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


  • I AM FOR THE RIGHT TO BE FREE!!!!
    Shaka Shakur
    I AM FOR THE RIGHT TO BE FREE!!!!
    05 Apr 2023
    Shaka Shakur is a revolutionary New Afrikan prisoner who has spent the past two decades incarcerated by the Indiana Department of Corrections on trumped up charges. He has consistently been targeted…
  • The Need for Independent Left Leadership
    Sudip Bhattacharya
    The Need for Independent Left Leadership
    05 Apr 2023
    Leftists in the U.S. must forge independent formations. Electoral politics are still a dead end.
  • Judge Clemons Denies a New Trial for Mumia Abu Jamal
    Noelle Hanrahan
    Judge Clemons Denies a New Trial for Mumia Abu Jamal
    05 Apr 2023
    A judge denied political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal a new trial, and in so doing denies prosecutorial misconduct, suborning of perjury, and other wrongdoing committed against him. 
  • Communism, Islam, & Serving Our Neighbors
    D. Musa Springer
    Communism, Islam, & Serving Our Neighbors
    05 Apr 2023
    There are connections between spiritual and political beliefs. The writer advises, "...consider the synergy between the principles of our faith and the revolutionary spirit of communism."
  • TikTok on Trial: The Latest Front in the U.S. Tech War on China
    Amanda Yee
    TikTok on Trial: The Latest Front in the U.S. Tech War on China
    05 Apr 2023
    The U.S. engages in a futile effort to diminish China's economic prowess. The propaganda war against Tik Tok is the latest salvo, and concerns about data privacy are misdirection intended to help U.S…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us