media

(Afterwords) – Five banks control half of all U.S. financial assets, and six conglomerates control 90 percent of our media. Monopolies aren’t merely un-American — they’re virulently anti-American. They suppress our fundamental values of fairness and opportunity for all. Our people have instinctively rebelled at monopoly avarice — from the Boston Tea Party to the […]

Bill of Rights

#NottheEnemy: Ben Franklin warned that attack on Free Press Turns Liberty to Tyranny

Juan Cole

“Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government: When this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins.”

Far Right

Internet Giants finally Take down Far-Right Conspiracy Theorist Alex Jones

AFP

New York (AFP) – Internet giants launched an offensive Monday against far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who is now banned from Apple, Facebook, Spotify and YouTube. The move, described by Jones as a “coordinated communist-style crackdown,” came after months of criticism against Facebook, Twitter and YouTube calling for them to do more to combat disinformation […]

Corruption

The Hannity Case is so Serious it Requires a Consumer Boycott of his Advertisers

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The problems at Fox Cable “News” go way beyond Sean Hannity. But he is a major problem. For him to go on air and defend attorney Michael Cohen numerous times without so much as mentioning that Cohen is his legal adviser is the height of journalistic […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israel must hold killers of Reporter Yaser Murtaja in its own Military to account: CPJ

contributors

Committee to Protect Journalists | – – Beirut–The Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned comments by Israel’s defense minister over the weekend that appear to justify the killing of Palestinian journalist Yaser Murtaja in Gaza, and called on authorities to hold to account anyone who shot journalists with live ammunition. Murtaja died on April 7 […]

journalism

Danger: Sinclair is advancing its agenda using the public broadcast spectrum

contributors

By Amanda Lotz | (The Conversation) | – – On March 31, Deadspin produced a video showing a chorus of local news anchors delivering the exact same scripted speech to viewers. The message – denouncing media bias and fake news, calling it a problem that is “neither politically ‘left nor right’” – might seem innocuous […]

censorship

Egypt fines Press for alleging Sisi vote-buying

contributors

Breaking News added by Informed Comment: Egyptian Security Police have raided the website of the offices of Masr al-Arabia and arrested its editor, apparently over the newspaper’s reporting of Sisi vote-buying. – JC By Brian Whitaker | (Al-Bab.com | – – Not content with securing 97% of the votes in Egypt’s presidential “election”, the Sisi […]