Media (Traditional and Social Media) News

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aGDevil2k said:
We live in a dictatorship
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Yes we do. And you know what? Those people who are supporting this need to understand that a precedent is being set. It will someday be used against them in a future administration (and maybe even in this administration).

Good chance that we have a period where we move from right dictatorship to left because neither side is going to play this game asymmetrically until changes are made to prevent these abuses.
 
Oh, Sinclair loves Charlie Kirk so much? Thinks firing Jimmy Kimmel is not enough?

You see, if we ever get power, these people must be punished or they will continue to do the same fuckery. There will be a time soon when we can say goodbye to Sinclair.
 




Late Night talk shows have been shrinking in viewership and value for years now — they were/are a soft target for government officials and activists looking to flex/make a point that is as much about cowing others as silencing a particular voice.

There was a spasm of this after 9/11 that was more carefully run through conservative activists than directly by government arm twisting — it’s part of what got Bill Maher’s Politically Incorrect taken off the air. But at that time cable (and eventually streaming) provided a new and growing platform for speech too controversial for the networks.

Network TV has been diminishing this century and has always been extremely risk averse because networks are subject to government licensing arrangements that made them more conservative about what they air and how they respond to backlash.
 
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My greatest concern with all of this is represented by Ramrouser's response on the Kirk thread. We knew years ago Trump is an authoritarian. We knew he wants to use the power of the state to control everything and consolidate power in a (right wing) executive. We knew he would push the limits of the law and the constitution to the breaking point and beyond.

Our only hope was that Americans who identify as conservative, and especially those like Ramrouser who are in a position to (a) know, and (b) do something about it, would wake up to Trump's anti-conservatism and push back before it's too late. Alas, rather than defenses of free speech and constitutional norms, that group appears to be consolidating around "the markets decide." All without recognizing that Trump is actively, every day, using the power of the state to manipulate and control the "markets."

I'm not disappointed in Trump. I knew he would be this bad. I'm disappointed in the people who consider themselves conservatives but constantly find ways to defend and excuse Trump's obvious authoritarianism.
 
CNN may be next, but at least they're (sometimes) still calling it what it is.


Weaponize the levers of government for partisan political gain. Pressure privately owned media companies to toe the party line. Punish the owners who resist and reward the ones who acquiesce.

That’s how Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán consolidated control of the media in his country, according to scholars who witnessed Hungary’s democratic backsliding firsthand.

President Trump and his allies appear to be running the same playbook against media outlets in the US.
 
I'm just not seeing the cancellation of Colbert/Kimmel as all that significant or evidence of Trump's authoritarian reign. As has been discussed, these late night shows have greatly diminished audiences and are very expensive to produce. Everybody (including Trump) predicted Kimmel would be next since his audience is about the same as Colbert's. These shows have only themselves to blame since a decade ago they decided to narrow cast their comedy towards half the country instead of appealing to the country at large.

No one is preventing Colbert and Kimmel from pursuing another platform for their "speech." Likely both will land with shows on streaming services. Great, let the market speak.

The FCC's revoking of ABC's license was an empty threat. I am, however, not completely comfortable with the Trump administration working the refs as much as they're doing. No one likes to see it when it's not your team, see, e.g. K. You'll likely see the next Democratic President doing it as well.

What I think we're witnessing to today's environment is Trump pushing the boundaries of Executive Power. Presidents have been doing this for some time, with Congresses' acquiescence, but it has sped up during the last three administrations ("phone and a pen"/student loan forgiveness). At some point Congress will need to reassert itself.

All of this is to say is that I don't think this country is evolving into Hungary. It's a huge and diverse country with endless platforms to exercise free speech and loudly criticize the chief executive.
 
lawtig02 said:
CNN may be next, but at least they're (sometimes) still calling it what it is.


Weaponize the levers of government for partisan political gain. Pressure privately owned media companies to toe the party line. Punish the owners who resist and reward the ones who acquiesce.

That’s how Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán consolidated control of the media in his country, according to scholars who witnessed Hungary’s democratic backsliding firsthand.

President Trump and his allies appear to be running the same playbook against media outlets in the US.
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The FCC (read Government) is limited to how much sway they have over cable tv as opposed to broadcast tv. And they have zero (0) authority over internet streaming platforms. I think things are run differently in Hungary than they are here in the U.S..

Also, I think it’s easier to have a smaller country of a rather homogeneous populace kowtow down to a dictator. Given States’ Rights here in the good ol’ U.S. - something the right wingers and their SCOTUS have always espoused and cemented - makes that kowtowing more problematic. Also the diversity of the populace and something called the Constitution (the rights of which Hungary doesn’t have or ever had) would also provide obstacles for a Hungarian style take over of the continental U.S.

Or at least I’d like to believe…
 
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