iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Victor Pickard

Annenberg School at Penn @asc.upenn.edu · 18h

In a new essay, Professor @victorpickard.bsky.social traces how redbaiting and the Second Red Scare shaped the early communication field:

asc.upenn.edu

Can The Field of Communication Handle Another Red Scare?

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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

We are paying CNN and MS NOW to run ads for Donald Trump right before the midterms. You and I are paying for them. And CNN and MS NOW are taking the cash while their hosts and guests say the scheme is illegal. That is the current state of corporate media in America.

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Free Press @freepress.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Breaking: A federal judge signed off on the disastrous Paramount-Warner Bros. merger. We must do more to prevent media conglomerates and their billionaire owners from amassing so much power. Our statement: www.freepress.net/news/free-pr...

freepress.net

Free Press: Judge's Approval of the Paramount Mega-Merger Is a Call to Action Against Billionaire Control of the Media

Dangerous mega-mergers like this demonstrate the urgent need to enforce the antitrust laws instead of caving in.

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Between The Lines Radio Newsmagazine @btlradionews.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

#OnTheAir COUNTERPOINT airs Mondays 8-9:30pmET wpkn.org 89.5FM Bgpt #CT: @victorpickard.bsky.social prof of Media Policy Annenberg School on Trump banning 3 major news outlets from #WhiteHouse; Nicolas J. Davies on The Urgency of Recognizing the Ansar Allah Government in #Yemen.

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Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

A major structural hazard with extreme media ownership concentration is that oligarchs impose their ideological agendas--which almost always skew to the far right--on everyone. This capture of core info and communication infrastructures must be dismantled if we're to have any semblance of democracy.

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Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

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Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Seriously, these people are spineless. Here is a NYT “analysis” of Trump’s flagrant violation of the First Amendment. You might think that it would be full of outrage. But no, it’s written cutesy. 1/2

From the New York Times front page: ANALYSIS
A7-Day Standoff That Said So Much About Trump and the
Media
An abrupt decree, a network boycott, a legal intervention and an uneasy détente: This was no typical battle between a president and his press corps.

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FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting) @fairmediawatch.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Supporters of FAIR--including Jim Hightower, Tom Morello and Mumia Abu-Jamal--send greetings for FAIR's 40th anniversary. Plus photos from FAIR's anniversary party! fair.org/home/reflect...

fair.org

Reflections on 40 Years of FAIR

"FAIR’s groundbreaking work launched an explosion of media monitoring and awareness of the corporate media’s collusion with corporate interests."

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ProPublica @propublica.org · 26/09/2026

In response to our reporting, Susan Collins has mustered a defense that is full of incorrect and misleading claims. We’ve reviewed FBI evidence, examined thousands of pages of records and interviewed dozens of people. Here are the receipts.

propublica.org

ProPublica Debunks Susan Collins’ Claims About FBI Anti-Corruption Probe

ProPublica revealed that the FBI was circling Sen. Collins over a defense contractor’s donations — until President Trump gutted the unit in charge. Collins has since mustered a defense with a series o...

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Seth Masket @smotus.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Interviewing the inventor of napalm about his hats

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Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · 24/09/2026

This is where the logic of media consolidation inevitably leads: fewer companies, fewer owners, and more of what we see and hear decided by a few billionaires. Decades of treating media as a market, rather than democratic infrastructure, created the conditions for this oligarchic system.

rooseveltinstitute.org

The Political Economy of the US Media System: Excavating the Roots of the Present Crisis - Roosevelt Institute

Bilal Baydoun, Shahrzad Shams, and Victor Pickard trace the roots of the US media crisis to decades of deregulation and commercial capture, outlining how consolidation, news deserts, and platform domi...

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Dannagal Goldthwaite Young @dannagal.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Ironically, the White House Media ban should remind journalists to center American democracy - rather than the President. Sure "access journalism" has its place, but when power is being consolidated in the Executive Branch as it is now, access journalism can reinforce autocratization.

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Mel Buer @melbuer.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Preparing this morning for an interview with @victorpickard.bsky.social for my next Making Contact episode, and re-reading his most recent writing on the state of the industry. Gotta say, this is an excellent ex. of what stories get told when hypercapitalist incentives are the order of the day

Within this hypercommercialized media structure, despite many individual journalists' courageous work to the contrary, profit imperatives too often trump democracy (bad pun intended). Capitalist logics undercut and skew democratic discourse by encouraging clickbait, excluding low-income communities, and degrading the quality of journalism.
Capitalist incentive structures also lead to pronounced deficits through sheer cost cutting, and by treating news and information as commodities, not public services, and audiences as passive consumers, not engaged citizens.

