Journalism

The White House has just confirmed, no doubt unintentionally, that the US government’s premier international broadcaster, Voice of America, is independent from the Trump administration. A shrill commentary posted on the White House website April 10 assailed VOA for “promoting propaganda” of the Chinese government about the novel coronavirus epidemic. The evidence? A tweeted video showing residents of Wuhan watching a light show following the lifting of that city’s lockdown, and another tweet showing that the covid-19 death toll in the United States “exceeds the official China tally.

In a letter to Senate leadership and appropriators, 20 senators stress that the widespread impact of the pandemic – including plummeting advertising revenue – could decimate regional and local news outlets even as communities have become increasingly reliant on their reporting amidst the public health crisis. Already some newspapers have reduced or eliminated print editions, while other news outlets have furloughed staff. During this unprecedented public health crisis, people need to have access to their trusted local news outlets for this reliable and sometimes life-saving information.

A coalition of more than 45 organizations and scholars has called on Congress to include vital funding for local news in the next coronavirus stimulus package. Free Press Action, PEN America, Common Cause,  and other organizations urged the House and Senate leadership to consider local press an “essential service” vital to the nation’s health, prosperity, and recovery. The organizations ask Congress to allocate at least $5 billion to support local journalism in the next stimulus package.

When millions of people read his coverage of the internet and its ripples, Anick Jesdanun made sure they got all the facts and the context they needed. For more than two decades, Jesdanun helped generations of readers understand the emerging internet and its impact on the world. And while his work may have been about screens and computers and virtual networks, Jesdanun’s large life was about the world and exploring all of the corners of it that he could, virtual and physical alike.

On April 2, Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr responded to a right-wing blogger’s question about a recent Free Press petition urging the agency to help prevent the spread of false COVID-19 information via broadcast outlets. Commissioner Carr said: “This is a sweeping and dangerous attempt by the far left to weaponize the FCC against conservative media outlets and elected officials. They want to turn the FCC into a roving speech police empowered to go after the left’s political opponents."

China has forced local staff to quit their jobs at a number of US media organisations operating in the country, dealing another blow to news groups caught in a diplomatic stand-off between Beijing and Washington. Apparently at least five Chinese citizens working for the New York Times and Voice of America have been fired this week by the Beijing Service Bureau for Diplomatic Missions.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs will expel American journalists working for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

Pew Research Center and Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center canvassed technology experts in the summer of 2019 to gain their insights about the potential future effects of people’s use of technology on democracy. Overall, 979 technology innovators, developers, business and policy leaders, researchers, and activists responded  to the following query:

McClatchy, the publisher that operates The Miami Herald, The Sacramento Bee and other newspapers, filed for bankruptcy protection, another sign of a collapsing local news industry. In a Chapter 11 filing in New York, the company, one of the largest news publishers in the US, said it planned to restructure its pension obligations and the more than $700 million in debt it has struggled with for years as it tried to strengthen its digital business.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo escalated his clash with a respected National Public Radio journalist Mary Loui Kelly on Jan 25, lashing out at her and what he called the “unhinged” news media in an extraordinary statement. A day earlier, he abruptly ended an interview with her and delivered what the news outlet described as a profanity-laced rant. The statement, which used the fiery language to attack the news media that has become a trademark of President Donald Trump and his allies, ignited outrage online among foreign policy experts, scholars of diplomacy and press freedom advocates.