Victor Pickard
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victorpickard.bsky.social
Victor Pickard
@victorpickard.bsky.social
15K followers 1.2K following 560 posts

Professor who writes about the history and political economy of media, politics of media policy, and democratic theories of journalism. Author of "Democracy Without Journalism? Confronting the Misinformation Society." Co-director of the MIC Center at Penn. .. more

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Victor Pickard is an American media studies scholar. He is a professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. He works on the intersections of U.S. and global media activism and politics; the history and political economy of media institutions; and the normative foundations of media policy. .. more

Communication & Media Studies 46%
Political science 18%
Posts Replies Media Videos
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victorpickard.bsky.social
Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · Apr 15
New piece in The Nation arguing that we need public media more now than ever. We must defend what we have with an eye toward expanding and restructuring public media in the future.
We Must Save Public Media to Change It
We need public media more than ever—it’s too precious to let Trump defund it. But to live up to its democratic promise, we must support public media to serve our needs.
www.thenation.com

victorpickard.bsky.social
Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 23h
Here's my vote:
victorpickard.bsky.social Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 1d
Rogue One is hands-down the best -- its direct connection to Andor should be seen as the final deciding factor.

victorpickard.bsky.social
Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 1d
Rogue One is hands-down the best -- its direct connection to Andor should be seen as the final deciding factor.

victorpickard.bsky.social
Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 1d
It's also a structural consequence of having such a hyper-commercialized media system in the first place: www.thenation.com/article/poli...

Reposted by Jon Green, Rebecca Tushnet, Alan Richardson , and 1 more

atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d
Rep. Salazar: "We're gonna be doing a favor to us, to our children, to our economy, to our oil companies to be able to liberate. And to Venezuelans who wants to be free."

victorpickard.bsky.social
Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 1d
Good @thenation.com piece by @benschwartz.bsky.social that lays bare Trump's agenda to transform our entire media system into a far right-wing echo chamber that never questions Trump.
Trump’s Quest for Total Media Control
Look beyond the petty celebrity feuds, and you'll see a plan to transform American media companies into outlets for MAGA agitprop.
www.thenation.com

victorpickard.bsky.social
Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 3d
John Roberts will always be remembered as a tool for Donald Trump. As this @motherjones.com article clearly demonstrates, he aided and abetted an anti-democratic project at every turn. This is his lasting legacy. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
This is all John Roberts’ fault
Trump owes his corrupt and abusive reign to one man.
www.motherjones.com

Reposted by Victor Pickard

nicholsuprising.bsky.social
John Nichols @nicholsuprising.bsky.social · 4d
Zohran Mamdani went to the White House as a proud — and electorally successful — democratic socialist. And Trump, in one of the most surreal moments in modern US politics, seemed to accept that reality.

Here’s the story of the day Trump said, “I feel very confident that he can do a very good job.”
A Socialist In the White House
Zohran Mamdani is certainly not the first democratic socialist to meet with a US president. But his visit with Donald Trump shows the renewal of a historic American movement.
www.thenation.com

victorpickard.bsky.social
Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 4d
When I first saw this picture I assumed it must be fake.
lebassett.bsky.social Laura Bassett @lebassett.bsky.social · 4d
Trump drooling over Mamdani in the Oval Office the same day Hakeem Jeffries voted to condemn socialism could not be funnier to me

Reposted by Victor Pickard

lebassett.bsky.social
Laura Bassett @lebassett.bsky.social · 4d
Trump drooling over Mamdani in the Oval Office the same day Hakeem Jeffries voted to condemn socialism could not be funnier to me

victorpickard.bsky.social
Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 4d
Yes, that's true -- largely because local, original programming is relatively expensive to produce. Ideally, we would properly fund our public media so they could produce much more local programming (especially given the local journalism crisis and ever-expanding news deserts), not less.

Reposted by Victor Pickard

onthemedia.bsky.social
On the Media @onthemedia.bsky.social · 4d
Word on the street is that Oliver's producers listened to our episode on this topic and used some audio we got from Blue Ridge Public Radio!

victorpickard.bsky.social
Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 4d
Thanks Dwayne!

Reposted by Steve Peers, Michael D. McDonald, Victor Pickard

davidcorn.bsky.social
David Corn @davidcorn.bsky.social · 4d
Jeez. Trump reposted a call to execute six Democratic members of Congress, and it’s not on the front page of the NY Times, and this is the headline—no mention of hanging lawmakers.

Reposted by Victor Pickard

freepress.bsky.social
Free Press @freepress.bsky.social · 5d
On a recent episode of @whyy.org Studio 2, @victorpickard.bsky.social and Jai Smith offer solutions to the mounting pressures faced by local news outlets.

It's time to fund local news like that public good that it is.

Learn more: whyy.org/episodes/loc...

Reposted by Victor Pickard

karlbode.com
Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 5d
as somebody who writes and studies broadband access I'm constantly running into "free market" think tank nonprofits like this one who are usually covertly funded by big telecom monopolies to push misleading editorials in local papers about how community-owned broadband is the devil
About
www.mackinac.org

Reposted by Nina Jankowicz, Rebecca Tushnet, David R. Miller , and 3 more

timkarr.bsky.social
Tim Karr @timkarr.bsky.social · 6d
Trump's censor in chief at the FCC, Brendan Carr, just sent a letter to the heads of BBC, NPR and PBS informing them he's launching a "news distortion" probe into the BBC's editing of a documentary on Trump's Jan. 6 activities.