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Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Wanting to "resolve this in the boardroom not the courtroom" is how Newsom justified the settlement. The unquestioned mindset here is that these power struggles are best negotiated among oligopolies & oligarchs, not the democratic polity. Should be disqualifying as a serious presidential candidate.

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Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

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Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · 21/09/2026

Paramount just reached a settlement with the states challenging its Warner Bros. merger, clearing the way for a deal that will further concentrate power over Hollywood and media. One headline concession is an “independent editorial board” for CNN. But we should be skeptical of that remedy. 🧵

bloomberg.com

Paramount to Settle Lawsuits, Paving Way for Warner Bros. Merger

Paramount Skydance Corp. has reached a settlement with California and other states suing to block its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., according to a person familiar with the matte...

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Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

CNN PANIC is setting in now that David Ellison will control the network in a matter of weeks: "People are anxious and worried... Unlike other mergers ... that we've been through, we have the preview of CBS, so it's not like people don't have a sense of what's coming." www.status.news/p/david-elli...

status.news

Ellison’s Bonta Blowout

David Ellison worked the phones over the weekend to secure a settlement for his Warners takeover—but the deal’s supposed safeguard for CNN is already drawing skepticism from inside the network as staf...

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Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Needless to say, such capitulation is not how you fight media oligarchy. progressive.org/magazine/how...

progressive.org

How to Fight Media Oligarchy

Every billionaire-owned media outlet is a profound threat to our democracy.

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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

This description of the CNN/CBS “editorial independence board” is not reassuring, because there is no sign that it has any actual power. Also, the requirement that the journalists on the board be from different political parties is exceptionally weird. Via @brianstelter.bsky.social

Under the settlement terms, that board must be established within 180 days of closing and comprise of five "established journalists (active or retired)," each with at least 10 years of experience.
The panel will resolve disputes over
"alleged reporting bias or failure to meet agreed reporting fairness standards" and monitor "editorial independence,
including from... ownership and shareholders." Members will be appointed by the company's board of directors, and "no more than two" may be
"affiliated" with the same political party.

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Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

A profound disappointment & major blow against any hope for democratic governance over our media system. Individual policymakers & media owners keep failing us, succumbing to perverse incentives. It's a systemic failure, requiring a structural overhaul of our entire media system from root to branch.

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John Nichols @nicholsuprising.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

The whole country is focused on the need for AI regulation and accountability. Except Congress. Speaker Mike Johnson gaveled the people’s House out of session to avoid Epstein/Hegseth votes. Johnson’s move blocks necessary action on AI safety/oversight. That’s wildly irresponsible—and dangerous

thenation.com

Mike Johnson Is the Most Dangerous House Speaker in American History

His decision to shut the House down at a moment of crisis around AI is the act of a reckless charlatan.

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Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Media advocacy group Free Press slams Rob Bonta for caving to Paramount. "But the AGs’ capitulation marks a new low. It’s a sad day for all of us who have been opposing this merger because it will cut jobs and raise prices, all as it consolidates the media even more to enable authoritarians."

“We are disappointed that Attorney General Bonta went back on his promise to enforce the law and protect consumers and workers. Hundreds of thousands of people called on our state AGs to stand up to the Ellisons, who have engaged in a campaign of corruption and extortion to pave the way for this unlawful merger. We can no longer rely on the federal government to enforce the law and protect regular people. That much is clear. But the AGs’ capitulation marks a new low. It’s a sad day for all of us who have been opposing this merger because it will cut jobs and raise prices, all as it consolidates the media even more to enable authoritarians.

“Based on all reports, this weak deal contains nothing but unenforceable, empty Paramount promises. It abandons the thousands of creatives and workers who risked speaking out, and the tens of millions of consumers the attorneys general should be fighting for.

“Behavioral conditions do not work. They won’t save jobs, preserve choice, or prevent price hikes. As we learned from the failed and widely-panned Facebook Oversight Board, a fake bipartisan oversight committee won’t save CNN. We have all the evidence we need from the Ellisons’ destruction of CBS about what they do to warp journalism at Donald Trump’s request. This latest capitulation comes as the Trump administration barred CNN and other reporters who dare ask hard questions from the White House press pool.

“Consolidating the media in the hands of friendly oligarchs is right out of the authoritarian playbook. Americans across the political spectrum are fed up with corruption and consolidation, and billionaires calling all the shots while everyone else struggles. People won’t forget who stood up for them and who capitulated.

