This is so well-summairzed, Ms. Labott. Thank you. This administration's attempts to control the free flow of information takes many forms - from loud and shocking to insidious and sinister. I subscribe to PBS and a number of independent journalism bloggers so I can read news that isn't filtered through the lens of some corporate lackey seeking favor from Washington.
Imagine if guys like Trump, Orban, and Putin just actually did popular things. Helped the regular people instead of their billionaire buddies. Then they wouldn't have to try to hide everything they do and wouldn't be criticized so harshly. It's pretty simple, really. Thank you for laying out the interests of the parents of all of these major media outlets. So important to know where their real priorities lie.
Money isn't bad. It is the love of it that can get you into trouble and thus, for many of the rich, enough is never enough and so ,many ask " how I can make even more , regardless if it is by hook or crook" and Trump answers the call by telling them "do what I say and bend a knee to me and I'll make you rich." And guess what? Many are doing just that !
Thank you Elise for this thorough compilation of recent events. While there is ample content here to prove your points, I’d just add that this manipulation goes back well before his first election. Remember when he used to call newspapers under pseudonyms like “John Barron” (which he later chose as his son’s name) to plant false stories about his business success and romantic conquests? And during his felony trial, it was easy to get distracted by the Stormy Daniels tabloid elements, but the really damning testimony came from his friend at the National Enquirer who admitted under oath to their catch-and-kill scheme: buying up negative stories about Trump to bury them while running fabricated hit pieces on his opponents. This was proven in a court of law. How can anyone take his “fake news” accusations seriously when he has a documented history of literally manufacturing fake news? Just wanted to remind everyone of this because it’s so easy to forget how obvious the charade has been, from the beginning.
But what this saga really exposes is a deeper problem with corporate media that has existed all along. Why do people turn to news funded by corporations instead of public or independently funded journalism? It’s a bit like paying ten times more for name-brand pharmaceuticals instead of generics, except at least with drugs you’re getting the same product regardless. With corporate news, sometimes paying more actually gets you something WORSE. The capitulations documented here are just the ones we know about. How many stories has the Washington Post quietly killed over the years not because of Trump, but because they conflicted with the interests of one of the richest men on Earth?
I keep thinking about solutions. What if every taxpayer received a voucher to direct an annual amount toward news organizations that meet basic journalism standards verified by independent auditors? Not content standards that would violate the First Amendment, but process standards: clear corrections policies, separation between news and opinion, transparent ownership and funding disclosure, adherence to source verification practices, and regular third-party accuracy audits. This would give those Trump-friendly organizations some incentive to play by the same rules as all news organizations.
And we desperately need Section 230 reform so that quality journalism can compete with the low-quality outrage content that thrives in social media’s race-to-the-bottom algorithm economy. Right now the incentive structure rewards engagement over accuracy, and that’s a structural problem no amount of individual bravery can overcome.
There's no question, Tim, that what is going on now with the Trump administration is not only blatant in some cases but, very insidious, as well. Wrong things are happening behind the scenes that are deeply embedded in the infrastructure of our various systems that used to be monitored regularly by federal workers who have since been fired and this has left things to be run somewhat unchecked by the watchdogs who were formally employed to do just that . This takeover by these fascists is alarming and requires some serious and immediate adjustments to rectify what has happened, and continues to be happening, right under our very noses right now. Thank you for you deep insights and let's continue to fight back against these yahoos to help turn things back around to what I like to think was a more sound and more fair form of governance .
Thank you, Elise ,for the frank assessment and explanation of how things are in reporting the truth to Americans in this time of the Trump administration . Truth telling is being quashed and this must stop immediately, if not sooner. This American dictator must be resisted and responded to with much resolve through brave and truthful reporting daily to counter his blatant lies and deceiving ways . May there be a growing groundswell of indignation to his shenanigans constantly to eventually drawn out the cacophony of distasteful noise being articulated by his forked tongue. Keep up the good fight and let us all press on with truth as our banner .
