Kyle Paoletta
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kpaoletta.bsky.social
Kyle Paoletta
@kpaoletta.bsky.social
Author of AMERICAN OASIS: FINDING THE FUTURE IN THE CITIES OF THE SOUTHWEST, out January 14, 2025 from Pantheon.

Bylines in Harper's, CJR, The Nation, The Baffler, The New Republic, etc.

KPaoletta@gmail.com
In my latest for @columjournreview.bsky.social, I dug into Brendan Carr's efforts to deregulate the local television business. If he gets his way, one company called Nexstar — of Jimmy Kimmel boycott fame — will be able to reach over 80% of American households:

www.cjr.org/analysis/bre...
The FCC's deregulation blitz is a disaster.
The FCC chairman is clearing the way for Trump and corporate broadcasters to control the airwaves.
www.cjr.org
October 23, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Big news: Components relaunched last week with a barn burner on the economics of Substack. Turns out it isn't a winner-take-all platform (The Free Press be damned), but rather a place where 71% of the revenue comes from publications with fewer than 100k subs

components.news/the-desire-d...
The Desire Distribution
Substack’s revenue curve, the end of the winner-take-all media markets, and the cleansing power of money.
components.news
October 6, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Reposted by Kyle Paoletta
Journalist Mario Guevara faces deportation for "doing his job, reporting the news" at a "No Kings" protest, @seth-stern.bsky.social said on @meidastouch.com.

"He might not be as famous as Jimmy Kimmel ... but he is just as worthy a cause for people to get behind."
Trump FCC SMACKED with COMPLAINT after PLAN FAILS
YouTube video by Legal AF
youtu.be
September 25, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Reposted by Kyle Paoletta
This.

This! This! This!

It's even worse when people buy into the "left vs. right" spectrum. As if people can be measured entirely on a one-dimensional plane.

You, the person reading this right now, are not one-dimensional.

Stop perpetuating the garbage that politics is left-right.
One of the worst academic concepts to break containment and go mainstream is the notion that you can plot political preferences as coordinates on a cartesian line
August 26, 2025 at 4:31 AM
Reposted by Kyle Paoletta
The Energy Department wants to close as many FOIA requests as it can.

It is about to publish a notice in the federal register for all FOIA requests to HQ that predate FY 2025. If you don't respond to StillInterestedFOIA@hq.doe.gov in 30 days, your request is closed.

I just FOIA'd DOE about this.
public-inspection.federalregister.gov
August 13, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Wrote about the late Richard Parker's book on El Paso, THE CROSSING, for @thenation.com. Though his take on the Southwest's history is rosier than mine, count me as a believer in his argument that the region is absolutely central to the American experience:

www.thenation.com/article/cult...
The Story of America Can Be Found on the Banks of the Rio Grande
Richard Parker’s love letter to El Paso, The Crossing, argues that the Texas city can illustrate the best and the worst of the nation’s history.
www.thenation.com
August 4, 2025 at 6:21 PM
In this month's K Paoletter, I wrote about the EPA deciding carbon emissions aren't pollution, California gutting CEQA in the name of climate progress, and why there suddenly seems to be so much bipartisan agreement that environmental regulations are bad, actually.

open.substack.com/pub/kylepaol...
Streamlining
Whose environment is it, anyway?
open.substack.com
July 30, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Reposted by Kyle Paoletta
Three generations of my family worked for CBS. Bending the knee to Donald Trump is unacceptable to me.

Good analysis by @kpaoletta.bsky.social on potential shareholder lawsuit by @freedom.press against Paramount. I shared a little perspective as a former employee and shareholder, myself:
July 26, 2025 at 2:53 AM
Reposted by Kyle Paoletta
'At perhaps the most trying time for press freedom in American history, it has become clear that corporate ownership is a serious liability—and journalistic independence will require vigilant defense, sometimes through esoteric tactics.'

