Media

Censorship

USAID Funded Massive ‘News’ Platform, Extending ‘Censorship Industrial Complex’ To Billions Worldwide

February 17, 2025 Tyler Durden via Zero Hedge 0
USAID has pushed nearly half a billion dollars ($472.6m) through a secretive US government financed NGO, “Internews Network” (IN), which has “worked with” 4,291 media outlets, producing in one year 4,799 hours of broadcasts reaching up to 778 million people and “training” over 9000 journalists (2023 figures). IN has also supported social media censorship initiatives.

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Media

New FCC Chair Turns the Spotlight on Publicly Funded NPR, PBS

February 8, 2025 Matthew Xiao via The Washington Free Beacon 1
NPR and PBS, both of which receive federal funding, “could be violating federal law by airing commercials,” FCC chairman Brendan Carr wrote in a Wednesday letter to NPR CEO Katherine Maher and PBS CEO Paula Kerger. “In particular, it is possible that NPR and PBS member stations are broadcasting underwriting announcements that cross the line into prohibited commercial advertisements.”

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Media

Final Nail in Legacy Media Coffin? WH Opens Press Corps to Alternative Media, Social Media Influencers, and Podcasters

February 7, 2025 Paul Dragu via The New American 0
On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the White House Press Corps is now open to voices and influencers who aren’t part of the legacy media cartel — further legitimizing popular podcasters, alternative media outlets, and social media influencers who dominated the narrative of the 2024 presidential election. The White House’s move puts them on par with, if not above, the legacy media.

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Free Speech

Can Brent Bozell and Kari Lake ‘Make Media Great Again’ at Broadcast Agencies?

January 30, 2025 Fred Lucas via The Daily Signal 1
Days into his second term, Trump already appears intent on moving quickly to refocus USAGM on its mission of promoting freedom and democracy around the world. On Tuesday, he tapped L. Brent Bozell III, founder and president of the Media Research Center, to be the agency’s new CEO. In December, Trump announced Kari Lake, a former TV news anchor from Arizona, as his nominee to lead Voice of America, one of the entities USAGM oversees.

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