Internet Media

His Enemy, The Media

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Article in Reporters Without Borders by Partager, 10/18/25

Headline:  “Elon Musk attacks the media nearly three times per day on X”

Subhead:  “As the third anniversary of Twitter’s takeover by Elon Musk approaches — the social media platform was purchased on 28 October 2022 and renamed X — Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is releasing the findings from its analysis of the tech billionaire’s X. .”

” ‘The New York Times is pure propaganda.’ ‘Legacy media lies.’ ‘You are the media now.’ These are just a few examples of the anti-press rhetoric found in the 1,017 posts from Elon Musk’s X account — which has over 227 million followers — that RSF analysed, which comes to an average of nearly three attacks on the media per day. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://rsf.org/en/elon-musk-attacks-media-nearly-three-times-day-x

The Talking-Rings Took Over

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(From The Time Machine, 1960)

Article in The Washington Post by George Will. 10/17/25

Headline: “What killed print media — and what died with it”

“The waning of newsprint is about cultural changes more momentous than digital publishing’s arrival.”

“. . .Mir [a Canadian media ecologist] says ‘the last newspaper generation’ was born in the early 1980s. It came of age as the internet did. Soon journalism stopped being about informing people to make them citizens, and began to be about making them agitated.

“The new business model depends on polarization, amplifying readers’ irritations and frustrations. ‘A newspaper,’ wrote Vladimir Lenin, ‘is not only a collective propagandist and a collective agitator, but also a collective organiser.’

“ ‘Americans,’ Mir says, ‘consume media 12 hours per day. . .”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/10/17/trump-internet-news-media-newspapers/

Fake Media Experts?

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Article in Mediaite by Alex Griffing, 110’3’25

Headline:  “Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson’s Conspiracy Theories Totally Wreck the Credibility That Alternative Media is Trying to Gain”

“. . .As traditional media continues to shed viewers and more and more Americans, especially young people, tune into podcasts and scroll social media for their news, the likes of Owens and Carlson are shaping the discourse more than ever. Unfortunately, much of their content is utter and total nonsense, and leans into age-old stereotypes and bigotry to grab headlines and remain provocative. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/opinion/candace-owens-and-tucker-carlsons-loony-conspiracy-theories-totally-wreck-the-credibility-that-alternative-media-is-trying-to-gain/

 

Media Resistance?

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Article in The Guardian by Rachel Leingang, 10/5/25

Headline:   “How two blond suburban moms gave Democrats an answer to the rightwing media ecosystem”

“. . .Jennifer Welch and Angie ‘Pumps’ Sullivan have risen up the podcast charts, buoyed by Democrats looking to commiserate and find their party’s answer to the bro-filled atmosphere that helped propel Trump’s victory in 2024. . .”

“In early episodes, listeners wrote in to tell them to stay out of politics and use fewer swear words .  . .In turn, they started talking about politics more and more. They dropped the ‘dead weight’ of people who only came for entertainment, Welch said.

“ ‘And it turns out, when you believe in something and you defend it vigorously, some people are going to dislike you for your beliefs, and that’s fine, but the people who like you, that turns into love, and you create a community,’ she said.”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/oct/05/ive-had-it-podcast-democrats-liberals

Clock is Ticking

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones and Nicole Slaughter Graham, 9/26/25

headline: “Opinion | A TikTok deal ticks closer to done

Subhead: “The deal would keep TikTok alive in the U.S. — but raises questions about who will shape what millions of young users see.”

“After months of delays and extended deadlines, it appears a deal that would allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States on a permanent basis is in its final stages.

That’s good. And, well, maybe not so good. . .”

“Aside from being able to say he ‘saved’ TikTok, he has other reasons to see that this deal goes through. Among the potential investors are tech and media giants Larry Ellison, Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, and Michael Dell. Ellison is founder of Oracle. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/tiktok-deal-trump-executive-order-china/

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Tory Lysik, 9/25/25

Headline: “Where the White House Is Leading Us with TikTok“

Subhead: “The Trump administration is pioneering a new form of political communication. The imminent prospect of a deal to reshape TikTok’s future in the United States could give the White House even more power.”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/tiktok-white-house-press-ellison-trump-yass-murdoch.php

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Article in The Guardian by Blake Montgomery, 9/24/25

Headline:  “Murdoch’s TikTok? Trump offers allies another lever of media control”

Subhead:  “Under the known terms of the deal with China, TikTok would get a new board, including Murdochs and Ellisons”

“Donald Trump revealed last week the US and China are close to inking a deal to let TikTok continue operating in the US. Details are not final, but should the agreement go through as has been reported, the owners of the US’s most powerful cable TV channels may soon also steer the nation’s most influential social network. The arrangement would gift Trump’s billionaire allies a degree of control over US media that would be vast and unprecedented. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/24/tiktok-trump-murdoch-ellison

Media Rhetoric Causes Violence

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Article in Raw Story by Tom Hartmann, 9/14/25

Headline:  “Opinion | This abject media cowardice only makes violent GOP rhetoric worse”

“As a guy who regularly gets death threats because of my media presence, I shouldn’t have to say that killing people — or even threatening them — for their politics is wrong. But here it is, for the record: nobody in America should die for their politics.

