To see literal campaign propaganda as “normal PSAs” is obviously preposterous — except to Trump’s FCC chair.

Justin Hendrix and Alice Marwick in conversation with Gil Durán, author of the new book The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy.

Democracy is under siege. Oligarchs Larry and David Ellison are consolidating their personal control of information, and media. TikTokUS, CBS News are under their control and they are attempting to use massive debt and foreign cash to take over Warner Bros Discovery (HBO, CNN and many cable channels and media properties). This is not an ordinary merger. This is a debt time-bomb and would mean harmful hyper-consolidation of the media and entertainment industry under the control of one family - while saddling a merged company with $80+ billion dollars in debt. Join us and learn from a distinguished panel of experts about the largest attempted leveraged buyout in history - and why that matters to the American media landscape, national security, press freedom, workers, consumers and democracy. Why does the massive debt used to finance the takeover matter? What would the 39%+ foreign ownership by 3 petro-state (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar) sovereign wealth funds mean for Americans? Past mega-mergers have failed consumers, employees, shareholders - could this be different? How do Data Centers, AI and Larry Ellison's personal finances impact the deal and stability of a possible merged entity? Panelists: - [**Alvaro Bedoya**](https://www.economicliberties.us/alvaro-bedoya/) Senior advisor at the American Economic Liberties Project and served as a Federal Trade Commissioner from 2022 to 2025. - [**Pete Johnson**](https://gallatin.nyu.edu/academics/faculty/pete-johnson.html) Visiting Assistant Professor at NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. He specializes in US film and television industry history, media finance and economics, and the role of narrative in shaping business outcomes. - [**Deborah Jaramillo**](https://www.bu.edu/com/profile/deborah-l-jaramillo/) Professor of Film and Television Studies, and Director of Graduate Studies for the American Studies Program at Boston, University Twelve state Attorneys General have filed a lawsuit to #BlockTheMerger on the grounds it violates anti-consolidation laws, but have not emphasized the hazards of debt and financing - and national security and press freedom. Jaramillo and Johnson are co-authors of the insightful and powerful analysis that demonstrates the harms of the attempted-takeover: [**"The Costs of Consolidation: Arguments and Evidence for Blocking the Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger"**](https://macrolab.ucsd.edu/paramount-warner-merger/)

The crises of American democracy and information require multiple solutions. One is empowering and engaging citizens in telling lived experience stories and documenting the crisis. This will be a lively discussion on the future of media - and especially how to empower citizens locally. In an era of giant media conglomerates and media consolidation local stories are part of the fight for American democracy. - [**Jessica Mayberry**](https://fellows.ted.com/fellows/301676), Co-founder of [**Video Volunteers**](https://www.videovolunteers.org) To rebuild trust in democracy, the media must evolve from a system that only speaks to citizens to one that listens to them—valuing lived experience as a form of knowledge and embedding listening into public infrastructure. Recent citizen journalism of people across the country filming ICE actions — shows the democratic power of ordinary people documenting and amplifying what their communities actually experience. Efforts to strengthen local news, protect press freedom, promote pro-democracy reporting, and ensure better regulation will advance more effectively if we also strengthen the connective tissue between citizens and institutions—if we make listening a deliberate, organized civic function. When people have meaningful ways to share their stories and see those stories reflected back in news and policy, they begin to trust again. Listening is not a substitute for journalism or regulation; it is what makes both more legitimate, responsive, and enduring. Join us!

News outlets’ downplaying of the danger is shameful journalism neglect

“This transfixing debut from journalist Durán investigates the antidemocratic ideologies espoused by tech billionaires linked to the second Trump administration...It’s an ominous look at an insular el...

Journalist Gil Durán argues that a small circle of Silicon Valley billionaires and venture capitalists have concluded that democracy is in their way — and that they should be governing in its place. D...

Citing a ProPublica report on Paramount providing luxury Kennedy Center gala tickets to FCC officials, the complaints note that commissioners accepted the gifts while the FCC was reviewing or about to...

The company agreed to a proposed freeze until June 2027, unless a judge issues a ruling before then on a lawsuit blocking the deal.

SB00397 bars masks on every officer in the state, forces feds to show badges, and opens state courts to sue them. A first in the country.

President Donald Trump has said the new White House ballroom "essentially becomes a shed for what's being built under."

Brendan Carr posts that he may cancel spectrum permits of ‘mainstream news’ outlets for ‘misleading’ coverage

“How does this not embarrass them?” Kimmel asked of the network.

A WSJ investigation tracked the U.S. citizens caught in the crosshairs of an aggressive federal campaign to detain and demonize dissenters.

Lincolniana: A Glimpse of Lincoln in 1864 by J. Hubley Ashton [click image above to read full account] My great-grandfather, Joseph Hubley Ashton, was a 19th-century lawyer and a powerful voice for…

Members of Congress have a constitutional duty to remove this gangster from office.