Journalism

“Fox News is Trump’s Walter Cronkite,” said Anthony Scaramucci, who served briefly as Mr. Trump’s White House communications director — and has recently become a vocal critic. “Once he loses the majority of them, it’s over. He knows it, which is why he is bashing and intimidating them.”

Tech journalism has made impressive strides in recent years. Journalists covering Silicon Valley have increasingly embraced the role of “watchdog” rather than “mascot.” This critical turn in tech journalism has ushered in reporting on the broken promises, negligence, and other shortcomings of Big Tech companies and their most prominent executives. But this may not be enough to spur the public engagement necessary to affect real change.

Findings from a July 2019 Pew research study:

Media coverage of the 2020 Democratic presidential campaigns began in earnest well over a year ago — but it is not providing citizens with the news and information we need in order to cast informed ballots. We are two former Federal Communications Commission chairmen who believe one critical issue the media is avoiding is … the media itself. The high level of consolidation and corporatization that exists in the industry today speaks to media’s lack of interest in addressing the current shortfall in our news and information.

“For more than twenty years," said Federal Communicatuions Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, "Congress has instructed the Federal Communications Commission to review its media ownership regulations and revise or repeal those rules that are no longer necessary. But for the last fifteen years, a majority of the same Third Circuit panel has taken that authority for themselves, blocking any attempt to modernize these regulations to match the obvious realities of the modern media marketplace.

The Third US Circuit Court of Appeals threw out changes to broadcast media ownership rules approved by the Federal Communications Commission in 2017, saying the agency should have looked more closely at potential impacts on minority ownership. The court  said it agreed with public-interest groups that “the Commission did not adequately consider the effect its sweeping rule changes will have on ownership of broadcast media by women and racial minorities.” The court will vacate and remand “the bulk of” the FCC’s actions over the last three years for further consideration by the agency.

Axios is launching a series to help you navigate the new avalanche of misinformation, and illuminate its impact on America and the globe, through 2020 and beyond. Hostile powers undermining elections. Deepfake video and audio. Bots and trolls, phishing and fake news — plus of course old-fashioned spin and lies. The sheer volume of assaults on fact and truth is undermining trust not just in politics and government, but also in business, tech, science and health care as well. The bottom line: We won't be able to solve our problems if we can't even agree which ones are real.

A majority of US adults believe their local news media are doing well financially (71%), even as only 14% say they have paid for local news themselves in the past year, either through subscribing, donating or becoming a member. Some key findings about who pays for local news in the US:

Key findings about the way Americans get news online – as well as how digital newsrooms in the US are faring:

Local newspapers have always been the epicenter of local news ecosystems. While communities may have other sources of journalism, such as TV and radio stations and online-only outlets, the bulk of the reporting serving local communities has traditionally been provided by local newspapers. we conducted a study that explores which types of outlets are the most significant producers of journalism in 100 randomly sampled communities across the US.