Tim Karr
@timkarr.bsky.social
A crash-scene investigation at the crossroads of new media & public policy. Against media concentration; for robust local journalism & digital democracy. Still attempting to master the cold take.
www.freepress.net - This Free Press is not for sale.
www.freepress.net - This Free Press is not for sale.
Pinned
Tim Karr
@timkarr.bsky.social
· Aug 4
Learn more about our plans to continually update the Media Capitulation Index and 'award' more chickens to the cowering conglomerates and stars to those with more courage.
www.freepress.net/who-owns-media
www.freepress.net/who-owns-media
At Status_ @oliverdarcy.bsky.social asks questions about Bari Weiss' both-sides approach to being CBS editor-in-chief:
"How does a newsroom create a good-faith debate when one side shows little regard for basic facts and decency, and refuses to play by a normal set of rules?
"How does a newsroom create a good-faith debate when one side shows little regard for basic facts and decency, and refuses to play by a normal set of rules?
Business Insider’s Paywall Backslide
The Axel Springer-owned outlet is pivoting back to clicks this holiday season, Status has learned, as internal pressures mount and its subscription bet shows new cracks.
www.status.news
November 26, 2025 at 12:58 PM
At Status_ @oliverdarcy.bsky.social asks questions about Bari Weiss' both-sides approach to being CBS editor-in-chief:
"How does a newsroom create a good-faith debate when one side shows little regard for basic facts and decency, and refuses to play by a normal set of rules?
"How does a newsroom create a good-faith debate when one side shows little regard for basic facts and decency, and refuses to play by a normal set of rules?
President Trump "is not bought by anyone and does what’s in the best interest of the country,” said a White House spokesperson about the list of billionaires who donated to his 2025 inauguration fund — many who were rewarded with cushy govt posts.
“Any suggestion otherwise is simply false.”
“Any suggestion otherwise is simply false.”
A Year Later, Donors to Trump’s Transition Come to Light
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:53 PM
President Trump "is not bought by anyone and does what’s in the best interest of the country,” said a White House spokesperson about the list of billionaires who donated to his 2025 inauguration fund — many who were rewarded with cushy govt posts.
“Any suggestion otherwise is simply false.”
“Any suggestion otherwise is simply false.”
Dust off those old VHS players. "Rush Hour" is back after an 18-year hiatus, courtesy of Donald Trump and a capitulating Paramount.
variety.com/2025/film/bo...
variety.com/2025/film/bo...
‘Rush Hour 4’ in the Works at Paramount at Trump’s Request
"Rush Hour 4" in the works at Paramount after prodding from president Trump.
variety.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Dust off those old VHS players. "Rush Hour" is back after an 18-year hiatus, courtesy of Donald Trump and a capitulating Paramount.
variety.com/2025/film/bo...
variety.com/2025/film/bo...
The capitulation effect. Just the threat of a (spurious) lawsuit is enough to get the BBC to cave.
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 12:58 PM
The capitulation effect. Just the threat of a (spurious) lawsuit is enough to get the BBC to cave.
Ginia Bellafante spares one actor in her NYT story on the "scandal-drenched" behavior of journalists involved in the Nuzzi-Lizza-Olbermann-Kennedy fiasco:
The Times' own lip-gloss smeared feature on the melodrama's central player:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/s...
The Times' own lip-gloss smeared feature on the melodrama's central player:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/s...
In This Scandal, the Journalists Are the Story
www.nytimes.com
November 22, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Ginia Bellafante spares one actor in her NYT story on the "scandal-drenched" behavior of journalists involved in the Nuzzi-Lizza-Olbermann-Kennedy fiasco:
The Times' own lip-gloss smeared feature on the melodrama's central player:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/s...
The Times' own lip-gloss smeared feature on the melodrama's central player:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/s...
