


Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 4/23/25

Headline:  “The Shaming of Shari”

Subhead:  “The public shaming of Shari Redstone has been swift and scathing—but inside CBS News, the fury is even more pronounced, as staffers blame her for undermining the crown jewel of American TV journalism.”

“On Wednesday morning, Shari Redstone found herself at the center of a media firestorm. The unyielding heiress who controls Paramount Global—and, by extension, CBS News – was the target of one of the most brutal headlines in recent memory. The Drudge Report, still an influential force in the world of media, ran a stark image of Redstone above a brutal banner headline: ‘WOMAN WHO DESTROYED CBSNEWS.’ Below it, the accusations piled on: ‘REDSTONE GREED ENDING LEGACY?’  ’60 MINUTES’ SACRIFICED FOR SALE.’ ‘FREE SPEECH BATTLE OVER TRUTH’ ”

“It wasn’t an anomaly. Over the past 24 hours, Redstone has been subjected to a remarkable public shaming. Jake Tapper delivered a stinging on-air report, asserting that in her ‘quest to sell the company,’ it’s clear she will ‘bow to presidential pressure.’. . .”

https://www.status.news/p/shari-redstone-60-minutes-cbs-news