@ahatcher54.bsky.social
Journalist, journalism professor, jazz music liker, religion and media researcher.
I have been learning and teaching about the dangers of media consolidation since the late 1980s. A few companies controlling news, music, video, movies, & games is bad for democracy. Paramount’s Secret Pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/b...
Three Offers in One Month: Paramount’s Secret Pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery
www.nytimes.com
October 24, 2025 at 9:34 AM
I have been learning and teaching about the dangers of media consolidation since the late 1980s. A few companies controlling news, music, video, movies, & games is bad for democracy. Paramount’s Secret Pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/b...
The shallowness of MAGA world: From cabinet secretaries to state legislators, many women in today’s GOP have one thing in common: they got their start in public life by winning beauty pageants. www.wsj.com/politics/the...
The Beauty Queens of MAGA World
From cabinet secretaries to state legislators, many women in today’s GOP have one thing in common: they got their start in public life by winning pageants.
www.wsj.com
October 11, 2025 at 3:46 AM
The shallowness of MAGA world: From cabinet secretaries to state legislators, many women in today’s GOP have one thing in common: they got their start in public life by winning beauty pageants. www.wsj.com/politics/the...
Stocks Fall Sharply on Trump’s Renewed Threat of China Tariffs www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/b...
Stocks Fall Sharply on Trump’s Renewed Threat of China Tariffs
www.nytimes.com
October 10, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Stocks Fall Sharply on Trump’s Renewed Threat of China Tariffs www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/b...
Flag burning is legal. If you're born in the US, you are a US citizen. Vaccines prevent and/or mitigate the effects of disease. Voter fraud is rare. Social media is not journalism. Jan. 6, 2021 was not a normal tourist visit to the Capitol. Earth is not flat.
October 9, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Flag burning is legal. If you're born in the US, you are a US citizen. Vaccines prevent and/or mitigate the effects of disease. Voter fraud is rare. Social media is not journalism. Jan. 6, 2021 was not a normal tourist visit to the Capitol. Earth is not flat.
When I teach the intro course in Communications, I ask students if it’s legal to insult the president. I’ve asked that question through several administrations. Most students know that such remarks are protected by the First Amendment. I just hope this is still true the next time I teach that class.
September 18, 2025 at 2:14 AM
When I teach the intro course in Communications, I ask students if it’s legal to insult the president. I’ve asked that question through several administrations. Most students know that such remarks are protected by the First Amendment. I just hope this is still true the next time I teach that class.
Trump Administration Halts I.R.S. Crackdown on Major Tax Shelters www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/b...
Trump Administration Halts I.R.S. Crackdown on Major Tax Shelters
www.nytimes.com
September 10, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Trump Administration Halts I.R.S. Crackdown on Major Tax Shelters www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/b...
In “The Great Gatsby.” Gatsby is referred to at one point as “Trimalchio,” a character from “Satyricon” by Latin satirist Petronius. According to a 2017 description from Brandeis, “Trimalchio is boorish and rude, brightly gilded but lacking manners, substance or even polity.” Sounds familiar.
August 31, 2025 at 6:45 PM
In “The Great Gatsby.” Gatsby is referred to at one point as “Trimalchio,” a character from “Satyricon” by Latin satirist Petronius. According to a 2017 description from Brandeis, “Trimalchio is boorish and rude, brightly gilded but lacking manners, substance or even polity.” Sounds familiar.
Trump Isn’t Fixing America’s Campuses. He’s Bleeding Them Dry. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/o...
Opinion | Trump Isn’t Fixing America’s Campuses. He’s Bleeding Them Dry.
www.nytimes.com
August 25, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Trump Isn’t Fixing America’s Campuses. He’s Bleeding Them Dry. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/o...
Dear car manufacturers: Buttons and knobs > touchscreens. And get rid of the freaking large screens on the dashboard. Just my opinion, like 90% of social media.
July 30, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Dear car manufacturers: Buttons and knobs > touchscreens. And get rid of the freaking large screens on the dashboard. Just my opinion, like 90% of social media.
Reposted
RIP Tom Lehrer, truly one of the greatest to ever do it, a satirist beyond compare, a brilliant wordsmith, a cheeky fellow, I loved him and his work beyond reason.
Tom Lehrer, Musical Satirist With a Dark Streak, Dies at 97
www.nytimes.com
July 27, 2025 at 5:07 PM
RIP Tom Lehrer, truly one of the greatest to ever do it, a satirist beyond compare, a brilliant wordsmith, a cheeky fellow, I loved him and his work beyond reason.
At Cape Hatteras, Trump attacks signs about climate change causing sea levels to rise. In Philadelphia, he wants to hide evidence of slavery. In Florida, Trump examines language about imprisonment of Native Americans. Trump wants to erase US history. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/c...
Trump Told Park Workers to Report Displays That ‘Disparage’ Americans. Here’s What They Flagged.
www.nytimes.com
July 24, 2025 at 12:30 PM
At Cape Hatteras, Trump attacks signs about climate change causing sea levels to rise. In Philadelphia, he wants to hide evidence of slavery. In Florida, Trump examines language about imprisonment of Native Americans. Trump wants to erase US history. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/c...
