Coffeezilla dropped on Kalshi and CNBC and I think it's relevant. Kalshi says the prediction market is truth data and hired Don Jr as an advisor. Robinhood says it's the next generation of News Media. Combining media with Kalshi and Crypto, Trump will be able to control everything outside of regulation. https://youtu.be/Gq3v-Y6cvLI?si=4-5Dgc_KSuC7tHJb
I love it when the media is dominated by a reactionary, rich-kid, failed actor, just about as much as I love it when the country is run by a moron, a pack of spineless cowards and six white Christian nationalists in noir couture.
Late to the party here, but wanted to drop in and suggest say that any attempt to strip power from the corporate-media oligarchs must include serious reforms of IP laws.
The Ellisons want control of Paramount’s stable of profitable characters and franchises, you say? Well, which were those? “Mission: Impossible, Top Gun, Star Trek, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” you say? Two franchises that started as 60s TV shows and two boffo 80s hits?
And these are going to generate an flow of income for decades to come, you say?
Public domain, I say. At least the 60-year-old IPs need to be public domain. TMNT was a black-and-white comic book series that launched in 1984, and the original creators sold the whole shebang to Viacom back in 2009, which is how Skydance owns it now. Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird already made their nut off of their great creation. Now copyright laws are going to allow Larry and David Ellison to milk the franchise for DECADES more? Other than Byzantine IP laws, is there any sense in which the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles genuinely AREN’T property of the American public at large, at this point?
Excellent piece as always, JVL. Just contributed monthly to Mother Jones, too. I love being a part of this community that always makes me a bit smarter with every read. Endless support and thanks from this reader.
Oh well. I don't watch CNN and I don't stream any of the ones mentioned here either. As long as MSNow and you guys hold your own, I'm ok. Let the oligarchs wag their money around all they want. With only 30% of Americans on the far right, they'll soon have little viewership as most of those Felon-lovers are glued permanently to Fox.
A thought comes to mind, and maybe America has already passed the tipping point on this, but does anyone remember Teddy Roosevelt's reputation as the "Trust Buster"?
Once upon a time the US government cared about corporations having monopolistic control over any segment of markets. This has continued way beyond Roosevelt and the US government used to wield the power of regulation to ensure that monopolistic power did not get concentrated. It used to deny mergers that could result in this outcome. It used to break up corporate entities that had grown too large and monopolistic.
I know it's not possible under Trump, but could a future administration undertake this again on behalf of "We the People", or have the oligarchs already grown too large and too strong, and Congress too corrupted by big money, for this ever to happen again?
There is another way to ding the machine: economic boycotts and strikes. Protests are great fun and feel good but do little to undermine the regime. The agglomeration of of these media companies reminds me of the original film, "Rollerball," in which there were six corporate entities essentially running the world: energy, food, transport, communications, housing and luxury (entertainment for the masses, e.g. Rollerball contests). That film is not far off from where we are headed now. When the Dems take the Congress and the White House they are going to have to put trust busting across all the currently aligned elites/oligarchs as a top ten of reforms. Shades of FDR. These companies have no love nor care for their customers. We can start now by ending our relationships with them and boycotting and striking their businesses. They only care about money and are willing to appease Trump and his insatiable quest for power so that they can make billions. All while the bottom 98% of the country lives paycheck to paycheck, has no savings and is unhealthy because the Republican toadies have forsaken their health care. An acrid brew; ripe for exploitation.
The Pod save America boys suggested that Netflix people show Trump some current South Park episodes. Ellison would be kicked out of Trump's good graces forever!
How do you know he isn't watching it already? Maybe a pregnant Satan is what is keeping him up at night and resulting in the dozing and confusion during the day. On the other hand, I suspect the humor would be over his head, all except the sex scenes with the devil. Love me some South Park.
In Chicago there is an on line newspaper that focuses on neighborhoods as well as city hall. You can get news just for your hood or get news from multiple areas. “Block Club”. - seems to me that kind of independent journalism is a path out of the mess we are in.
The thing about these business people is that they think they are smart, figuring out how to get ahead in this environment, but only end up being the one the alligator eats later in the meal.
No, I know, people will wail and gnash teeth at the "loss" of such beacons of journalsim as The NYT, WaPo, etc. But those old-timey beliefs about the integrity and dogged pursuit of the truth were never accurate in the first place.
