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Category: Journalism

Kremlin views Tucker Carlson as ‘essential’ propaganda asset

Kremlin views Tucker Carlson as ‘essential’ propaganda asset

Mother Jones reports: On March 3, as Russian military forces bombed Ukrainian cities as part of Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of his neighbor, the Kremlin sent out talking points to state-friendly media outlets with a request: Use more Tucker Carlson. “It is essential to use as much as possible fragments of broadcasts of the popular Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who sharply criticizes the actions of the United States [and] NATO, their negative role in unleashing the conflict in Ukraine,…

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Journalists are pulled out of Russia after Putin makes it illegal to call the war a ‘war’

Journalists are pulled out of Russia after Putin makes it illegal to call the war a ‘war’

The New York Times reports: The New York Times said on Tuesday that it was temporarily removing its journalists from Russia in the wake of harsh new legislation that effectively outlaws independent reporting on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “Russia’s new legislation seeks to criminalize independent, accurate news reporting about the war against Ukraine. For the safety and security of our editorial staff working in the region, we are moving them out of the country for now,” a spokeswoman for…

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Russia silences its last independent television channel

Russia silences its last independent television channel

Masha Gessen writes: Whenever TV Rain, Russia’s last independent television channel, was broadcasting live, the lights in its vast loft were dimmed and conversations were hushed, because its studio was cordoned off from the rest of the space only by partial-height glass partitions. When I got to the loft just before ten on Tuesday night, the lights were low, as usual, but the noise level was veering into risky territory. Mikhail Fishman, who hosts a Friday-night news-analysis program, was in…

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RT America ceases productions and lays off most of its staff

RT America ceases productions and lays off most of its staff

CNN reports: RT America will cease productions and lay off most of its staff, according to a memo from T&R Productions, the production company behind the Russian state-funded network, which CNN obtained. Misha Solodovnikov, the general manager of T&R Productions, told staff in the memo that it will be “ceasing production” at all of its locations “as a result of unforeseen business interruption events.” “Unfortunately, we anticipate this layoff will be permanent, meaning that this will result in the permanent…

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Cyberattack on News Corp, believed linked to China, targeted emails of journalists, others

Cyberattack on News Corp, believed linked to China, targeted emails of journalists, others

The Wall Street Journal reports: News Corp was the target of a hack that accessed emails and documents of journalists and other employees, an incursion the company’s cybersecurity consultant said was likely meant to gather intelligence to benefit China’s interests. The attack, discovered on Jan. 20, affected a number of publications and business units including The Wall Street Journal and its parent Dow Jones; the New York Post; the company’s U.K. news operation; and News Corp headquarters, according to an…

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Jeff Zucker’s legacy is defined by his promotion of Donald Trump

Jeff Zucker’s legacy is defined by his promotion of Donald Trump

Margaret Sullivan writes: Many questions still swirl around Wednesday’s startling announcement that, after nine years, Jeff Zucker’s reign as CNN president was over. Was his ouster really all about his failure to disclose to his corporate bosses a consensual relationship with another top network executive? How much of a factor was the continuing mess over former host Chris Cuomo’s firing in December? To what extent were the network’s flagging ratings part of the calculation? It will all eventually be revealed…

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The unusual origins behind the splashiest, newest political news site

The unusual origins behind the splashiest, newest political news site

Politico reports: The launch of the website Grid earlier this month represented the latest bet that the market for explainer journalism still exists in the digital space. But unlike others in the field, Grid has a unique origin story, one that involves early ties to a global consulting firm best known for its crisis communications management and lobbying work on behalf of foreign governments, most notably the United Arab Emirates. Months before Grid brought on board any writers or staff,…

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DirecTV loss could cripple rightwing One America News

DirecTV loss could cripple rightwing One America News

Reuters reports: The largest satellite provider in the United States said late Friday it will drop One America News, a move that could financially cripple the rightwing TV network known for fueling conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. The announcement by DirecTV, which is 70% owned by AT&T, comes three months after a Reuters investigation revealed that OAN’s founder testified that AT&T inspired him to create the network. Court testimony also showed that OAN receives nearly all of its revenue…

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News outlets fixate on the negative

