[Authoritarianism vs public media, and other fights for the right
to know]
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MEDIA BITS AND BYTES – APRIL 4, 2023  
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April 4, 2023
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_ Authoritarianism vs public media, and other fights for the right to
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* Tiktok: Best Laid Plans
* SOS Public Media
* House Hearing on Social Media Censorship
* Neither Artificial Nor Intelligent
* Class on TV: Loving and Hating the Rich
* Publishers Attack National Emergency Library
* The Rise of Anti-China Rhetoric
* Can Public Radio Save Local News?
* Layoffs and Organizing Among Tech Workers
* Screen Time – A Poem

TIKTOK: BEST LAID PLANS
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By Christopher Scott
Asia Times

Shou Zi Chew’s testimony in Washington last week may have failed to
convince critics that Chinese ownership of TikTok was not cause for
alarm. But instead of raising public awareness of alleged security
risks, lawmakers turned the spotlight on their limited understanding
of the subject while turning Chew into an overnight celebrity for his
poise under pressure. 

SOS PUBLIC MEDIA
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By Maria Ressa and Nishant Lalwani
yahoo!

The current conflict between autocracy and democracy is fought not
only on the battlefield and in the political arena but also on social
media and broadcast TV. If democracy is to prevail, credible,
independent news media will be essential. Just when we need it most,
fact-based, public-interest journalism is dying out. 

HOUSE HEARING ON SOCIAL MEDIA CENSORSHIP
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By John Ward
yahoo!

House Republicans held their third hearing regarding what the
“weaponization” of the federal government by Democrats. Three
Republican witnesses alleged that the Biden administration has coerced
social media companies to remove information it does not like, but
Democrats protested when two of the witnesses left the hearing before
taking any questions from committee members.

NEITHER ARTIFICIAL NOR INTELLIGENT
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By Evgeny Morozov
The Guardian

The early AI systems were heavily dominated by rules and programs, so
some talk of “artificiality” was at least justified. But those of
today, including everyone’s favourite, ChatGPT, draw their strength
from the work of real humans: artists, musicians, programmers and
writers whose creative and professional output is now appropriated in
the name of saving civilisation.

CLASS ON TV: LOVING AND HATING THE RICH
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By Daniel Fienberg
The Hollywood Reporter

In an ironic twist, some of the biggest perpetrators of corporate
ruthlessness in the entertainment industry are currently producing
several of the most honest portraits of our bleak economic moment.

PUBLISHERS ATTACK NATIONAL EMERGENCY LIBRARY
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By Mathew Ingram
Columbia Journalism Review

The Internet Archive’s National Emergency Library removed limits on
the digital borrowing of the books in its database and made them all
publicly available, for free. Four publishers went to court, arguing
that _any_ digital lending by the Internet Archive constituted
copyright infringement.

THE RISE OF ANTI-CHINA RHETORIC
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By Chandran Nair
The Diplomat

A key feature of mainstream Western media today is the relentless
China-bashing. Countering this in international media by offering
more balanced views for a global audience is near impossible as
censorship is rife. There almost seems to be a global compact to
control the narrative, a propaganda war powered by today’s digital
technology.

CAN PUBLIC RADIO SAVE LOCAL NEWS?
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By Thomas E. Patterson
NiemanLab

The local news crisis is more than a problem of shuttered newsrooms
and laid-off journalists. It’s also a democracy crisis. Communities
that have lost their newspaper have seen a decline in voting
rates, awareness of local affairs and government
responsiveness. Largely overlooked in the effort to save local news
are the nation’s local public radio stations.

LAYOFFS AND ORGANIZING AMONG TECH WORKERS
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By Tom Cassauwers
Equal Times

Mass layoffs have been hitting US and European tech companies since
the end of 2022. Players like Alphabet, Meta and Amazon have so
far laid off more than 120,000 workers. These layoffs, and their
ruthlessness in the US, have left tech workers reeling. The layoffs
also threaten an incipient union organising drive at big tech
companies. 

SCREEN TIME – A POEM
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By Nate Anderson
Ars Technica

Here’s a six-part rhymed couplet romp in the playful spirit of Dr.
Seuss or of Roald Dahl’s _Revolting Rhymes_. It contains everything
that literary critics say a good poem should: yak bile, yurts,
Descartes, broken bones, lawyers, and an imagined Krogan romance. 

* TikTok
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* China
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* public media
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* autocracy
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* censorship
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* House of Representatives
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* artificial intelligence
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* book publishers
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* Internet Archive
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* National Emergency Library
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* public radio
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* local news
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* tech workers
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* Layoffs
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* union organizing
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* prose poem
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* anti-China rhetoric
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