The parceling up and sale of a bunch of corporate disinformation divisions to various oligarchs just isn't that big a deal. MOST Americans know, on an intuitive level, that you can't trust what you read in the newspapers.
That's only a "problem" if you believe there *should* be a group of people determining how Americans think and what they believe. I don't believe that, and I know there are at least a few people who share my outlook.
Anyway, we should consider the 1st Amendment pretty much dead and dusted in today's America. As soon as people are thinking about potential life-altering criminal consequences *before* they express themselves, "free speech" is over.
We've hit that point. Maybe we can claw our way back to a better environment, but it's going to take some effort.
Holy cow! I just read Friedman's whole article in Mother Jones. If Pisobiec follows through with his blatant threat, I hope Friedman sues the shit eating grin off Posobiec’s smug face AND wins a slander and lible suit against the DoD while he's at it. Please do a podcast on this story!!
It was common courtesy in the past to leave kids and wives out of the battle when the principles were engaged in political disputes.
Not any longer with the authoritarian Trump regime and his jack-booted thugs who act as his enforcers. They'll go after anyone to try to score cheap political points.
For 15 months in 1968-69 I worked for the finest independent journalist of the 20th century, the late I. F. Stone, the founder and sole proprietor of "I. F. Stone's Weekly". He, too, had a subscription model: $5.00 a year, a rate that went unchanged from his first issue in January of 1953 through his final issue in December of 1971. Over the years, his circulation rose from 5,000 to 70,000, and he was the hero of countless mainstream reporters, one prominent example being Carl Bernstein.
From where I sit, I think I. F. Stone would have strongly approved of JVL's case for subscriber based financing as a sine qua non of independence. He also said that he had so much fun that he "should be arrested". I have a sneaking suspicion that JVL might share that sentiment.
I was pleased to see The Bulwark made it to the White House naughty list video.
Coffeezilla dropped on Kalshi and CNBC and I think it's relevant. Kalshi says the prediction market is truth data and hired Don Jr as an advisor. Robinhood says it's the next generation of News Media. Combining media with Kalshi and Crypto, Trump will be able to control everything outside of regulation. https://youtu.be/Gq3v-Y6cvLI?si=4-5Dgc_KSuC7tHJb
I love it when the media is dominated by a reactionary, rich-kid, failed actor, just about as much as I love it when the country is run by a moron, a pack of spineless cowards and six white Christian nationalists in noir couture.
Late to the party here, but wanted to drop in and suggest say that any attempt to strip power from the corporate-media oligarchs must include serious reforms of IP laws.
The Ellisons want control of Paramount’s stable of profitable characters and franchises, you say? Well, which were those? “Mission: Impossible, Top Gun, Star Trek, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” you say? Two franchises that started as 60s TV shows and two boffo 80s hits?
And these are going to generate an flow of income for decades to come, you say?
Public domain, I say. At least the 60-year-old IPs need to be public domain. TMNT was a black-and-white comic book series that launched in 1984, and the original creators sold the whole shebang to Viacom back in 2009, which is how Skydance owns it now. Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird already made their nut off of their great creation. Now copyright laws are going to allow Larry and David Ellison to milk the franchise for DECADES more? Other than Byzantine IP laws, is there any sense in which the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles genuinely AREN’T property of the American public at large, at this point?
Excellent piece as always, JVL. Just contributed monthly to Mother Jones, too. I love being a part of this community that always makes me a bit smarter with every read. Endless support and thanks from this reader.
Oh well. I don't watch CNN and I don't stream any of the ones mentioned here either. As long as MSNow and you guys hold your own, I'm ok. Let the oligarchs wag their money around all they want. With only 30% of Americans on the far right, they'll soon have little viewership as most of those Felon-lovers are glued permanently to Fox.
A thought comes to mind, and maybe America has already passed the tipping point on this, but does anyone remember Teddy Roosevelt's reputation as the "Trust Buster"?
Once upon a time the US government cared about corporations having monopolistic control over any segment of markets. This has continued way beyond Roosevelt and the US government used to wield the power of regulation to ensure that monopolistic power did not get concentrated. It used to deny mergers that could result in this outcome. It used to break up corporate entities that had grown too large and monopolistic.
