Events

Current Activites of FCM and in the past

Media Literacy Events

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Source:  Neutrality Studies

NATIONALLY KNOWN  AUTHOR, ROBIN ANDERSEN

CONDUCTS MEDIA LITERACY EVENT AND BOOK TALK

 On August 4th  at 6:00 CST, Robin Andersen, Professor Emerita from Fordham University, New York City, and author of a dozen books and hundreds of articles on media, war, refugees, etc., will conduct a workshop on how to “Expose media lies and have fun doing it” in joint with two others in the “large meeting room” in the Plaza Branch Library, 4801 Main Street in Kansas City, Missouri.

Andersen collaborates in this workshop with Katerina Canyon, Executive Director of the Peace Economy Workshop, headquartered in St. Louis. The workshop will be moderated by Spencer Graves, President of Friends of Community Media. This workshop is designed to promote critical thinking about what appears in the media.  The public is encouraged to attend and may register with email for free at savethemedia@cs.com. The event begins with a reception at 5:30 PM.

In addition Robin Andersen will speak August 5th at 7 PM at Rainy Day Books in 2706 W 53rd Street, Fairway Kansas, on her new book, The Complicit Lens: US Media Coverage of Israel’s Genocide in Gaza (OR Books, published June 2, two months ago).

Friends of Community Media (FCM, ourfcm.org) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization based in Kansas City, whose mission includes educating citizens on the nature of the media and encouraging media to be responsive to the public. FCM also has a daily blog that examines national media from a progressive viewpoint.

Who Can Block Media Merger?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Amos Barshad, 7/13/26

Headline:  “If They Can’t Block This Merger, Can Anyone?”

Subhead:  “State attorneys general are trying to stop Paramount Skydance from merging with Warner Bros. Discovery. It’s the best shot left at preventing—or at least stalling—what seems inevitable.”

Last month, the Department of Justice officially blessed Paramount Skydance’s merger with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), praising the proposed deal for its potential to boost competition “across the media and entertainment ecosystem.” On July 13, a coalition of twelve state attorneys general, including Rob Bonta of California and Letitia James of New York, filed a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of California arguing more or less the opposite. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/if-they-cant-block-this-merger-can-anyone-paramound-skydance-warner-bros-discovery-merger-state-attorneys-general-northern-district-california.php

Paramount Acquisitions

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Article in The Hill by Sophie Brams, 6/112/26

Headline:  “Justice Department approves Paramount bid to acquire Warner Bros.”

“The Department of Justice (DOJ) has approved Paramount’s $110 billion bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, according to the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, clearing a key regulatory hurdle for the merger between the two global entertainment giants.. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/media/5922500-doj-clears-paramount-warner-deal/

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Article in Common Dreams by Brett Wilkins, 6/12/26

Headline: ” ‘This Fight Isn’t Over’: Opponents Turn to State AGs After DOJ Approves Paramount-Warner Merger”

“Now that the federal government has abandoned antitrust enforcement in favor of cronyism and runaway consolidation, state attorneys general must step in to block this deal,” said one critic. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/doj-approves-paramount-warner-merger

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Article in The Wrap by Lucas Manfredi, 6/12/26

Headline:  “Justice Department Clears Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger”

“The regulator determined that the $110 billion deal is “not likely to result in harm to competition or American consumers. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/business/paramount-warner-bros-merger-cleared-department-of-justice/

Defending ICE by Rt. Wing Media

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Article in Media Matters by Sophie Lawton, 5/29/26

Headline:  “Right-wing media defend ICE detention center amid protests over horrible living conditions”

“Right-wing media are defending the living conditions at Delaney Hall, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in New Jersey, following reports of a detainee hunger strike sparking protests outside. In addition to repeating Department of Homeland Security talking points about the conditions, media figures have attacked protesters outside the facility, claiming the demonstrations are “performance art,” among other allegations. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/right-wing-media-defend-ice-detention-center-amid-protests-over-horrible-living

Reporting More Than a Game

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Article in Reporters Without Borders by Staff, 5/28/26

Headline:  “Covering the 2026 World Cup? Prepare for more than football”

“The 2026 FIFA World Cup, taking place from June 11 to July 19, is expected to draw thousands of journalists to the United States, Mexico, and Canada to cover the world’s biggest sporting event of the year. Beyond the stadiums, fan zones, and celebrations, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges media professionals to prepare for a more complex reporting environment marked by heightened surveillance, border scrutiny, and mounting concerns about press freedom in Mexico and the US. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://rsf.org/en/covering-2026-world-cup-prepare-more-football

When is “News” Not News?

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Article in the Washington Post by Kathleen Parker, 5/22/26

Headline:  “All this ‘talent’ breaks my brain — and my heart”

Subhead:  “AI fakery is overwhelming. What will happen to human imagination?”

“. . .This brings us to fake news — though not in the way President Donald Trump would have us think. A report from Vulture cites a former executive who estimates that more than 90 percent of what’s online is advertising ‘in disguise.’ At its peak, the content distributor Floodify ran 65,000 dummy social media accounts to gin up interest in its clients, said Joe Lim, who founded the company. This meant that on a given day, Floodify posted 50,000 ads across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and X, which are all supposedly the output of everyday users. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/05/22/ai-is-creating-digital-world-fake-talent-fame/

 

No Alcohol-Reporting Allowed?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jem Bartholomew, 5/7/26

Headline:  “With Malice”

Subhead:  “Kash Patel’s FBI is going after reporters and news organizations for routine newsgathering practices.”

“. . .’Maria [Fox News], I’m happy to announce on your show that we’re not gonna take this laying down,’ Patel told Bartiromo. ‘You wanna attack my character? Come at me? Bring it on, I’ll see you in court.’ The next day, Patel’s lawyers filed a defamation lawsuit, in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking damages from The Atlantic, as well as naming Fitzpatrick in the suit. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/with-malice-kash-patel-fbi-routine-newsgathering-target-practice-atlantic.php

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Article in The Atlantic by David Graham, 5/6/26

Headline: “A Dangerous New Attack on Press Freedom”

Subhead:  “According to MS NOW, the FBI has launched an investigation into an Atlantic reporter.”

“The Trump administration’s war against freedom of the press has reached a startling new low.

According to a report this morning from MS NOW, the FBI has opened a criminal investigation focusing on my Atlantic colleague Sarah Fitzpatrick, related to an article she published last month about Director Kash Patel. Drawing on some two dozen sources, Fitzpatrick reported that people inside the administration and the bureau are deeply concerned about what they described as Patel’s unexplained absences and excessive drinking. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/05/kash-patel-fitzpatrick-fbi-investigation/687077/

Media Concerned About Cuckoos?

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Article in Media Matters by Jason Campbell, 4/14/26

Headline:  “Even some in right-wing media are now asking questions about Trump’s age and mental acuity”

“In the past few days, some right-wing media pundits have criticized 79-year-old President Donald Trump over concerns about his age and mental acuity, describing him as an ‘old man.’ The New York Times recently scrutinized Trump’s potentially diminished mental and physical capacities to serve as president, and polls indicate that a majority of the American people are growing increasingly concerned that Trump’s advanced age is causing him to be more erratic.

“Over the past two months, a growing chorus of dissident voices in right-wing media have broken with Trump over his war with the Islamic Republic of Iran. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/even-some-right-wing-media-are-now-asking-questions-about-trumps-age-and-mental-acuity