Community Radio – Last Hope For News

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Article in Reporters Without Borders by Partager, 9/17/25

Headline:  “RSF releases new documentary on community radio stations, the last bastions of reliable news in the Sahel”

“As several Sahel countries face growing insecurity and their media are heavily pressured, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is screening ‘Community radios: the fight to keep the Sahel informed,’ its new documentary dedicated to community radio stations, in Dakar. The film delves into the daily lives of three journalists from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, essential workers in the news industry.

Read the full article at:

https://rsf.org/en/rsf-releases-new-documentary-community-radio-stations-last-bastions-reliable-news-sahel

Media Monopoly?

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Article in Mediaite by Colby Hallm 9/17/25

Headline: “Can Larry Ellison and TikTok Rescue the TV Industry?”

“Once upon a time, television was the fireplace around which America gathered. Paramount’s movies filled the multiplex, CBS’s anchors narrated history, CNN beamed wars and elections into living rooms.

“Now the hearth has been replaced by a five-inch rectangle that no one can put down . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/opinion/can-larry-ellison-and-tiktok-rescue-the-tv-industry/

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Article in Democracy Now by Staff, 9/16/25

Headline:  “Billionaire Larry Ellison Could Add TikTok to Media Empire as U.S. and China Reach Deal”

“Larry Ellison has a decades-long history with the Republican Party and has frequented Trump’s Mar-a-Lago for dinners and has met Trump in the Oval Office. . .”

“This comes just months after the Trump administration cleared the way for an $8 billion merger between Paramount and Skydance, which is run by David Ellison, son of Larry Ellison.  . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.democracynow.org/2025/9/16/headlines/billionaire_larry_ellison_could_add_tiktok_to_media_empire_as_us_and_china_reach_deal

Free Speech Firestorm

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LINKS TO HEADLINES ON THREATS TO FREE SPEECH 9/18/25

 

Article inVox by Cameron Peters:   “Trump’s brazen attack on free speech”

https://www.vox.com/the-logoff-newsletter-trump/461990/jimmy-kimmel-trump-carr-free-speech-attack

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Article in The Guardian by Joseph Gedeon & Marina Dunbar :  “Trump suggests punishing TV networks for ‘negative’ coverage amid outrage over Kimmel suspension –  President says Jimmy Kimmel was ‘not a talented person’ as critics decry show’s suspension as an attack on free speech”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/18/jimmy-kimmel-show-trump

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Article in The Hill by Brett Samuels:  “Trump on Jimmy Kimmel: Networks that only criticize him ‘not allowed to do that’ “

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5510784-trump-jimmy-kimmel-criticism/

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Article in Mediaite by Michael Luciano:  “FCC Commissioner Rebukes Agency’s Chair, Says ‘We Don’t Have the Authority’ To Retaliate Against Broadcasters”

ttps://www.mediaite.com/media/news/fcc-commissioner-rebukes-agencys-chair-says-we-dont-have-the-authority-to-retaliate-against-broadcasters/

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Article in Meidasnews by Aaron Parnas :  “Rep. Robert Garcia Launches Probe Into Trump Administration, ABC, and Sinclair – Oversight Ranking Member Denounces ‘Corrupt Schemes’ Amid Censorship Concerns”

https://meidasnews.com/news/rep-robert-garcia-launches-probe-into-trump-administration-abc-and-sinclair

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Article in AlterNet by Carl Gibson:” ‘Blatant assault on freedom of speech’: Colbert issues scathing takedown of ABC and Trump”

https://www.alternet.org/colbert-trump-kimmel/

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Article in Common Dreams by Julia Conley :   ” ‘Red Alert Moment’ for Free Speech as ABC Cowers to Trump FCC and Cancels Kimmel – These companies are turning the public airwaves into another propaganda arm of the Trump regime,’ said one critic.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/jimmy-kimmel-show-canceled

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Article in Raw Story by Robert Reich:  “Trump just opened another front in his all-out war on U.S. media”

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-kimmel-2674006230/?utm_source=breaking

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Article in Poynter by Ellen Clegg:  “Opinion | Why unsigned newspaper editorials no longer work – The Boston Globe’s response to Charlie Kirk’s murder highlighted how anonymous editorials can sound hollow and out of touch”

