Matthew P. McAllister
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matthewpmcallister.bsky.social
Matthew P. McAllister
@matthewpmcallister.bsky.social

Teaches about media stuff in college. Studies the political economy of media and commercial culture. He/him

Communication & Media Studies 24%
Art 19%
We can hope that a new civic-minded nonprofit or low-profit local media institution emerges in Pittsburgh until we arrive at a more structural approach -- ideally a reinvented and greatly expanded public media system -- that can deal with the news deserts problem across the country.
People might argue that ICE is not recruiting quality agents.

But I would insist that they are in fact successfully recruiting the exact sort of person needed to carry out the mission: reactionary, angry, violent people who don’t believe in democracy.

www.ms.now/opinion/ice-...
Opinion | ICE's violence is no accident
Alan Elrod: The killing of a woman by an immigration enforcement officer in Minneapolis was the raw application of Trumpist authoritarianism.
www.ms.now
The response to the ICE killing of Renee Nicole Good is not what the White House was expecting.

Like with their hiding of the Epstein files, part of the fundamental problem they are facing is that the stories the Trump administration has built their movement on are being shown for their emptiness.
NEW: These are ICE agents removing evidence from the shooter's home. They are not DOJ, they are Jonathan Ross's friends and coworkers, not DOJ.

This agent removing Ross's personal computer was reported yesterday Jan 9 for boxing in a volunteer and telling them "I'll dedicate my next arrest to you"
"I never thought leopards would eat MY bassoon," sobs woman who voted for the Leopards Eating People's Bassoons Party."

“Even the most Trump-loving members of the orchestra who’ve loved the takeover are terrified by the recent move of renaming the center."

www.joemygod.com/2026/01/natl...
Natl Symphony Members Fear Trump Will Ruin Them - Joe.My.God.
NOTUS reports: Members of the National Symphony Orchestra warn that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ decision to add President Donald Trump’s name to the building has already damage...
www.joemygod.com
Did a quick Q&A about the imminent closure of my hometown newspaper for the @us.theconversation.com
Why the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s closure exposes a growing threat to democracy
When reputable local news outlets close, fewer people vote and get involved in local politics, and misinformation, corruption and polarization increase.
theconversation.com
Keith Ellison on Kristi Noem blatantly lying about the circumstances of the ICE shooting in Minneapolis: "It's just deeply heartbreaking to see a person responsible for safety and enforcement of American law make such a brazenly false statement. It is truly sad for our democracy."
DOJ is in clear violation of the law Congress enacted. Yet, legacy media continues to act like DOJ is undertaking some Herculean effort to comply.

Here is the New York Times' latest vs Democracy Docket's. See the difference independent media makes? Support it now. hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0
Renee Nicole Good, 37. Married mother of a six year old, was unarmed and driving away when she was shot and killed in her car this morning by a member of the United States Government.
‘She was an amazing human being:’ Mother identifies woman shot, killed by ICE agent
Renee Nicole Good, 37, lived in the Twin Cities with her partner.
www.startribune.com
This message could/should be extended to a wide range of academic fields and areas of study. My field, communication, has too often dismissed media ownership concentration as a serious concern.
Political scientists should pay attention to concentration of media ownership as a key challenge for democracy.
Excellent piece by @sulliview.bsky.social in @theguardian.com. Grateful that she references our recent @rooseveltinstitute.org report on the media crises facing US democracy. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
It’s impossible to overstate what a big deal this is for this legendary Kentucky brand. The last time Jim Beam closed down like this was during Prohibition. Trump’s tariffs & fight with Canada are surely to blame.

www.kentucky.com/news/busines...
Major Kentucky bourbon maker Jim Beam shuttering distillery for 2026
The move comes as Kentucky’s $9 billion bourbon industry is dealing with a glut of supply and slipping sales.
www.kentucky.com
BREAKING: At least 16 files from the Epstein release disappeared from DOJ's webpage, including a photo of Trump, with no explanation.
At least 16 files have disappeared from the DOJ webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein
The Justice Department’s webpage for documents related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is missing at least 16 of its files a day after they were released.
bit.ly
“AI” is the new “red meat”.
Sen. Ron Wyden on the Trump DOJ not producing all of the Epstein files, as required by law:

"Anything short of a full release today is a violation of the law and a continuation of this administration’s coverup on behalf of a bunch of pedophiles and sex traffickers."
CNN @cnn.com · 23d
Frustration is mounting inside the Justice Department as it races to redact thousands of pages of files related to Jeffrey Epstein before they must be released Friday, multiple sources familiar with the process told CNN. https://cnn.it/44z7tNG
Trump’s ballroom went from $200 million to $250 million to $300 million to $350 million to $400 million to …
NEW: Without USAID funding to help buy food for refugees, the World Food Program rushed to prioritize families based on need, determining that only half the population would get food.

Refugees learned which half they were in from a number stamped on the back of their ration card.
After Trump Officials Cut Food Aid to Kenya, Children Starved to Death
“Brutal and traumatizing”: Interviews and a trove of internal documents show government officials and aid workers desperately tried to warn Trump advisers about impending disaster and death.
www.propublica.org
advertisers also wanted nothing to do with bari's gibberish, relegating it to being aired alongside ads for the chia pet like some dogshit 3am infomercial
Nobody (Including Advertisers) Cared About Bari Weiss’ New CBS ‘Town Hall’
We’ve already explored at length how Bari Weiss was hired by the billionaire Ellison family to make CBS even more friendly to billionaires and authoritarians after their embarrassing capitula…
www.techdirt.com
Since owner Jeff Bezos overhauled the Post's editorial board earlier this year, it has been very good at cranking out billionaire-friendly propaganda. It is quite bad at everything else.
The Washington Post Editorial Board Is Spectacularly Awful at Legal Analysis
Since Bezos overhauled the board earlier this year, it has been very good at cranking out billionaire-friendly propaganda. It is quite bad at everything else.
ballsandstrikes.org

Congrats, Mina!
CONGRATS to PhD candidate Wilhelmina Antwi, who defended her dissertation proposal today. With co-advisors Lee Ahern and Juliet Pinto, and committee members @chrisskurka.bsky.social, @matthewpmcallister.bsky.social, and Sinfree Makoni (PSU's Director of African Studies).