Via @kpaoletta.bsky.social

www.cjr.org/feature-2/pa...
The Fight for Free Speech Goes Corporate
As Paramount prepares for a merger, the Freedom of the Press Foundation stands to challenge the company for capitulating to Trump. Will it work?
www.cjr.org
July 25, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Reposted by Kyle Paoletta
“People can’t trust a news outlet that is bribing the same officials it’s supposed to hold accountable,” Seth Stern told @kpaoletta.bsky.social in @columjournreview.bsky.social about Paramount's capitulation to Trump.
The Fight for Free Speech Goes Corporate
As Paramount prepares for a merger, the Freedom of the Press Foundation stands to challenge the company for capitulating to Trump. Will it work?
www.cjr.org
July 25, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Reposted by Kyle Paoletta
Trump has approved Paramount’s merger with Skydance, raising concerns over a handshake deal for Paramount’s $16m settlement. It’s a sign that media is compromised by corporate ownership, writes @KPaoletta.bsky.social. www.cjr.org/feature-2/pa...
The Fight for Free Speech Goes Corporate
As Paramount prepares for a merger, the Freedom of the Press Foundation stands to challenge the company for capitulating to Trump. Will it work?
www.cjr.org
July 25, 2025 at 6:14 PM
With the Paramount/Skydance merger a go, the clock is now ticking on @freedom.press' threat to sue Paramount over its $16 million settlement with Trump. For @columjournreview.bsky.social, I took a look at the legal landscape and the state of the media biz that got us here
www.cjr.org/feature-2/pa...
The Fight for Free Speech Goes Corporate
As Paramount prepares for a merger, the Freedom of the Press Foundation stands to challenge the company for capitulating to Trump. Will it work?
www.cjr.org
July 25, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Reposted by Kyle Paoletta
I just finished reading American Oasis and am absorbing Kyle Paoletta's scathing critiques of development patterns in the American Southwest that are STILL ONGOING @kpaoletta.bsky.social 1/3
American Oasis — Kyle Paoletta
Preorder "American Oasis: Finding the Future in the Cities of the Southwest," coming January 14, 2025 from Pantheon.
www.kylepaoletta.com
July 2, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Reposted by Kyle Paoletta
Paramount capitulates to Trump, in a "dark day for independent journalism," says Sen. Bernie Sanders. If the free press is to persevere through the Trump era, the media must refuse to follow Paramount's example, by @kpaoletta.bsky.social. www.cjr.org/news/paramou...
Paramount Will Pay President Trump $16 Million to Settle 60 Minutes Lawsuit
“It is a dark day for independent journalism,” says Sen. Bernie Sanders.
www.cjr.org
July 2, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Reposted by Kyle Paoletta
HAPPENING NOW: Judge Charles Breyer (brother of retired SCOTUS justice Stephen) hears arguments on whether to grant California's emergency motion to limit Trump's deployment of the National Guard in LA. 🧵
June 12, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Reposted by Kyle Paoletta
"More transparency means less corruption and potential for state capture. It’s an existential issue, and not one that our federal records laws or the people in the bureaucracy are equipped to deal with," @laurenleharper.bsky.social tells CJR's @kpaoletta.bsky.social.
The Legal Battle for DOGE Transparency
How civil society groups are making the case for public-records access.
www.cjr.org
April 28, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Reposted by Kyle Paoletta
How civil society groups are making the case for public-records access, by @kpaoletta.bsky.social www.cjr.org/feature-2/tr...
The Legal Battle for DOGE Transparency
How civil society groups are making the case for public-records access.
www.cjr.org
April 28, 2025 at 2:57 PM
On my way to San Antonio for the book festival tomorrow! Catch me in the Hawk Holt Family Auditorium at 10:30 am, where I’ll be in conversation with Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies.

sabookfestival.org/schedule-eve...
April 11, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Reposted by Kyle Paoletta
And last week we were joined by @kpaoletta.bsky.social to discuss his book American Oasis and learned so much about southwestern cities. usa.streetsblog.org/2025/03/27/t...
Talking Headways Podcast: American Oasis — Streetsblog USA
Kyle Paoletta on the growth and history of southwestern U.S. cities.
usa.streetsblog.org
March 30, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Reposted by Kyle Paoletta
"I find it pretty inspiring to think about how do we use technology not to overcome the environment, but to actually live within its limits." Kyle Paoletta
New #TalkingHeadways podcast! Kyle Paoletta joins the show to talk about his book American Oasis: Finding the Future in Cities of the Southwest. Lots of great discussions about history, sustainability, and of course water. - usa.streetsblog.org/2025/03/27/t... @usa.streetsblog.org
Talking Headways Podcast: American Oasis — Streetsblog USA
Kyle Paoletta on the growth and history of southwestern U.S. cities.
usa.streetsblog.org
March 27, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Reposted by Kyle Paoletta
Wow everything’s environment
March 24, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Reposted by Kyle Paoletta
new Portis. God is real harpers.org/archive/2025...
The Keys to Veracruz, by Charles Portis
From the unfinished novel The Woman from Nowhere
harpers.org
March 19, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Good morning Tucson! Stoked for the book festival on campus today, here’s when you can catch me:
March 15, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Many thanks to EcoWatch's Craig Thompson for the great conversation and lovely write-up of American Oasis!
'American Oasis' Author Kyle Paoletta on the History and Future of the American Southwest - EcoWatch
American Oasis author Kyle Paoletta explores the past of the Southwest and how its cities might survive in the years ahead.
www.ecowatch.com
March 14, 2025 at 3:45 PM