All the feels: www.instagram.com/p/DQmSWEpkUOb/
Ron Barba on Instagram: "Get Your Shirts and Hats Today!!! MAGA for MAMDANI #magaformamdani M4M"
Get inspired by Mamdani's journey and join the movement with our vibrant MAGA shirts and hats. Perfect for expressing your support and spreading the word about Mamdani's mission. Check out our collect...
www.instagram.com
November 21, 2025 at 11:21 PM
All the feels: www.instagram.com/p/DQmSWEpkUOb/
While the government shutdown may have ended, Congress' collective brain still isn't in working order:
www.newsweek.com/full-list-of...
www.newsweek.com/full-list-of...
Full list of Democrats voting to condemn socialism as Zohran Mamdani comes to town
The House of Representatives voted on a resolution condemning socialism ahead of President Trump's meeting with Zohran Mamdani.
www.newsweek.com
November 21, 2025 at 6:42 PM
While the government shutdown may have ended, Congress' collective brain still isn't in working order:
www.newsweek.com/full-list-of...
www.newsweek.com/full-list-of...
Reposted by Tim Karr
If you're trying to convince your friends to spend time on Bluesky rather than X, maybe show them this. X is not "the public town square" or about "free speech." It's "just what Elon Musk wants you to see." If you see stuff he doesn't like he'll step in to make sure you don't see it for long.
If you scroll on X, you are only being shown what Elon wants you to see. If you create content on X, no one will see it unless Elon wants them to.
November 21, 2025 at 1:31 AM
If you're trying to convince your friends to spend time on Bluesky rather than X, maybe show them this. X is not "the public town square" or about "free speech." It's "just what Elon Musk wants you to see." If you see stuff he doesn't like he'll step in to make sure you don't see it for long.
Reposted by Tim Karr
Brendan Carr specializes in baseless investigations, which is why Trump likes him so much.
Apparently he’s now pretending to be OfCom’s censorship czar, too.
Apparently he’s now pretending to be OfCom’s censorship czar, too.
I wrote about Brendan Carr's latest phony "investigation" of the media over at Techdirt
Brendan Carr Launches Baseless ‘Investigation’ Into PBS, NPR, And BBC To Try And Silence Criticism Of His Weird, Unpopular Boss
Donald Trump’s FCC boss Brendan Carr is opening a fake new “investigation” into PBS, NPR, and BBC in the hopes of suppressing journalistic criticism of the country’s increas…
www.techdirt.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Brendan Carr specializes in baseless investigations, which is why Trump likes him so much.
Apparently he’s now pretending to be OfCom’s censorship czar, too.
Apparently he’s now pretending to be OfCom’s censorship czar, too.
Reposted by Tim Karr
The Nuzzi/RFK story is “the logical endpoint of a system that spent years rewarding access over adversarial reporting, personality over institutional credibility, and personal narrative over professional distance.”
👏👏
Via @colbyhall.bsky.social
www.mediaite.com/opinion/the-...
👏👏
Via @colbyhall.bsky.social
www.mediaite.com/opinion/the-...
The Olivia Nuzzi Comeback Is Everything Wrong With Modern Media
Olivia Nuzzi’s comeback isn’t a personal scandal story—it’s proof that today’s media rewards access, personality, and controversy more than ethics.
www.mediaite.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:59 PM
The Nuzzi/RFK story is “the logical endpoint of a system that spent years rewarding access over adversarial reporting, personality over institutional credibility, and personal narrative over professional distance.”
👏👏
Via @colbyhall.bsky.social
www.mediaite.com/opinion/the-...
👏👏
Via @colbyhall.bsky.social
www.mediaite.com/opinion/the-...
Trump's censor in chief at the FCC, Brendan Carr, just sent a letter to the heads of BBC, NPR and PBS informing them he's launching a "news distortion" probe into the BBC's editing of a documentary on Trump's Jan. 6 activities.
Here it is:
Here it is:
November 19, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Trump's censor in chief at the FCC, Brendan Carr, just sent a letter to the heads of BBC, NPR and PBS informing them he's launching a "news distortion" probe into the BBC's editing of a documentary on Trump's Jan. 6 activities.
Here it is:
Here it is:
"Paying the blackmailer makes you look like a cowardly mark—both to your audience & to the guy grabbing you by the wallet," writes @lizdye.bsky.social.