“What’s exceedingly clear is that our laws and our political system are not strong enough to resist the pressure and manipulation of corrupt billionaires.

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Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

The AGs must not cave. Far too much at stake.

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Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

The AGs must not cave. Far too much at stake.

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Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I would dare say this is also a general outcome of hyper-capitalist logics driving so much of our media, which all too often bend the entire ecosystem towards a right-wing political project.

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Greg Greene (he/him/his) @greene.haus · 19/09/2026

Also correct. Reactionary propaganda is quite plainly, as it happens, where the money is.

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Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I would dare say this is also a general outcome of hyper-capitalist logics driving so much of our media, which all too often bend the entire ecosystem towards a right-wing political project.

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Craig Aaron @notaaroncraig.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

The idea that allowing the Saudi regime — which has murdered journalists, don’t forget — and other foreign investors to up to 100% of CBS and CNN is somehow in the “public interest” twists the term beyond recognition. But FCC’s Brendan Carr only serves Trump and Larry Ellison, not the public.

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John Nichols @nicholsuprising.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Speaker Johnson plans to gavel the House of Representatives out of session until November—with no real action on AI threats. That’s irresponsible, anti-democratic and dangerous. Congress should stay in session until it implements robust AI oversight—and approves strong regulation of the industry.

captimes.com

Editorial | Congress must pump the brakes on AI

Editorial: U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna is right to demand that Congress remain in session until immediate and meaningful oversight action is taken.

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

That's an incredibly mealy mouthed headline that manages to downplay a Republican candidate's extreme racism *and* insert a "both sides" frame that diffuses blame even more.

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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

If Trump wanted to crown himself emperor in the national cathedral alito and thomas would support it

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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Did CBS have an agreement with the Pentagon not to ask Hegseth any actual reporter-style questions, like, why is this war going on 6x as long as we were promised, or why didn’t you foresee Iran’s Hormuz strategy, or why are our munitions stockpiles so low, or …

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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 13/09/2026

neither the story or the study examines what happens if the pre-merger promises are complete bullshit and the deal ends like most of them do: higher prices and thousands of layoffs to pay off debt

thewrap.com

Paramount Leaving California Could Mean Up to $21 Billion in Lost Annual Economic Output, Leaked Study Finds

If Paramount moves out of California, as CEO David Ellison has said he might do, it would devastate the state economically with lost income and jobs

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Jessica J. González @jgo4justice.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Ellison to California: Give me what I want, or I’ll shutter a historic studio and take away your jobs. Anyone else tired of billionaire oligarchs breaking all the rules and holding our communities hostage to their selfish whims? F this. #BlocktheMerger #NoConcessions deadline.com/2026/09/para...

deadline.com

Huge Job Losses And Economic Pain If Paramount Exits L.A., Report Says

Nearly 60,000 L.A. jobs could be lost if David Ellison carries through on a threat to move Paramount out of California amid his antitrust battle.

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Mace Duggan @mace-duggan.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Fighting the Oligarchy’s Stranglehold on the Media "Big corporate media mergers are bad for everyone other than those few who stand to profit. They’re harmful for media workers, consumers, local communities, First Amendment freedoms, and democracy writ large."

commondreams.org

Fighting the Oligarchy's Stranglehold on the Media | Common Dreams

When it comes to media, journalism, and the broader information landscape, there’s a strong practical need to be utopian right now—to give us hope but to also provide clarity as to what we should be f...

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Tim Karr @timkarr.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

At @contrariannews.org, Rachel Antell exposes possible linkages between the Ellisons, Bari Weiss' THE Free Press & astroturf group Neighbors for Strong Communities. She calls on NSC to reveal funders & audit every message its AI-engine sent in the name of supposedly everyday Americans. Damning:

contrariannews.org

Before Astroturfing for Paramount, Did This Firm Flack for Flock?

Positive feedback only, please

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Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

This is absolutely tragic. I’ve run out of ways to describe how each massive layoff is yet more evidence of systemic market failure. There simply is no commercial future for the level of local journalism we require if we are to have any semblance of democracy. www.poynter.org/business-wor...

poynter.org

McClatchy cuts more than 90 staff in its most severe layoffs in years - Poynter

At least 13 papers — including The Miami Herald, The Sacramento Bee and The Kansas City Star — lost reporters

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Daniel Chomsky @danielchomsky.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Billionaire media owners are not interested in democracy.

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