With Trump’s friend, Paramount all but owning CNN and CBS, we now have three Fox News. Independent Media is our last backstop as the oligarchic takeover of mainstream media is near complete.
Independent Media is a must.
It was 5:30 AM Central when I was awoken by a text message. I went to bed at 1:45 after watching the first two episodes of Paradise 2nd season while spinning. I was startled out of my sleep by a message from a producer at WBAI New York.
Hi everybody. We’re going live in 10 minutes to inform our listeners on what’s happening with the Iran strike. If you are able to join us, please let me know.
I sprang out of bed, brushed my teeth, and connected to the studio in New York. I have been averaging 3 hours of sleep over the last several weeks and was looking forward to getting 8 hours today. But I got up and went on that panel because I knew one very important thing — much of the mainstream media will report this Iran story with the improper context that is their modus operandi. This is not about “Iran Bad,” while “The USA and Israel good.”
After getting off the air from the panel in New York, I immediately did a Substack live. Why? Just like Trump and his controlled media would flood the zone with lies or a partial and incomplete narrative, I know the Independent Media must fill the void with truth, a nuanced narrative, reasons, and repercussions.
Americans cannot understand our problem with Iran unless we consistently provide the inconvenient truths. In 1953, the CIA and Britain’s MI6 orchestrated a covert coup to overthrow Iran’s democratically elected prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, after he nationalized the country’s oil industry and challenged British economic control. Through propaganda, bribery, and engineered street unrest under Operation Ajax, the agencies destabilized his government and strengthened the Shah’s hand. The coup restored Western influence over Iran’s oil and entrenched the Shah’s authoritarian rule, backed by U.S. support. The intervention bred lasting resentment among Iranians, fueling the 1979 Islamic Revolution and shaping decades of mistrust between Iran and the United States.
When Americans understand the genesis of most of our international problems and the complicity of our oligarchic and military-industrial-complex-driven government, we will demand a necessary atonement, humility, and honesty in our foreign policy. Interestingly, that would be good not only for our federal budget but also for a humane, effective healthcare system and social programs that ensure the well-being of all Americans.
And now, Paramount Skydance is poised to take over Warner Bros. Discovery in a massive $110 billion acquisition that would combine two of Hollywood’s biggest media empires and create an unprecedented powerhouse in film, TV, streaming, and news. CBS and CNN will become Fox News-like. Discovery Channel’s documentaries on climate change, fossil fuels, and green energy will likely be curtailed. Substantive HBO documentaries will be of the past. And TikTok’s algorithms are likely to become Trump-indoctrinating.
Corporate media has never been a reliable guardian of truth. It has too often protected power, softened accountability, and prioritized access over honesty. Now, as political strongmen and their billionaire allies tighten their grip on major networks and consolidate ownership across the media landscape, the danger grows sharper. When a handful of oligarchs control the loudest megaphones, democracy suffers. The only meaningful counterweight is strong, unapologetic Independent Media.
That is why this work matters. Independent journalism does not answer to corporate boards or political benefactors. It answers to you. It investigates what others ignore. It challenges narratives that protect concentrated power. It centers on working people instead of shareholders.
But independence survives only if readers and listeners choose to sustain it. This platform exists because people like you decide that truth, accountability, and people-powered journalism are worth investing in.
If you value fearless reporting and analysis that refuses to bow to corporate or political pressure, now is the moment to act. Become a paid subscriber today. Your support keeps independent voices strong and ensures that democracy still has a fighting chance.
