Skip to main content

Media Bits and Bytes – Tooth and Nail Edition

Sun-Times a great notion; FCC massacre; Protecting Junior; Harassing you; Angry men; Something fishy at Hawaii 5-0


Union-Backed Investors Snatch Chicago Sun-Times From Tronc

By Jackie Spinner
July 13, 2017
Columbia Journalism Review

“I can think of no other publication today in the United States with the support of labor unions,” says Steve Franklin, who covered the labor beat for the Tribune and has taught courses on employee and labor relations at the University of Illinois. “It could be a genie that would open up and give them a voice.”

Information Laundering, Economists and Ajit Pai’s Race to Roll-Back the Obama-era FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules

By Jeff Pooley and Dwayne Winseck
July 12, 2017
Benton Foundation

A subterranean network of think tanks and hired-gun economists, lawyers, and others are mobilizing their credentials to justify FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s sprint to reverse not just the net neutrality rules, but also a raft of measures on concentration in the broadband, mobile wireless, cable TV and broadcasting markets, broadband privacy and pricing, and on and on.

Here's How the Pro-Trump Media is Handling the Don Jr. Emails

By Tanya Chen and Charlie Warzel
July 11, 2017
BuzzFeed

Democrats and Republicans alike were concerned. But one group of supporters known for fiercely defending Trump Jr. at any cost — loosely called the pro-Trump media — has already deployed its talking points.
 

If you like this article, please sign up for Snapshot, Portside's daily summary.

(One summary e-mail a day, you can change anytime, and Portside is always free.)

Online Harassment 2017

By Maeve Duggan
July 11, 2017
Pew Research Trust

Roughly four-in-ten Americans have personally experienced online harassment, and 62% consider it a major problem. Many want technology firms to do more, but they are divided on how to balance free speech and safety issues online.

Sofia Coppola’s ‘The Beguiled’: Why Some Critics Brought Out the Knives

By Carrie Rickey
July 14, 2017

IndieWire


Three male critics use highly charged language when criticizing "The Beguiled." Here's why they may be suffering from unconscious bias.

Was Race a factor in the Hawaii 5-0 Pay Dispute?

By Louise Hung  
July 5, 2017
Global Comment

Grace Park and Daniel Dae Kim will not be returning to Hawaii Five-0 for an eighth season. Though Park and Kim have not directly addressed the specific reasons for their departures, it’s impossible to ignore the question of why they were paid less than their costars? Looking at the available information, the whole situation smacks of racial inequality.