"With courts announcing they won’t be part of the president's extortion racket, media outlets need to toughen up and quit paying the vig."
"With courts announcing they won’t be part of the president's extortion racket, media outlets need to toughen up and quit paying the vig."
CNN shows that when media orgs fight Trump, they win
Take this grift and shove it.
www.publicnotice.co
November 19, 2025 at 5:17 PM
"Paying the blackmailer makes you look like a cowardly mark—both to your audience & to the guy grabbing you by the wallet," writes @lizdye.bsky.social.
"With courts announcing they won’t be part of the president's extortion racket, media outlets need to toughen up and quit paying the vig."
"With courts announcing they won’t be part of the president's extortion racket, media outlets need to toughen up and quit paying the vig."
As Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said last week: "Capitulation breeds capitulation."
Disney/ABC's $16 million dollar payout to Trump in December didn't earn the company any special favors today.
Disney/ABC's $16 million dollar payout to Trump in December didn't earn the company any special favors today.
Trump in response to an Epstein question: "ABC, your company, your crappy company is one of the perpetrators. I think the license should be taken away from ABC because your news is so fake and so wrong. And we have a great commissioner, a chairman, who should take a look at that."
November 18, 2025 at 9:24 PM
As Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said last week: "Capitulation breeds capitulation."
Disney/ABC's $16 million dollar payout to Trump in December didn't earn the company any special favors today.
Disney/ABC's $16 million dollar payout to Trump in December didn't earn the company any special favors today.
Reposted by Tim Karr
I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
Opinion | Jamal Khashoggi: What the Arab world needs most is free expression
The Arab world needs a modern version of the old transnational media so citizens can be informed about global events.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:48 PM
I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
Reposted by Tim Karr
starting to think that repeatedly sinking trillions into Silicon Valley's new favorite toy while tech companies spend millions to kill any meaningful regulation is actually not going to end well
November 18, 2025 at 3:38 PM
starting to think that repeatedly sinking trillions into Silicon Valley's new favorite toy while tech companies spend millions to kill any meaningful regulation is actually not going to end well
Trump's censorship czar Brendan Carr often says his decisions to go the "hard way" against broadcasters that don't appease Trump are motivated by their "unique obligation to operate in the public interest."
But a vast majority of the actual public disagrees. 🧵
www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-...
But a vast majority of the actual public disagrees. 🧵
www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-...
November 18, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Trump's censorship czar Brendan Carr often says his decisions to go the "hard way" against broadcasters that don't appease Trump are motivated by their "unique obligation to operate in the public interest."
But a vast majority of the actual public disagrees. 🧵
www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-...
But a vast majority of the actual public disagrees. 🧵
www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-...
Carr's anti-First Amendment thuggery continues.
And you'd think he'd have learned following the massive public backlash to his efforts to censor and cancel Kimmel:
variety.com/2025/tv/news...
And you'd think he'd have learned following the massive public backlash to his efforts to censor and cancel Kimmel:
variety.com/2025/tv/news...
FCC Chairman Reposts Donald Trump’s Call for NBC to Fire Seth Meyers ‘Immediately’
Brendan Carr, chairman of the FCC, is backing up Donald Trump’s demand for Seth Meyers' firing fom NBC.
variety.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Carr's anti-First Amendment thuggery continues.
And you'd think he'd have learned following the massive public backlash to his efforts to censor and cancel Kimmel:
variety.com/2025/tv/news...
And you'd think he'd have learned following the massive public backlash to his efforts to censor and cancel Kimmel:
variety.com/2025/tv/news...
... and now she's gone. Huge loss:
November 15, 2025 at 6:39 PM
... and now she's gone. Huge loss:
"Is there an exit point for the Republican Party, or is this now Thelma and Louise time ... going off the cliff together?"
@jimacosta.bsky.social asks author Stuart Stevens who's written extensively about the fall of the GOP.
open.substack.com/live-stream/...
#EpsteinFiles
@jimacosta.bsky.social asks author Stuart Stevens who's written extensively about the fall of the GOP.
open.substack.com/live-stream/...
