Victor Pickard
@victorpickard.bsky.social
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.
The New York Times wonders whether Israel's increased bombing "may undermine" Donald Trump's peace plan fo Gaza. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/05/w...
Israeli Strikes May Undermine Trump’s Peace Plan for Gaza
President Trump announced a proposal aimed at achieving the disarmament of Hamas and an Israeli withdrawal. Israel ramped up attacks on the Palestinian enclave.
nytimes.com
El-Sayed: "My commitment to Jewish safety is the same commitment that I have to the safety of my own daughters. Because if there is one question of political philosophy that ought to animate us all, it's what would we do if we treated all our kids like they were all of our kids?"
I spoke with 10 CNNers about David Ellison's essay in The NYT, in which he tried to convince the public he'll be a good steward of CNN. Suffice to say, no one at the network is buying what he's selling. “We all have eyes and ears and see what’s happening at CBS." www.status.news/p/david-elli...
The Ellison Credibility Crisis
The Paramount boss tried to convince the public he can be trusted with CNN. But staffers inside the network torched his Times essay in brutal comments to Status, pointing to his disastrous record at C...
status.news
The August/September issue of The Progressive magazine is OUT NOW! The stories throughout these pages document the crumbling of our most sacred and valued institutions and norms. Get your copy today for $7.50 at bit.ly/4zar4l4.
The 97th edition of Pressing Issues from @freepress.bsky.social features part of the @moneyontheleft.bsky.social podcast conversation with Free Press Board Chair @victorpickard.bsky.social Public Media Isn’t Optional for Democracy
Public Media Isn’t Optional for Democracy
Free Press Board Chair Victor Pickard explains why on the latest episode of ‘Money on the Left’
pressingissues.org
Big thanks to Pressing Issues for featuring our recent podcast discussion with @victorpickard.bsky.social on their website. Check it out!
Public Media Isn’t Optional for Democracy
Free Press Board Chair Victor Pickard explains why on the latest episode of ‘Money on the Left’
pressingissues.org
If one of the primary functions of the press is to check power, it really feels like much of the mainstream media ecosystem is fundamentally broken. Worse, as of now I see no institutions capable of stepping in as a viable, preferable alternative.
The New Republic@newrepublic.com · yesterdayBanks permitted millions in suspicious transactions tied to Epstein—and former 60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi had the story months ago. But the report would never air. trib.al/ZShZlIS
Unfortunately for David Ellison this is transparently laughable after what Bari Weiss has already done at CBS and it will be very funny if her genius moves fuck up a $100 billion merger www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/o...
Big thx to @victorpickard.bsky.social for joining us again to help us make sense of the variously capitalistic, oligarchic & authoritarian U.S. media system under Trump 2.0. The big take-away: robust democracies require robust public media. Now is the time to imagine & build otherwise!
Money on the Left@moneyontheleft.bsky.social · 4d ago✨ MotL 93 is live! ✨ @victorpickard.bsky.social returns to Money on the Left 6 years after his first appearance on the show to discuss the state of the U.S. media system under Trump 2.0. moneyontheleft.org/2026/08/01/d... Please listen & share! 🎧 🙌 * Transcript forthcoming ...
Thoroughly enjoyed this timely conversation!
Money on the Left@moneyontheleft.bsky.social · 4d ago✨ MotL 93 is live! ✨ @victorpickard.bsky.social returns to Money on the Left 6 years after his first appearance on the show to discuss the state of the U.S. media system under Trump 2.0. moneyontheleft.org/2026/08/01/d... Please listen & share! 🎧 🙌 * Transcript forthcoming ...
No 2026 Dem candidate is so skilled as @abdulelsayed.bsky.social when it comes to calling out the damaging influence of billionaire dollars and corporate special interests on our politics and governance. If’s El-Sayed is nominated, he’s uniquely prepared to take on billionaires and their GOP pawns.
The Nation (@thenation) on X
Abdul El-Sayed knows exactly how to beat billionaire-funded Republicans, writes @NicholsUprising. https://t.co/f3SXZcCa3V
x.com
Much of our major media never stopped sane-washing Trump. They are structurally disinclined to confront the kind of authoritarian threats we are seeing today in the U.S. The historical record will show how they did not rise to the moment, but rather failed democracy when it mattered most. 
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News@froomkin.bsky.social · 5d agoThis is a completely insane interview in that the things they are discussing are so alarming that their heads should be exploding and yet they are calm. History will be unkind to those, like the NYT, who underreacted to Trump’s violation of the country. 1/2 www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/o...
Much of our major media never stopped sane-washing Trump. They are structurally disinclined to confront the kind of authoritarian threats we are seeing today in the U.S. The historical record will show how they did not rise to the moment, but rather failed democracy when it mattered most. 
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News@froomkin.bsky.social · 5d agoThis is a completely insane interview in that the things they are discussing are so alarming that their heads should be exploding and yet they are calm. History will be unkind to those, like the NYT, who underreacted to Trump’s violation of the country. 1/2 www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/o...
one of the downsides of stocking U.S. media with affluent nepobabies and brunchlords is class bias erodes stakes and urgency from the coverage since most of their lived experience involves being shielded from the worst outcomes
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News@froomkin.bsky.social · 5d agoThis is a completely insane interview in that the things they are discussing are so alarming that their heads should be exploding and yet they are calm. History will be unkind to those, like the NYT, who underreacted to Trump’s violation of the country. 1/2 www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/o...
