#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

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..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

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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 …