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/boston-globe-charlie-kirk-editorials-problem/

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz:  “Jimmy Kimmel and the MAGA strong-arming of American media”

https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/jimmy-kimmel-and-maga-strong-arming-american-media

Media in a Sea of Scandal

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 9/1625

Headline:  “Another massive Trump corruption scandal for right-wing media to bury”

Subhead:  “How many orders of magnitude worse is Trump’s corruption than various Hunter Biden claims the right said justified his father’s impeachment: An investigation”

“. . .It goes without saying that the volume of coverage right-wing media outlets give to these shady deals won’t be proportionate — or even inversely proportionate — to what they provided for those Biden stories. Indeed, when House Democrats issued a report last year showing that China directed millions of dollars straight to Donald Trump’s businesses during Trump’s first term, Hannity promptly excused him and moved on. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/another-massive-trump-corruption-scandal-right-wing-media-bury

Kancel Kulture Kimmel?

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Article in Free Press by Staff, 9/17/25

Headline: “Federal Censorship Commission Reaches New Low in Push to Force Jimmy Kimmel Off the Air”

“. . .The move followed threats Trump FCC Chairman Brendan Carr made in an interview with right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson. ‘We can do this the easy way or the hard way,’ Carr said. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take actions on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/federal-censorship-commission-reaches-new-low-push-force-jimmy-kimmel-air

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Article in Raw Story by Matthew Chapman, 9/17/25

Headline:  ” ‘Terrible’: Ex-White House strategist issues chilling alarm at Trump’s ‘media takeover ‘ “

“Former White House strategist Ben Rhodes sounded the alarm on MSNBC’s “All In” Wednesday evening, following the Trump administration’s successful strong-arming of ABC News into indefinitely suspending late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s show.

“Kimmel was yanked after he criticized how the media bent to pro-Trump narratives about right-wing activist Charlie Kirk following his assassination. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.rawstory.com/jimmy-kimmel-2674004901/

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Article in Daily Kos by Lisa Needham

Headline:  “Federal government forces Jimmy Kimmel off the air. RIP First Amendment.”

“Man, you gotta hand it to ABC. The speed with which it will knuckle under to President Donald Trump is really impressive.

“It took only a few hours for the powers that be to indefinitely sideline award-winning late-night host Jimmy Kimmel after the Trump administration expressed displeasure with Kimmel’s recent monologue. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/9/17/2344089/-Federal-government-forces-Jimmy-Kimmel-off-the-air-RIP-First-Amendment?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_1&pm_medium=web

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Article in New York Times by By John KoblinMichael M. Grynbaum and Brooks Barne, 9/17/25

Headline: “ABC Pulls Jimmy Kimmel Off Air for Charlie Kirk Comments After F.C.C. Pressure”

Subhead: “Mr. Kimmel faced criticism from the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission for remarks about the motives of the man who is accused of killing Mr. Kirk, the conservative activist . . .”

Read the fill article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/business/media/abc-jimmy-kimmel.html

Legacy Media Not Looking

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Article in Common Dreams by Joseph Bouchard, 9/16/25

Headline:  “Trump’s Venezuela Boat Strikes Are War Crimes, So Where’s The Media?”

Subhead:  “Why hasn’t the mainstream media pressed the administration on these strikes being illegal and dangerous (and unpopular)?”

“On September 2, the Trump administration shared footage purporting to show a US strike on a Venezuelan fishing boat. Even if we take the incident entirely at face value (and there are a lot of reasons to question the video itself)—the US Navy attacked a fishing boat off Venezuela, killing 11 people. On Monday, another strike was allegedly conducted on a boat, killing three people. The way the media has handled these strikes is an indictment of the state of American neoliberal reporting in a neofascist age. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-boat-strikes-crimes

Trial Times

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Article in Daily Kos by Oliver Willis, 9/16/24

Headline: “The New York Times has done so much for Trump—but it’s never enough”

“Following months of mainstream media capitulation toward President Donald Trump and his administration, Trump filed a $15 billion lawsuit on Monday night against The New York Times. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/9/16/2343832/-The-New-York-Times-has-done-so-much-for-Trump-but-it-s-never-enough?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_1&pm_medium=web

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Article in Poynter by Angela Fu, 9/16/25

Headline:  “Legal experts doubt Trump’s chances in his $15B defamation suit against The New York Times”

Subhead:  “The case, filed in Florida, faces high hurdles under longstanding defamation precedent”

“President Donald Trump sued The New York Times Monday, demanding at least $15 billion in damages for what he alleges has been defamatory coverage of his rise to power. . .”

