Media Climate Depresses People

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Article in the New Republic by Heather Souvaine Horn, 11/22/24

Headline: “How to Make Your Daily Media Consumption Less Depressing
A guide to postelection “takes” for climate-concerned readers”

“Climate-concerned readers and voters are in a tough spot. They don’t have the postelection coping options – escapism, despair, biding one’s time till the next election – open to some other people. The Biden administration’s climate policy”

“. . . If we are truly in an all-hands-on-deck moment (I think that we are), and if, as numerous experts have emphasized, every fraction of a degree of warming matters, then postelection analyses and prescriptions that don’t offer some discernible and actionable kernel of wisdom, lighting (however dimly) one plausible path forward, are pointless, and can be discarded without further ado.”

https://newrepublic.com/post/188694/climate-democrats-election-reading

Economic Reporting in Conservative Media

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Article in FAIR by Conor Smyth, 11/20/21

Headline:  “It’s the Economic Reporting, Stupid”

“Conservative media, unsurprisingly, appears to be a major culprit in the miseducation of the American public, with people whose primary media source is conservative media registering lower familiarity with reality than those who stuck mainly to other media sources. (Reliance on social media, too, was associated with less knowledge of basic facts.)

“But even among those who primarily get their news from the more general category of cable/national newspapers, a third didn’t realize that inflation had declined over the past year. Voters’ lack of knowledge, therefore, cannot simply be laid at the feet of the conservative press. Corporate outlets more broadly must share the blame.”

https://fair.org/home/its-the-economic-reporting-stupid/

Conservative Media Extremists in Ascendance

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Article in Media Matters by Staff, 11/19/24

Headline: “On MSNBC’s Deadline: White House, Angelo Carusone explains the role extremists in conservative media are playing in the Trump transition”

“ICOLLE WALLACE (HOST): At a time when global tensions are high, the war in Ukraine is intensifying, Donald Trump’s decision to tap Tulsi Gabbard as his incoming Director of National Intelligence is raising alarms, as you heard there. New reporting uncovers how she has become a favorite among the state media, of one of America’s adversaries, Russia.

“That’s according to The New York Times, which reports, “In Russia, the reaction to her potential appointed has been gleeful, even if Putin’s government remains weary of American policies, even under a second Trump administration. ‘The CIA and the FBI are trembling,’ a Russian newspaper wrote on Friday in a glowing profile of Ms. Gabbard, noting positively, that Ukrainians consider ‘an agent of the Russian state.”

https://www.mediamatters.org/angelo-carusone/msnbcs-deadline-white-house-angelo-carusone-explains-role-extremists-conservative

Prediction for US Journalists from Nation of Georgia?

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Article in Citizens to Protect Journalism by Staff 11/20/24

Headline:  “Georgian police obstruct, detain journalists covering election protests”

“Local rights groups recorded at least four incidents of police assaulting or obstructing journalists covering a November 19 election protest in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.

“Georgian opposition parties have alleged fraud and are protesting the results of the October 26 parliamentary election, in which the ruling Georgian Dream party was declared winner.”

https://cpj.org/2024/11/georgian-police-obstruct-detain-journalists-covering-election-protests/

On the Media Roller Coaster – Resist or Comply?

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Article in Mother Jones by David Corn, 11/20/24

Headline:  “The Media and Trump: Not Resistance, But Not Acceptance”

“. . . My hunch is that a line will form across the media landscape between those entities that cover the Trump crowd in a relatively normal fashion—What is the president thinking? What are his advisers telling him? What is happening between the White House and Congress? What’s the latest palace intrigue? Who’s invited to the state dinner? What do the polls say?—and those who view as the overarching story the profound threat of authoritarianism posed by Trump and his henchmen and henchwomen. Do the usual political stories matter as much if Trump moves ahead with plans to deport millions and to place in power assorted extremists? Or if he moves to undermine democracy?”

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/11/donald-trump-robert-kennedy-jr-media-press-accommodationist-sanewashing/

 

TV Networks Not Valuable Now?

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Article in MSN by Peter Kafka, 11/20/24

Headline: “Comcast doesn’t want its cable TV networks anymore”

“Cable networks used to be incredibly valuable. But in the streaming and cord-cutting era, they’re in decline.

“That’s why Comcast is ditching almost all its cable networks into a new stand-alone company.
It would like to persuade other cable-TV owners to join in.

“One of the country’s biggest cable TV companies doesn’t want its cable networks anymore. Would you like them?

