Let’s return to Philippines journalist Maria Ressa’s interview with Jon Stewart on the Daily Show. In the conversation she quotes a Swedish study that says 72% of the world is now under authoritarian rule and says that many people are voting these governments into power.
We are electing illiberal leaders democratically because of insidious manipulation … it starts with the manipulation and corruption of our public information ecosystem.”
When asked what happens next, she points to her own experiences in the Philippines as a journalist during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte.
We just kept doing our jobs, we kept putting one foot in front of the other.”
The chair of the US media regulator, Brendan Carr, has been doing the media rounds today, after comments he made yesterday were interpreted by some as lighting the fuse that led to Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension from ABC.
In an interview with CNBC, Carr was asked if it was Trump’s view that fellow late night hosts, Seth Myers and Jimmy Fallon should be taken off air. Carr said his goal was to make sure that broadcasters were “serving the public interest”.
We’re in the midst of a massive shift in dynamics in the media ecosystem for lot’s of reasons. Including the permission structure that president Trump’s election has provided. I would simply say we’re not done yet with seeing the consequences of this shift.”
On Wednesday, Carr, the FCC chair who was appointed by Trump, appeared on a rightwing podcast and threatened ABC affiliates’ broadcast licenses if action was not taken against Kimmel.