'It is generally a mistake, in American politics, to say “let’s wait four years and build.” It is wiser to seize every momentary advantage and push it as hard and as far as you can.' www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/aoc-must-r...
AOC Must Run For President
History is calling. Sorry!
hamiltonnolan.com
People think "Hollywood" is rich and famous. The reality? Film and TV is a national industry. It's a blue collar industry. And it is an industry free fall. My latest for @newrepublic.com on how the Paramount merger would crush blue collar workers who can not afford it newrepublic.com/article/2136...
There’s a Blue-Collar Hollywood—and the Paramount Merger Will Kill It
Hollywood isn’t all glamour. It’s thousands of line workers. And a Paramount takeover of Warner will make their lives even more precarious.
newrepublic.com
Thrilled to see this invaluable collection published! Vinny Mosco's political economic analysis holds profound relevance for our current moment. My contribution focused on his call for radical utopian thinking, which he laid out in his last book's final chapter: www.scienceopen.com/hosted-docum...
Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation@wolgjournal.bsky.social · 2w agoPublished at last! the final issue of Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation is now online at www.scienceopen.com/.../cdba69db.... This is a special issue that commemorates the legacy of Vincent Mosco and shows the relevance of his ideas for understanding the new world order
Thrilled to see this invaluable collection published! Vinny Mosco's political economic analysis holds profound relevance for our current moment. My contribution focused on his call for radical utopian thinking, which he laid out in his last book's final chapter: www.scienceopen.com/hosted-docum...
Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation@wolgjournal.bsky.social · 2w agoPublished at last! the final issue of Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation is now online at www.scienceopen.com/.../cdba69db.... This is a special issue that commemorates the legacy of Vincent Mosco and shows the relevance of his ideas for understanding the new world order
New in the newsletter: The Washington press corp's reflexive normalization of the abnormal reaches absurd levels -- and gets called out. Shoutouts @sulliview.bsky.social, @victorpickard.bsky.social buttondown.com/KeepingScOR/...
You're a Journalist, Bless Your Heart
Screenshot of Wall Street Journal video: Janet Adamy, left, and Neil Howe, at WSJ Future of Everything event, May 2026. Hello new subscribers! Thank you for...
buttondown.com
"If there is a question to ask, then, it is this: Why does Musk get a pass? Why do politicians, journalists and commentators treat his far-right racist radicalism as a sideshow rather than the core of his political, ideological and industrial project..." www.nytimes.com/2026/07/29/o...
Opinion | Elon Musk Is a Menace to Society (Gift Article)
Why does the owner of X get a pass for what he says and does there?
nytimes.com
What a concept! The journalism crisis as a topic of … public policy. Which we discuss in the conclusion to our latest season, The News. @chenjerai.bsky.social @victorpickard.bsky.social
Karl Bode@karlbode.com · 2w agoI am absolutely begging Democratic politicians to make media reform a centerpiece of their policy platforms
oh, and adequately fund publicly-owned media, which is a firewall against authoritarianism in every country where funding and support is healthy
America’s Three Media Crises and How to Fix Them
University of Pennsylvania media scholar Victor Pickard explains why a robust system of public media is essential to strengthening American democracy.
newrepublic.com
Dems need to fund real journalism, embrace antitrust, restore media consolidation limits, create new media ownership diversity requirements, and completely reshape our media literacy standards taking a page from Finland, which starts teaching kids to recognize propaganda starting at THREE YEARS OLD
I was mercifully in the woods and off the grid when this took place so I wasn't subjected to such a grotesque absurdity, but @sulliview.bsky.social nails it right here:
The predictable disgrace of the White House Correspondents Dinner
And why I reject every specious argument that encourages the media to keep normalizing Trump
margaretsullivan.substack.com
Musk is calling for the assassination of a journalist. It's so difficult to comprehend why someone in his position would do such a thing that we naturally give him the benefit of every doubt, but it's crystal clear what he's saying.
Sunder Katwala (sundersays)@sundersays.bsky.social · last wk.There is simply no ambiguity in what Elon Musk is arguing and endorsing here.
I was mercifully in the woods and off the grid when this took place so I wasn't subjected to such a grotesque absurdity, but @sulliview.bsky.social nails it right here:
The predictable disgrace of the White House Correspondents Dinner
And why I reject every specious argument that encourages the media to keep normalizing Trump
margaretsullivan.substack.com
Got to it late but this season of @sceneonradio.bsky.social is a great crash course on why our news media is the way it is, and how it could be. Plus it features brilliant friends & colleagues @chenjerai.bsky.social, @victorpickard.bsky.social, @dannagal.bsky.social, @willyou.bsky.social and more!
The News
Welcome to Season 8: The News. This 8-part series explores the deep challenges facing American journalism, and the nation’s news and information crisis. It seems everyone’s mad at the media,
sceneonradio.org
I am absolutely begging Democratic politicians to make media reform a centerpiece of their policy platforms
Local U.S. TV News Will Soon Be Entirely Right Wing Propaganda
Thanks to the destruction of media consolidation limits, Republicans will soon enjoy propaganda and market domination over what's left of local U.S. news.
karlbode.com
Francesca Albanese Won’t Back Down! Our @thenation.com interview with the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian Territories — discussing genocide, standing up to the establishment, and ending wars that should never have started.
Francesca Albanese Won’t Back Down
Talking to the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian Territories about genocide, standing up to the hatred of the establishment, and ending war.
thenation.com
