#1822 The State Media Playbook: The FCC and Billionaires Are Waging a War on the Free Press

**Air Date: 9/13/2026** *Today we trace the two-front war on the American press. On one side, government regulators and members of Congress are going after news outlets for the stories they choose to run. On the other, politically friendly buyers are taking ownership of major networks to turn them into free-market versions of state media.* Full Show Notes Transcript **BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Support and Get No Ads!)** **Everything in one place! (Support, contact, follow, books + merch)** * * * **..TOP TAKES** KP 1: How to Build a State Media - Blonde Politics | The Silly Serious - Air Date 12-13-25 KP 2: Breaking: ABC SUES Trump Over Free Speech After Kimmel's WIN - The Beat with Ari Melber - Air Date 8-18-26 KP 3: How Thiel, Musk, and Other Tech Billionaires Bought the Liberal Media / Eoin Higgins - This Is Hell! - Air Date 2-4-25 KP 4: Congress Just Subpoenaed Our Newsroom for Doing Journalism - BreakThroughNews - Air Date 7-23-26 KP 5: Public Media - Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) - Air Date 11-17-25 KP 6: "A Victory for Journalism": Washington Post Ordered to Rehire Fired Opinion Columnist Karen Attiah - Democracy Now! - Air Date 8-26-26 KP 7: Coyote Vs. Acme Proves the CEOs Don't Know S\\\*. - Adam Conover - Air Date 9-4-26 * * * **(00:56:23) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR** Corporate Media Cannot Be Trusted to Serve the Public Interest My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! * * * **DEEPER DIVES** **(01:06:24) SECTION A: THE FCC WEAPONIZED** A1: ABC Says FCC Waging a Retaliatory Campaign Violating Free Speech Rights - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 8-18-26 A2: Trump's Scheme to Control the Media - Robert Reich and Inequality Media - Air Date 5-7-26 A3: Trump's "Authoritarian Takeover" of the Media, ABC Suing FCC & the Meta Trial: Free Press's Jessica González - Air Date 8-19-26 * * * **(01:23:10) SECTION B: JOURNALISTS IN THE CROSSHAIRS** B1: FBI Raids Home of Washington Post Reporter as Attacks on Press Freedom Intensify Under Trump - Democracy Now! - Air Date 1-15-26 B2: Media Under Scrutiny Following Tragic Death Of Jason Arday | Novara Live - Novara Media - Air Date 8-17-26 B3: A New McCarthyism? House GOP Subpoenas BreakThrough News in Escalating War on Progressive Groups - Democracy Now! Air Date 7-28-26 B4: US Media's Hasan Piker Derangement Syndrome Is Ridiculous - The Majority Report W/ Sam Seder - Air Date 8-11-26 B5: Katy Tur Sounds More Like 1930s German Propaganda Than Journalism - Paul Lance - Air Date 9-3-26 B6: Joy Reid & Dean Obeidallah: Fascism Tests Journalistic Integrity In Modern Media - Laura Flanders and Friends: Solutions-Focused Progressive Perspectives on Politics, News, and Culture - Air Date 8-19-26 * * * **(02:06:18) SECTION C: WHO'S BUYING, WHO'S CASHING IN** C1: The Playbook Putin Used Is Being Run in America Right Now | Media Consolidation - Jim Acosta - Air Date 3-23-26 C2: FOR SALE: Truth Social Selling Early Access to Trump's Posts - Connnect W/ Jacob Soboroff - Air Date 8-9-26 C3: The Meta Settlement Isn't The Victory You Think It Is - Leeja Miller - Air Date 8-28-26 C4: "Profoundly Corrupt": Trump Sued for Selling Early Access to His Truth Social Posts for $100K/Month - Democracy Now! - Air Date - 8-19-26 C5: Finance Bros Are Coming for the Public Airwaves - On The Media - Air Date 8-28-26 * * * **(02:35:41) SECTION D: BUILDING SOMETHING BETTER** D1: The World After Billionaire Media - Lever Time - Air Date 6-21-24 D2: News Brief: The Call to Boycott—and Delegitimize—the New York Times - Citations Needed - Air Date 5-28-26 D3: From Deadspin to Defector: The Power of Worker-owned News Outlets - Laura Flanders and Friends: Solutions-Focused Progressive Perspectives on Politics, News, and Culture - Air Date 8-12-26 * * *   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com