Press Freedom

Defund Public Media?

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Article in the New York Times by Benjamin Mullin and Kate Conger, 12/27/24

Headline:  “NPR and PBS Stations Brace for Funding Battle Under Trump”

Subhead:  “Republicans in Congress have tried to defund public media for decades. With the help of Elon Musk, could they finally make good on their threat?”

“Elon Musk is gunning for public media.

“In his new role advising President-elect Donald J. Trump, Mr. Musk has floated sweeping cuts to the federal government, including the elimination of entire departments and the firing of agency leaders. One of the most concrete proposals on his list is eliminating hundreds of millions of dollars in annual funding that the government funnels to PBS and NPR stations, home to cultural touchstones like Elmo, Big Bird and “Fresh Air.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/27/business/media/npr-pbs-funding-trump-musk.html

Journalist Car Blown Up

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Article in Committee to Protect Journalists by STaff, 12/26/24

Headline: “Israeli strike kills 5 Al-Quds Al-Youm TV journalists in central Gaza”

“Beirut, December 26, 2024—Israeli forces killed five journalists and media workers with Al-Quds Al-Youm TV, a channel affiliated with the Islamic Jihad militant group, in a Thursday strike on their vehicle outside Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp. The Associated Press reported that footage showed the van had visible press markings.

“CPJ denounces Israel’s killing of five journalists working for Al-Quds Al-Youm TV,” said Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ’s program director in New York. “The Israeli strike on their vehicle, which was clearly marked ‘Press,’ means that at least nine Gazan journalists have been killed in less than two weeks. The international community must act now to protect Palestinian journalists in Gaza and end Israel’s impunity for these killings.”

https://cpj.org/2024/12/israeli-strike-kills-5-al-quds-al-youm-tv-journalists-in-central-gaza/

Media Better Duck

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Article in The Atlantic by Jonathan Chait, 12/18/24

Headline:  “Trump Has Found the Media’s Biggest Vulnerability”

Subhead:  “Most major media properties are tied to larger business interests that can benefit from government policy—or be harmed by it.”

“Now that the election is over, Donald Trump has returned to one of his most cherished pastimes: filing nuisance lawsuits. Abusing the legal system was a key precept of Trump’s decades-long career as a celebrity business tycoon, and he kept it up, out of habit or perhaps enjoyment, during his first term as president.

The newest round of litigation is different. Trump has broadened his targets to include not just reporters and commentators but pollsters. On Monday, his lawyers filed an absurd lawsuit against the polster J. Ann Selzer, accusing her of “election interference” and consumer fraud for a now-infamous poll released on the eve of the election that showed Trump losing to Kamala Harris in Iowa. (The lawsuit also names The Des Moines Register, which published the poll, and its parent company, Gannett, as defendants.) An even more important difference is the behavior of the targets of his threats. Unlike during his first term, when they mostly laughed off his ridiculous suits, much of the media’s ownership class now seems inclined to submit.”

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/12/trump-media-lawsuits-vulnerability/681082/

Future of Journalism is Here

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Article in TechXplore by Megan Schumann, 12/19/24

Headline:  “Survey highlights public concerns over AI’s political and media impact”

“As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more prevalent, a new Rutgers University-New Brunswick survey sheds light on public attitudes, revealing widespread concerns about its impact on politics and the media, alongside an increasing adoption of AI tools in daily life.

“More than half of the respondents expressed worry about AI’s impact on politics (58%) and news media (53%), with researchers suggesting these concerns may stem from fears of misinformation and manipulation, particularly during the 2024 election cycle when the survey was conducted.”

https://techxplore.com/news/2024-12-survey-highlights-ai-political-media.html

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Sarah Grevy, Gotfredsen, 12/19./24

Headline:  “An AI Chatbot Joins Time”

Subhead:  “The magazine calls it ‘a pivotal step toward charting the future of journalism.’ “

“Last week, Time continued its nearly century-old annual tradition of choosing a Person of the Year, or an individual who, “for better or for worse,” has had the biggest impact on the world over the previous twelve months. Donald Trump, who the magazine said has perhaps played the largest role of any individual in changing the course of politics and history, was Time’s pick for 2024. Alongside its big reveal, the magazine launched TIME AI: a platform that consists of generative AI tools meant to assist people as they read the story. It’s a move that Time optimistically describes as setting a new standard for immersive storytelling. “It’s more than an experiment,” a Time announcement proclaimed. “It’s a pivotal step toward charting the future of journalism.”

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/time-magazine-ai-chatbot-openai-perplexity.php

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Article in The Washington Post by Sarah Ellison and Jeremy Barr, 12/22/24

Headline:  “Trump signals plans to use all levers of power against the media”

Subhead:  “Press freedom advocates say they fear that the second Trump administration will ramp up pressure on journalists, in keeping with the president-elect’s combative rhetoric.”

“For many years, Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to sue the press but often didn’t follow through. When he did, he almost always lost.

