Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

No News Is Bad News: The Death Dance of Journalism and the Twilight of Democracy
Bill Quigley
20 May 2009
🖨️ Print Article

by Robert McChesney

In this 90 minute address, Dr. Robert McChesney argues that the disappearance of journalism from newspapers and broadcast media marks the twilight of democracy.  Back in the days when Frederick Douglass and other abolitionists started their newspapers, the US Postal Service was mailing them for free.  At the time, newspapers were 90% of post office volume, and accounted for 2% of its income, a massive government subsidy.  Only a massive subsidy --- a stimulus program for journalism, and stripping corporate owners of dozens and hundreds of stations that some of them own, can begin to make real democracy possible.

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • The Murder of Jordan Neely Abetted by Eric Adams, Worst Black Mayor in the Country
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    The Murder of Jordan Neely Abetted by Eric Adams, Worst Black Mayor in the Country
    10 May 2023
    New York City's mayor isn't just a self-interested member of the Black political class. He is also singularly incompetent and lacking in the most basic political skills. After a Black man was…
  • ESSAY: British Imperialism in the West Indies, George Padmore, 1938
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    ESSAY: British Imperialism in the West Indies, George Padmore, 1938
    10 May 2023
    In 1938, Pan-Africanist George Padmore called for the West Indian toiling masses to fight against British imperialism and for self-determination. Almost a century later, the Caribbean still suffers,…
  • Ilhan Omar Voted to Withdraw from Somalia, but She’s No Anti-Imperialist
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Ilhan Omar Voted to Withdraw from Somalia, but She’s No Anti-Imperialist
    10 May 2023
    Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is not the progressive she is thought to be. She follows US policy regarding her native Somalia and she has connections there which compromise her actions. True anti-…
  • F Train Lynching: Papa Cop's wink and nod
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    F Train Lynching: Papa Cop's wink and nod
    10 May 2023
                                                     
  • China's Report on U.S. Cyber Attacks Only Scratches Surface of Washington's Impunity
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    China's Report on U.S. Cyber Attacks Only Scratches Surface of Washington's Impunity
    10 May 2023
    China has been the victim of US espionage and cyber attacks, despite claims that it is "stealing" US technology.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us