Journalism

Coronavirus Is Hammering the News Industry. Here’s How to Save It.

Tens of thousands of journalists are losing their jobs, newspaper chains are going under, and vulture capitalists are picking over the remains. We need a news bailout — but one that overhauls the existing corporate model and pushes the media to put the public before profits. Journalism needs more than just stimulus; it needs a major structural overhaul. And it requires permanent and public support.

Why the FCC Doesn't Want to Vet Trump's COVID Broadcasts

Federal Communications Commission General Counsel Tom Johnson joined The Federalist to discuss why the commission quickly shot down a recent emergency petition from advocacy group Free Press asking the agency to investigate what it calls bogus coronavirus information from talk radio and White House task force briefings.

Bipartisan Letter Urging Support for Local Media Outlets Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

As the Senate considers additional measures to support small businesses around the country struggling with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), John Kennedy (R-LA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and John Boozman (R-AR) sent a letter to Senate leadership urging them to ensure any future legislation make thousands of local newspapers, TV, and radio stations around the country eligible for small business assistance under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

The Cable TV Quarantine Fight

A recent Pew Research Center study found that Americans’ attitudes toward the coronavirus pandemic vary sharply depending on where they get their news. Just 35 percent of people who mostly watch MSNBC, for instance, said the media had exaggerated the risks of the virus, compared with 79 percent of people who mostly watch Fox News and 54 percent for CNN.

Congress' local news bailout push

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is circulating a draft letter to be sent to the White House requesting additional relief targeted specifically at local newsrooms. The letter asks President Trump to:

A Statement from VOA Director Amanda Bennett

One of the big differences between publicly-funded independent media, like the Voice of America, and state-controlled media is that we are free to show all sides of an issue and are actually mandated to do so by law as stated in the VOA Charter signed by President Gerald Ford in 1976. We are thoroughly covering China's dis-information and misinformation in English and Mandarin and at the same time reporting factually – as we always do in all 47 of our broadcast languages - on other events in China.

White House attacks Voice of America

The White House launched an extraordinary attack on Voice of America, saying the federally funded but independent news service had promoted Chinese government propaganda in its reporting about the coronavirus outbreak.

No, Mr. Trump, VOA is not Chinese propaganda. Now don’t turn it into U.S. propaganda.

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.

20 Senators Push to Support Local Journalism Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

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.

Groups Call on Congress to Fund Journalism and Treat Local News as Essential Service during Pandemic

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.

Anick Jesdanun, longtime AP technology writer

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.

FCC Commissioner Carr Attacks Free Press for Urging the Agency to Provide Guidance on the Broadcast of False Information

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 forces out local employees of US news organisations

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 Announces That It Will Expel American Journalists

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

Many Tech Experts Say Digital Disruption Will Hurt Democracy

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, Major Local News Publisher, Files for Bankruptcy

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 Denounces News Media, Undermining US Message on Press Freedom

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.

US Media Polarization and the 2020 Election: A Nation Divided

A new Pew Research Center report finds that Republicans and Democrats place their trust in two nearly inverse news media environments. Overall, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents view many heavily relied on sources across a range of platforms as untrustworthy. At the same time, Democrats and independents who lean Democratic see most of those sources as credible and rely on them to a far greater degree. Evidence suggests that partisan polarization in the use and trust of media sources has widened in the past five years.

Plight of Newspapers Generates Uncommon Bipartisan Unity

Anger toward big technology companies has led to multiple antitrust investigations, calls for a new federal data privacy law and criticism of the companies’ political ad policies. Perhaps no issue about the tech companies, though, has united lawmakers in the Capitol like the decimation of local news. Lawmakers from both parties blame companies like Facebook and Google, which dominate the online ad industry. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) gave a big boost to a bill that may provide some papers a lifeboat.

2020: Year of Decision

We saw giant steps backward on communications, media, health, education, environment, voting rights, court appointments, money in politics, equal opportunity, women’s rights, labor rights… the list goes on and on.

Doomsday for TV Localism and Community If FCC Doesn’t Change Archaic Rules

Over the past few decades, the notion of a world without the newspaper industry has gone from grimly conceivable to a foregone conclusion. Once the cornerstone of localism and community, over the past two decades, the local newspaper has become nearly extinct. History is set to repeat itself in the broadcast television space. From 2014 to 2019, the total percentage of local advertising dollars spent on broadcast television fell from 14.3% to 11.2%. By 2023, BIA Kelsey forecasts, that percentage will drop to 9.7%.

The Dayton Daily News is about to shrink. The FCC shouldn't have allowed it

In November 2019, the Federal Communications Commission approved the acquisition of Cox Media, the owner of the Dayton Daily News, by Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm. Apollo’s first move?

After Another Year of Trump Attacks, ‘Ominous Signs’ for the American Press

On Twitter, President Trump deployed the phrase “fake news” 273 times in 2019 — 50 percent more often than he did in 2018. He demanded “retribution” over a “Saturday Night Live” sketch, declared that Washington Post reporters “shouldn’t even be allowed on the grounds of the White House,” and accused The New York Times of “Treason.” Four American journalists were barred from covering the president’s dinner with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. The administration argued in court that it had the right to ban a reporter from the White House. The daily White House briefing ceased to exist.

From smartphones to social media, tech use has become the norm in the last decade

As of 2019, nine-in-ten U.S. adults say they go online, 81% say they own a smartphone and 72% say they use social media. Growth in adoption of some technologies has slowed in recent years, in some instances because there just aren’t many non-users left, especially among younger generations.