A timeline documenting Trump and Epstein's relationship appeared this morning in NYC, on the corner of Mulberry & Grand 👀

So... Merritt, Musa, and I did a podcast about the #WorldCup

Apocalypse surveillance can only be fought through solidarity action. Read my words w/ Amanda Beckham for @freepress.bsky.social on our new #SOS initiative to fight govt & corporate spying: pressingissues.org/the-antidote...

The "public interest" does not mean this administration's interests. Broadcasters should ignore these latest threats and stiffen their spine. Pushing back is the only thing that will stop this FCC from abusing its power to silence speech and punish independent reporting.

Cecilia Vega, in a statement to the New York Times' Michael Grynbaum, says she "experienced efforts to insert political bias into our stories" in recent months at 60 Minutes. "Today I lost an amazing job. But I still have my integrity. To my former colleagues, continue to hold the line."

So many bad ideas at the FCC at the same time, I can barely keep up. But as @freepress.bsky.social shows in this filing, there is NO reason to give Paramount a waiver so the Saudis and sovereign wealth funds -- from any country -- can invest more in their destruction of CBS, CNN, HBO and the rest.

Did anyone else notice that the News Emmys snubbed "CBS Evening News" last night, while the other network news programs took home armloads of trophies? Is this what Bari meant whens she said “let’s do the fucking news!” on entering the newsroom for the first time earlier this year?

“Watch any sci-fi movie or read any dystopian novel and it’s the same story: An all-encompassing state brutalizes the masses by monitoring them nonstop and suppressing dissent. That’s the future we’re dangerously close to now,” says @attorneynora.bsky.social

Trolling last night's News Emmys in NYC as journalists inside decried the sorry consolidated state of the news media industry. #BlockTheMerger

Last night we and our friends circled the News Emmys in NYC to protest the Paramount/Warner Bros. merger, celebrate journalism that tells the truth and reject media consolidation that spreads propaganda and lies. Here are some images.... 🧵 #BlockTheMerger

Student journo wins the Mike Wallace Memorial Scholarship at the News Emmys; takes stage to call out Bari Weiss. "While I want to thank CBS News for funding this generous gift toward my education, I want to also acknowledge how the recent direction of the outlet stains the legacy of Mike Wallace."

Paramount merger protesters assembled outside the News Emmys in NYC tonight and were greeted by many journalists who shared our concerns, including these reporters with @moreperfectunion.bsky.social who were nominated for an award. #BlockTheMerger

60 Minutes' Sharyn Alfonsi pens a goodbye note slamming Bari Weiss' actions against her "as a deliberate choice to penalize a journalist for refusing to sanitize factually accurate reporting." Read the rest:

Zuck is a master of optics: www.seattletimes.com/business/zuc...

When we act in defense of Stephen Colbert’s free-speech rights, let’s not forget those who aren’t receiving similar front-page attention. @timkarr.bsky.social writes on those holding up a mirror to an administration that shrinks from accountability: www.freepress.net/blog/colbert...

Watch as @passantino.bsky.social and @oliverdarcy.bsky.social put the final nail in the coffin of the idea that Stephen Colbert's cancellation was "purely a financial decision." youtu.be/l4yQXVCw7pA?...

A marvel of free markets

It's not just Colbert: The Trump administration has retaliated against and worked to silence scores of people and organizations. Here's a look at some of them: https://www.freepress.net/blog/colberts-cancellation-should-shed-light-silencing-lesser-known-voices

“The Post needs to be a profitable enterprise that stands on its own two feet," Bezos tells CNBC, defending his Trumpist makeover of the daily. "If people won’t pay for our product, it’s not good enough." Irony of course is that Bezos' makeover is to blame for people no longer paying for the Post.

Meta just began laying off thousands (its stated plan is to axe 10% of its 77,000+ employees) as it shifts to all AI all the time. Meta’s CTO told WSJ: “The vision we are building towards is one where our agents primarily do the work.” Good thing Zuck isn't giving any commencement speeches.

New Pressing Issues! I talk to the co-founders of the Archival Producers Alliance about how media consolidation threatens to lock away our shared history.

An acquaintance once told me that one had to be really smart to become a billionaire. Not seeing much of that in evidence here. Bravery also not on display.

"Authoritarians don't just destroy journalism and replace it w/propaganda," writes @karlbode.com. "They hollow out existing institutions & parasitically adopt once-respected brands (CBS, Newsweek, Washington Post) to create new journalistic simulacrum." For ex: The FT's flaccid interview w/Carr.

Different ABC — but kudos for abandoning a site that Musk transformed into a "safe space" for Nazis, pedophiles and Trump apologists. Yes, I realize those three groups form an overlapping Venn diagram.

The Legal Accountability Center calls for a "formal review" of Brendan Carr for "violat[ing] his ethical obligations" as an attorney. The group claims the FCC Chair's censorial actions—including efforts to silence Jimmy Kimmel—potential grounds for disbarment. @oliverdarcy.bsky.social reports:

Really, Dylan?

