Air Date: 8-10-2025

Trump has been condemning the media for all of his professional life and is pretty open about doing it so that people won't believe the negative press he so richly deserves. Now, with the power of the presidency, he's turned his battle with the press into a protection racket complete with payoffs and side deals in an attempt to turn the media into pro-Trump propaganda.

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KEY POINTS

KP 1: Trump's War on the Media - Courier - Air Date 7-29-25

KP 2: 'A Clear Attempt to Intimidate the Press' Part 1 - On Point - Air Date 2-26-25

KP 3: Stop the Press! - Today, Explained - Air Date 7-22-25

KP 4: Congress Has Voted to Eliminate Government Funding for Public Media - Ted Radio Hour - Air Date 7-18-25

KP 5: “Big Fat Bribe”: Stephen Colbert’s Show Canceled After He Slams Trump & Paramount_skydance Merger - Democracy Now! - Air Date 7-23-25

KP 6: Gavin Newsom Takes Cue From Trump and Sues Fox News for Defamation - The Ring of Fire - Air Date 6-30-25

KP 7: 'The First Amendment Demands It': Capehart Reflects on His Decision to Leave the Washington Post - The Last Word - Air Date 7-31-25

KP 8: Corporate Media's Surrender to Trump a Wake-up Call for Urgent Reforms Needed to Save Journalism, Democracy - Between the Lines Radio Newsmagazine Podcast - Air Date 7-16-25

(00:49:29) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

On the threat of billionaires to democracy and society as a whole

DEEPER DIVES

(00:54:47) SECTION A: SECTION A

A1: ABC News Settlement with Trump Raises Concerns About Press Freedom in His 2nd Term - PBS Newshour - Air Date 12-16-24

A2: 'A Clear Attempt to Intimidate the Press' Part 2 - On Point - Air Date 2-26-25

A3: Corporate Self-regulation and the Fine Art of 'Preempting' Public Outrage - Citations Needed - Air Date 7-16-25

A4: Former FCC Commissioner on How Greater Media Consolidation Is a Threat to Democracy and Free Speech - Democracy Now! - Air Date 7-11-17

(01:21:24) SECTION B: CENSORSHIP IS PARAMOUNT

B1: Shari’s Skydance Shuffle & Nfl Redzone Realignment - The Powers That Be: Daily - Air Date 7-28-25

B2: Bribe? Surrender? Both? Unpacking the Trump-paramount Settlement - The Town with Matthew Belloni - Air Date 7-2-25

B3: Trumps Censorship and Control Campaign Threatens Press Freedom FCC Commissioner Says - PBS Newshour - Air Date 7-29-25

B4: Autocrats and Their Censorship Tricks - DW Shift - Air Date 2-21-25

(01:57:03) SECTION C: PUBLIC BROADCASTING

C1: A Look at the Trump Administrations Efforts to Slash Public Media Funding - PBS Newshour - Air Date 4-16-25

C2: The Battle Over Public Broadcasting - On the Media - Air Date 7-4-25

(02:12:52) SECTION D: LARGER PLAN

D1: How Peter Thiel Became the Gravedigger of Democracy - Behind the Bastards - Air Date 11-5-25

D2: Can Trump Sue His Way Out of the Epstein Mess? - Strict Scrutiny - Air Date 7-28-25

D3: Trump's New Merger Scandal Is Swampier Than Watergate - Lever Time - Air Date 7-31-25

D4: Trump's Presidential Library Grift. Plus, the Hacker Behind the Nyt's Mamdani Story - On the Media - Air Date 7-25-25

(02:53:50) SECTION E: FIGHT BACK

E1: Skydance-Paramount Merger, Ghislaine Pardon Talk, and South Park Skewers Trump - Pivot - Air Date 7-29-25

E2: How the Media Walked Us Into Autocracy w/ Ralph Nader - The Chris Hedges Report - Air Date 3-6-25

SHOW IMAGE CREDITS

Description: Photo of Trump with a stern expression at the podium in the White House briefing room pointing into the crowd of journalists at one with their hand up.

Credit: “White House Press Briefing” (2020) via Trump White House Archived, Flickr | License: Public Domain | Changes: Cropped

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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