A View from the Field: Fighting Authoritarianism
Free Press’ Joseph Torres (second from left) at an event promoting a powerful anthology he contributed to
A View from the Field is an ongoing feature that highlights the efforts of Free Press’ team of organizers and advocates.
We provide regular updates from the field as staffers work alongside our amazing allies and activists to create a just and equitable media system.
Joseph Torres — who co-authored a chapter in the anthology Liberation Stories: Building Narrative Power for 21st-Century Social Movements — took part in an event promoting the book at Solid State Books in Washington, D.C. Liberation Stories features in-depth case studies from a range of communicators, organizers, artists, journalists and academics.
Nora Benavidez moderated the Free Press webinar “Free Speech in the Age of Retaliation: Trump 2.0 Attacks on Protests, the Press & Privacy.” During the call, Baher Azmy — Mahmoud Khalil’s attorney — noted that the “soft authoritarianism” of the George W. Bush administration has led to the “hard authoritarianism” of the Trump administration. He and two other experts discussed the need to speak out in the face of the administration’s escalating threats. Learn more about the webinar and watch the discussion.
Nora took part in a panel discussion at the Hispanics in Philanthropy & Native Americans in Philanthropy conference in New Mexico. “How 21st Century Media, Communications, and Technology Threaten Latinas’ Full Democratic Participation” explored media representation of Latinas, media manipulation, disinformation and misinformation in American politics.
Nora also participated in the webinar “How Far Will Trump Go? And How Can He Be Stopped?” The discussion examined Trump’s violent and authoritarian tactics against protesters and considered how resistance movements have responded to fascists. Watch the conversation.
The Free Press Action-led Media Power Collaborative held the webinar “A Bold Proposal for the Decline of Local News.” Alex Frandsen moderated the discussion, and Craig Aaron was one of the speakers. The conversation explored how a 1 percent tax on the advertising revenues of corporate and tech giants could support trustworthy local journalism. “If journalism is a public good that undergirds our democracy,” Aaron said, “then why not redirect a small portion of the revenue from companies profiting off our attention and content back into the kind of reporting that communities need?” Learn more about the webinar and watch the conversation.
Alex also took part in the panel discussion “Policy and Play: Challenges and Possibilities for Nonprofit Newsrooms” at the INN Days conference in Minneapolis. “How can we build the policy coalitions we need and how can we build the political power we need to really center the needs of nonprofit newsrooms and the communities they serve?” Alex asked. “That is why in large part we created the Media Power Collaborative. We want to support, educate and empower folks to participate in these policy debates.”
Is Jeff Bezos’ business empire powering ICE raids? Is his ownership of The Washington Post at odds with a free press? “Bezos’ Brutality” — a panel discussion Jenna Ruddock participated in — explored a range of questions about Bezos’ destructive impacts. Athena, a coalition working to combat Amazon’s abuses, organized the event. Watch the conversation.
Jenna also took part in the panel discussion “Rethinking Media & Protest Paradigms: Global Perspectives on Protest Mediation, Criminalization, and Narrative Framing” at the International Communication Association’s annual conference. Jenna discussed the media’s role in shaping public perceptions of “violence” at protests, and shared her research on how police and prosecutors create and fuel narratives about protesters’ alleged extremism and criminality.
Vanessa Maria Graber attended the Public Media Journalists Association conference in Kansas City, Missouri, where she led a session on how to meet the civic-information needs of underserved communities.