Media Intimidation

Lessons From Sudan

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 8/4/25

Headline:  “Applebaum on Autocracy”

Subhead:  “Anne Applebaum warns that Sudan’s descent into chaos whoushows what happens when institutions fail – and why a free press is essential to prevent America from following the same path”

“Anne Applebaum has spent decades chronicling the rise of authoritarianism and the collapse of democratic norms around the world. In her latest piece for The Atlantic, appearing on this week’s cover, she turned her attention to Sudan, where a brutal civil war has displaced millions of people. . .”

“In a conversation with Status, she explained why Sudan’s tragedy is a warning for the U.S. as it drifts further from the post-war role it has played in geopolitics, with Donald Trump in his second term. Applebaum also discussed the hollowing-out of independent media and why decisions like Paramount’s payout to Trump matter in the slide toward autocracy. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/anne-applebaum-autocracy-interview

Losing Public Media

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Public media are not state-controlled media

Article in Daily Kos by Eclift, 8/4/25

Headline:  “Mourning the Loss of Public Service Media”

“. . .Following PBS, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) was established in an act of Congress. Its mission, along with that of PBS, was to provide quality programming often overlooked by commercial broadcasters. It focused on education, history, culture, nature, science, public affairs, and children’s content. PBS has been going strong all these years, and the thought of losing it is painful. . .”

“In July the Trump administration declared that it was ending funding for CPB, which funds PBS and NPR. The Senate passed the measure supporting that goal immediately. Followers of public broadcasting, editors, and journalists were stunned, and deeply troubled, at the thought that over a billion dollars, which had been appropriated by Congress for two years, would disappear. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/8/4/2336835/-Mourning-the-Loss-of-Public-Service-Media?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web

Authoritarians Hate Free Speech

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Daniel Golden, 8/4/25

Headline:  “Joseph McCarthy’s War on Voice of America”

Subhead:  “A largely forgotten campaign of harassment and persecution from the 1950s that still echoes today.”

“In nationally televised hearings, Senate Republicans denounce Voice of America. They accuse the government’s international broadcasting arm of harboring saboteurs, misspending taxpayer funds, condoning anti-Semitism, compromising security by relying on foreign-born workers, and denigrating the country it is supposed to serve. . .”

“These hearings that gripped the country were not part of the Trump administration’s recent campaign against VOA. They took place in 1953, and the committee chair running them was none other than Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy, then at the peak of his power. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/joseph-mccarthy-voice-of-america.php

Public Media – Gone Now

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Public Media are NOT state-controlled media

Article in The Guardian by Joseph Gedeon, 8/1/25

Headline: “Corporation for Public Broadcasting to close after US funding cut”

Subhead:  “Closure of public broadcasting group follows House Republicans’ decision to strip $1.1bn in funding over two years”

“The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced on Friday it will shut down operations after losing federal funding, delivering a blow to America’s public media system and the more than 1,500 local stations that have relied on its support for nearly six decades.

“The closure follows the Republican-controlled House’s decision last month to eliminate $1.1bn in CPB funding over two years, part of a $9bn reduction to public media and foreign aid programs.

“Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations,” said Patricia Harrison, corporation’s president and chief executive. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/01/corporation-for-public-broadcasting-closure

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Article in The Hill by Aris Folley, 8/1/25

Headline:   “Corporation for Public Broadcasting says it is beginning to shut down “

“The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) said Friday it will begin “an orderly wind-down of its operations” after seeing its budget cut through GOP-led legislation. . .”

“The CPB said most of its employees jobs would conclude at the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, while a small transition team would work through January “to ensure a responsible and orderly closeout of operations. . .”

“Less than 5 percent of the nonprofit’s funding goes toward its operations, while more than 70 percent “goes directly to local public media stations,” the CPB states on its website. And almost half of its “total 544 radio and TV grantees are considered rural. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/media/5432389-corporation-for-public-broadcasting-shutting-down/

No Reporting on Evil

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Article in Common Dreams by Tim Karr, 7/31/35

Headline: ​ “Why Is So Much of Corporate Media Caving to Trump?”

Subhead:  “A new ranking of the 35 largest media conglomerates finds a systemic failure to protect democracy against authoritarianism.”

“The rules of authoritarianism are pretty simple: Do as the leader says… or else.

This lopsided power equation runs counter to the checks and balances that are baked into the DNA of any healthy democracy. . .”

“Free Press this week released the inaugural Media Capitulation Index to examine how this information ecosystem is fairing nearly 250 years later. This sweeping investigation analyzes and rates the independence of America’s 35 largest media companies, including the many conglomerates that have recently caved to pressure from an authoritarian and corrupt Trump administration.

