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.
Millions of people have left TikTok since ownership of its US subsidiary was transferred into the hands of Trump friendly billionaires.
Here's one person's story (c/o Courtney Morrison)
www.freepress.net/blog/why-to-...
Here's one person's story (c/o Courtney Morrison)
www.freepress.net/blog/why-to-...
I Deleted My TikTok and I'm Not Going Back
First they stole my heart. Then they stole my data.
www.freepress.net
February 10, 2026 at 7:21 PM
Millions of people have left TikTok since ownership of its US subsidiary was transferred into the hands of Trump friendly billionaires.
Here's one person's story (c/o Courtney Morrison)
www.freepress.net/blog/why-to-...
Here's one person's story (c/o Courtney Morrison)
www.freepress.net/blog/why-to-...
Authoritarian playbook. Chapter and verse.
Steve bannon telling epstein that the best way to quell domestic upheaval is to attack another country.
February 10, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Authoritarian playbook. Chapter and verse.
Reposted by Tim Karr
Cantwell noted Carr's apparent bias towards approving deals, without specifying that Carr is retweeting the president's cheerleading for mergers still in process before his agency. But @timkarr.bsky.social had the receipts at @freepress.bsky.social.
#SenateCommerce
www.freepress.net/blog/trump-a...
#SenateCommerce
www.freepress.net/blog/trump-a...
Trump and Carr See a Propaganda Boost in Getting the Shady Nexstar Deal Done
In pushing for the unlawful Nexstar-Tegna deal, Trump and FCC Chairman Carr are supporting media giants that have already capitulated to Trump’s political agenda.
www.freepress.net
February 10, 2026 at 4:55 PM
Cantwell noted Carr's apparent bias towards approving deals, without specifying that Carr is retweeting the president's cheerleading for mergers still in process before his agency. But @timkarr.bsky.social had the receipts at @freepress.bsky.social.
#SenateCommerce
www.freepress.net/blog/trump-a...
#SenateCommerce
www.freepress.net/blog/trump-a...
Reposted by Tim Karr
I keep hearing about the poor broadcasters who just can't make it anymore with these burdensome privileges to monopolize the public airwaves. Someone please think about the suffering shareholders!
Oh, wait ...
Oh, wait ...
February 10, 2026 at 5:21 PM
I keep hearing about the poor broadcasters who just can't make it anymore with these burdensome privileges to monopolize the public airwaves. Someone please think about the suffering shareholders!
Oh, wait ...
Oh, wait ...
This video is a must watch for all those at today's #SenateCommerce hearing who argue that increasing the scale of a broadcast conglomerates' station holdings will result in beefed up of local newsrooms and increased viewpoint diversity.
How'd that work for Sinclair? ...
youtu.be/_fHfgU8oMSo?...
How'd that work for Sinclair? ...
youtu.be/_fHfgU8oMSo?...
Sinclair's Soldiers in Trump's War on Media
YouTube video by Deadspin
youtu.be
February 10, 2026 at 4:42 PM
This video is a must watch for all those at today's #SenateCommerce hearing who argue that increasing the scale of a broadcast conglomerates' station holdings will result in beefed up of local newsrooms and increased viewpoint diversity.
How'd that work for Sinclair? ...
youtu.be/_fHfgU8oMSo?...
How'd that work for Sinclair? ...
youtu.be/_fHfgU8oMSo?...
Reposted by Tim Karr
Trump’s social-media rant was more than a nudge and a wink to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to get the shady Nexstar deal done, a blatant violation of the law in ways @timkarr.bsky.social breaks down in a recent blog post.
NEW: www.freepress.net/blog/trump-a...
NEW: www.freepress.net/blog/trump-a...
Trump and Carr See a Propaganda Boost in Getting the Shady Nexstar Deal Done
In pushing for the unlawful Nexstar-Tegna deal, Trump and FCC Chairman Carr are supporting media giants that have already capitulated to Trump’s political agenda.
www.freepress.net
February 10, 2026 at 1:22 PM
Trump’s social-media rant was more than a nudge and a wink to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to get the shady Nexstar deal done, a blatant violation of the law in ways @timkarr.bsky.social breaks down in a recent blog post.
NEW: www.freepress.net/blog/trump-a...
NEW: www.freepress.net/blog/trump-a...
Fast forward 75 years and the propaganda is the same; driven by racism and a fear of the power of popular youth culture.
youtube.com/shorts/pcUXu...
youtube.com/shorts/pcUXu...
Anti Rock n Roll Propoganda (1950s)
YouTube video by Happy Mag
youtube.com
February 9, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Fast forward 75 years and the propaganda is the same; driven by racism and a fear of the power of popular youth culture.
youtube.com/shorts/pcUXu...
youtube.com/shorts/pcUXu...
Reposted by Tim Karr
“Be a neighbor, not a Nazi.”
ICYMI yesterday: A reflection on the anatomy of the resistance and the regime’s response - on “neighborism,” cross-racial solidarity, and the responsibility we bear for what happens in our community.
ICYMI yesterday: A reflection on the anatomy of the resistance and the regime’s response - on “neighborism,” cross-racial solidarity, and the responsibility we bear for what happens in our community.