“. . .These are indeed very, very dangerous times. And the political rhetoric coming out of 1500 rightwing hate-radio stations, Republican politicians, and billionaire-funded hard-right-biased-social-media-algorithms is at the center of the crisis. . .”

Read the full story at:

https://www.rawstory.com/raw-investigates/2673989140/?utm_source=opinion

Scoffing at Legacy Media

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Article in Poynter by Stephanie Edgerly & Tim Franklin, 9/15/25

Headline: “A survey of Chicago news consumers shows Gen Z is tuning out local news”

Subhead: “Medill’s annual survey finds audiences drifting from TV and print, wary of AI, and turning to independent content creators.”

“The relationship between the news business and consumers of news is breaking down and reforming at a dizzying pace as digital technology gives audiences new ways to engage with information. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/local-news/2025/chicago-survey-gen-z-local-news-trends-2025/

Media Not Scoping it Out Right?

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Article in The New Republic by Perry Bacon, 9/12/25

Headline:  “The Media Is Totally Blowing Its Coverage of Charlie Kirk”

Subhead:  “Some pundits are arguing that Charlie Kirk practiced politics ‘the right way.’ This only serves to whitewash the ideas that he promulgated. “

“. . .TNR contributors Ana Marie Cox and Meredith Shiner say that the press is largely whitewashing Kirk’s actual politics, citing a column by The New York Times’ Ezra Klein as a prime example. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/200411/media-blowing-coverage-charlie-kirk

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Yona TR Golding, 9/12/25

Headline:  “How News Streamers Covered the Killing of Charlie Kirk”

Subhead:  “The hugely popular world of online news and commentary offers a window into how young people consume current events.”

“. . .network television was struggling to find the right words to respond to the horrific events, falling into predictable patterns. Fox News held Kirk up as a martyr. . .”

“. . .The streamers carry none of that burden. Their audiences know Kirk well—Kirk, too, was a product of this world, with a popular podcast and a social media presence wherein he posted prolifically, offering often extreme right-wing takes on political hot topics . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/charlie-kirk-twitch-streamers-reaction.php

First Newspapers, Now Local TV

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Article in Poynter by Rick Edmonds, 9/2/25

Headline:  “Inescapable technology changes and a migrating audience have local broadcast news in trouble”

Subhead: “For years, local TV looked steady while newspapers flailed. Now the business model creaks, and the challenges feel uncomfortably familiar.”

“The scenario is familiar to any journalist who has worked at a newspaper in the last 15 years. The audience is moving away from the profitable old platform to a hot, new one. The outlet must adapt or at least try to. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2025/is-business-broadcast-journalism-in-trouble/

Show is Too Anti-Trump Now?

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Update:

Article in Daily Kos by Oilver Willis, 9/2/25

Headline:  “Alex Jones loses his sh-t after infamous lackey breaks up with him”

“Pro-Trump conspiracy theorist Alex Jones lashed out against former Infowars host Owen Shroyer Monday, describing him as a ‘backstabber’ and ‘snake.’ Shroyer recently left Jones’ Infowars network, alleging that he felt pressure to soft-pedal criticism of President Donald Trump.

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/9/2/2341509/-Alex-Jones-loses-his-sh-t-after-infamous-lackey-breaks-up-with-him

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Article in Raw Story by Daniel Hampton, 9/1/25

Headline: “InfoWars host abruptly splits with Alex Jones over ‘too anti-Trump’ label”

“A right-wing InfoWars host made what he called a ‘shocking announcement’ Monday night that he was leaving Alex Jones’ signature conspiracy theory show, because he’s “too anti-Trump.”

“Owen Shroyer, best known as the host of the ‘War Room’ show on the far-right website, told viewers in a livestream Monday night that he was making a ‘shocking announcement.’

” ‘I am done at InfoWars,’ he said. ‘This may come as a shocking announcement for you tonight. It may not.’ ”

Read the full article at:

https://www.rawstory.com/owen-shroyer-2673946222/