Press Freedom

Media Attrition, Like Hungary?

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Article in The Guardian by Owen Jones, 1/7/25

Headline:  “To see how Trump will control the US media, look at Viktor Orbán’s Hungary”

Subhead:  “Nick Clegg’s departure is likely to see Meta following X’s tilt towards the right. It leaves the way open for an insidious hollowing out of democracy”

“Will democracy survive a second Trump presidency? A change of senior personnel at a social media company involving a former British deputy prime minister may not seem all too relevant to this heated discussion. But Nick Clegg’s decision to leave Meta as head of global affairs, and the choice of his successor, may point to how western democracy dies: not with fireworks, but through quiet attrition.

“Clegg’s job will be taken over by his deputy, Joel Kaplan – a Republican who worked in George W Bush’s administration. He is someone who, according to a Washington Post report from 2020, pushed to block Meta taking action against “dozens of pages that had peddled false news reports” before the 2020 election, arguing it would ‘disproportionately affect conservatives’. As a columnist at MSNBC put it, his elevation is another sign that Meta is getting a ‘Maga-friendly makeover’ “.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/07/donald-trump-control-us-media-viktor-orban-hungary-nick-clegg-meta-x

Sad Journalism Anniversary

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Article in The Columbia Journalism Review by Jon Alsop, /7/25

Headline:  “The Unresolved Legacy of the Charlie Hebdo Massacre”

Subhead:  “The decade since the attack on a French satirical magazine.”

“. . .Ten years ago today, in January 2015, the staff of Charlie Hebdo held their first editorial meeting of the year. They debated a new book, by the controversial author Michel Houellebecq, depicting an imagined Muslim president of France; “everyone was on top form and happy,” one journalist recalled. The staff heard what they thought were firecrackers in the street outside, then saw a man enter the office with a gun; initially, the journalist said, the staff suspected a practical joke, but it soon transpired that it wasn’t. Two terrorists affiliated with a branch of Al Qaeda had gained entry to the offices. In total, they killed twelve people, including a janitor and eight members of the editorial staff. . .”

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/the-unresolved-legacy-of-the-charlie-hebdo-massacre.php

India Corruption Kills Reporter

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Photograph: @MukeshChandrak9

Article in The Guardian by Hannah Ellis-Petersen, 1/6/25

Headline:  “Indian press groups call for investigation after journalist’s body found in septic tank”

Subhead:   “Mukesh Chandrakar had reported on alleged corruption in the construction industry and had a popular YouTube channel”

“Indian media rights groups have called for an investigation after the body of a missing journalist was found hidden in a septic tank.

“Mukesh Chandrakar, 32, was a well-known freelance journalist in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh who contributed to some of the country’s biggest news channels. He had also widely reported on alleged corruption in the construction industry on his popular YouTube channel.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/06/indian-journalist-mukesh-chandrakar-body-found-in-septic-tank-ntwnfb

Millionaires and Press Freedom

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Norman Pearlstine, 1/6/25

Headline:  “Trump, the Public, and the Press”

Subhead:  “The billionaire class has proved itself a poor steward of media. Journalists must redouble their efforts to expose the threat to democracy.”

“. . .Even before taking office, the prospect of Trump’s controlling the White House, Congress, and Supreme Court frightened owners of once-proud news organizations. Some seem willing to undermine editorial independence to curry favor with the incoming president.

“Billionaires, once thought to be the saviors of journalism, are proving themselves poor stewards of media companies. It is always dangerous to generalize, but several billionaires who have purchased media companies treat their acquisitions as sidelines they can run without much hands-on attention. They believe that running a media company must be easier than whatever business made them rich and that their talent and training are easily transferable from their primary business to media. They also trust their instincts more than others’ experience.”