News outlets fixate on the negative

Eric Weiner writes: The critics are right. The mainstream media is biased. It is not a political bias, though, no liberal or conservative slant, but something even more insidious: a bad-news bias. During my decades as a daily journalist, at The New York Times and NPR, I knew that reporting on happy people and places wasn’t going to advance my career. No one told me this. They didn’t need to. The bad-news bias is simply understood. “If it bleeds, it…

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‘Flurona’ is a great example of how misinformation blooms

‘Flurona’ is a great example of how misinformation blooms

Raghu Adiga writes: Earlier this week, Israeli media reported a person who was hospitalized with evidence of both seasonal flu and COVID at the same time. This unvaccinated and pregnant person had mild symptoms and was discharged without any complications. A person being infected with both the COVID-causing SARS-CoV2 virus and an influenza virus can happen; we just had one such person in our hospital last month whom we treated and discharged without a whole lot of fanfare. However, the…

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The ridiculous hypocrisy of Sean Hannity hiding behind ‘freedom of the press’

The ridiculous hypocrisy of Sean Hannity hiding behind ‘freedom of the press’

Margaret Sullivan writes: The House Jan. 6 committee asked this week that Fox News host Sean Hannity appear and answer investigators’ questions about his text messages to President Trump’s aides before, during and after the attack on the U.S. Capitol. The response from Hannity’s lawyer was every bit as predictable as it was laughable. “We remain very concerned about the constitutional implications especially as it relates to the First Amendment,” wrote Jay Sekulow, the Trump-team lawyer who represents Hannity. He…

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The defense of democracy must become central for American journalists

The defense of democracy must become central for American journalists

Margaret Sullivan writes: [P]ro-democracy coverage is not being “centered” by the media writ large. It’s occasional, not regular; it doesn’t appear to be part of an overall editorial plan that fully recognizes just how much trouble we’re in. That must change. It’s not merely that there needs to be more of this work. It also needs to be different. For example, it should include a new emphasis on those who are fighting to preserve voting rights and defend democratic norms….

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Dan Bongino and the big business of returning Trump to power

Dan Bongino and the big business of returning Trump to power

Evan Osnos writes: Dan Bongino, one of America’s most popular conservative commentators, lives in the seaside city of Stuart, Florida, less than an hour from Mar-a-Lago, where his friend Donald Trump bridles against a forced retirement. Every weekday from noon to three—the coveted time slot once held by the late Rush Limbaugh—“The Dan Bongino Show” goes live across the United States, beginning with an announcer’s voice over the sound of hard-rock guitars: “From the N.Y.P.D. to the Secret Service to…

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If cable news disappeared tomorrow, who would notice?

If cable news disappeared tomorrow, who would notice?

Jack Shafer writes: How did the cable news networks become our main stage? Nary a day goes by without somebody saying something stupid somewhere on cable that ignites a national uproar that seizes the news cycle for days. On Wednesday, Tucker Carlson praised the journalism of Infowars fantasist Alex Jones on his Fox News Channel show, and that sparked coverage in the Washington Post, the Daily Beast, HuffPost and elsewhere. Earlier in the week, the someone saying something stupid was…

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Can Russia’s press ever be free?

Can Russia’s press ever be free?

Masha Gessen writes: Around noon every workday, Dmitry Muratov, the editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, sits down at the head of a long table in a large round room in the paper’s office, in Moscow, to chair a planyorka, or planning meeting. On October 11th, the Monday after the Friday when the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that it was awarding this year’s Peace Prize to Muratov and the Filipina journalist Maria Ressa, ten people gathered at the table, joined by fifteen…

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A secretive hedge fund, Alden Global Capital, is gutting newsrooms

A secretive hedge fund, Alden Global Capital, is gutting newsrooms

McKay Coppins writes: The Tribune Tower rises above the streets of downtown Chicago in a majestic snarl of Gothic spires and flying buttresses that were designed to exude power and prestige. When plans for the building were announced in 1922, Colonel Robert R. McCormick, the longtime owner of the Chicago Tribune, said he wanted to erect “the world’s most beautiful office building” for his beloved newspaper. The best architects of the era were invited to submit designs; lofty quotes about…

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