Anarchist Airtime?

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 9/23/25

Headline:  “You Don’t Know Jack”

Subhead:  “CNN’s interview with Jack Posobiec prompted internal backlash, while raising larger questions about how mainstream outlets cover far-right figures”

“Earlier this month, in the chaotic aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, CNN correspondent Meena Duerson sat down with far-right media personality Jack Posobiec to discuss his friend’s murder. Posobiec, of course, was no ordinary grieving ally—he has spent years spreading misinformation, promoting conspiracy theories, and inciting harassment against journalists.

“So it was jarring, to say the least, to see him appear on CNN’s air. What was more surprising was that the network, which gave the package prime placement on ‘Erin Burnett OutFront,’ didn’t note any of his long history of pumping toxic waste into the information ecosystem, nor did it confront him with tough questions about his well-documented behavior as an online MAGA troll. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/cnn-jack-posobiec-interview-backlash

Media Megaphones

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Article in Daily Kos by Olliver Willis, 9/22/25

Headline:  “Trump gives his Fox News pals a new platform to push propaganda”

“President Donald Trump has reportedly chosen Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, owners of Fox News, as part of a group that will have control over TikTok’s influential algorithm.

The move further consolidates right-wing media control while the Trump administration engages in a full-scale assault on the First Amendment. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/9/22/2344922/-Trump-gives-his-Fox-News-pals-a-new-platform-to-push-propaganda?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_1&pm_medium=web

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Article in The New York Times by David Streitfeld and Theodore Schleifer, 9/23/25

Headline:  “Larry Ellison, a Media Mogul Like No Other”

Subhead: “The database billionaire and his son, David, are Trump favorites. The family could soon control an empire that includes CBS, Paramount, Warner, CNN and a piece of TikTok.”

” . . . At any other time, the regulatory hurdles to owning TikTok, CBS and CNN along with a major swath of Hollywood would have been insurmountable. This is a decidedly different era, where being in the good graces of Mr. Trump counts for a great deal. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/technology/larry-ellison-oracle-tiktok.html

Fox Not Covering Gift-Wrapping?

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 9/22/25

Headline: “Fox averts its eyes from former employee Homan reportedly receiving a bag of cash”

Subhead: “Fox News has yet to address on-air the recent reports that White House border czar Tom Homan, while working as a contributor for the network in September 2024, accepted a bag of cash from undercover FBI agents as part of a corruption investigation which was subsequently closed under the Trump administration.”

“In an undercover operation last year, the FBI recorded Tom Homan, now the White House border czar, accepting $50,000 in cash after indicating he could help the agents — who were posing as business executives — win government contracts in a second Trump administration, according to multiple people familiar with the probe and internal documents reviewed by MSNBC. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/fox-averts-its-eyes-former-employee-homan-reportedly-receiving-bag-cash

Free Speech – or No Speech?

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Mario Savio Free Speech Movement – Bettman via Getty Images

Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jon Alsop, 9/22/25

Headline:  “Freedom And/or Speech”

Subhead:  “The boundaries of free speech have always been contested. That’s not what’s going on this time.”

“. . .Trump’s recent rhetoric about ‘illegal’ coverage and all the rest is, on one level, very scary. But for those interested in protecting their First Amendment rights—including, hopefully, the entirety of the press—it might also be preferable to the alternative: namely, the arbitrary and opaque cranking of oppressive bureaucratic machinery. Trump’s threats are so explicit that news organizations have no excuse but to identify them for what they are. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/freedom-andor-speech-douthat-kilroy-disney-kimmel-censor-abc-trump.php

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 9/22/25

Headline:  “Opinion | Trump’s escalating war on speech raises a chilling question: Where does it end?”‘

“. . . CNN’s Brian Stelter summed it up really well in his ‘Reliable Sources’ newsletter by writing, “Imagine we’re all stuck in an elevator together. The elevator is only moving in one direction — downward. Every time the doors open, we’re at some new, lower level. No one knows how to reverse course. No one knows what awaits us at the very bottom.’

“I’ll add this: No one knows where the very bottom is. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/trump-attacks-free-speech-jimmy-kimmel-abc-fcc-press-freedom/

The Media “Enforcer”

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Article in The Washington Post by Tom Benner, 9/22/25

Headline:  “Brendan Carr, the FCC muscle behind Trump’s anti-media crusade”

Subhead:  “FCC chair Brendan Carr has emerged as one of the top lieutenants in President Trump’s war against the media. How much power does he really hold?”

