Media News

News about the media.

Groups File to Protect FCC Ownership Rules

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Article in Freepress.net by Craig Aaron, 9/20/24

Headline: “Public-Interest Groups Defend FCC’s Broadcast-Ownership Rules Promoting Competition, Diversity and Localism on Air”

“On Friday, six public-interest, media-reform, media-justice and labor organizations joined to file an amicus curiae brief defending the Federal Communications Commission’s broadcast-ownership rules against an industry challenge in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

“The six groups are Common Cause, the Communications Workers of America-National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, Free Press, the Future of Music Coalition, the musicFIRST Coalition and the United Church of Christ Office of Communication, Inc. (“UCC Media Justice”). All of these entities have long participated in FCC proceedings and court cases on this issue. Attorneys Cheryl Leanza and Rachel Stillwell authored and filed the brief on the groups’ behalf.

“The FCC’s media-ownership rules are designed to promote competition, viewpoint diversity, ownership diversity and the delivery of local content by broadcast stations licensed to serve communities all across the United States.”

https://www.freepress.net/news/press-releases/public-interest-groups-defend-fccs-broadcast-ownership-rules

FCC  broadcast ownership rules:

https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/fccs-review-broadcast-ownership-rules

Article on the kkfistory website from community radio pioneers Lorenzo Milam and Jeremy Lansman who protested to the FCC against duopoly and bland, monolithic radio of 1974.

https://www.kkfistory.org/lorenzo-jeremys-petition-against-god/

Media Blamed for Assassination Attempts

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Article in Mediaite by David GilmourSep 9/19/24

Headline:  “Greg Gutfeld Blames Media for ‘Their Own Role’ in Trump Assassination Attempts”

. . . another attack on the media (sigh) . . .

“Fox News host Greg Gutfeld blasted “the media” for “their own role” in the two assassination plots against former President Donald Trump.

“Trump appeared on Gutfeld’s show on Wednesday night, just days after the Secret Service foiled a second assassination plot in months, arresting an individual who sought to shoot the Republican nominee as he played golf in Florida on Sunday.

“In the wake of the plot the Trump running mate Senator JD Vance (R-OH) accused “liberals” and the mainstream media of ramping up dangerous political rhetoric that was inspiring violence by calling the former president a “danger to democracy” or a “fascist.”

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/greg-gutfeld-blames-media-for-their-own-role-in-trump-assassination-attempts/

Skeptical about the Media due to Deep Fakes?

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Article in Ars Technica by Benj Edwards – 9/19/2024

Headline:  “Due to AI fakes, the “deep doubt” era is here”

Subhead:  “As AI deepfakes sow doubt in legitimate media, anyone can claim something didn’t happen.”

“Deep doubt is skepticism of real media that stems from the existence of generative AI. This manifests as broad public skepticism toward the veracity of media artifacts, which in turn leads to a notable consequence: People can now more credibly claim that real events did not happen and suggest that documentary evidence was fabricated using AI tools.”

. . . “When we are evaluating the veracity of online media, it’s important to rely on multiple corroborating sources, particularly those showing the same event from different angles in the case of visual media or reported from multiple credible sources in the case of text. It’s also useful to track down original reporting and imagery from verified accounts or official websites rather than trusting potentially modified screenshots circulating on social media. Information from varied eyewitness accounts and reputable news organizations can provide additional perspectives to help you look for logical inconsistencies between sources.”

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/09/due-to-ai-fakes-the-deep-doubt-era-is-here/

Repeating a Lie in the Media Doesn’t Make it True

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Article in Daily Kos by Xaxnar, 9/19/24

Headline: “Must-Read from Jamison Foser – How the media fails us by “Privileging the lie”

“When a news report treats the truthfulness of a lie as an open question, it privileges the lie. When a news report devotes more and more prominent space to recounting the lie and the liar’s defense of it than it does making clear that it’s a lie, the article privileges the lie. When a news report focuses on the target of a lie’s struggle to deal with the impact of the lie, the article privileges the lie. And when a news report focuses on the topic of the lie — even if it does a good job of making clear the lie is a lie — it privileges the lie, because it allows the liar to set the topic of conversation, and thus increases the electoral salience of a topic the liar believes is to his benefit.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/9/19/2270386/-Must-Read-from-Jamison-Foser-How-the-media-fails-us-by-Privileging-the-lie?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web

Nobody Will Notice if Media Don’t Fact Check

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AP photo (edited)

Article in The Guardian by Alice Herman 8/17/24

Headline: “JD Vance defends pet-eating remarks: ‘The media has a responsibility to fact-check’”

Subhead: “Republican VP nominee claims at Wisconsin rally that constituents told him ‘they’d seen something in Springfield’”

OK to lie – if you can get away with it?

“JD Vance defended his comments about Haitian immigrants eating pets during a Tuesday rally, saying that ‘the media has a responsibility to fact-check’ stories – not him.

“The rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, came two days after the Ohio senator told CNN host Dana Bash it was OK ‘to create stories’ to draw attention to issues his constituents care about, regarding inflammatory and unfounded claims that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, had eaten residents’ pets.”

