Entertaining Propaganda?

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Article in The Atlantic by Anne Applebaum, 10/27/25

Headline:  “The Pentagon’s Version of Regime Propaganda”

Subhead:  “The Trump administration is trying to muddle reality—and create apathy.”

“When you imagine media in a dictatorship, you probably think of something dull and gray. Maybe a Soviet state-television program, extolling the annual harvest. Perhaps a smudgy newspaper photograph of Chairman Mao or General Pinochet, surrounded by blocks of turgid prose.

“But if that is your mental picture, then your imagination is out of date. Nowadays, authoritarian propaganda can be varied, colorful, even mesmerizing. . .”

“For the first time in our history, the Department of Defense has been carefully preparing to offer Americans something similar: not information but entertainment, scandal, sycophancy, and jokes. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/10/pentagon-press-restrictions-new-media-propaganda/684706/

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 10/27/25

Headline:  “Pete Hegseth is replacing the Pentagon press corps with MAGA propagandists”

“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is stifling the Pentagon’s channels for public information and cutting off avenues for accountability as U.S. forces deploy on missions of dubious legality that are fraught with potential danger. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/pete-hegseth/pete-hegseth-replacing-pentagon-press-corps-maga-propagandists

US Cuts Independent Media

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Article in The Nation by Rani Chor, 10/23/25

Headline:  “Independent Media in Cambodia Is Collapsing. Washington Made It Worse.”

Subhead:  “The Thai-Cambodian border conflict is just one of the many stories going underreported in the country as Trump’s funding cuts leave citizens and journalists scrambling.”

“. . .All the while, independent local journalists struggle to tell the stories of those in Run Ta Ek and across the country as funding for their reporting runs dry. . .”

“In January 2025, President Donald Trump signed an order to suspend foreign assistance—resulting in a devastating drop in funding for independent media, particularly in fragile or authoritarian contexts where support is most needed. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/independent-media-cambodia-usaid-budget-cuts/#

Newspaper – Just Axing?

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Article in The Nation by Ella Curlin, 10/24/25

Headline: “Why Did Indiana University Axe Its Award-Winning Print Newspaper?”

Subhead: “If the administration can censor the Indiana Daily Student—one of the most acclaimed student publications in the nation—then student journalism everywhere is at risk.”

“On street corners across Bloomington, Indiana, newspaper boxes sit empty. Nearly two weeks ago, on October 14, Indiana University cut the award-winning print version of the Indiana Daily Student—just hours after firing the paper’s adviser—ending 158 years of print journalism two days before the next edition was set to publish. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/indiana-university-student-newspaper-censorship/#

Redlining the Media?

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Article in The Black Wall Street Times by Tiana Manon, 10/20/25

Headline: ” FCC Drew the Map: Media Redlining Still Shapes Who Controls the Airwaves”

Subhead: “ ‘Media Redlining,’ How Today’s Media Inequality is Rooted in Harmful Historic FCC Practices”

“The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has recently made headlines for its approval of the massive and controversial merger between Paramount and CBS deal and for investigating the DEI practices of companies like Comcast. Across the industry more broadly, major firings of Karen Attiah at the Washington Post and the temporary suspension of Jimmy Kimmel caused rumblings among everyday people who worry about the administration’s overreach. And now most recently, President Donald Trump’s lashing out at Al Sharpton for his show on MSNBC, stating perhaps the FCC should “look into” it. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://theblackwallsttimes.com/2025/10/20/fcc-drew-the-map-media-redlining-still-shapes-who-controls-the-airwaves/

Journalist Opinion Not Allowed

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Article in The Guardian by Michael Sainato, 10/26/25

Headline:  “ICE detains British journalist after criticism of Israel on US tour”

Subhead:  “Trump ally Laura Loomer took credit for Sami Hamdi’s detainment in move denounced as ‘affront to free speech’ “

“British journalist Sami Hamdi was reportedly detained on Sunday morning by federal immigration authorities at San Francisco international airport, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) says that action is apparent retaliation for the Muslim political commentator’s criticism of Israel while touring the US. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/26/ice-detains-british-muslim-journalist-laura-loomer

Don’t Look in the Media-Mirror!

