Media Politicize

Cutting Rural America’s . . .

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Article in The Guardian by Margaret Sullivan,6/6/25

Headline:  “If Trump cuts funding to NPR and PBS, rural America will pay a devastating price”

Subhead:  “Much of the country has little access to local news, with public media filling the void – and serving as a lifeline”

“When Hurricane Helene walloped North Carolina last fall, residents were hit by a second threat at the same time: the dire need for accurate information.

“The loss of electric power amid the widespread flooding meant that people – especially those in isolated areas – were deprived of basic news. They needed to know about everything from road closures to the whereabouts of their family and friends to sources of drinkable water.

“Blue Ridge Public Radio stepped into the breach. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/06/trump-funding-cuts-npr-pbs-rural-america

Rt. Wing Medicaid View

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Article in Media Matters by John Knefel, 6/4/25

Headline:  “Right-wing media solidify around “able-bodied” myth as Senate GOP weighs Medicaid cuts”

Subhead:  “Congressional Republicans are set to kick millions off of Medicaid by implementing work requirements, which conservative pundits falsely claim will strengthen the health insurance program”

“As Republicans in Congress negotiate a budget expected to deliver massive tax cuts to the wealthy while decimating the social safety net, right-wing media figures are perpetuating the myth that large numbers of Medicaid recipients are able-bodied people who refuse to work and therefore should be removed from the program.

“The messaging from conservative pundits echoes rhetoric from the Trump administration, which denies that its proposals will kick millions of people off of Medicaid. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/right-wing-media-solidify-around-able-bodied-myth-senate-gop-weighs-medicaid-cuts

A Threat to Many Broadcasters

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Quilt showing many community radio stations

Article in Poynter by Angela Fu, 6/3/25

Headline:  “Trump asks Congress to revoke $1 billion in already approved funding for public broadcasting”

Subhead:  “Congress has 45 days to consider the request, which would jeopardize operations at NPR, PBS and hundreds of local stations if approved”

“The White House formally asked Congress Tuesday to revoke more than $1 billion in already approved funding for public broadcasting, jeopardizing operations at NPR, PBS and local stations across the country.

“The request specifically targets the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private nonprofit created and funded by Congress. Every year, CPB receives more than half a billion dollars, which it then distributes to NPR, PBS and more than 1,500 local radio and television stations in the form of grants. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2025/what-is-a-rescissions-package-pbs-npr-defunded/

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Article in Free Press by Staff, 6/3/25

Headline:  “Trump Launches Latest Attack on a Free and Independent Press with Bid to Claw Back All Federal Funding for Public Broadcasting”

“On Tuesday, the Trump White House issued a rescission request, which according to press reports calls on Congress to claw back nearly $1.1 billion in already-approved federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the entity that provides federal support for NPR and PBS affiliates across the country. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/trump-tells-congress-rescind-funding-public-media

Media Joining the Parade?

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Article in The Guardian by Judith Levine, 5/30/25

Headline:  “We’re minimizing the horror of Trump’s military birthday parade”

Subhead:  “The media has focused on the price tag and potholes. But history may mark 14 June as the ceremonial birth of US fascism”

“In 2017, watching a two-hour Bastille Day procession, Donald Trump told the French president that we’d have one too, only better. . .”

“This time, as Washington prepares for a huge military shindig on 14 June, Trump’s 79th – and, oh yes, the US army’s 250th – birthday, the generals are silent. The Republicans have sworn allegiance to the king. And the media are focused on the price tag, the potholes and the impending pomp; on tensions between the blue city of Washington and the red capital; and on the decimation of veterans’ healthcare, housing, and pensions while the administration throws $25m to $45m at a circus of war. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/30/trump-military-parade-fascism

Domino Effect on Journalism

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Article in Poynter by Angla Fu, 5/29/25

Headline:  “America’s top journalism schools may lose a generation of international talent”

Subhead:  “The Trump administration is pausing visa interviews for students and fellows while it drafts new vetting rules”

“Foreign media workers and students coming to the United States for journalism schools and fellowships could get caught up in the Trump administration’s pause on certain visa interviews.

“Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructed all American embassies and consulates Tuesday to stop scheduling student and exchange visitor visa interviews, Politico reported. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/educators-students/2025/foreign-journalism-students-visa-pause/

Insulting Journalists Presidential?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 5/22/25

Headline:  “Opinion | Another day, another press conference with President Donald Trump insulting a journalist”

Subhead:  “Trump goes after NBC’s Peter Alexander for Qatari plane question during meeting with South African president”

“Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A reporter asks a perfectly legitimate question of President Donald Trump. And because Trump doesn’t like the question, he verbally accosts the reporter, and the reporter’s news organization, with insults.

“Rinse and repeat.

“It’s getting tiresome, isn’t it? Not the story, but Trump’s repeated pettiness and attacks against the press that is unbecoming of the President of the United States. . .”

