Thomas Koch, the mayor of Quincy, Massachusetts, is under fire for blurting out on a radio talk show that the Catholic Church sexual-abuse crisis was a matter of “mostly homosexual issues, not pedophilia.” Koch’s remarks, made on “NightSide with Dan Rea” on WBZ Radio, is just the latest controversy the mayor has jumped into, including … Continue reading "Quincy’s controversial mayor steps in it again with anti-LGBTQ remarks about the Catholic sexual-abuse crisis"| Media Nation
It’s almost the end of the month, which means that the free September shares that I still have for The New York Times will disappear. So here are gift links to three stories that caught my eye earlier today. Enjoy! ► “How 106 People Got Together to Stop a School Shooting — Before It Happened,” … Continue reading "Three gift links: helping a troubled teen, homeless in Santa Monica, and important frog-related news"| Media Nation
NJ PBS chair Scott Kobler has issued a statement in which he criticizes New Jersey government officials for “intransigence or maybe even apathy” over the public broadcasting funding crisis. Sign up for free email delivery of Media Nation. You can also become a supporter for just $6 a month and receive a weekly newsletter with … Continue reading "NJ PBS chair weighs in, Emily Rooney on not quitting and Karen Attiah fights back. Plus: Please come to Waltham."| Media Nation
The MAGA right’s war on public broadcasting has come for an innovative statewide news collaboration in New Jersey, leaving its ultimate fate uncertain. NJ PBS, the state’s public television outlet, may shut down in June 2026 following massive budget cuts at both the federal and state levels. The Republican Congress, acting at the behest of … Continue reading "MAGA’s war on public media targets an innovative statewide news collaboration in New Jersey"| Media Nation
A network of more than 1,200 websites better known for publishing so-called pink slime designed to look like legitimate local news is now branching out. Kirk Carapezza reports for GBH News that Metric Media is flooding public colleges and universities in Massachusetts with public-records requests in order to find what its founder, Brian Timpone, calls … Continue reading "A pink-slime network is looking for ‘anti-American’ teaching materials at public universities in Mass."| Media Nation
Two quick thoughts about Jimmy Kimmel’s return to ABC’s airwaves tonight. First, though I’m deeply skeptical about the power of boycotts and protests, this one seems to have worked. A combination of cancellations, petitions, announcements by creatives that they would no longer work for Disney, and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner’s trash-talking his successor, Bob … Continue reading "Jimmy Kimmel’s return is a rare success for boycotts — but there are still several shoes to drop"| Media Nation
FCC chair Brendan Carr’s thuggish threat to crack down on media companies following late-night comedy host Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue about Donald Trump and Charlie Kirk differed from past instances only in that he said it out loud. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said in an appearance on a … Continue reading "MAGA media threats call to mind previous episodes during the Nixon and Bush eras"| Media Nation
Two departures from The Boston Globe to take note of: Teresa Hanafin, a longtime veteran of the newsroom, is retiring, and Melissa Taboada is moving to Texas in order to run a local news initiative for The Texas Tribune. Hanafin ran the Globe’s local news operation as metro editor in the late ’90s and later … Continue reading "Taking note of two Globe departures"| Media Nation
Boston Globe columnist Renée Graham has quit the paper’s editorial board in protest over last week’s editorial (sub. req.) praising the slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk’s commitment to free speech — an editorial that was widely derided by critics who objected to Kirk’s often hateful rhetoric. Graham will remain as a columnist and will continue … Continue reading "Renée Graham quits Globe editorial board over Charlie Kirk editorial but will remain as a columnist"| Media Nation
As best as I can determine, in the 11 months since The Washington Post’s opinion section descended into Jeff Bezos-imposed turmoil, no one had been fired — until now. Some people quit in prot…| Media Nation
The Daily Herald of Provo, Utah. Image via Today’s Front Pages.On the afternoon that right-wing activist Charlie Kirk was murdered, three teenagers, including the shooter, were reported to be in critical condition following a school shooting in Evergreen, Colorado. The shooter later died.| Media Nation
Jeff Jacoby has a sharp column up at The Boston Globe on the dangers of physician-assisted suicide, writing that “a decent society does not enlist physicians to end lives; it strives to relie…| Media Nation
The Bedford Citizen, which may be the oldest nonprofit local-news startup in Massachusetts, is back on track after losing its top two newsroom employees earlier this year. Bill Fonda is joining the…| Media Nation
Major philanthropies are stepping up to offset some of the cuts to public television and radio, Benjamin Mullin reports in The New York Times (gift link). But will it be enough? And what possible d…| Media Nation
This may be the most important story you’ll read all month. Konrad Putzier and Rachel Louise Ensign report in The Wall Street Journal (gift link) that we are losing our economic dynamism. Ame…| Media Nation
Boston Globe reporter Bob Hohler carved out a unique beat for himself over the years. As an investigative reporter focusing on sports, he’s covered such high-profile stories as the Red Sox…| Media Nation
There was a time when it seemed like every other week I was writing about some terrible thing we had learned about Facebook or one of Meta’s other platforms. There was Facebook’s compli…| Media Nation
Because Jeff Bezos has taken a wrecking ball to The Washington Post’s opinion section, critics have become sensitive to any hint that the billionaire owner is paying obeisance to Donald Trump…| Media Nation
The mayor of Burlington, Vermont, has rescinded a gag order that had prevented the city’s police department from issuing press releases without the approval of her office. The contentious ord…| Media Nation
Terrible news from The Associated Press. Media Nation correspondent J.A. passes along this note from Anthony McCartney, the AP’s global entertainment and lifestyle editor. AP to end its weekl…| Media Nation