“That’s the pitch Comcast is making Wednesday as it announces plans to split off almost all its cable TV networks into a new company. It’s the same pitch Comcast floated as a possibility back in October, and most of the details are the same.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/news/ar-AA1uqTTV

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Article in Slashdot by BeauHD, 11/20/24

Headline: “Comcast Spins Offf Cable Networks”

“Comcast plans to spin off several of its cable TV networks into a standalone company as it shifts focus to streaming and other profitable ventures like Peacock, theme parks, and broadband services. The Associated Press reports:

“Those one-time stars for Comcast’s NBCUniversal cable television networks include USA, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel, as well as CNBC and MSNBC. Movie ticketing platform Fandango and the Rotten Tomatoes movie rating site would also become part of the new company. Peacock will remain with Comcast, as will Bravo, which provides significant content for the Peacock streaming service.”

https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/24/11/20/2142254/comcast-spins-off-cable-networks

New FCC Head Proposed

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Article in Slashdot by Msmash, 11/18/24

Headline:  “Trunp Picks Carr to Head FCC to Fight ‘Censorship’ Cartel’ ”

“Donald Trump has named FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr to chair the U.S. communications regulator when he takes office in January 2025, citing Carr’s stance against what Trump called ‘regulatory lawfare.’ Carr, a lawyer and longtime Republican who has served at the FCC under both Trump and Biden administrations, has emerged as a vocal critic of major social media companies’ content moderation practices.

” ‘Humbled and honored’ by the appointment, Carr pledged on X to ‘dismantle the censorship cartel.’ As the FCC’s senior Republican commissioner, Carr has advocated for stricter oversight of technology companies, pushing for transparency rules on platforms like Google and Facebook.”

https://news.slashdot.org/story/24/11/18/1445208/trump-picks-carr-to-head-fcc-with-pledge-to-fight-censorship-cartel

Looking for White House Job? Apply at Fox News

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Watch your chickens!

Article in Media Matters Written by Media Matters Staff, 11/18/24

Headline:  “Donald Trump is using Fox News as a staffing agency”: Matt Gertz discusses with On The Media the revolving door between Fox and the second Trump administration”

“GERTZ: This is how Trump gets his news. This is how his worldview is changed. It’s one segment at a time.

“GLADSTONE: He has a certain set of skills, certainly as a Fox News host, right? But secretary of defense needs a different set of skills.

“GERTZ: Right. The set of skills that you need for being a Fox News host is understanding how to push the buttons of the MAGA faithful. And the way that Fox hosts traditionally do that is by making those viewers afraid, making those viewers angry.

“GLADSTONE: You’ve also noticed that this revolving door also works the other way. Several Trump staffers signed on with Fox News after Trump left office.

“GERTZ: During or after his term, yes. Tom Homan was previously the head of ICE. After he retired from ICE in summer of 2018, he got a job at Fox News. He would denounce Democrats for standing against Trump’s border policies. He would call for evermore draconian measures. He would say the things that Donald Trump wanted to hear.”

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/donald-trump-using-fox-news-staffing-agency-matt-gertz-discusses-media-revolving-door

 

More Media Abandon X

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Article in Common Dreams by Olivia Rosane, 11/15/24

Headline:  “Major Media Reform Group Says Goodbye to Musk’s ‘Toxic Twitter'”

Subhead:  “It’s clear that X will not correct course under Musk’s leadership, and it’s time for Free Press to exit.”

“Media watchdog Free Press announced on Thursday that it would leave the social media platform formerly known as Twitter over concerns about owner Elon Musk’s platforming of hateful speech, fostering an increase of disinformation, and his intensifying harassment of critics

“In doing so, the advocacy group joined the more than 100,000 U.S. users who have abandoned Musk’s X following Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election last week. Musk aggressively used the site to boost Trump and his campaign, promoting him with tweets worth $24 million and spreading disinformation about the Democratic Party and the integrity of U.S. voting infrastructure.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/free-press-leaves-toxic-twitter

Traditional Media vs. Social Media

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Article in Mediaite by Zachary Leeman , 11/19/24

Headline:   “Morning Joe’s Mike Barnicle Fears for Cable News After Social Media Poll: ‘I Don’t Know How We Make Ourselves Relevant Again’ “

“Barnicle admitted he doesn’t have a clue how cable news and mainstream media can compete with quick snippets on social media.

“ ‘I don’t know how we make ourselves relevant again because we can’t compete with 20 second snippets on an iPhone, walking up the street and getting your entire news digest of the day in less than a minute on your phone as you’re walking in a crowd with coffee in one hand and your phone in the other. I don’t know how we catch up to that,’ he said.”

https://www.mediaite.com/media/morning-joes-mike-barnicle-fears-for-cable-news-after-social-media-poll-i-dont-know-how-we-make-ourselves-relevant-again/