The Chompsky Weekly #66
In which Chompsky gets a rebrand.
Hi everyone.
I’ve been on a working holiday for a few weeks, which has been lovely, but I’m back, baby, and I’m ✨rebranding✨!
(I got sick of explaining that yes, I do know how to spell Chomsky. How can I expect people to take me seriously as ✨An Influencer✨ if they think I can’t spell good?)
‘The Chompsky Weekly’ will remain as the ‘bitesize’ news roundup at the end of the week (surely that pun is clear?) but the publication as a whole will be titled Power and Pop Culture. From…now!
Are the media doing their job on climate?
So, I’ve been pissed for ages about how ‘the media’ isn’t doing a good enough job informing people of the impending climate crisis (which isn’t impending; it was impending in, like, 1979. It’s happening, right now.)
But, then, the centre/left leaners have been covering it, haven’t they? Let’s just take a single example, this article from 2018: Major Climate Report Describes a Strong Risk of Crisis as Early as 2040. It seems like it couldn’t really be clearer…
But then, I suppose, 2040 still feels pretty far away unless you have embedded yourself in Climate Twitter (or, I suppose, other things like… you’re a NASA scientist or something) and get that the hurricanes coming our way in ‘40 will be a result of the emissions belched today.
There are a fair few impressions for the above tweet by the piece’s writer, but not as many as you might expect on a story about the collapse of civilisation from the biggest news organisation in the world.
I’m thinking more and more about the fact that, despite right-wing columnists’ best efforts, and the delays caused by the fossil fuel industry’s sustained deception over the last few decades, this IS being reported… just not in a way that changes things in as dramatic a way as we need to survive.
What is the role of campaigning journalism here? Where is the line between informing people and urging them? How do we mend the awareness > action pipeline?
To be continued.
It’s Sunday 10th July, 2022
Media News
The Filipino Nobel peace prize winner Maria Ressa has lost her appeal against a conviction for cyber libel. Her publication, Rappler, an ardent critic of President Duterte’s government is accused of “violating a constitutional ban on foreign ownership in securing funding, as well as tax evasion”. Ressa faces up to 6 years in prison. (The Guardian)
Elon Musk has pulled out of his planned Twitter buyout, saying the company did not provide him with information he wanted. (CNBC)
City Bureau, a Chicago non-profit newsroom, has been awarded $10 million to expand its ‘Documenters’ programme: in place of a shrinking number of reporters, they’ve been training citizens to attend and document public meetings and publishing their notes in a newsletter. (NiemanLab)
Bristol’s mayor, Marvin Rees, has banned a Local Democracy Reporter from future press briefings for questioning his decision to fly to Canada to deliver a climate talk at TED. Rees claims “Nobody’s been banned. I didn’t invite you to my birthday party, but I didn’t ban you from it. It’s up to me.” (Bristol 24/7)
Prince Harry has won the latest stage of his libel case against the Mail on Sunday. (BBC)
Despite Judge Clarence Thomas’ desires, the Supreme Court will not revisit the landmark freedom of speech decision that maintains a high bar for public figures to make libel claims against media organisations. (CNN)
Dominion, the company that makes the digital voting machines used in the US Presidential elections, is suing Fox News, Newsmax and OAN for defamation, after they ran stories claiming that the machines were rigged to “steal” the election from Trump. (Newsweek)
In response to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, forcing women to give birth against their will, Google has decided to amend a policy to allow mail-order abortion providers to list their search results with the label “provides abortion”. (Gizmodo)
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, who previously said she was “minded to intervene” in Newsquest’s takeover of fellow regional publisher Archant, has decided not to. Newsquest is already the largest news publisher in the UK by number of titles. (Press Gazette)
A recent Gallup poll has shown public trust in US institutions has fallen across the board, with news organisations sitting right at the bottom of the chart. The percentage of people who said they had “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in television news is down to 11% from 16% last year, and for newspapers, down to 16% from 21%. (Gallup)
Workers at publisher HarperCollins, owned by NewsCorp, have voted 99.5% in favour of strike action over equitable pay. The majority-women workforce also demands better family leave policies and action over diversity and inclusion; net sales were reportedly up 14% in 2021, with HarperCollins making almost $2 billion. (The MarySue)
A year after Associated Press’ building in Gaza was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike, the company announced today that its Gaza Strip offices have reopened in a new location. (AP)
Campaigners in Arizona, including many news organisations, have been overruled in a new decision that makes it illegal for anyone within 8 feet of law enforcement activity to record police. (AZCentral)
Campaigns + Content
"The media descended... there were journalists jumping through the windows of people we knew, trying to get quotes."
The Press And The People
Premiering July 12th
I recently spoke on a recorded panel for this film, by press freedom campaign group HackedOff, which premieres online this coming week. The 15 minute film tells the stories of people who faced relentless press intrusion after bereavement.
Sign up here to watch the film when it is launched.
“Production workers at the long-running animated television shows The Simpsons, American Dad! and Family Guy have gained voluntary recognition from their parent company, 20th Television Animation, to join The Animation Guild.
According to a statement from the union, "the production workers won with 90% support across all three shows."
Workers said they are hoping to receive benefits, such as health care and retirement, but also to change the way production work is seen in the industry.
Jobs like production supervisor, coordinator and writers assistant are often seen as stepping-stone jobs, said Ashley Cooper, a production manager for The Simpsons, even though they're integral to making sure shows get on the air.
But for many people, these jobs become careers.
"So people can wind up spending many years in something that's seen as a job for a young person to do for six months," said Cooper.”
- 'The Simpsons' production workers go union, saying they deserve a place at the table
I loved these couple of opinion pieces from NYT at the end of last month: How Animals See Themselves by Ed Yong, an Atlantic staff writer who I first came across via his excellent writing about the pandemic; and Feminism Made a Faustian Bargain With Celebrity Culture. Now It’s Paying the Price., which may resonate in particular with anyone who has read Olúfẹmi O. Táíwò‘s Elite Capture (or my review of it).
And don’t miss O’Brien’s latest rant on the terrible existence of the Daily Mail (and the UK’s client journalism at large)…
That’s all folx.
Love.Eliz