#EpsteinFiles
LIVE NOW: BREAKING EPSTEIN NEWS
Jim Acosta on Substack
open.substack.com
November 12, 2025 at 9:15 PM
"Is there an exit point for the Republican Party, or is this now Thelma and Louise time ... going off the cliff together?"
@jimacosta.bsky.social asks author Stuart Stevens who's written extensively about the fall of the GOP.
open.substack.com/live-stream/...
#EpsteinFiles
@jimacosta.bsky.social asks author Stuart Stevens who's written extensively about the fall of the GOP.
open.substack.com/live-stream/...
#EpsteinFiles
Reposted by Tim Karr
the decision to really just abandon moderation and let it rip suggests that this is what meta wants for its platform. this is the final, idealized form of the product
The most horrifying AI slop of ICE raids you can possibly imagine is wildly viral on Facebook, collectively totaling tens of millions of views from a single account. First spotted by @chadloder.bsky.social
www.404media.co/ai-generated...
www.404media.co/ai-generated...
AI-Generated Videos of ICE Raids Are Wildly Viral on Facebook
An account is spamming horrific, dehumanizing videos of immigration enforcement because the Facebook algorithm is rewarding them for it.
www.404media.co
November 12, 2025 at 5:57 PM
the decision to really just abandon moderation and let it rip suggests that this is what meta wants for its platform. this is the final, idealized form of the product
Reposted by Tim Karr
For years, the tech industry’s giants, which make tens of billions of dollars in annual profits, usually built new data centers with their own money... But a new set of free spenders is emerging... and they are borrowing tens of billions of dollars to do it."
Why Debt Funding Is Ratcheting Up the Risks of the A.I. Boom
www.nytimes.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:07 PM
For years, the tech industry’s giants, which make tens of billions of dollars in annual profits, usually built new data centers with their own money... But a new set of free spenders is emerging... and they are borrowing tens of billions of dollars to do it."
FIFA joins the Trump capitulation charade.
It's not as though these supposed stewards of the beautiful game fell from a moral perch to begin with.
It's not as though these supposed stewards of the beautiful game fell from a moral perch to begin with.
FIFA has announced the creation of a peace prize, which it plans to award for the first time at the World Cup draw on Dec. 5 in Washington. n.pr/4968Bvg
FIFA head says 'you will see' at World Cup draw if Trump receives new peace prize
FIFA has announced the creation of a peace prize, which it plans to award for the first time at the World Cup draw on Dec. 5 in Washington.
n.pr
November 7, 2025 at 12:56 PM
FIFA joins the Trump capitulation charade.
It's not as though these supposed stewards of the beautiful game fell from a moral perch to begin with.
It's not as though these supposed stewards of the beautiful game fell from a moral perch to begin with.
Purges that come after every media merger have an even more sinister cast in the hands of Barry Weiss, who plays lip service to notions of diverse thought (which to her applies only to conservative voices) while, in practice, eliminating people of color from CBS' payroll.
c/o @treymous.bsky.social
c/o @treymous.bsky.social
Six days ago, my TikTok about being laid off from CBS News went viral. Here’s an update. Subscribe on YouTube + Substack #cbsnews #layoffs
TikTok video by Trey Sherman
www.tiktok.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Purges that come after every media merger have an even more sinister cast in the hands of Barry Weiss, who plays lip service to notions of diverse thought (which to her applies only to conservative voices) while, in practice, eliminating people of color from CBS' payroll.
c/o @treymous.bsky.social
c/o @treymous.bsky.social
Reposted by Tim Karr
New: Conde Nast fired four employees who were among a group that confronted the company's head of human resources on Wednesday over the decision to fold Teen Vogue into Vogue/recent cuts. Employees who were fired included journalists from the New Yorker, Wired, and Bon Appétit.
November 6, 2025 at 5:49 PM
New: Conde Nast fired four employees who were among a group that confronted the company's head of human resources on Wednesday over the decision to fold Teen Vogue into Vogue/recent cuts. Employees who were fired included journalists from the New Yorker, Wired, and Bon Appétit.