Passing of Great Public Broadcaster

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Article in Democracy Now by Amy Goodman, 12/25/25

Headline:  “Remembering Bill Moyers: PBS Icon on Corruption of Corporate Media and Power of Public Broadcasting”

“The legendary journalist Bill Moyers died in June at the age of 91. Moyers, whose long career included helping found the Peace Corps and serving as press secretary for President Lyndon Johnson, was an award-winning champion of public television and independent media. We feature one of his numerous interviews on Democracy Now!, where we discussed the history of public broadcasting in the United States and the powerful role of money in corporate media. .”

Read / Listen to the full article at:

https://www.democracynow.org/2025/12/26/remembering_bill_moyers_pbs_icon_on

“Project 2025” and the Media

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Article in Poynter by Angela Fu, 12/29/25

Headline:  “Here’s how many of Project 2025’s media proposals were implemented in 2025”

Subhead: “Outlets that received federal funding have been hit hardest, but even fully independent organizations have been affected”

“. . .Those goals include reforming the government’s relationship with the press. Indeed, many of Trump’s actions against journalists this year draw directly from Project 2025’s media proposals, and contributors to the project have played key roles in the administration’s attempts to stymie the press. Outlets that received federal funding — public broadcasters and United States Agency for Global Media affiliates — have been hit hardest. But even fully independent outlets have been affected. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2025/project-2025-actions-against-press/

Not All Media Crashed and Burned

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Article in The Guardian by Moira Donegan, 12/29/25

Headline:   “As the US media floundered this year, I couldn’t help but think: ‘Thank God I’m at the Guardian”

Subhead:  “Other outlets have asked their writers to compromise, but the Guardian has never – and would never – ask me to pull a punch”

“. . .On the other hand, US media organizations are also facing tremendous pressure from the Trump administration – and from Donald Trump personally, who has used a combination of frivolous defamation suits and weaponized regulatory agencies to extract vast sums from outlets that publish coverage he does not like and threaten the licenses of broadcasters who host voices critical of his movement. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/dec/29/us-media-trump-era-guardian

 

All Hail Legacy Media!

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Article in AlterNet by Earl Stephens, 12/27/25

Headline:  “Veteran journalist issues ruthless takedown of legacy media”

“. . .As many of you are aware, Trump and his lying, subservient Republican Orcs are in a war against the truth, and trying to crush anybody who dares report it. On Sunday, CBS News once again fell at the orange fascist’s fat little feet and spiked a story that was set to run on the once-venerable 60 Minutes news program, about the “the brutal and tortuous conditions” of his detention camps .

“This was only the latest surrender by our diminishing legacy media to the convicted felon who attacked us on January 6, 2021. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.alternet.org/alternet-exclusives/legacy-media-2026/

State Controlled Media Around the Corner?

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Article in Democracy Now by Amy Goodman & Denis Moynahan, 12/24/15

Headline:  “CBS 60 Minutes Censorship Rings Another Alarm, Warning of Corporate Media’s Threat to Democracy”

“This week, we learned another lesson about how corporate media consolidation corrupts democracy. A story on President Donald Trump’s mass deportation of shackled Venezuelan men to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison was to air on CBS’s flagship news magazine, ’60 Minutes.’ The segment was spiked by CBS’ newly-installed Editor-in Chief Bari Weiss. This censorship exposes a web of conflicts of interest, and demonstrates, yet again, that democracy depends on a strong, independent media that is a true fourth estate, not “for the state.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.democracynow.org/2025/12/24/cbs_60_minutes_censorship_rings_another

Media – Laugh or Cry?

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Article in Poynter by TyLisa Johnson, 12/26/25

Headline:  “Here are your favorite Poynter journalism memes from 2025”

Subhead:  “We laughed. We cried. It was a weird time to be a journalist, but comedy helped carry us through.”

“It’s a weird time to be a journalist. Digital news archives are disappearing. Generative AI is giving em dashes a bad name. Layoffs. Consolidations. Buyouts. Burnout. Countless, daily insults from the nation’s most powerful people. At the same time, the work to share truth and report the news is needed now more than ever.

“It’s a nonstop grind, and a nearly nonstop news cycle.

“Well, as the saying goes, you have to laugh to keep from crying . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2025/poynter-journalism-memes-2025-news-humor-comedy/

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Article in Daily Kos by Brian McFadden, 12/26/25

Headline:  “Cartoon: Incredible global news 2025”

Cartoons by Brian McFadden

Read the Full Story at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/12/26/2359573/-Cartoon-Incredible-global-news-2025?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_2&pm_medium=web

Gambling With the News

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Article in Common Cause by Staff, 12/25

Headline:  “Save impartial public media”

“PBS and NPR are the only major networks still anchored in public service – not gambling on the news or making billionaires richer. But they’re struggling after deep funding cuts.

“We urge you to restore full funding for public media and protect America’s information ecosystem. . .”

“CNN and CNBC have signed deals with Kalshi, an online gambling company, to push betting odds directly into the news.

“No matter how bad you think it could get – the reality is probably worse: Kalshi recently ran a betting market on the probability of famine in Gaza. And Donald Trump Jr. has recently joined them as a ‘strategic advisor,’ raising even more alarms about how these gambling markets could be weaponized for political gain. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.commoncause.org/actions/save-impartial-public-media/

Slow News Week on El Salvador

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Article in The Hill by Sarah Fortinsky, 12/25/25

Headline:  “Bari Weiss defends 60 Minutes decision in memo to CBS News staff”

: . . .The new top editor’s decision to pull the segment — which was set to highlight conditions inside the notorious Salvadoran prison where the Trump administration has deported Venezuelan migrants — drew sharp backlash this week, including from the segment’s own correspondent, who called the move ‘political.’

“But Weiss, in her message to the news staff, attributed the widespread blowback to a ‘slow news week.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5663141-bari-weiss-60-minutes-segment/

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Article in Raw Story by John Stoehr, 12/25/25

Headline:  “The Bari Weiss 60 Minutes scandal is just one sign of drastic media rot”

“In light of the scandal at 60 Minutes, it bears repeating that the primary crisis facing American democracy is about information. There are just too many ways for the rich and powerful to control the truth. . .”

Read the full story at:

https://www.rawstory.com/raw-investigates/2674824432/

Reading the “Fake News” Now?

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Article in The Washington Post by Meryl Kornfield, Hannah Natanson, and Azi Paybarag, 12/25/25

Headline:  “Despite anti-media rhetoric, the government is still reading the news”

Subhead:  “The Trump administration is spending tens of thousands of dollars on paywalled news sites, including Politico and Bloomberg, despite earlier criticism of media outlets.”

“Agencies across the Trump administration have taken out subscriptions in recent months to news organizations that officials had very publicly cut off this year, reversing an earlier decision to cancel them that Elon Musk, senior White House aides and President Donald Trump had declared was necessary to end what they called a scandal. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/12/24/paywalled-news-sites-trump-administration/

Media 2025, What happened?

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Article in Statusnews by Oliver Darcy, 12/23/25

Headline:  “Status Check: The Winners and Losers of 2025:”

Subhead:  “In a year defined by consolidation, political pressure, and audience upheaval, these are the media figures who finished 2025 on top—and those who watched their influence fade.”

“2025 was a bruising year for the media industry. Established giants from New York to Hollywood were pushed deeper into upheaval by relentless consolidation, fleeing audiences, and mounting political pressure. At the same time, artificial intelligence posed a growing dilemma for newsrooms, audience trust continued to fray, and Donald Trump’s return to power once again warped executive decisions. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/media-winners-losers-2025