“Hours before the suspension was announced, Carr seemed to threaten FCC action against networks, saying ‘we can do this the easy way or the hard way,’ and advising Disney and other media companies to ‘find ways to change conduct.’ Carr denies playing a direct role in the Kimmel suspension, but critics say Carr has emerged as Trump’s top enforcer in the president’s war against the media. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/post-reports/brendan-carr-the-fcc-muscle-behind-trumps-antimedia-crusade/

 

Cracks in Republican Media Wall

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Article in The Guardian by Edward Helmore, 9/22/25

Headline: “Republican slams FCC chair’s comments on Kimmel suspension: ‘absolutely inappropriate’ “

Subhead:  “Rand Paul, a Kentucky senator, also said Disney and ABC have no obligation to employ the late-night host”

“Republican US senator Rand Paul broke with Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr for seemingly putting his finger on the scale in the ongoing dispute between suspended talkshow host Jimmy Kimmel and his employer, Disney-owned ABC. . .”

“Paul told Meet the Press that Carr’s comments were ‘absolutely inappropriate’ and the FCC chair ‘has got no business weighing in on this’.

“ ‘Any attempt by the government to get involved with speech – I will fight,’ Paul added. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/22/rand-paul-fcc-brendan-carr-jimmy-kimmel-suspension

Shots at the Media

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Article in Media Matters by Gideon Taaffe. et. al., 9/18/25

Headline:  “How right-wing media sow distrust and confusion around vaccines and science”

Subhead: “As Florida ends school vaccine requirements and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s leadership comes under fire, the right has repackaged anti-science talking points as well-meaning skepticism”

“Amid the rise of the so-called ‘Make America Healthy Again’ movement, right-wing media figures have employed a variety of tactics that sow doubt and confusion around vaccine efficacy and science more broadly. These efforts to capitalize on existing distrust of public health institutions and pharmaceutical companies have gained renewed momentum following Florida’s elimination of vaccine requirements for schools . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/how-maha-media-sow-distrust-and-confusion-around-vaccines-and-science

Don’t like what you hear? – Attack!

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Amos Barshad, 9/18/25

Headline:  “The Campaign Against Network Television Picks Up Steam”

Subhead:  “The suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s show was just the latest result of an ongoing conservative effort to stamp out unfavorable voices.”

“Carr and his conservative allies have made no secret of their desire to use the power of the FCC to change what Americans see and hear on the radio and television stations that rely on public airwaves. Since January, Carr’s FCC has opened inquiries into Saturday Night Live, 60 Minutes, and the entirety of NPR. When Paramount, the parent company of CBS, sought to merge with the production company Skydance, the FCC required CBS News to appoint a conservative ‘bias monitor’ before granting its approval. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/abc-jimmy-kimmel-fcc-brendan-carr.php

One Party, One Media

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Article in FAIR by Ari Paul, 9/19/25

Headline: “As Ellison Buys Out TikTok, US Moves Toward One-Party Media”

Larry Ellison, founder of the software firm Oracle, is the second-richest billionaire in both the US and the world, and for a brief moment was No. 1 in the world (AP, 9/11/25). . .”

“Former CBS Evening News star Dan Rather (Hollywood Reporter, 9/15/25) said Americans “have to be concerned about the consolidation of huge billionaires getting control of nearly all of the major news outlets. . .”

“Rather and others are right that the Ellison duo taking over both CBS and CNN, as well as controlling a major social media network like TikTok, would be dangerous for democracy. And given their closeness to the Trump regime, that seems to be the point.”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/as-ellison-buys-out-tiktok-us-moves-toward-one-party-media/

Media Godfather?

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Article in The New York Times by Staff, 9/19/25

Headline:  “Trump Administration Live Updates: Cruz Calls F.C.C. Threats to Media ‘Dangerous as Hell’ “

“Cruz comments: Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, harshly criticized the Federal Communications Commission chairman, Brendan Carr, accusing him of mafia-like tactics and saying his threat to retaliate against media companies for speech on their airwaves was ‘dangerous as hell.’ President Trump said that news reporters who cover his administration negatively have broken the law, a significant broadening of his attacks on journalists . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/09/19/us/trump-news

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Article in The Washington Post by Alec Dent, 9/19/25

Headline:  “Republican Ted Cruz says FCC chair’s threats about Kimmel are ‘dangerous’ “

Subhead: “The conservative senator warns that letting the government threaten to censor voices it doesn’t like could hurt the political right if Democrats return to power.”

“. . .’No, no, no, no,’ Cruz said on his show after playing Carr’s comments. ‘What he said there is dangerous as hell.’ He added: ‘That’s right out of “Goodfellas.” That’s right out of a mafioso coming into a bar. “God, nice bar you have here. It’d be a shame if something happened to it”. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/09/19/ted-cruz-carr-fcc-jimmy-kimmel/