International Media

Media Covering-Up Venezuela?

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Article in The Nation by Jack Mirkinson, 1/9/26

Headline:  “The Media’s Coverage of the Venezuelan Coup Has Been Dreadful”

Subhead:  “War may be the health of state, but it’s death to honest journalism.”

“We live in a turbulent, unpredictable world. Few things feel certain. But there are some truths we can hold fast to. The sun will rise. We’ll grow older each day. And the media will bend over backward to celebrate US imperialism.

“For evidence of this, just review the past week’s coverage of President Donald Trump’s illegal abduction and overthrow of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Once the kidnapping operation swung into gear, our most prominent newsrooms obediently adopted their time-honored patterns: indulging war lust, sidestepping or downplaying the rule of law, and uncritically cheerleading yet another violent foreign intervention by the US military. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/media-venezuela-tony-dokoupil/

Rt. Wing Media Cheering

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Article in The Guardian by Margaret Sullivan, 1/8/26

Headline: “Some US media are cheerleading Trump’s Venezuela raid. That’s not their job”

Subhead: “An almost admiring feeling pervaded the early coverage – and not just among right-leaning outlets”

“If you believe the early public opinion polls, Americans are uncertain about last weekend’s raid on Venezuela and the seizure of the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro.

But many in the media seem to be trying to move that wavering needle to approval.   That’s especially true on the right, of course, where Fox News is leading a full-on cheering squad.

Even the right-leaning podcaster Megyn Kelly, a former Fox host herself, said the cable network’s early coverage was like watching Russian propaganda.”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/08/us-media-trump-venezuela-raid

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Article in Media Matters by Sophie Lawton, 1/7/26

Headline: “Greenland, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Iran, and more: After Maduro’s capture, right-wing media encourage escalating US involvement around the globe”

“Following the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, right-wing media figures are pushing for the Trump administration to next target other countries — including Colombia, Cuba, and Mexico — and even to take Greenland from Denmark, a NATO ally. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/greenland-colombia-cuba-mexico-iran-and-more-after-maduros-capture-right-wing-media

BBC Questionable Right?

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Article in Slashdot bu Sagepub, 1/2/26

Headline:  A Decade of BBC Question Time Data Reveals Imbalance in Journalist Guests

A new study [PDF] from Cardiff University analyzing a decade of the popular topical debate programme BBC Question Time found that the broadcaster’s flagship political debate show relies disproportionately on journalists and pundits from right-wing media outlets, particularly those connected to The Spectator magazine.

Researcher Matt Walsh examined 391 editions and 1,885 panellist appearances between 2014 and 2024. Journalists from right-leaning publications accounted for 59.59% of media guest slots, compared to just 16.86% for left-leaning outlets. . .”

No equivalent frequency existed for left-wing journalists. . . The BBC maintains that Question Time aims to present a “breadth of viewpoints,” but the data suggests the programme’s construction of impartiality tilts notably in one direction.

Read the full article at:

https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/01/02/1542232/a-decade-of-bbc-question-time-data-reveals-imbalance-in-journalist-guests

Killing the News

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Article in Reporters Without Borders, 12/22/25

Headline: “2025, a deadly year for journalists: this is where hate and impunity lead”

Subhead:  “Journalists do not just die – they are killed. The number of murdered journalists has risen again, due to the criminal practices of military groups — both regular and paramilitary — and organised crime. . .”

“. . .“This is where the hatred of journalists leads! It led to the death of 67 journalists this year – not by accident, and they weren’t collateral victims. They were killed, targeted for their work. It is perfectly legitimate to criticise the media — criticism should serve as a catalyst for change that ensures the survival of the free press, a public good. But it must never descend into hatred of journalists, which is largely born out of — or deliberately stoked by — the tactics of armed forces and criminal organisations. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://rsf.org/en/2025-deadly-year-journalists-where-hate-and-impunity-lead

First Amendment Threat?

