Big media is contributing to the rise of authoritarianism and threatening workers across the media industry.
Join us on April 27 to build alliances so we can create a civic-media ecosystem outside of major media monopolies.
Register now at bit.ly/FightBigMedia
"Local radio still works. It drives business. It builds community," writes John Caracciolo.
"The real issue? Too many groups moved away from Main Street & chased scale, automation & national dollars—while leaving behind the very thing that made radio powerful in the first place: local connection."
Trump's censorship czar Brendan Carr will attend the "Ball of Shame" as Paramount's special guest, reports @oliverdarcy.bsky.social.
Any journalist worth their salt should have nothing to do with this event—with the possible exception of those covering it to call out their capitulating colleagues.
So many of these strong First Amendment cases -- challenging the Trump admin's censorial campaign to chill dissent -- are winning. Here's another win for free speech against surveillance & ICE tracking: www.theverge.com/policy/91461...
... Read the full story by @timkarr.bsky.social at Pressing Issues.
pressingissues.org/how-hungarys...
7/ends
... If oligarchs can undermine a free press abroad, they can do similar harm here in the United States, too. But grassroots efforts to undermine autocracy can succeed, too.
Supporting local, independent & noncommercial media in your community is essential to the fight for a healthy democracy. 6/7
... As Free Press revealed in its Media Capitulation Index, these companies — while privately owned — are not genuinely independent.
Their deep entanglements with government interests have compelled owners of these media companies to bend the knee to Trump’s White House and his FCC. 5/7
... Today in the United States, Trump and FCC Chair Brendan Carr are following the roadmap Orbán drew up, giving power over the press to Trump's billionaire cronies, like the Ellisons, who now control Paramount and CBS. 4/7
... They found out about the extent of his corruption because independent journalists built an alternative news system online and exposed his shenanigans. 3/7
... After 15 years of Orbán gutting Hungary's independent press and handing control of legacy media to fellow oligarchs, Hungarian voters rejected him in strong majorities. 2/7
Hungary just showed the world what’s possible when independent journalists refuse to give up.
A 🧵 ... 1/7
What we did last week:
Flew a banner over and drove billboard trucks around the Paramount Studio lot as the Ellisons et al threw a red-carpet party to woo advertisers to trust their brands to Trump-friendly, ratings-challenged CBS News.
www.freepress.net/blog/free-pr...
"Hungary’s lesson is that media capture happens more easily in countries where media power has been consolidated into the hands of the few," writes @timkarr.bsky.social.
"Providing a resilient ecosystem for independent & local media to thrive is essential to defeating 21st-century autocrats."
SHAME!
Dems @golden.house.gov, Josh Gottheimer & @gluesenkampperez.house.gov voted for Speaker Johnson’s scheme to make it easier for Trump to use FISA data to prosecute Americans.
And all of them, plus @tomsuozzi.bsky.social, voted with Republicans to try and ram FISA through w/o any reforms.
"Hungary’s lesson is that media capture happens more easily in countries where media power has been consolidated into the hands of the few," writes @timkarr.bsky.social.
"Providing a resilient ecosystem for independent & local media can thrive is essential to defeating 21st-century autocrats."
And it's Ruffalo (with two fs) with apologies to @markruffalo.bsky.social
"Popular momentum to block the merger is growing," writes @timkarr.bsky.social about the Paramount deal.
"State attorneys general need to step in & political leaders everywhere need to speak out against this deal. Advertisers, too, should consider what they’re buying into when they buy into CBS."
Yesterday, we flew protest banners around Paramount, disrupting their ad sales. As @jgo4justice.bsky.social said, potential CBS advertisers "are not just endorsing pro-Trump propaganda; they're making a risky bet on an entity more concerned with appeasing the president than fixing its ratings."
Mark Rufalo warns Congress against the Paramount-WBD merger:
"You don't have to watch 'Citizen Kane' or read '1984' to understand that the concentrated oligarchic control this merger represents is a threat to a free press, an informed populace & democracy itself."
www.youtube.com/live/xETe83T...
as Congress wrangles over extending vs. reforming controversial government surveillance powers under FISA Section 702, Trump has logged on to say the quiet part out loud: a clean extension of Section 702 would enable ongoing violations of our rights
An exciting day: I’m testifying today in a Senate hearing about the possible merger between Paramount & Warner Bros.
This kind of power consolidation is a danger to freedom of speech and media independence so it must be fully vetted.
Hope you’ll tune in and watch:
www.youtube.com/live/xETe83T...
...Government used Section 702 to surveil immigrants, protesters, and journalists. Miller and Trump want it renewed without reforms.
Tell your representative to stop them.
... Stephen Miller has led this effort often targeting the most vulnerable among us. Without independent guardrails on Section 702, this administration has repeatedly shown that it cannot be trusted to police its own use of this sweeping surveillance authority ...
...The Trump administration has demonstrated an unparalleled appetite for collecting and exploring the personal data of People in the United States...
This week, Congress could extend the government’s unchecked power to spy on your calls, texts, and emails without obtaining warrants. They could extend Section 702 authority, perpetuating abuse of our privacy rights...
A 🧵
24 hours after 1,000+ Hollywood A-listers declared their opposition to the Paramount-WBD merger, the number has doubled. Now, more than 2,000 industry professionals are calling on state AGs & others to block this disastrous merger.
New signers include Ed Norton, Pedro Pascal & Florence Pugh.
📢 Section 702 is a domestic spying tool – and Congress could vote to reauthorize it early THIS WEEK. 📢
Here’s everything you need to know and what you can do about it.
Emmy Award-winning writer and producer @damonlindelof.bsky.social — best known for co-creating "Lost," "The Leftovers" and "Watchmen" — tells Pressing Issues why the Paramount-WBD merger is a non-starter for Hollywood's creative industry.
Read it!
Rated PG-13
pressingissues.org/damon-lindel...
... Follow this link to stop this merger. Sign the petition to join the cause.
www.freepress.net/get-involved...
///ends
...“The creative community understands firsthand the dangers of more media consolidation and the threat Paramount Skydance poses to film production, newsrooms and thousands of workers,” said @jgo4justice.bsky.social Co-CEO of Free Press...