. . . “ ‘When I said – and the media always does this, they’re very dishonest – when I say that I created a story, I’m talking about the media story, by focusing the press’s intention on what’s going on in Springfield,’ said Vance.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/sep/17/jd-vance-wisconsin-rally-immigrants-media

Pulling False Fire Alarms Distract Media

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Article in Daily Kos by James Jarmess, 9/16/24

Headline: The Sick Worn-out Trick That the Media keep Falling For — Every time

“(Rachel) Maddow just told the story of this kid who knows he is failing his Exam, in the middle of taking it. Desperate, he manages to pull the school’s Fire Alarm. Granted, he gets caught, and he catches hell for that stunt. But he is no longer ‘failing the Exam’ — everyone is now focused on his ‘bad behavior.’ Side benefit — the Exam was cancelled.

“Then Maddow draws that as an analogy of what Trump did in the Debate: When he realized he was ‘failing his Exam’ — before a national audience — he does something so unthinkable, it will change for discussion for days. Trump vehemently tells the made-up urban legend of Haitian immigrants stealing and eating pets.”

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/9/16/2270846/-The-sick-worn-out-Trick-that-the-Media-keeps-Falling-For-time-after-time?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web

Online Media Catching on to Propaganda?

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Article in Washington Post by Niha Masih, 9/17/24

Headline:  “Meta bans Russian state media outlet RT for acts of ‘foreign interference”

Subhead:  “The U.S. recently imposed sanctions on RT’s parent companies, Rossiya Segodnya and TV-Novosti, accusing them of acting as an arm of Moscow’s intelligence operations.”

“Meta — the owner of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram — said Monday that it is banning Russian state media outlets such as RT from its platforms, days after the United States imposed sanctions on RT’s parent companies and accused them of acting as an arm of Moscow’s intelligence operations.

“After careful consideration, we expanded our ongoing enforcement against Russian state media outlets: Rossiya Segodnya, RT and other related entities are now banned from our apps globally for foreign interference activity,” Meta said in a statement.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/09/17/meta-ban-rt-russia-state-media/

Should Media Cover Alleged Insanity?

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Photo from Raw Story

Article in Raw Story by Earl Stephens, 9/16/24

Headline:  “Corporate media keeps hiding the truth about madman Donald Trump”

“We have a complete madman running for the President of the United States, and it would be about damn time our national media started reporting it this way.”

. . . “At its core, the mission of the working press is cut and dry and pretty easily executed: Reporters and news departments are assigned to cover various beats and report out to the American people about what is happening in their coverage areas. The press has the privilege of being where we too often can’t, so that they can tell us what has transpired on the football field, or the court room, or a theater of war, or the school board meeting, or on the election trail.”

. . . “What the hell is going on in our nation’s newsrooms? WHAT can they possibly be covering that is more important than the most serious internal threat to America since the Civil War?”

https://www.rawstory.com/raw-investigates/corporate-media-keeps-hiding-the-the-truth-about-madman-donald-trump/?utm_source=brea

 

Murdoch Media Empire Fate Now in Court

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AP photo by Noah Berger

Article in Associated Press by Scott Sonner, 9/16/24

Headline: “Control of the Murdoch media empire could be at stake in a closed-door hearing in Nevada”

“A probate court in Nevada is set to begin reviewing evidence behind closed doors in a case that could determine who will control Rupert Murdoch’s media empire after his death.”

“The court’s ruling notes that Murdoch sought to give Lachlan permanent and exclusive control over his companies because the mogul was worried that a lack of consensus among his children could affect the strategic direction at his companies, including potentially leading to a change in editorial policy and content, according to the Times report.”

https://apnews.com/article/rupert-murdoch-news-corp-murdoch-family-trust-9a4b20037e43f46ad5934797579dcd8e

A WP Chat About Corporate Media

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Article in the Washington Post by Erik Wemple, 9/16/24

Question: “Is corporate media affecting reporting?”

“It appears that a recent and dramatic shift has occurred in major press and media entitles like the NY Times, CNN, Washington Post. The appearance seems to be a pursuit of the attention grabbing controversy issue over straight-forward journalism. My theory is that ad revenue has become a priority and this shift in approach is corporate driven. Thoughts?”

Answer:  “. . . this critique has been leveled at most, if not all, mainstream media outlets over the course of the internet era — nearly the past three decades . . . Traffic imperatives, indeed, pushed news outlets to splinter their output into traditional reporting/big projects as well as blog posts, short analysis pieces . . . ”

Question: “Why is Trump coverage lacking?”

“Why is the media not exposing Trump’s obvious lies and dictatorial rhetoric. Is it because they lean over backwards to appear “impartial”? We are obviously being threatened with a dangerous outcome, isn’t it the media’s job to inform?”

Answer:  “it is indeed the media’s job to inform the public about Trump’s authoritarian tendencies. It’s something that, in my view, the media has done quite well:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/15/trump-authoritarianism-media-stakes/  .”

Full article:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/09/16/erik-wemple-media-live-chat/