Why the Resistance Matters
Anti-authoritarian “neighborism” and cross-racial solidarity from below are a massive problem for the regime, exposing Trumpism’s weaknesses and ideological blind spots
steady.page
February 9, 2026 at 2:00 PM
“Be a neighbor, not a Nazi.”
ICYMI yesterday: A reflection on the anatomy of the resistance and the regime’s response - on “neighborism,” cross-racial solidarity, and the responsibility we bear for what happens in our community.
ICYMI yesterday: A reflection on the anatomy of the resistance and the regime’s response - on “neighborism,” cross-racial solidarity, and the responsibility we bear for what happens in our community.
Strange. And all this time I'd been warning everyone about libertarians.
February 9, 2026 at 2:10 PM
Strange. And all this time I'd been warning everyone about libertarians.
Over at the cesspool, Grammy-winning country artist Kacey Musgraves tells fans that Bad Bunny's halftime show “made me feel more proudly American than anything Kid Rock has ever done.”
Come over to Bluesky, Kacey, the water's fine.
Come over to Bluesky, Kacey, the water's fine.
February 9, 2026 at 12:40 PM
Over at the cesspool, Grammy-winning country artist Kacey Musgraves tells fans that Bad Bunny's halftime show “made me feel more proudly American than anything Kid Rock has ever done.”
Come over to Bluesky, Kacey, the water's fine.
Come over to Bluesky, Kacey, the water's fine.
NBC is not courageous enough to show U.S. audiences what the world thinks of the Trump White House.
Wouldn't want DJT to rant about it on Truth Social.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Wouldn't want DJT to rant about it on Truth Social.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
NBC appears to cut crowd’s booing of JD Vance from Winter Olympics broadcast
The US vice-president, JD Vance, was greeted by a chorus of boos during when he appeared at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Milan on Friday
www.theguardian.com
February 7, 2026 at 10:31 PM
NBC is not courageous enough to show U.S. audiences what the world thinks of the Trump White House.
Wouldn't want DJT to rant about it on Truth Social.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Wouldn't want DJT to rant about it on Truth Social.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Reposted by Tim Karr
One of the many reasons for our nation's current crisis & constitutional collapse are due to the role powerful media and tech companies have played in capitulating to Trump and his racism. We have to reckon & redress the role these companies have played in ushering in this racist & fascist regime.
Trump Posts Video Portraying Obamas as Apes
www.nytimes.com
February 6, 2026 at 5:24 PM
One of the many reasons for our nation's current crisis & constitutional collapse are due to the role powerful media and tech companies have played in capitulating to Trump and his racism. We have to reckon & redress the role these companies have played in ushering in this racist & fascist regime.
Reposted by Tim Karr
I'm pleased to see the NYT not mince words and call this what it is: "blatantly racist."
Even CBS and The Washington Post put "racist" in their headlines.
Apparently White House just took the video down and blamed a "staffer." Yeah, right. Which staffer. Did they get fired?
Even CBS and The Washington Post put "racist" in their headlines.
Apparently White House just took the video down and blamed a "staffer." Yeah, right. Which staffer. Did they get fired?
President Trump posted a blatantly racist video clip of Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as apes, the latest in a long pattern by Trump of promoting offensive stereotypes about Black Americans and others. The White House press secretary dismissed criticism as “fake outrage.”
Trump Shares Video Portraying the Obamas as Apes
The White House press secretary dismissed criticism of the clip’s racist content, shared by the president’s Truth Social account, as “fake outrage.”
nyti.ms
February 6, 2026 at 5:15 PM
I'm pleased to see the NYT not mince words and call this what it is: "blatantly racist."
Even CBS and The Washington Post put "racist" in their headlines.
Apparently White House just took the video down and blamed a "staffer." Yeah, right. Which staffer. Did they get fired?
Even CBS and The Washington Post put "racist" in their headlines.
Apparently White House just took the video down and blamed a "staffer." Yeah, right. Which staffer. Did they get fired?
"In this new Gilded Age, the Musks, Zuckerbergs, Ellisons & Bezoses haven’t just wrecked the news industry while enabling tyrants." writes @notaaroncraig.bsky.social. "They’ve crushed our collective imagination that we can have & deserve something better."
But there is a path out of this mess...
But there is a path out of this mess...
Breaking Up with Billionaire-Owned Media
To save the media and our democracy, we need to do more than cancel subscriptions to The Washington Post
pressingissues.org
February 6, 2026 at 2:59 PM
"In this new Gilded Age, the Musks, Zuckerbergs, Ellisons & Bezoses haven’t just wrecked the news industry while enabling tyrants." writes @notaaroncraig.bsky.social. "They’ve crushed our collective imagination that we can have & deserve something better."
But there is a path out of this mess...
But there is a path out of this mess...
This week's must read by @adambonica.bsky.social @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social explodes the conventional political wisdom—held by many in Democratic Party leadership and around my friends' dinner tables—that centrism is a winning political strategy.
The kicker:
www.bostonreview.net/forum/how-no...
The kicker:
www.bostonreview.net/forum/how-no...
