Julia Barton

🆘 The Tower is Falling 🆘 Europe, do us a solid and support public media in the US — while it still exists

"Spotify must be persuaded to use AI to identify all podcasts...that credit investigative reporters, editors and/or fact-checkers as part of their teams. Then... Spotify needs to buy up all their available back-catalog ad spots." tongue-in-cheek. Kinda. continuous-wave.beehiiv.com/p/the-lighth...

Donors ‘stepping up’ to bolster stations after CPB funding cuts Some campaigns have brought in enough to replace the CPB grants that stations expected to receive this fall.

“People are going to step up and say, ‘I don’t like this,’” said @lpm.org Development Director Ellen Oost. “And you don’t want to miss that moment because it’s really powerful.” current.org/2025/07/dono...

the old style of policy debate still exists and is being conducted, but the argued-out consensus could then be overturned at any moment by Laura Loomer, groyper staffers, or Trump himself. this is a very hard fact for people trained in those debates to come to terms with.

Half a Century in the Wilderness As the CPB dies, we can still learn from America's long era without public broadcasting.

USA oscillated between apathy and downright hostility to public support for most of broadcasting's early decades. I take a look at what we can learn now from the educational idealists who kept non-profit broadcasting alive anyway. continuous-wave.beehiiv.com/p/half-a-cen...

The White House is taking new steps to undermine every international student at our universities.

It has approved a new rule restricting student visas to 4 years max. That's not long enough for PhD students, or about half of undergrads, to finish their degree.

Likely to enter force within days.

Largest ICE Facility Planned at Georgia Private Prison With Deadly Record Last year, a man died at the Charlton County complex; now officials have approved a nearly $50 million agreement to detain nearly 3,000 people.

While much of the outrage over the rising number of immigration detention facilities is focused on Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz,” Georgia is quietly working on building the largest ICE facility in the country.

Why a NASA satellite that scientists and farmers rely on may be destroyed on purpose The Trump administration has asked NASA staffers to draw up plans to end at least two satellite missions that measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to current and former NASA employees.

Head of NASA Sean Duffy intends to destroy a satellite that collects key data on carbon dioxide and plant health, by causing it to burn up in the atmosphere. The U.S. Dept of Agriculture and private agriculture firms use the data to forecast crop yield, drought conditions and more.

Russia Offers India $5-a-Barrel Discount to Keep Oil Exports Flowing Russian oil is now offered to Indian buyers at lower prices due to EU sanctions and US penalties, affecting demand and refining operations.

⚡️ Facing U.S. pressure and falling demand, Russia is now offering India a $5-per-barrel discount to keep oil exports flowing.

Moldova Is Russia’s Next Election Target—And the World Should Pay Attention As the Kremlin refines its hybrid warfare arsenal, Moldova has become the testing ground for perfecting election interference tactics that will soon be unleashed across all of Europe, US, and beyond

My latest on Russia’s escalating attacks on Moldova’s upcoming election and the tactics they are testing that will be deployed against all of us.

The world needs to pay attention

What we can learn from America’s long era with no public broadcasting Forerunners of public media faced many challenges that could show a way forward in a system without CPB.

"I think there are lessons to be learned from the long period when civic-minded advocates wandered the wilderness of American media capitalism." current.org/2025/08/what...

Now featured in the public media trade paper @current.org ! current.org/2025/08/what...

photo of the "Six Million Dollar Man" doll with his tiny red onesie to one side, his robotic arm and extremely tight red belted undies on an otherwise naked, one-eyed figure, and an astronaut helmet to one side.

Also: if you know, you know.

It is not constitutional to impose punishment upon anyone without due process of law. It's obvious that Trump and DHS sees detention as punishment.

Very good post.

thank you, Jacob!

Cyrillic header, trans: "Public Radio in the USA: Julia Barton, Consultant, Knight International Press Fellowship" Sept 2002

also featuring the stylings of former me @icfjorg.bsky.social :

also featuring a bibliography of scholarship on this era, plus links to current takes from @transom.bsky.social @rumblestrip.bsky.social @sceneonradio.bsky.social @dicktofel.bsky.social @alexcurley.bsky.social @joshshepperd.bsky.social and many more.

Half a Century in the Wilderness As the CPB dies, we can still learn from America's long era without public broadcasting.

USA oscillated between apathy and downright hostility to public support for most of broadcasting's early decades. I take a look at what we can learn now from the educational idealists who kept non-profit broadcasting alive anyway. continuous-wave.beehiiv.com/p/half-a-cen...

Half a Century in the Wilderness As the CPB dies, we can still learn from America's long era without public broadcasting.

Here you go! continuous-wave.beehiiv.com/p/half-a-cen...

Federal court filing system hit in sweeping hack The identities of confidential court informants are feared compromised in a series of breaches across multiple U.S. states.

NEW: "The electronic case filing system used by the federal judiciary has been breached in a sweeping cyber intrusion that is believed to have exposed sensitive court data across multiple U.S. states, according to two people with knowledge of the incident."

yep it'll be live at 9am ET!

screenshot of NAEB brochure 1953: in lower case letters with n-a-e-b in cursive letters to look like typewriter keys. the national association of broadcasters

Today in the newsletter, what the ancestors' 50 years in the commercial media wilderness might have to teach US public broadcasting advocates today. subscribe: continuous-wave.beehiiv.com/subscribe

I read something this year (probably on here, for my sins) that, contemporaneously, no one knew the Roman Empire was falling forever, just that one day an important bridge collapsed and no one ever came to fix it. I think about this all the time.

screenshot of NAEB brochure 1953: in lower case letters with n-a-e-b in cursive letters to look like typewriter keys. the national association of broadcasters

Today in the newsletter, what the ancestors' 50 years in the commercial media wilderness might have to teach US public broadcasting advocates today. subscribe: continuous-wave.beehiiv.com/subscribe

The fact that the entire global economy is currently being propped up by massive investment in lie-generating machines makes me feel like I'm living in a story from Borges's reject pile.

This is explosive. Or will be as the full import of what it encompasses starts to be understood by outsiders.

Adopt A Station - Rescue Public Media Help preserve independent journalism and community programming across America by adopting a public media station. Congress has voted to rescind public media's funding.

Look at what is coming for public radio stations in Alaska. adoptastation.org/alaska

we’ve made it clear that anyone who visits the US could be disappeared into a Salvadoran prison but I’m sure it’s the kids and their avocado toasts who’re to blame

headline from Education by Radio, magazine of the National Committee on Education by Radio: "Educational Broadcasting Station Succumbs to Commercial Attack."

Tomorrow's edition of my audio history newsletter goes back — way back to the decades before there was any system of public broadcasting in the US. What can we learn from the fighting educators of yore? Subscribe for free to get it in your inbox. continuous-wave.beehiiv.com/subscribe

the American experiment seems to have been democracy itself.