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/trump-public-press-bezos-soon-shiong-billionaire-owners-endorsements-scandal-los-angeles-times-washington-post.php

“Conservative” Media Rebrand January 6

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Article in Mediaite by Sarah Rumpf, 1/6/25

Headline: ” ‘Destroying His Legacy’: Remembering Trump’s Media Boosters Who Condemned Him Over Jan. 6″

“. . .On Jan. 6 and the days that followed, numerous conservative media personalities were clear and unflinching in condemning the violence, placing blame directly on Trump for inciting the rioters, and calling for the rioters to be criminally prosecuted. Their unvarnished critiques were issued while the adrenaline was still pumping through their veins and before they had the chance to conduct the cynical calculus of how speaking the truth might impede their career ambitions. As Trump spent the past four years both evading criminal accountability for his actions and mounting a stunning political comeback, many of these erstwhile critics have engaged in an aggressive retconning of their own words.”

https://www.mediaite.com/opinion/destroying-his-legacy-remembering-trumps-media-boosters-who-condemned-him-over-jan-6/

Ministry of Truth vs. Internet

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Article in The Guardian by Sam Levin, 1/5/25

Headline: “US newspapers are deleting old crime stories, offering subjects a ‘clean slate’

Subhead:  “A wave of local publications are considering requests to wipe or edit old articles to give their subjects a fresh start”

“Civil rights advocates across the US have long fought to free people from their criminal records, with campaigns to expunge old cases and keep people’s past arrests private when they apply for jobs and housing.

“The efforts are critical, as more than 70 million Americans have prior convictions or arrests – roughly one in three adults. But the policies haven’t addressed one of the most damaging ways past run-ins with police can derail people’s lives: old media coverage.

“Some newsrooms are working to fill that gap.

“A handful of local newspapers across the US have in recent years launched programs to review their archives and consider requests to remove names or delete old stories to protect the privacy of subjects involved in minor crimes.. .”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/04/newspaper-crime-stories

 

Disinformation & Hate, Free-Speech?

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Article in New York Times by Cecilia King and Adam Satariano, 12/30/24

Headline:  “Social Media Companies Face Global Tug-of-War Over Free Speech”

Subhead:  “President-elect Donald J. Trump’s picks for the F.C.C. and F.T.C. have vowed to remove censorship online. That conflicts with European regulators who are pushing for stricter moderation.”

“President-elect Donald J. Trump and his allies have vowed to squash an online ‘censorship cartel’ of social media firms that they say targets conservatives.

“Already, the president-elect’s newly chosen regulators at the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission have outlined plans to stop social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube from removing content the companies deem offensive — and punish advertisers that leave less restrictive platforms like X in protest of the lack of moderation.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/30/technology/trump-administration-speech-policy.html

Journalists at Risk

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CPJ Photo

Article in Committee to Protect Journalists by Mohamed Mandour, 1/3/25

Headline:  “Attacks, arrests, threats, censorship: The high risks of reporting the Israel-Gaza war”

Subhead:  “Since the Israel-Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, journalists and media across the region have faced a hostile environment that has made reporting on the war exceptionally challenging.”

“In addition to documenting the growing tally of journalists killed and injured, CPJ’s research has found multiple kinds of incidents of journalists being targeted while carrying out their work in Israel and the two Palestinian territories, Gaza and the West Bank.

“These include 75 arrests, as well as numerous assaults, threats, cyberattacks, and censorship. As of January 3, 2025, CPJ’s records showed that 45 of these journalists were still under arrest.”

https://cpj.org/2025/01/attacks-arrests-threats-censorship-the-high-risks-of-reporting-the-israel-hamas-war/

Journalist Mass Shooting Anniversary

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Article in AP by Staff, 01/3/24

Headline:  “Algerian social media influencer detained in France accused of calling for attacks”

“PARIS (AP) — French police on Friday detained a social media influencer from Algeria who is accused of calling on his followers to carry out attacks in France, Interior Minster Bruno Retailleau said.

“The arrest in the Brittany port city of Brest on France’s western coast comes as the country is preparing to mark the 10th anniversary next week of deadly January 2015 attacks in Paris against the satirical Charlie Hebdo newspaper and a kosher supermarket.

“On Jan. 7, 2015, two French-born al-Qaida extremists stormed Charlie Hebdo’s newsroom and killed 12 people, including the chief editor, cartoonists and a policeman in a nearby street.”

https://apnews.com/article/france-algeria-tiktok-terror-arrest-8401d12ec0bd79140acbcb8cac543637

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