Update: 3/21/2025 Trump has been on a crusade to "delicense" media he does not like, particularly MSNBC and CNN. He should be informed that cable networks are not licensed. The media has been called the 4th estate because its power and control of media is part and parcel as one of the first steps a wannabe dictator uses to seize control of the other three "estates," the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Trump has whipped the legislative branch majority into submission, and he is trying to cow the judges by threatening "impeachment". That one is simply a bark with no bite since two-thirds of the Senate to convict an impeachment is such a supermajority that it is a non-starter. https://www.imdb.com/news/ni64407784/
Update: 2/27/2025 TheAssociated Press has been barred from White House pressers; CBS was forced to settle a lawsuit over an interview with Kamala Harris; the owner of the Washington Post, billionaire Jeff Bezos, has taken over the Washington Post editorial page and will permit no dissent.
The free press is the last line of defense of democracy threatened by a president who now boasts he is a king. The free press is key to America becoming aware of the danger and the fallout that will also harm the very lives of American citizens. Without a free press, voters will not even know that they have been hurt by whom, much less be able to mount a resistance. Trump thinks he can lie, and he can get away with it because his loyal followers will believe any thing he says. Grisham: Trump ‘knows he can basically say anything and his base will believe’ That is what it is like to live in a dictatorahip. "Modern-day dictators have gained the power they seek because they have used modern technology to spin and mind-control their way to their position. .They spin the news to engineer their support" . Trump has a gullible audience.
"The central goal remains the same: to monopolize political power. But today’s strongmen realize that in current conditions, violence is not always necessary or even helpful. Instead of terrorizing citizens, a skillful ruler can control them by reshaping their beliefs about the world. He can fool people into compliance and even enthusiastic approval. In place of harsh repression, the new dictators manipulate information. Like spin doctors in a democracy, they spin the news to support. They are spin dictators." How Do Dictatorships Survive in the 21st Century? | Andrew Carnegie Fellows | Carnegie Corporation of New York
My original post on the subject of the freedom of the press highlighted how dangerous it was for oligarchs to have such control of so much. MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Whoever controls and owns the media separates democracy from dictatorship by oligopoly updated 1 28 2025 However, it has become clear that Trump himself plays an even bigger part in media control, especially in broadcast media. What happened this is particularly alarming. Alarm bells just went off this week when CBS settled a suit with Trump, who had claimed some softball treatment of his opponent, Kamala Harris. Defamation suits against Fox have been extensive and successful but by private individuals and corporations, including voting machine companies that were accused of throwing the 2020 election. This one is far more politically driven by the President himself for political reasons. CBS staff alarmed by reports of settlement talks with Trump over ‘60 Minutes’ Harris interview | Business | kten.com
The update at the end of the original posts poses a question: Is American media beginning to self-censor? I have seen some evidence. There are differences in reporting Trump's mass deportation raids and media coverage compared with British coverage, which puts a story in a more realistic and accurate context, mostly just the facts. I have just subscribed to Reuters, and I contribute to the Guardian. I will tap the British press as a way to compare how American media is trying to keep in good graces under Trump's threat of delicensing media of which he disapproves.
et tu? CBS? https://www.kten.com/.../article_d2815fad-fd2d-520b-b53a...