WSJ cartoon from 1974.
July 21, 2025 at 1:51 PM
WSJ cartoon from 1974.
Gun Deaths of Children Rose in States That Loosened Gun Laws, Study Finds www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/h...
Gun Deaths of Children Rose in States That Loosened Gun Laws, Study Finds
www.nytimes.com
June 10, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Gun Deaths of Children Rose in States That Loosened Gun Laws, Study Finds www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/h...
The president’s transactions as illustrated in the @nytimes.com.
June 8, 2025 at 12:58 PM
The president’s transactions as illustrated in the @nytimes.com.
Reposted
The owner of GB News and the Spectator, Paul Marshall, is on course to become a mini-Murdoch. But his views on media bias and the BBC range from unformed to unsettling, writes @arusbridger.bsky.social.
www.prospectmagazine...
www.prospectmagazine...
GB News is starting to challenge the BBC—we should be worried
The owner of GB News and the Spectator, Paul Marshall, is on course to become a mini-Murdoch. But his views on media bias and the BBC range from unfor...
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
June 6, 2025 at 4:53 PM
The owner of GB News and the Spectator, Paul Marshall, is on course to become a mini-Murdoch. But his views on media bias and the BBC range from unformed to unsettling, writes @arusbridger.bsky.social.
www.prospectmagazine...
www.prospectmagazine...
The Army estimates the cost at $25 million to $45 million. But it could be higher because the Army has promised to fix any city streets that the parade damages, plus the cost of cleanup and police are not yet part of the estimate. How much does fascism cost ? www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/u...
Military Parade Concerns Dissolve With a More Acquiescent Pentagon
www.nytimes.com
May 27, 2025 at 10:36 AM
The Army estimates the cost at $25 million to $45 million. But it could be higher because the Army has promised to fix any city streets that the parade damages, plus the cost of cleanup and police are not yet part of the estimate. How much does fascism cost ? www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/u...
Major metaphor headline. Keep the faith, Journos.
May 19, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Major metaphor headline. Keep the faith, Journos.
“In one of the country’s poorest areas [West Virginia], the quantity and quality of government deliveries have dropped, forcing one charity to make do with thin soup and dried cranberries.” www.nytimes.com/2025/04/28/u...
After Trump Aid Cuts, Food Banks Scrounge and Scrimp
In one of the country’s poorest areas, the quantity and quality of government deliveries have dropped, forcing one charity to make do with thin soup and dried cranberries.
www.nytimes.com
April 29, 2025 at 12:27 PM
“In one of the country’s poorest areas [West Virginia], the quantity and quality of government deliveries have dropped, forcing one charity to make do with thin soup and dried cranberries.” www.nytimes.com/2025/04/28/u...
"One of the more disturbing things to see since Trump took office again in January...is what appears to be the systematic dismantling of the checks and balances on which America has come to depend." @joekilliannc.bsky.social www.theassemblync.com/education/ru...
At N.C. Symposium, Legal Experts Warn of Rule of Law Crisis
Legal scholars at a UNCG/Elon Law event warned that Trump is testing the limits of due process, courts, and constitutional checks.
www.theassemblync.com
April 23, 2025 at 2:08 PM
"One of the more disturbing things to see since Trump took office again in January...is what appears to be the systematic dismantling of the checks and balances on which America has come to depend." @joekilliannc.bsky.social www.theassemblync.com/education/ru...
Reposted
It ended up being more of a memoir than I’d anticipated [gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/15/o...
April 15, 2025 at 10:54 AM
It ended up being more of a memoir than I’d anticipated [gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/15/o...
Sometimes #Trump reminds me of #GrouchoMarx in “Horse Feathers” when Marx sang,
“I don't know what they have to say
It makes no difference anyway
Whatever it is, I'm against it
No matter what it is or who commenced it
I'm against it.”
“I don't know what they have to say
It makes no difference anyway
Whatever it is, I'm against it
No matter what it is or who commenced it
I'm against it.”
April 5, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Sometimes #Trump reminds me of #GrouchoMarx in “Horse Feathers” when Marx sang,
“I don't know what they have to say
It makes no difference anyway
Whatever it is, I'm against it
No matter what it is or who commenced it
I'm against it.”
“I don't know what they have to say
It makes no difference anyway
Whatever it is, I'm against it
No matter what it is or who commenced it
I'm against it.”
This obituary for @TuckerCarlson’s father #RichardCarlson is filled with interesting twists and turns. He was director of @VOANews under #RonaldReagan, chief of @CPBmedia, and outed two transgender women including tennis star Renee Richards. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/30/b...
Richard Carlson, Journalist Who Led Voice of America, Dies at 84
The father of the conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, he won a Peabody Award for television reporting that uncovered a car company’s fraud.
www.nytimes.com
April 1, 2025 at 11:53 AM
This obituary for @TuckerCarlson’s father #RichardCarlson is filled with interesting twists and turns. He was director of @VOANews under #RonaldReagan, chief of @CPBmedia, and outed two transgender women including tennis star Renee Richards. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/30/b...
From the Duke University Chapel service today.
March 30, 2025 at 11:38 PM
From the Duke University Chapel service today.