The Chompsky Weekly #34
Big news in trouble all over the world. But, long live online, international, local news.
Hi y’all.
I’ve been stressing out about the fact that I haven’t written any original articles in the last few weeks.
For any unpaid subscribers, it probably looks like I’ve disappeared on holiday for a few weeks. I haven’t, things are just intense right now. You know those periods where everything seems very intense? I’m having one of those. Ongoing. For a month or something, I haven’t kept track. Anyway, vomiting my thoughts about the media industry is not at the forefront of my mind - as much as I’d love it to be.
I’m pleased to announce that I managed to get another one of my interviews done, with the excellent Rich Peppiatt, filmmaker, tabloid-whistleblower, and Leveson Inquiry witness:
READ: Praxis Makes Perfect: Rich Peppiatt
…otherwise, I have only been able to keep up with the Friday newsletter (and last week, it appeared on Saturday.)
I need to not give myself a hard time. Nobody else is pissed about this except me. It’s hard to remember that sometimes.
I’m sending this out to every subscriber this week, in order that those free subscribers are getting something in their inbox. I love you all, thank you so much for being a subscriber - I will be back.
It’s Friday 23rd July, 2021.
Media News
In The Guardian, two journalists (both named Duncan Campbell…) have revealed new laws proposed by the Home Office that would recast whistleblowing and certain journalistic reporting as spying, carrying draconian sentences: “the proposals would put leaking and whistleblowing in the same category as spying for foreign powers […] leakers and journalists could face the same extended jail sentences as foreign agents.” (The Guardian)
Human rights activists, journalists and lawyers around the world have had their phones hacked with military-grade spyware which was then sold to authoritarian governments by NSO Group, an Israeli surveillance firm. 50,000 phone numbers appeared on a list leaked to major news outlets and included the editor of FT, Arab royal family members, and numerous high-profile US journalists. (BBC)
Several US states are bolstering or considering expanding their film and TV production tax credits and incentive programmes, hoping shoots can “re-energize their economies” post-pandemic. (Wall Street Journal)
After he was suspended from GB News last week, when viewers complained about his decision to take the knee on-air, Guto Harri has quit the channel calling it “an absurd parody of what it proclaimed to be". (BBC)
Four more journalists from the now-closed Hong Kong outlet Apple Daily have been arrested by authorities on national security charges. This follows the arrests of other colleagues over the last month, amid the region’s lengthy unrest. (South China Morning Post)
In a ‘Diversity Acceleration Report’, ITV has announced it is casting talent - both actors and presenters - from non-white backgrounds in more than a quarter of prominent roles in its shows this year. (Deadline)
Nigeria’s broadcasting regulator has told TV reporters to “tone down” their work on rising insecurity in the country and withhold details of incidents and victims. The instruction has been widely criticised by the country’s media and civil rights groups. (The Guardian)
“More than 100 tax inspectors” have raided the offices of a popular news outlet in India after their high-profile critical coverage of the government’s handling of the pandemic. (The Guardian)
US chat show The View has been forced to postpone an appearance by one of Bill O’Reilly’s sexual misconduct accusers after O’Reilly’s legal team obtained a temporary restraining order against the accuser, a former The O’Reilly Factor producer. (Deadline)
A former journalist in California has been given a second prison sentence for deleting his former employer’s YouTube channel after he “abruptly” quit. He was originally jailed for two years in 2015 for hacking the LA Times’ website, and after working at a local news station he had accessed the email addresses of viewers and sent them emails disparaging the company. (Sacramento Bee)
YouTube will be pilot testing a new feature that will allow viewers to shop for products directly from livestream videos. (TechCrunch)
Clubhouse, the social audio platform, is no longer invite-only and will begin adding the 10m+ waiting list to its user base. (The Verge)
Campaigns + Content
LION Publishers (Local Independent Online News) have written a passionate and positive look to the future of the news industry. A 180 from the usual ‘the industry is dying’ lament, they’re proposing we should recognise the ability of small online newsrooms to replace - and better - the traditional news ecosystem: “It isn’t necessarily a best practice that one company must try to do all those things at the same time, every day, and bring in enough money to pay all the people required. The Internet is all about unbundling.” | Newspapers are dying; long live local news
Creative England and the Creative Industries Federation have released a new report which will be updated annually: “the first report of its kind, exploring the power and potential of the UK’s creative industries to regenerate places, rebuild the economy, drive innovation and create jobs in all parts of the UK” | The UK Creative Industries Report 2021
This NYT profile of Julie Brown, the investigative reporter who did the most to expose Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, details not only her work but her financial struggles while doing it: “Brown’s book, which comes out on Tuesday, is about a mind-blowing case of plutocratic corruption, full of noirish subplots that may never be fully understood. But it’s also about the slow strangulation of local and regional newspapers.” | A Reporter’s Fight to Expose Epstein’s Crimes — and Earn a Living
In light of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Committee to Protect Journalists has urged the US government to provide emergency visas for Afghans who worked with media outlets. In 2020 at least 5 journalists - tied for the highest number worldwide - were killed | CPJ, U.S. media organizations urge U.S. to provide visas to Afghans who worked with press
I believe there’s a strong case for registering Big Tech platforms as public utilities. Gilad Edelman disagrees with me (I mean not me personally, he doesn’t know who I am) in WIRED | No, Facebook and Google Are Not Public Utilities
This Spiegel profile of Roula Khalaf, FT editor, sees her discuss the newspaper's longstanding “reputation as the bible of capitalism” | Interview with Financial Times Editor Roula Khalaf
That’s all for today folks. Feel free to drop me a line and please share/subscribe!
Love.Eliz