Elections and Media

A look at the various media used to reach and inform voters during elections -- as well as the impact of new media and media ownership on elections.

Silicon Valley workers learn to worry about their politics

For years, as the social-media and startup world exploded, the tech industry was known for the outspokenness of its employees — largely liberal-skewing young technologists on the West Coast, who pushed their companies hard to build policies that then became models for a new kind of American workplace. This is changing faster than anyone expected.

FCC Seeks Comment on WCBS News Distortion Complaint

On October 16, 2024, the Center for American Rights (CAR) filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requesting an investigation into WCBS, New York, NY, for “news distortion” in the airing of a “60 Minutes” interview with then Vice President Kamala Harris. On February 3, 2025, in response to a request from the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, the WCBS licensee provided the Commission with an unedited transcript and video of the 60 Minutes interview in question.

FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel Acts to Preserve First Amendment

On Jan 16, the Federal Communications Commission denied four filings that asked the FCC to use the agency's licensing authority to penalize broadcast television stations because of content or coverage aired on the stations. In a statement released alongside the denials, outgoing FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel explained the decision, writing, "The facts and legal circumstances in each of these cases are different. But what they share is that they seek to weaponize the licensing authority of the FCC in a way that is fundamentally at odds with the First Amendment.

The Great Upheaval

Governance, media, business and global geopolitics are all being reordered at breakneck speed—all simultaneously.

America's tectonic shifts

America witnessed tectonic shifts in politics and society in 2024 that will reshape elections, business, culture and the nati

Arizona’s Election Results and Broadband

Prior to the election on November 5th, I wrote about Arizona’s Congressional races and the candidates’ positions and records on broadband issues. In the House, I highlighted two races: the 1st and 6th Districts. In both of those races, the Republican candidate prevailed, riding the wave of support for Donald Trump. In Arizona’s highly publicized Senate race, however, Democrat Ruben Gallego was able to find success despite Trump carrying the state in the presidential race.

Threads adds 35 million new signups this month

Instagram's X rival, Threads, has seen 35 million new users sign up for the platform since November 1st. Threads and rival BlueSky are competing to attract d

North Carolinians Vote for Broadband

On November 5 North Carolinians continued a trend of ticket splitting during the 2024 elections.

Is it Too Late to Change BEAD?

There has been a lot of speculation since the election that the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant program is going to get revamped. This raises the interesting question if it’s too late for a new administration to make major changes to the BEAD program. There is also the question of the process needed to change the BEAD rules. The BEAD rules were created by Congress, and it seems that Congress would have to act to change the rules. There are several ways the administration could give more funding for satellite.

America’s News Influencers

In the heat of the 2024 election, news influencers seemed to be everywhere.