[[link removed]]
MEDIA BITS AND BYTES — JANUARY 20, 2026
[[link removed]]
xxxxxx
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]
_ Using and abusing AI _
, Jen Sorensen
* Reporter’s Home Searched by FBI
* AI for Organizers
* The _New York Post_ X-Rays MAGA Madness
* When Journalism Becomes Influencer Content
* After AI
* _NYT_ and _Wapo_ Kept Mum About Venezuela Plans
* Tribal News Agency Defends its Press Freedom
* MAGAfied CBS Evening News is Circling the Drain
* Death of an Urban Daily
* Hip-Hop Editor and Godfather James Bernard
REPORTER’S HOME SEARCHED BY FBI
[[link removed]]
By Lauren Harper, _The Intercept_
Last Wednesday, the FBI raided the home of _Washington Post_
journalist Hannah Natanson in an alarming escalation of the Trump
administration’s war on press freedom. The raid was a direct result
of Attorney General Pam Bondi’s decision last year to reverse media
protections for journalists from having their records searched during
leak investigations — a decision based on a sham.
AI FOR ORGANIZERS
[[link removed]]
By Lee Anderson and Oluwakemi Oso, _The Forge_
Our movements opting out of AI is not a strategy. The danger is not
just in how AI functions. It is in who controls it. Many of today’s
tech futurists openly champion anti-democratic visions from Curtis
Yarvin’s authoritarian fantasies to Peter Thiel’s billionaire
libertarianism. If we disengage, we cede the ground entirely to those
who do not share our values.
THE _NEW YORK POST_ X-RAYS MAGA MADNESS
[[link removed]]
By John R MacArthur, _The Guardian_
All through the run up to Zohran Mamdani’s remarkable victory, the
queen of tabloids outdid itself in hysterical brilliance. I suggest
reading the _Post_ very carefully to try to understand our mad
king’s thinking.
WHEN JOURNALISM BECOMES INFLUENCER CONTENT
[[link removed]]
By Yona TR Golding, _Columbia Journalism Review_
An increasing number of establishment voices are setting out to make
their mark, independent of the newsrooms that elevated them to fame.
Some have styled themselves outcasts while doing little to challenge
power. Other independent journalists are embracing a point-of-view
journalism model that rejects classic notions of objectivity without
discarding a commitment to honest reporting.
AFTER AI [[link removed]]
By Cédric Durand, _New Left Review_
The AI boom may appear sustainable. But as cracks appear in weaker
players like Oracle and in some corners of the AI development
business, anxiety is building that there may not be enough profit to
sustain the trend across the ecosystem as a whole. With AI, the most
immediate danger seems to be an epidemic of workforce
demoralization.
_NYT_ AND _WAPO_ KEPT MUM ABOUT VENEZUELA PLANS
[[link removed]]
By Drew Favakeh, _FAIR_
When the Trump administration invaded Venezuela and kidnapped
President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, the _New York Times_ and
_Washington Post_ framed it as a surprise. But word quickly got out
that it was not a surprise to either paper, as they chose not to
report on it, to “avoid endangering US troops.”
TRIBAL NEWS AGENCY DEFENDS ITS PRESS FREEDOM
[[link removed]]
By Dan Ross, _Truthout_
Mvskoke Media, a small and scrappy news outlet that serves the
Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma — the fourth-largest federally
recognized tribal nation in the U.S. — offers a stark lesson of what
happens when cherished press freedoms are lost altogether, as well as
a blueprint for how to restore and protect these important civic
checks and balances.
MAGAFIED CBS EVENING NEWS IS CIRCLING THE DRAIN
[[link removed]]
By Sharon Zhang, _Truthout_
Data from media audience measurement firm Nielsen shows that the CBS
Evening News lost nearly a quarter of its viewership in the first five
days of Tony Dokoupil taking over the program, from January 5 to
January 9, compared to the same period last year. Dokoupil has
featured numerous right-wing guest interviewees and billionaires.
DEATH OF AN URBAN DAILY
[[link removed]]
By Victor Pickard, _The Conversation_
The _Pittsburgh Post-Gazette_ has long been a vital part of the local
community throughout western Pennsylvania. This would be the first
major metropolitan newspaper closing since the _Tampa Tribune_ shut
its doors in 2016. The loss of the _Post-Gazette_ will likely create a
major gap in local news coverage.
HIP-HOP EDITOR AND GODFATHER JAMES BERNARD
[[link removed]]
By Fisher Jack, _EURweb_
The death of James Bernard has been confirmed as a suicide, according
to New Jersey officials. The hip-hop journalist was found on December
29, 2025, after being missing for more than 17 months. Bernard helped
make hip-hop journalism credible and essential during the genre’s
rise. He co-founded _The Source_ magazine in 1988, and it soon became
hip-hop’s most respected voice.
* FBI
[[link removed]]
* Media FBI burglary
[[link removed]]
* Washington Post
[[link removed]]
* Hannah Natanson
[[link removed]]
* artificial intelligence
[[link removed]]
* Social Movements
[[link removed]]
* New York Post
[[link removed]]
* New York City
[[link removed]]
* Zohran Mamdani
[[link removed]]
* Journalism
[[link removed]]
* independent media
[[link removed]]
* AI bubble
[[link removed]]
* The New York Times
[[link removed]]
* Venezuela
[[link removed]]
* Donald Trump
[[link removed]]
* Myskoke Media
[[link removed]]
* Creek Nation of Oklahoma
[[link removed]]
* CBS News
[[link removed]]
* Tony Dokoupil
[[link removed]]
* Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
[[link removed]]
* James Bernard
[[link removed]]
* hip-hop
[[link removed]]
* The Source
[[link removed]]
* XXL
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]
INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT
Submit via web
[[link removed]]
Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]
Manage subscription
[[link removed]]
Visit xxxxxx.org
[[link removed]]
Bluesky [[link removed]]
Facebook [[link removed]]
[link removed]
To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]