February 6, 2026 at 1:27 PM
This week's must read by @adambonica.bsky.social @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social explodes the conventional political wisdom—held by many in Democratic Party leadership and around my friends' dinner tables—that centrism is a winning political strategy.
The kicker:
www.bostonreview.net/forum/how-no...
The kicker:
www.bostonreview.net/forum/how-no...
A Washington Post journalist told Status' @nataliekorach.bsky.social: “It will be a miracle if they can put out a paper tomorrow because no one is working."
www.status.news/p/washington...
www.status.news/p/washington...
Bezos’ WashPost Bloodletting
As The Washington Post cleaved off a third of its workforce, chief executive Will Lewis and owner Jeff Bezos were nowhere to be found—leaving the storied institution to profusely bleed while its top l...
www.status.news
February 5, 2026 at 3:01 PM
A Washington Post journalist told Status' @nataliekorach.bsky.social: “It will be a miracle if they can put out a paper tomorrow because no one is working."
www.status.news/p/washington...
www.status.news/p/washington...
At the Bezos Post: Not just downsizing, but whitewashing.
February 4, 2026 at 10:30 PM
At the Bezos Post: Not just downsizing, but whitewashing.
With the $75 million Jeff Bezos spent to produce and promote the flop "Melania," he could have employed more than 180 @washingtonpost.com reporters for four years each.
(based on an average $105K annual salary/benefits/bonus package).
Priorities.
(based on an average $105K annual salary/benefits/bonus package).
Priorities.
February 4, 2026 at 8:09 PM
With the $75 million Jeff Bezos spent to produce and promote the flop "Melania," he could have employed more than 180 @washingtonpost.com reporters for four years each.
(based on an average $105K annual salary/benefits/bonus package).
Priorities.
(based on an average $105K annual salary/benefits/bonus package).
Priorities.
The Post "could have been the moral center of the news industry in this era, as it was during the 1970s," writes @perrybaconjr.bsky.social.
"It had the reporters, editors, editorial writers, columnists, researchers, lawyers, and legacy. But it didn’t have the owner. And that flaw proved fatal."
"It had the reporters, editors, editorial writers, columnists, researchers, lawyers, and legacy. But it didn’t have the owner. And that flaw proved fatal."
The Washington Post Is in Free Fall—and There’s One Person to Blame
Today’s layoffs at this once great newspaper were nowhere near inevitable. But Jeff Bezos was never committed to the paper’s best traditions.
newrepublic.com
February 4, 2026 at 5:12 PM
The Post "could have been the moral center of the news industry in this era, as it was during the 1970s," writes @perrybaconjr.bsky.social.
"It had the reporters, editors, editorial writers, columnists, researchers, lawyers, and legacy. But it didn’t have the owner. And that flaw proved fatal."
"It had the reporters, editors, editorial writers, columnists, researchers, lawyers, and legacy. But it didn’t have the owner. And that flaw proved fatal."
At New Republic, @gregsargent.bsky.social & @ryanenos.bsky.social slam legacy news media for referring to ...er... arrangements made between Trump & universities, & media organizations, & law firms as "deals."
They should be called their proper name: "extortion."
newrepublic.com/article/2061...
They should be called their proper name: "extortion."
newrepublic.com/article/2061...
Transcript: Trump Spirals Into Fury After Harvard Humiliates Him Badly
As Trump rages at Harvard over leaks that he’s backtracking in his fight with the university, a Harvard political scientist explains why the stakes in this battle are far bigger than they seem.
newrepublic.com
February 4, 2026 at 4:43 PM
At New Republic, @gregsargent.bsky.social & @ryanenos.bsky.social slam legacy news media for referring to ...er... arrangements made between Trump & universities, & media organizations, & law firms as "deals."
They should be called their proper name: "extortion."
newrepublic.com/article/2061...
They should be called their proper name: "extortion."
newrepublic.com/article/2061...
Jeff Bezos decision to tack to the right at the @washingtonpost.com has proven to be a disastrous business move, as the newspaper company faces hundreds more layoffs, a massive newsroom sweep due to begin today...
February 4, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Jeff Bezos decision to tack to the right at the @washingtonpost.com has proven to be a disastrous business move, as the newspaper company faces hundreds more layoffs, a massive newsroom sweep due to begin today...
The fight to save local journalism is being won at the state level, where new legislative models are being adopted to create fellowships and grant-giving consortiums.
Pennsylvania is the latest local success story:
ht @reprabb.bsky.social
www.freepress.net/news/pennsyl...
Pennsylvania is the latest local success story:
ht @reprabb.bsky.social
www.freepress.net/news/pennsyl...
Pennsylvania House Committee Advances Essential Legislative Package to Support Local Journalism and Civic Information
The bills follow legislative models that are helping to support local news in a growing number of states.
www.freepress.net
February 4, 2026 at 3:25 PM
The fight to save local journalism is being won at the state level, where new legislative models are being adopted to create fellowships and grant-giving consortiums.
Pennsylvania is the latest local success story:
ht @reprabb.bsky.social
www.freepress.net/news/pennsyl...
Pennsylvania is the latest local success story:
ht @reprabb.bsky.social
www.freepress.net/news/pennsyl...