Media Literacy

Acceptable Media Bias?

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Article in The New Republic by Perry Bacon, 8/22/25

Headline:  “The Media Should Be Biased—Against Authoritarianism”

Subhead:  “UMass Amherst journalism historian Kathy Roberts Forde says the news media has helped both entrench and erode authoritarianism in the U.S. in the past and should lean into its pro-democracy history now.”

“The news media has a powerful role in democracy, even if it often doesn’t acknowledge that, says Kathy Roberts Forde, a journalism historian who teaches at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. . .”

“Forde argues that today’s Republican Party is using some of the authoritarian tactics that were employed in the American South in the twentieth century and by autocratic leaders abroad today. So she argues journalists can and should make those connections, even if that leads to Republicans attacking them as biased. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/199471/media-biased-against-authoritarianism

 

Watching the Press

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Article in Poynter by Ren LaForme, 8/21/25

Headline: “Join Poynter in keeping a close eye on press freedom”

Subhead: “Our new Press Freedom Watch project tracks federal actions that undermine America’s free press”

“A free press is a cornerstone of American democracy. It informs citizens, holds leaders to account and upholds democratic principles. But after decades of relative freedom, the U.S. press now faces a coordinated series of federal actions that is unmatched in recent decades.

“President Donald Trump and his administration have taken concrete steps since January to limit press freedom. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2025/press-freedom-watch-trump-federal-actions/

Without Local News . . .?

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Article in Poynter, by Kim Kleman, 8/15/25

Headline:  “Opinion | After 100,000 stories, the lesson is clear: America needs more local news”

Subhead:  “From exposing corruption to filling food pantries, local reporting via Report for America is driving change in communities nationwide”

“. . .sheer quantity of local news is important to bolster newsrooms across America. No, with every one of these stories, we’re reminded of what good local coverage does: introduces neighbor to neighbor, holds city hall and the school board accountable, distills how federal actions affect local businesses, and informs folks that the food pantry’s shelves are bare, so residents know to help fill them. . .”

Read the full story at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/report-for-america-local-news-stories/

Defending the Media

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Liam Scott, 7/30/25

Headline:  “Anna Gomez’s Lonely Fight”

Subhead:  “As the FCC’s sole Democrat, she’s been outspoken about protecting the First Amendment. Getting her way has been tough.”

“. . .Once Trump assumed office, however, Gomez found it hard to ignore the political aspects of the job. Within days, Carr announced on Fox News that he was opening an investigation into KCBS, a San Francisco–area radio station, for its reporting on ICE raids. Gomez was dismayed. “We are supposed to be this technical expert body that calls balls and strikes fairly and independently, but instead we are being weaponized for political retribution and ideological purity,” she told me. . .”

““I was growing increasingly alarmed about what was happening and what that would do to the freedom of the press,” she said. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/anna-gomez-democrat-fcc-paramount-carr.php

Media Make Frank Unhappy

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Article in Raw Story by Robert Davis, 7/14/25

Headline:  ” ‘They’re pissed’: CNN hosts slam Trump for losing control of ‘MAGA Frankenstein’ “

“CNN host Abby Phillip and reporter Donie O’Sullivan slammed President Donald Trump on Monday night over his inability to speak to his base following the latest scandal.

“Last week, Justice Department officials issued an unsigned memo contradicting many points of the Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy theory that Trump and his surrogates have parroted for multiple years. The move set off a firestorm within the MAGA base and has become a political liability for the Trump administration.

” ‘Perhaps it’s not surprising that his ‘MAGA Frankenstein’ doesn’t believe him,’ Phillip said. . .”

Read the full story at:

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-2673207755/

Media Rabbit Hole?

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Article in The Washington Post by Eric Wemple, 6/23/25

Headline:  “Does the media need to take a closer look at Trump’s acuity? I answered your questions.”

Q:  “To what extent should mainstream media explain ways to resist this administration?