Here it is:

Reposted by Victor Pickard

davidakaye.bsky.social
David Kaye @davidakaye.bsky.social · 6d
everyone should watch this @lastweektonight.com episode.

the right is decimating public media via censorship & propaganda. they capitalize on a popular free speech culture as if only The Speaker matters, without any concern for the public. they claim to be free speech warriors but it's pure b.s.
victorpickard.bsky.social Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 8d
Was thrilled to help consult for this fantastic John Oliver segment on the tragic plight of U.S. public media and why, if we hope to be a democracy, we still need public media for so many things that commercial media will never provide. Deserves a wide viewership. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yknM...
Public Media: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
YouTube video by LastWeekTonight
www.youtube.com

victorpickard.bsky.social
Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 7d
I highly recommend this important new book!
commscholar.bsky.social Michelle Amazeen @commscholar.bsky.social · 7d
🎉 Excited to share that Content Confusion publishes today! It dives into how news orgs & advertisers—including fossil fuels—blur journalism & ads, fueling disinfo & distrust. Available now! Use code MITP30 today for 30% off at MIT Press. Thanks for the support! 🙏
mitpress.mit.edu/978026255360...
Content Confusion
We often blame social media for the rampant problem of disinformation, but mainstream news media is also at fault. Not only do news outlets disguise paid con...
mitpress.mit.edu

Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky, Sander van der Linden, Victor Pickard

commscholar.bsky.social
Michelle Amazeen @commscholar.bsky.social · 7d
🎉 Excited to share that Content Confusion publishes today! It dives into how news orgs & advertisers—including fossil fuels—blur journalism & ads, fueling disinfo & distrust. Available now! Use code MITP30 today for 30% off at MIT Press. Thanks for the support! 🙏
mitpress.mit.edu/978026255360...
Content Confusion
We often blame social media for the rampant problem of disinformation, but mainstream news media is also at fault. Not only do news outlets disguise paid con...
mitpress.mit.edu

victorpickard.bsky.social
Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 8d
John Oliver is raising money for public media here (makes more sense if you've seen the episode!): e.givesmart.com/events/LYw/i/

victorpickard.bsky.social
Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 8d
During the segment, my @thenation.com article on public media's essential role in democratic societies received a shout-out: www.thenation.com/article/soci...
John Oliver discusses research that shows how the US is unique among democracies for how little it allocates toward its public media.

Reposted by Victor Pickard

inquiline.myatproto.social
professor tools for commensality (red scare edition) @inquiline.myatproto.social · 8d
Here's a link to adopt public media stations whose funding got axed: adoptastation.org
Adopt A Station - Rescue Public Media
Help preserve independent journalism and community programming across America by adopting a public media station. Congress has voted to rescind public media's funding.
adoptastation.org

Reposted by Victor Pickard

ladycowparsley.bsky.social
our lady of the cow parsley @ladycowparsley.bsky.social · 8d
Here are the most affected stations. Those in rural Alaska and near Native American tribal lands are lifelines, often carrying not only community news but emergency weather information thst literally saves lives.
bsky.app/profile/smoo...

Reposted by David H. Kaye, Göran Bolin, Manuel Puppis

victorpickard.bsky.social
Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 8d
Was thrilled to help consult for this fantastic John Oliver segment on the tragic plight of U.S. public media and why, if we hope to be a democracy, we still need public media for so many things that commercial media will never provide. Deserves a wide viewership. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yknM...
Public Media: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
YouTube video by LastWeekTonight
www.youtube.com

Reposted by Victor Pickard

joshshepperd.bsky.social
Josh Shepperd @joshshepperd.bsky.social · 8d
Had a great time consulting with the “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” team over the past couple months, and they kindly gave my book a shoutout during the episode.

victorpickard.bsky.social
Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 10d
I've always appreciated this proposal first articulated by @deanbaker13.bsky.social (also championed by Bob McChesney over the years). It's a way to publicly finance local journalism from the bottom up. Should definitely be part of the conversation.

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner, Victor Pickard

deanbaker13.bsky.social
Dean Baker @deanbaker13.bsky.social · 10d
Here's my idea, an individual tax credit modeled on the charitable contribution tax deduction www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Billionaires Won’t Save Local News. Here’s What Will.
Praying for beneficent tycoons is not the answer. We need the government to step up.
www.thenation.com

victorpickard.bsky.social
Victor Pickard @victorpickard.bsky.social · 11d
This was a fantastic event -- bringing the FCC (at least the non-corrupt portion of it) to the people. Was so great to hear from not only Commissioner Gomez but also a wide range of local media makers & their essential community-focused work. We must publicly fund these orgs for democracy's sake!
freepress.bsky.social Free Press @freepress.bsky.social · 11d
What a great night.

Commissioner @agomezfcc.bsky.social: "Free Expression is non-negotiable. It marks the line between freedom and repression. Therefore, we must defend it without compromise."

Catch her remarks and the full event here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JJ0...

Reposted by Victor Pickard

stephencushion.bsky.social
Stephen Cushion @stephencushion.bsky.social · 11d
I’ve just published a new article in the @uk.theconversation.com entitled 'BBC bias? The Prescott memo falls well short of the standards of impartiality it demands’ Thread 1/8: theconversation.com/bbc-bias-the...
BBC bias? The Prescott memo falls well short of the standards of impartiality it demands
The Prescott memo contained no research questions or objectives, method, sample, time frame or, crucially, analytical framework for examining output.
theconversation.com

Reposted by Victor Pickard

freepress.bsky.social
Free Press @freepress.bsky.social · 11d
What a great night.

Commissioner @agomezfcc.bsky.social: "Free Expression is non-negotiable. It marks the line between freedom and repression. Therefore, we must defend it without compromise."

Catch her remarks and the full event here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JJ0...