Read the full article at :

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/another-day-another-press-conference-with-president-donald-trump-insulting-a-journalist-wesley-lowery-lady-gaga/

Rt. Wing Media Missing Truth

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Article in Media Matters by John Knefel, 5/22/25

Headline:  “Contrary to right-wing media claims, the GOP’s Medicaid cuts are for far more than ‘able-bodied men’ “

Subhead:  “While right-wing media yell about ‘able-bodied men,’ in truth Medicaid work requirements would hit caregivers the most — and they are disproportionately women”

“Right-wing media figures are telling their audiences that proposed work requirements for Medicaid will be targeted at men who are unwilling to look for a job, when the actual population most likely to be affected is poor, rural women who are taking care of elderly parents or adult children.

“The discussion comes as congressional Republicans negotiate a budget bill that is widely predicted to deliver massive tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations while gutting social safety net programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/contrary-right-wing-media-claims-gops-medicaid-cuts-are-far-more-able-bodied-men

Short Right Wave

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Article in NPR On the Media by Staff, 5/21/25

Headline:  “S2 THE DIVIDED DIAL EPISODE 3: World’s Last Chance Radio”

“. . .The Divided Dial is the untold story of shortwave radio: the way-less-listened to but way-farther-reaching cousin of AM and FM radio. The medium was once heralded as a utopian, international, and instantaneous mass communication tool — a sort of internet-before-the-internet. But like the internet, it also took a turn for the chaotic. And like AM and FM talk radio, it also went hard to the right, with extremists and cults still finding a home on the shortwaves. . .

Read or listen to the full article at:

https://www.npr.org/podcasts/452538775/on-the-media

Media Sources Not Confidential?

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Article in The Intercept Voices Staff, 5/19/25

Headline: “Attorney General Pam Bondi has opened the door to “subpoenas, court orders, and search warrants to compel” reporters to reveal information about their sources, warning that the Justice Department ‘will not tolerate disclosures that undermine President Trump’s policies.’ “

“. . .No journalist should go to jail for refusing to disclose confidential sources, but now news outlets like The Intercept face the risk of criminal prosecutions. Subpoenas, court orders, and search warrants must not be used to intimidate and silence media outlets from reporting the truth. . . .”

https://theintercept.com/

Giving Radio Away on Silver Platter?

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UPDATE

 

Article in Slashdot by Staff

Headline: “Verizon Secures FCC Approval for $9.6 Billion Frontier Asquisiton”

“The Federal Communications Commission has approved Verizon’s $9.6 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications, valuing the Dallas-based company at $20 billion including debt. The approval comes after Verizon agreed to scale back diversity initiatives to comply with Trump administration policies.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who previously threatened to block mergers over DEI practices, praised the deal for its potential to “unleash billions in new infrastructure builds” and “accelerate the transition away from old, copper line networks to modern, high-speed ones.” The acquisition positions America’s largest phone carrier to expand its high-speed internet footprint across Frontier’s 25-state network. Verizon plans to deploy fiber to more than one million U.S. homes annually following the transaction.”

https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/25/05/16/194255/verizon-secures-fcc-approval-for-96-billion-frontier-acquisition

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Article in Free Press by Staff, 5/16/25

Headline: “Verizon Cowardly Capitulates to Trump and Carr’s Racist Bullying”

“On Friday, the Federal Communications Commission, under the direction of President Trump’s FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, approved Verizon’s acquisition of Frontier Communications. The deal hands control of Frontier’s telecommunications networks in 25 states to Verizon, further consolidating a broadband industry with limited choices and exorbitant prices for consumers.

The price tag of the deal, however, is much higher than the $20 billion announced by the two companies. Buried in the FCC’s approval order, but proudly touted in the agency’s press release, is the claim that Verizon got the deal done only after promising to end its diversity, equity and inclusion programs. . . .

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/verizon-cowardly-capitulates-trump-and-carrs-racist-bullying

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Article in Slashdot by BeauHD, 5/14/25

Headline:  “FCC Threatens EchoStar Licenses For Spectrum That’s ‘Ripe For Sharing'”

“Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr has threatened to revoke EchoStar licenses for radio frequency bands coveted by rival firms including SpaceX, which alleges that EchoStar is underutilizing the spectrum. ‘I have directed agency staff to begin a review of EchoStar’s compliance with its federal obligations to provide 5G service throughout the United States per the terms of its federal spectrum licenses,’ Carr wrote in a May 9 letter to EchoStar Chairman Charles Ergen. EchoStar and its affiliates ‘hold a large number of FCC spectrum licenses that cover a significant amount of spectrum,’ the letter said. . .”

https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/25/05/13/2247256/fcc-threatens-echostar-licenses-for-spectrum-thats-ripe-for-sharing