“The findings are sobering. After digging into the many failures of America’s hyper-commercialized media system, we present a series of recommendations to help dig the United States out of the authoritarian quicksand into which we’re sinking, and build toward a more independent, democratic, diverse, and free press. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/corporate-media-caves-trump

“Good Friends”?

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Article in NPR by David Folkenflik, 7/29/25

Headline:  “Trump lawsuit against Murdoch and ‘Wall Street Journal‘ turns personal”

Subhead:  “President Trump’s defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and its powerful owner has taken a personal turn.”

In the legal filings — and on social media — Trump says he personally told media mogul Rupert Murdoch that the racy birthday greeting he had supposedly sent two decades earlier to the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein had been faked and did not exist. Murdoch’s Journal reported it anyway, despite Trump’s warning.

Now, Trump is asking a federal judge in Miami to compel the man he once called ‘my very good friend Rupert Murdoch’ to answer his lawyers’ questions under oath within 15 days of the order. Trump’s legal team acknowledges that the ink is barely dry on the lawsuit — there is no schedule of court deadlines yet — but argues that Murdoch is unlikely to testify in person whenever a trial occurs due to his advanced age and health issues. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.npr.org/2025/07/29/nx-s1-5482955/trump-epstein-murdoch-deposition-lawsuit?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

Media on Life Support?

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Article in The Guardian by Robert Reich, 7/29/25

Headline:  “US press and publishing We are witnessing the silencing of American media”

Subhead:  “From the Washington Post to CBS, companies are caving to Trump. This is how democracy dies”

“. . .Friends, this is how democracy dies.

“The silencing is happening across America because Trump cannot stand criticism, because he’s vindictive as hell, and because he’s willing and able to use every department and agency of the federal government to punish any media corporations or universities that allow criticism of him.

“Shame on any media outlet or university that allows Trump to silence it. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jul/30/trump-silencing-of-american-media

Which Media Capitulated Most?

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Article in American Crisis by Margaret Sullivan, 7/29/25

Headline:  “American Crisis exclusive: The ‘Media Capitulation Index’ “

Subhead:  “A sweeping report — with rankings — on the decline of independence in our corporatized media”

“If you’ve been paying attention to the news lately, you know that the media has been on a capitulation-and-kowtowing spree.

“To tick off a few cases: The parent company of CBS News paid $16 million to settle a suit brought by Donald Trump over a (routinely edited) ’60 Minutes’ interview of Kamala Harris. Another Trump suit — against ABC News — raked in $15 million, and garnered a note of regret; many legal experts think ABC could have won the case had they tried. The owner of the Washington Post, Jeff Bezos, ordered an editorial endorsing Harris to be killed last fall; and Bezos was front and center at Trump’s inauguration after contributing $1 million to the festivities. Fox News drastically cut back on its coverage of the Jeffrey Epstein story after Trump charged it was a non-story and a hoax. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://margaretsullivan.substack.com/p/american-crisis-exclusive-the-media

Exporting Anti-Journalism

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Article in Reporters Without Borders by Staff, 7/28/25

Headline:  “Six months of Trump’s war on the press: importing and exporting authoritarian tendencies”

“Six months into US President Donald Trump’s second term, his administration has become increasingly hostile towards the press, both mimicking and inspiring authoritarian and quasi-authoritarian regimes around the world. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) warns of the dangers of a transnational anti-press movement that shares tactics across borders and has found in the American president one of its most powerful proponents yet.

“Donald Trump has grown into a key figure in a global anti-journalism political movement that has contributed to a recent decline in press freedom globally, and is currently on full display in the United States just six months into his second administration. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://rsf.org/en/six-months-trump-s-war-press-importing-and-exporting-authoritarian-tendencies

Use Courts to Punish Media?

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Article in Vox by Noel King & Avishat Artsy, 7/25/25

Headline:  “Trump’s media war just got a $10 billion twist”

Subhead:  “It’s his latest move in an ongoing effort to silence critical news outlets and control the narrative.”

“President Donald Trump is using the courts to punish media outlets for publishing stories he doesn’t like.

“The latest example is a $10 billion lawsuit filed in federal court in Miami against the Wall Street Journal and its owners, including Rupert Murdoch, for publishing a story that described a sexually suggestive birthday card Trump allegedly sent to the late Jeffrey Epstein in 2003.

“Trump has made no secret of his disdain for the press. Even before taking office for his first term, he began dismissing the mainstream media as ‘fake news,’ and soon after assuming office he tweeted that the ‘FAKE NEWS media’ is ‘the enemy of the American people’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.vox.com/today-explained-podcast/421116/trump-sues-murdoch-wall-street-ournal