“Regardless of venue, Trump must meet a high burden to prove he was defamed. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2025/trump-sues-new-york-times-lawsuit/

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Article in The Guardian by Michael Savage, /16/25

Headline:  “Donald Trump files $15bn lawsuit against the New York Times”

Subhead:  “Title says it will not be ‘deterred by intimidation tactics’ after US president announces latest legal action”

“Donald Trump has filed a $15bn defamation lawsuit against the New York Times in his latest use of legal action targeting a major media outlet. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/16/donald-trump-says-he-is-suing-new-york-times-15bn-lawsuit-against-newspaper-ntwnfb

Selective Firing?

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Article in Free Press by Staff, 9/16/25

Headline: “The Media 2070 Project Denounces the Washington Post’s Firing of Columnist Karen Attiah”

“On Monday, Karen Attiah, a Washington Post opinion columnist, wrote on her Substack that the paper had fired her over her social-media posts on gun violence and race following the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk last week in Utah.

“Attiah wrote she was fired for “speaking out against political violence, racial double standards, and America’s apathy toward guns.”

“Attiah noted she was “the last remaining Black full-time opinion columnist at the Post, in one of the nation’s most diverse regions,” adding that her firing “is part of a broader purge of Black voices from academia, business, government, and media — a historical pattern as dangerous as it is shameful — and tragic. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/media-2070-project-denounces-washington-posts-firing-columnist-karen-attiah

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Article in The New Republic by Perry Bacon, 9/15/25

Headline:  “Black Voices Are Vital to Democracy. The Media Must Stop Firing Them.”

Subhead:   “The Washington Post’s Karen Attiah is the latest prominent Black journalist to lose her job. The trend is a sign of retrenchment in both fighting racism and saving democracy.”

“. . .And while the media changes are more subtle, the racial retrenchment is obvious. Republican appointees on the Supreme Court and lower-level courts and now the Trump administration have essentially outlawed any program that seeks to address racial disparities.

“Put these retrenchments together, and you have a very hostile environment for Black journalists. The political right is trying to basically outlaw any discussion of racial inequality—and news organizations are trying to appease the political right. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/200462/karen-attiah-black-voices-firing

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 9/15/25

Headline:  “Fired by The Post”

Subhead:  “The Washington Post said it fired Karen Attiah over comments she made about white men in the wake of Charle Kirk’s death, Status has learned”

Read the article at:

https://www.status.news/p/karen-attiah-fired-washington-post-charlie-kirk

Berg, Kirk & Violence

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jon Alsop, 9/15/25

Headline:  “Alan Berg and Charlie Kirk; the Old Media and the New”

Subhead:  “The long string of anti-media violence in America.”

“. . .After sickening attacks like the assassination of Kirk, it can be tempting for media observers to declare, as the Times editorial board promptly did, that ‘such violence is antithetical to America,’ or that this is not who we are. As a philosophical aspiration, this is noble, but as a matter of fact, it is patently incorrect—America has a long history of violent attacks on politicians, commentators, and journalists, some of which jump immediately to mind at times like this, others of which have been lost to the mists of history. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/charlie-kirk-alan-berg-new-old-media-political-violence.php

Falling Media, Not Just in U.S.

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Article in The Guardian by Jason Burke, 9/10/25

Headline:  “Global press freedom suffers sharpest fall in 50 years, report finds”

Subhead: “The International IDEA’s survey of democratic markers finds US is offering ‘encouragement’ to populist leaders”

“The International IDEA’s survey – the Global State of Democracy Report 2025 – is published every five years and considered the most comprehensive of its kind, covering 174 countries and measuring democratic performance from 1975.

“The survey found that the freedom of the press had worsened in a quarter of the countries, marking the broadest deterioration since the beginning of the dataset. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/sep/11/global-press-freedom-suffers-sharpest-fall-in-50-years-report-finds