This is so well-summairzed, Ms. Labott. Thank you. This administration's attempts to control the free flow of information takes many forms - from loud and shocking to insidious and sinister. I subscribe to PBS and a number of independent journalism bloggers so I can read news that isn't filtered through the lens of some corporate lackey seeking favor from Washington.
Way to go, Tim. I concur.
Imagine if guys like Trump, Orban, and Putin just actually did popular things. Helped the regular people instead of their billionaire buddies. Then they wouldn't have to try to hide everything they do and wouldn't be criticized so harshly. It's pretty simple, really. Thank you for laying out the interests of the parents of all of these major media outlets. So important to know where their real priorities lie.
Money isn't bad. It is the love of it that can get you into trouble and thus, for many of the rich, enough is never enough and so ,many ask " how I can make even more , regardless if it is by hook or crook" and Trump answers the call by telling them "do what I say and bend a knee to me and I'll make you rich." And guess what? Many are doing just that !
Thank you Elise for this thorough compilation of recent events. While there is ample content here to prove your points, I’d just add that this manipulation goes back well before his first election. Remember when he used to call newspapers under pseudonyms like “John Barron” (which he later chose as his son’s name) to plant false stories about his business success and romantic conquests? And during his felony trial, it was easy to get distracted by the Stormy Daniels tabloid elements, but the really damning testimony came from his friend at the National Enquirer who admitted under oath to their catch-and-kill scheme: buying up negative stories about Trump to bury them while running fabricated hit pieces on his opponents. This was proven in a court of law. How can anyone take his “fake news” accusations seriously when he has a documented history of literally manufacturing fake news? Just wanted to remind everyone of this because it’s so easy to forget how obvious the charade has been, from the beginning.
But what this saga really exposes is a deeper problem with corporate media that has existed all along. Why do people turn to news funded by corporations instead of public or independently funded journalism? It’s a bit like paying ten times more for name-brand pharmaceuticals instead of generics, except at least with drugs you’re getting the same product regardless. With corporate news, sometimes paying more actually gets you something WORSE. The capitulations documented here are just the ones we know about. How many stories has the Washington Post quietly killed over the years not because of Trump, but because they conflicted with the interests of one of the richest men on Earth?
I keep thinking about solutions. What if every taxpayer received a voucher to direct an annual amount toward news organizations that meet basic journalism standards verified by independent auditors? Not content standards that would violate the First Amendment, but process standards: clear corrections policies, separation between news and opinion, transparent ownership and funding disclosure, adherence to source verification practices, and regular third-party accuracy audits. This would give those Trump-friendly organizations some incentive to play by the same rules as all news organizations.
And we desperately need Section 230 reform so that quality journalism can compete with the low-quality outrage content that thrives in social media’s race-to-the-bottom algorithm economy. Right now the incentive structure rewards engagement over accuracy, and that’s a structural problem no amount of individual bravery can overcome.
There's no question, Tim, that what is going on now with the Trump administration is not only blatant in some cases but, very insidious, as well. Wrong things are happening behind the scenes that are deeply embedded in the infrastructure of our various systems that used to be monitored regularly by federal workers who have since been fired and this has left things to be run somewhat unchecked by the watchdogs who were formally employed to do just that . This takeover by these fascists is alarming and requires some serious and immediate adjustments to rectify what has happened, and continues to be happening, right under our very noses right now. Thank you for you deep insights and let's continue to fight back against these yahoos to help turn things back around to what I like to think was a more sound and more fair form of governance .
Thank you Elise, what this administration is doing to the press and other institutions is very alarming. Americans need to wake up.
Thank you, Elise ,for the frank assessment and explanation of how things are in reporting the truth to Americans in this time of the Trump administration . Truth telling is being quashed and this must stop immediately, if not sooner. This American dictator must be resisted and responded to with much resolve through brave and truthful reporting daily to counter his blatant lies and deceiving ways . May there be a growing groundswell of indignation to his shenanigans constantly to eventually drawn out the cacophony of distasteful noise being articulated by his forked tongue. Keep up the good fight and let us all press on with truth as our banner .
Who would have guessed we would reach “dear leader” status as a country
This is scary! That is why we need to keep the print versions of the news like this accessible to all!