Is it OK to write about tactics people use to avoid cooperating with ICE? Is it OK to remind people of protest dates and locations? Is it OK for media to call out hatred, as Terry Cowan did recently?

What can media do to help Americans challenge the unconstitutional acts of the Trump administration? . . .”

A: “. . .Yes, in my opinion, it’s fine to report on how people are avoiding cooperation with ICE; that’s a newsworthy trend with implications for everyone. The protests that have occurred in American cities and towns in recent months are also quite newsworthy, and so it’s appropriate that news organizations would write about plans for, say, the next wave of “No Kings” demonstrations or whatever. But providing how-to advice about joining such protests, in my opinion, is a loser’s undertaking, simply because fairness would require doing so for all kinds of other causes as well — and that would send editors and reporters down a rabbithole. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/06/23/erik-wemple-media-live-chat/

Run or Collaborate?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 6/18/25

Headline:  “Opinion | Should journalism embrace AI? Or run from it?”

Subhead:  “In the latest episode of ‘The Poynter Report Podcast,’ Alex Mahadevan explores what AI means for journalism and why reporters may not need to panic”

“. . .Should journalism run from AI? Or embrace it? Why are we scared of it? How can we put AI to good use? And how can we avoid the dangers of AI?

“And, what I wanted to know most of all: Are journalists someday going to become obsolete b . . .”cause some AI tool is going to produce its own newspaper? (And, gulp, newsletter?). . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/should-journalism-embrace-ai-or-run-from-it/

Media are Changing

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Article in Daily Kos by Muriel Vieux, 6/16/25

Headline:  “Media’s changing landscape”

“One of the good things happening in our media landscape today that has been interesting to observe, is seeing anchors that have been fired or let go from mainstream media, creating their own YouTube or other streaming media services, and it’s their transformation that is interesting to watch.

“Those anchors that I use to yell at on my screen, to effing pick a lane, to stop flip-flopping seem to have found their footing and that tells me a lot (more) about how anchors are constrained when it comes to main stream media. Not only are their stances clearer, but their personalities are also punching through now that they don’t have to restrict themselves. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/6/16/2328404/-Media-s-changing-landscape?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

Is Manufactured News, News?

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Article in The Contrarian by Josh Levs, 6/12/25

Headline:  “Avoiding the media trap of the military parade”

Subhead:  “Help Americans see that standing against authoritarianism is patriotic.”

The military parade and protests planned for this Saturday present the media with a big opportunity to educate America. . .”

“They can explain why any hint of this being a birthday celebration for President Donald Trump rather than a celebration of the Army’s 250th birthday is not befitting a democracy, in which the people — not one person — rule. . .”

The media can help Americans who don’t follow the news closely understand why moves from the Trump administration endanger our democracy . . . And, crucially, the media can fact check those who try to use this Saturday to push anti-democratic movements under simplistic slogans.”

But instead, here’s what we’re likely to see: two-dimensional reporting that fails to dig into the issues and partisan reporting that casts the two sides as good guys vs. bad guys. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://contrarian.substack.com/p/avoiding-the-media-trap-of-the-military

Public Media Could be in Trouble

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PUBLIC MEDIA IS NOT STATE-CONTROLLED MEDIA

Article in The Washington Post by Patrick Marley, 6/10/25

Headline:  “Rural Republicans used to back NPR. Then MAGA changed everything.”

Subhead:  “Public media is facing its biggest challenge as it fights off a vote to eliminate its federal funding.”

“. . .Polarized views of public broadcasting, along with a splintered and increasingly online media environment, pose a problem for NPR, PBS and their audiences, who will need some Republicans to break ranks to prevent the cuts that Trump is demanding as part of a larger package of budget reductions that the House will consider as soon as Tuesday. . .”

“According to a Pew Research Center poll conducted in March, 43 percent of Americans supported continuing federal funding for NPR and PBS, 24 percent backed ending funding and 33 percent were unsure. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/06/10/npr-cuts-rural-congress/