“But Trump’s recent settlement with ABC News and a cascade of lawsuits and other complaints against media entities from him and his allies signal a ramped-up campaign from the president-elect. Together, the action has spurred concerns that his efforts could drastically undermine the institutions tasked with reporting on his coming administration, which Trump has promised will take revenge on those he perceives as having wronged him.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/12/22/trump-abc-news-settlement-george-stephanopoulos/

 

Musk Talks Media Puppets

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From TX Rep. Jasmine Crockett

Article in Mediaite by Zachary Leeman, 12/20/24

Headline:  “Elon Musk Blasts ‘Legacy Media Puppets’ Trying To Tear Him and Trump Apart with ‘President Elon’ Talking Points”

Elon Musk accused “legacy media puppets” of trying to drive a “wedge” between him and President-elect Donald Trump as critics question the pair’s power dynamic amid budget chaos on Capitol Hill.

A number of Democrats have taken to questioning whether Musk is truly in charge after led the charge to oppose an initial spending bill supported by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) that would have avoided a government shutdown. A second bill, supported by Musk and Trump, later failed to pass through the House, leaving lawmakers scrambling at the 11th hour.

Musk’s Friday message was in response to an X user highlighting a post from Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) in which she claimed Musk was more in charge of Republicans than Trump, calling him the “shadow president.”

https://www.mediaite.com/news/elon-musk-blasts-legacy-media-puppets-trying-to-tear-him-and-trump-apart-with-president-elon-talking-points/

Media Court Battles

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Article in Reuters by Jack Queen and Helen Coster, 12/20/24

Headline:  “Trump’s lawyers bring broad approach to court battles with media”

“President-elect Donald Trump is adopting a wide-ranging legal strategy in suing media companies over what he describes as false or misleading coverage about him, filing cases under civil anti-fraud laws in addition to defamation lawsuits.

‘Some legal experts say the cases appear aimed at punishing outlets for critical coverage, and that the novel legal strategies are an effort to get past steep hurdles in defamation lawsuits, which can be difficult for public figures in the U.S. to win.

“Trump has said the lawsuits, three of which were filed in the past year, are necessary because media companies are “very dishonest” and need to be held accountable.”

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-lawyers-bring-broad-approach-court-battles-with-media-2024-12-20/

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Encyclopedia Brittanica

Article in Committee to Protect Journalism by Staff, 12/18/24

Headline: “The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Kyrgyzstan court’s decision upholding convictions against four journalists from anti-corruption investigative outlet Temirov Live, two of whom were sentenced to lengthy prison terms.”

On Wednesday, the Bishkek City Court upheld an October 10 first instance court decision sentencing Makhabat Tajibek kyzy to six years in prison, Azamat Ishenbekov to five years in prison, and reporter Aike Beishekeyeva and former reporter Aktilek Kaparov to three years of probation. Prosecutors did not appeal the acquittals of seven other current and former Temirov Live staff.”

https://cpj.org/2024/12/kyrgyzstan-court-upholds-convictions-of-4-anti-corruption-journalists/

 

Frivolous Media Lawsuits

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Article in Vox by Ellen Ioanes, 12/18/24

Headline:  “Trump’s media lawsuits could do serious damage to America’s free press”

Subhead:  “Lawsuits against ABC and the Des Moines Register are meant to chill the media.”

“President-elect Donald Trump’s contempt for the media is well-known, but two lawsuits filed against news organizations offer a worrying look at the next four years for outlets and reporters covering his administration.

“Disney, the parent company of ABC News, settled a suit with Trump for $15 million; Trump sued the company because anchor George Stephanopoulos mistakenly said Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll, when he was actually found liable for sexual abuse. Trump also sued the Des Moines Register, an Iowa newspaper, this week because they published a poll showing Vice President Kamala Harris would win the state; he also sued the person who produced the poll. Trump is alleging this is election interference. These developments come amid ongoing lawsuits Trump has against CBS and publisher Simon & Schuster.

“These kinds of lawsuits aren’t new. They’re meant to be expensive and time-consuming for news companies, even if the outlets win the case.”

https://www.vox.com/donald-trump/391810/trump-media-lawsuits-abc-slapp-des-moines-register

Threatening the Press Threatens Us All

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Freedom House Poster

Article in The Hill by Juliann Venture, 12/18/24

Headline:  “Ex-Post editor Martin Baron: Trump team will do ‘everything to undermine public confidence in the press’ “

Martin Baron, the former executive editor for The Washington Post, said in a new interview that President-elect Trump’s team will do ‘everything’ to undermine confidence in the press.

Baron offered the remarks as Trump won a big victory when ABC settled a lawsuit with him involving incorrect comments by anchor George Stephanopoulos.

Trump days later launched a new suit against The Des Moines Register and pollster Ann Seltzer.

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5047691-marty-baron-trump-press-undermine/