I know it's not possible under Trump, but could a future administration undertake this again on behalf of "We the People", or have the oligarchs already grown too large and too strong, and Congress too corrupted by big money, for this ever to happen again?
There is another way to ding the machine: economic boycotts and strikes. Protests are great fun and feel good but do little to undermine the regime. The agglomeration of of these media companies reminds me of the original film, "Rollerball," in which there were six corporate entities essentially running the world: energy, food, transport, communications, housing and luxury (entertainment for the masses, e.g. Rollerball contests). That film is not far off from where we are headed now. When the Dems take the Congress and the White House they are going to have to put trust busting across all the currently aligned elites/oligarchs as a top ten of reforms. Shades of FDR. These companies have no love nor care for their customers. We can start now by ending our relationships with them and boycotting and striking their businesses. They only care about money and are willing to appease Trump and his insatiable quest for power so that they can make billions. All while the bottom 98% of the country lives paycheck to paycheck, has no savings and is unhealthy because the Republican toadies have forsaken their health care. An acrid brew; ripe for exploitation.
The Pod save America boys suggested that Netflix people show Trump some current South Park episodes. Ellison would be kicked out of Trump's good graces forever!
How do you know he isn't watching it already? Maybe a pregnant Satan is what is keeping him up at night and resulting in the dozing and confusion during the day. On the other hand, I suspect the humor would be over his head, all except the sex scenes with the devil. Love me some South Park.
I love the Harry Potter reference.
In Chicago there is an on line newspaper that focuses on neighborhoods as well as city hall. You can get news just for your hood or get news from multiple areas. “Block Club”. - seems to me that kind of independent journalism is a path out of the mess we are in.
Just a reminder, Larry Ellison got his start creating relational databases for the CIA.
Yup. The name "Oracle" comes from the CIA program of the same name.
It's not a conspiracy theory when it's true.
https://gizmodo.com/larry-ellisons-oracle-started-as-a-cia-project-1636592238
https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP83T00573R000500080009-3.pdf
The thing about these business people is that they think they are smart, figuring out how to get ahead in this environment, but only end up being the one the alligator eats later in the meal.
Good thing it's nothing too serious, at least.
No, I know, people will wail and gnash teeth at the "loss" of such beacons of journalsim as The NYT, WaPo, etc. But those old-timey beliefs about the integrity and dogged pursuit of the truth were never accurate in the first place.
The parceling up and sale of a bunch of corporate disinformation divisions to various oligarchs just isn't that big a deal. MOST Americans know, on an intuitive level, that you can't trust what you read in the newspapers.
That's only a "problem" if you believe there *should* be a group of people determining how Americans think and what they believe. I don't believe that, and I know there are at least a few people who share my outlook.
Anyway, we should consider the 1st Amendment pretty much dead and dusted in today's America. As soon as people are thinking about potential life-altering criminal consequences *before* they express themselves, "free speech" is over.
We've hit that point. Maybe we can claw our way back to a better environment, but it's going to take some effort.
"Remember when David Ellison bought Paramount Global?"
Skydance Media, LLC, bought Paramount Global.
Holy cow! I just read Friedman's whole article in Mother Jones. If Pisobiec follows through with his blatant threat, I hope Friedman sues the shit eating grin off Posobiec’s smug face AND wins a slander and lible suit against the DoD while he's at it. Please do a podcast on this story!!
It was common courtesy in the past to leave kids and wives out of the battle when the principles were engaged in political disputes.
Not any longer with the authoritarian Trump regime and his jack-booted thugs who act as his enforcers. They'll go after anyone to try to score cheap political points.
For 15 months in 1968-69 I worked for the finest independent journalist of the 20th century, the late I. F. Stone, the founder and sole proprietor of "I. F. Stone's Weekly". He, too, had a subscription model: $5.00 a year, a rate that went unchanged from his first issue in January of 1953 through his final issue in December of 1971. Over the years, his circulation rose from 5,000 to 70,000, and he was the hero of countless mainstream reporters, one prominent example being Carl Bernstein.
From where I sit, I think I. F. Stone would have strongly approved of JVL's case for subscriber based financing as a sine qua non of independence. He also said that he had so much fun that he "should be arrested". I have a sneaking suspicion that JVL might share that sentiment.