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Article in Committee to Protect Journalists by Staff, 12/17/25

Headline: “CPJ: Trump’s BBC lawsuit is yet another attack on US media freedom”

“Washington, D.C., December 17, 2025— The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against British public broadcaster, the BBC, and calls on the president to stop engaging the media in lawsuits that appear to challenge the fundamentals of the First Amendment. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://cpj.org/2025/12/cpj-trumps-bbc-lawsuit-is-yet-another-attack-on-us-media-freedom/

Reporting on Violence

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 12/15/25

Headline:  “How journalists covered a weekend of mass shootings across two continents”

Subhead:  “Coverage of the Bondi Beach and Brown University attacks grappled with terror, trauma and accountability”

“The horrors continue.

“This past weekend was marred by two mass shootings — one in Australia and one in the U.S. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/shootings-brown-bondi-beach-coverage/

Lack of Accurate News Bites Back?

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Article in The Washington Post by the editorial board, 12/5/25

Headline:  “Trump’s closure of Voice of America is coming back to bite him”

Subhead:  “As the president threatens Venezuela, Russia and China are filling the information vacuum.”

“President Donald Trump has said he won’t rule out anything when it comes to removing Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro from power. Yet he is missing an important tool from the arsenal: the Voice of America.

“Since Trump’s March executive order dismantling the news agency, most of VOA’s 1,300 staff members and contractors have been fired or placed on administrative leave, its website has been frozen and the 83-year-old broadcaster has gone dark for the first time since its founding during World War II. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/12/05/venezuela-voa-voice-of-america-maduro-trump/

Credibility to Media Also Sinking?

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Article in The New Republic by Greg Sargent, 12/3/25

Headline:   “Trump Tirades at Media Darken as MAGA Bloodlust on Bombings Boils Over”

Subhead:  “As Trump and MAGA hit new levels of depravity on his boat bombings and anti-immigrant crackdown, the writer of a piece connecting these dots discusses the centrality of sadism to Trump-MAGA politics.”

“. . .Trump just unleashed a hateful rant to the media about Somali immigrants to set the stage for a coming campaign to arrest them en masse. Meanwhile, MAGA excitement over the Caribbean Sea bombings is spiking: Pete Hegseth tweeted out a deeply sadistic cartoon celebrating these extrajudicial killings. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/203887/trump-seethes-darkly-media-maga-bloodlust-bombings-boils

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz & Rob Savillo, 12/2/25

Headline:  “Scrounging for a Hegseth defense, right-wing commentators seize on NY Times report”

Subhead:  “Hegseth’s supporters split hairs over his culpability”

“Right-wing commentators have seized upon a New York Times report on the U.S. military’s September 2 extrajudicial killing of 11 people on board a boat the Trump administration alleged was carrying drugs in the Caribbean, claiming that the article ‘DEBUNKED’ a previous Washington Post report that triggered congressional scrutiny over potential war crimes. But the Times actually confirmed, rather than undermined, the Post’s account. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/pete-hegseth/scrounging-hegseth-defense-right-wing-commentators-seize-ny-times-report

Community Radio Through Difficulties

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Article in Reporters Without Borders by Staff 11/28/25

Headline:  “RSF documentary “Community Radios: The Fight to Keep the Sahel Informed” now available on Arte”

“As of 27 November, the Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) documentary titled, ‘Community Radios: The Fight to Keep the Sahel Informed’ , will be available to watch on Arte, the Franco-German public service television channel. Through a series of interviews with directors of three community radios in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, the film reveals the challenges faced by journalists operating in a deteriorating security situation. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://rsf.org/en/rsf-documentary-community-radios-fight-keep-sahel-informed-now-available-arte

Wait! Aren’t Media Always Correct?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Carolina Abbott Galvão, 11/26/25

Headline:  “Could Public Skepticism of the Press Actually Be Good for Democracy?”

Subhead:  “An expert on political communication explains how Argentina’s history of public lying created a protective barrier between citizens and information, and how distrust can help fight autocracy.”

“. . .the authors of The Patina of Distrust, a new book that explores how people interpret misinformation, argue that that perspective overlooks a crucial piece of the puzzle. Basing their findings on extensive research conducted in the wake of Argentina’s 2019 elections, they conclude that news consumers are less susceptible to falsehood than we might anticipate. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the-interview/public-skepticism-press-good-thing-patina-distrust-argentina-eugenia-mitchelstein.php