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Kyle Paoletta

@kpaoletta.bsky.social

350 followers 470 following 120 posts

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. [email protected]

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Kyle Paoletta @kpaoletta.bsky.social · Jan 14

AMERICAN OASIS is out! Available now at your local bookstore, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon:

www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/721976...

@pantheonbooks.bsky.social

American Oasis by Kyle Paoletta: 9780553387377 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

An expansive and revelatory historical exploration of the multicultural, water-seeking, land-destroying settlers of the most arid corner of North America, arguing that in order to know where the...

www.penguinrandomhouse.com

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Kyle Paoletta @kpaoletta.bsky.social · 12d

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

Kyle Paoletta @kpaoletta.bsky.social · 29d

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

Reposted by Kyle Paoletta

Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · Sep 25

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

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Reposted by Kyle Paoletta

Adam Rose @adamrose.bsky.social · Aug 26

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.

Ian Boudreau @ianboudreau.com · Aug 26

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

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Reposted by Kyle Paoletta

Lauren Harper @laurenleharper.bsky.social · Aug 13

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 [email protected] in 30 days, your request is closed.

I just FOIA'd DOE about this.

public-inspection.federalregister.gov

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Kyle Paoletta @kpaoletta.bsky.social · Aug 7

Thank you so much! Really hope you enjoy it.

Kyle Paoletta @kpaoletta.bsky.social · Aug 4

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

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Kyle Paoletta @kpaoletta.bsky.social · Jul 30

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

Kyle Paoletta @kpaoletta.bsky.social · Jul 28

Thanks again for your help, Ann! Awful nice of you to share the article as well.

Kyle Paoletta @kpaoletta.bsky.social · Jul 28

Thanks again for your help, Adam! Really appreciate you sharing the piece as well.

Reposted by Kyle Paoletta

Adam Rose @adamrose.bsky.social · Jul 26

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:

Adam Rose, a former CBS employee and a stockholder in the company (which also employed his father, the longtime Southern California radio host Hilly Rose), said that the settlement has done irreparable harm to the company. “One of the few things that really commands a true national audience is a 60 Minutes interview with a presidential candidate,” he told me. “Moving forward, do you think that this settlement will encourage the presidential candidates to actually come on? Will they trust that CBS isn’t going to capitulate to their political rival?”

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Reposted by Kyle Paoletta

Lisa Fung @lisafung.bsky.social · Jul 25

'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

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Reposted by Kyle Paoletta

Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · Jul 25

“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

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Reposted by Kyle Paoletta

Columbia Journalism Review @columjournreview.bsky.social · Jul 25

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

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Kyle Paoletta @kpaoletta.bsky.social · Jul 25

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

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Kyle Paoletta @kpaoletta.bsky.social · Jul 2

Thanks so much, Dan! Really thrilled to hear you enjoyed the book — you're totally right that the 15-minute city ideal lines up with what I'm calling for.

Reposted by Kyle Paoletta

15-Minute City @15minutecity.com · Jul 2

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

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Reposted by Kyle Paoletta

Columbia Journalism Review @columjournreview.bsky.social · Jul 2

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

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Reposted by Kyle Paoletta

Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · Jun 12

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. 🧵

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Reposted by Kyle Paoletta

Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · Apr 28

"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

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Reposted by Kyle Paoletta

Columbia Journalism Review @columjournreview.bsky.social · Apr 28

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

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Kyle Paoletta @kpaoletta.bsky.social · Apr 11

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...

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Reposted by Kyle Paoletta

The Overhead Wire @theoverheadwire.com · Mar 30

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

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Kyle Paoletta @kpaoletta.bsky.social · Mar 28

Right back at you! Really happy with how this turned out.

Reposted by Kyle Paoletta

The Overhead Wire @theoverheadwire.com · Mar 27

"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

The Overhead Wire @theoverheadwire.com · Mar 27

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

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