Public opinion of the AI industry is already sinking. A parade of seemingly untrustworthy executives makes it look worse. Ultimately, Musk v. Altman was a battle about control—and even though claims were dismissed, some of the trial takeaways were damning. www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...

Leave it to Bari Weiss' THE Free Press to write a puff piece saluting the Trump admin's alleged fight for free speech abroad. Unmentioned: Trump's ongoing assault on free speech rights here in the US, including calling a NYT reporter "treasonous" for asking questions about Iran & China on AF1.

1. What I found in Trump's new 113-page financial disclosure report. It doesn't look good.

The Trump administration has done more than misjudge American force and the wherewithal of Iran, writes @polgreen.bsky.social. "It has fundamentally misunderstood what power is, conflating it with the capacity to inflict violence when the two are, in truth, opposed." www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/o...

In an interview with @annanicolaou.bsky.social of the Financial Times, Trump FCC toady Brendan Carr admits that his official decision-making “flows from Trump,” but is driven by a desire to “save” local journalism. Only one of these things is true. www.ft.com/content/d62d... (paywall)

With its Civic Information Consortium and new public media leadership, New Jersey has the chance to transform local news and show the rest of the country how it should be done. As @mikerispoli.bsky.social explains, it all starts with actually listening to the public. New Pressing Issues out now!

Exec. summary: Take Trump and his goons to court; they'll lose: www.politico.com/news/2026/05...

"If we're to properly regulate AI, social media or other emerging tech, we must first be able to study them," argues @geurkink.bsky.social. This research "is a crucial line of defense against the unchecked power of tech companies, which too often decide what the public does & doesn't know."

I know it's tough earning out there for local print dailies but this crosses a line in ways that would make it even more difficult to win over new subscribers and grow your media business. c/o @juddlegum.bsky.social popular.info/p/pulitzer-w...

In a bid to revive his flagging AI property, Zuckerberg is imposing MetaAI on Threads users whether they want it or not. (You can’t block the new feature, angering many at the social network, report @jaypeters.net & @karissabe.bsky.social). www.theverge.com/tech/929091/...

Disney suddenly grew a spine, and in so doing showed the world "just how corrupt the FCC has gotten — and why Trump’s censorship czar, should be removed from office," writes @notaaroncraig.bsky.social for the latest Pressing Issues. Carr, not Kimmel, is the one who needs to be removed.

Crime rate plummeting in Democratically governed cities. Crime rate skyrocketing across the Trump administration. popular.info/p/violent-cr...

Must read piece by @karlbode.com exposes Brendan Carr's intellectual dishonesty and corruption... www.techdirt.com/2026/05/12/a...

The season finale of “60 Minutes” will air on Sunday. "It may very well mark the end of the program as it has long been known inside CBS News," writes @oliverdarcy.bsky.social in a report on Bari Weiss' plans to remake the storied news program more to her White House-friendly, pro-Israel liking.

billionaires are fucking stupid and their propaganda isn't effective, an ongoing series over at the newsletter

interesting: on page 3-4 of ABC's filing to the FCC they accuse the Carr agency of working with right wing non-ABC owned affiliates to concoct a scandal surrounding The View's decision to host James Talarico last February (I'll explain) www.fcc.gov/ecfs/documen...

A lot of attention has been paid to the collapse of traffic to The Daily Wire and Ben Shapiro's YouTube channel. But other ragebait sites are also seeing huge drops in audience. According to The Righting, Outkick, The Federalist and The Blaze are down at least 48%. therighting.com/traffic-repo...

With polling numbers like these it's little wonder Trumpists are desperate to rig the midterm vote via extreme gerrymandering and other forms of disenfranchisement. www.economist.com/interactive/...

Billionaire Bezos must be afraid. Goes on an anti-AOC tear with two WaPo editorial board rants against the congresswoman in 4 days. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

The NYT reports here on ABC's pushback against the Trump FCC/Brendan Carr for trying to warp the rules that govern talk shows. First, good on Disney for pushing back against this unconstitutional overreach. It's about time. And the filing itself contains some shocking details ...

From Free Press: “ABC Learns from Past Mistakes, Takes Stronger Stance Against Carr and Trump's Censorship Campaign” www.freepress.net/news/abc-lea...

The SEC agreed to settle its case against Musk with a fine of just $1.5 million. According to @juddlegum.bsky.social that's the equivalent of fining an average American 44 cents. (Musk’s current net worth is $663 billion).

The @glaad.bsky.social Social Media Safety Index is essential research & record of the consistent failures by platforms to hold themselves to their own policies & their abandoning principles of integrity, trust, safety, and free expression. I always cite to this. Kudos @jenniolsonsf.bsky.social:

So dang woke www.theguardian.com/technology/2...