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Article in Comic Sands by Amelia Mavis Christnot, 10/23/25

Headline:  “Fox News Host’s Gripe About The ‘Slobbering Media’ Is An Awkward Self-Own For The Ages”

Subhead:  “Greg Gutfeld called out the ‘allied slobbering media’ while criticizing former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s new book—and the hypocrisy is off the charts. . .”

“Gutfeld, a well-documented media minion for MAGA Republican President Donald Trump, made the hypocrisy of his gripes evident by including effusive, over-the-top praise of Trump as part of his indictment of the media coverage of President Biden. . .”

“Gutfeld, apparently unaware of his own network’s programming or reality, claimed:

” ‘Who is the most successful politician this century? Donald Trump, with 98% of the media against him.’

” ‘Then you look at the KJPs, you look at the Joe Bidens, you look at the Kamala Harrises. They are all abject, pathetic figures. They’re failures, and they had the media on their side. They failed.’

” ‘What does that tell you? An allied slobbering media does you no favors. It leaves you as an incompetent, arrogant, entitled fool’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.comicsands.com/greg-gutfeld-slobbering-media

When Students Are Censored

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Bill Grueskin, 10/24/25

Headline: “Hoosier Journalistic Paragon? . . .”

” ‘WE ________ JOURNALISTS MUST STAND TOGETHER.’

“That all-caps headline ran on the front page of a newspaper a few days ago. Can you fill in the blank?

“[Waiting…]

“If you guessed ‘WHITE HOUSE,’ just know that we find your naïveté sweetly (but sadly) endearing.

“If you guessed “PENTAGON,” you are getting much warmer.

“And if you guessed ‘STUDENT,’ come collect your winnings (which consist of our admiration for your brilliance)

“This all came about after administrators at Indiana University cracked down on the Indiana Daily Student newspaper. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/laurels-and-darts/hoosier-journalistic-paragon.php

CBS News Moving Right Along

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 10/24/25

Headline:  “Bret Baier touts CBS News’ move toward ‘more balance’ and ‘coverage that’s fair’ ”

Subhead:  “In an interview with Sean Hannity, Baier denounced the ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ of mainstream reporters”

“Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier — who is reportedly under consideration to take over CBS Evening News — spent part of Thursday afternoon praising CBS News’ rightward shift and his Trumpist colleague Sean Hannity’s coverage of ‘Russia, Russia, Russia,’ panning mainstream reporters for purportedly demonstrating ‘Trump derangement syndrome’ in an interview on Hannity’s radio show.

Oliver Darcy reported Thursday for his Status newsletter that Bari Weiss, the CBS News editor-in-chief recently installed to move the network to the right, ‘has spoken to associates about bringing Baier into the CBS News fold, potentially for the ‘CBS Evening News’ anchor chair.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/bret-baier/bret-baier-touts-cbs-news-move-toward-more-balance-and-coverage-thats-fair

Journalism by Order of Management

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 10/24/25

Headline:   “Ex-60 Minutes producer Bill Owens says bosses discouraged him from covering Gaza and Trump”

Subhead: “Show’s leader, who resigned in April, says he was also pressured to apologize for edit of Kamala Harris interview”

“The former executive producer of 60 Minutes, Bill Owens, said he faced intense internal pressure from his corporate bosses to avoid certain stories that had the potential to generate backlash for parent company Paramount, in his first public remarks since his sudden resignation in late April.. .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/24/60-minutes-bill-owens

Public Radio Fallout

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Article in Freepress.net by Amy Kroin, 10/23/25

Hedline:  “The Defunding of Public Media Is Hitting Local Stations Hardest”

Subhead:  “The decision to end federal funding for public media in the United States already has local stations reeling. . .”

“A New York Times analysis found that 245 stations in rural communities were at risk of closure. That’s because rural stations were far more dependent on CPB funding than many urban stations, which often have a far greater range of underwriters and larger donor pools.

Rural stations have long served as a lifeline for local communities. At a time when media consolidation has decimated local news, public-media stations are often the only source of local journalism. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/blog/defunding-public-media-hitting-local-stations-hardest

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Article in NPR by Staff, 10/22/25

Headline: “How Funding Cuts Are Changing Public Radio”

“This summer, Republicans clawed back over a billion dollars that had been pledged to public media. . . . Now, many stations are weighing whether to spend their shrinking budgets on national programming from the likes of NPR, or to fund journalism on their local communities. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.npr.org/podcasts/452538775/on-the-media