It Could Happen Here Weekly 213

The episode examines how concentrated capital is reshaping American media, labor relations, and political possibilities, while drawing on recent union struggles and historical examples of revolutionary attempts to illustrate both the mechanisms of control and the persistence of resistance.

Media Consolidation and Ideological Control

The opening segment traces the path from the 2020 protests to current media ownership. Barry Weiss, hired by the New York Times as an opinion writer to increase conservative voices, resigned after internal conflicts over an op-ed by Senator Tom Cotton. She later founded The Free Press on Substack, which was acquired by Larry Ellison. Ellison and his son David then gained control of Paramount, which owns CBS, leading to the elimination of specialized editorial teams covering Black, Latino, Asian American, and queer communities. Similar patterns appear at the Washington Post under Jeff Bezos, where editorial priorities shifted toward defending personal liberties and free markets, and at Condé Nast, where Teen Vogue’s independent progressive coverage was ended. The analysis frames these changes as a direct response to the ideological threat posed by 2020’s uprisings, using ownership to enforce a narrower range of acceptable narratives.

Labor Organizing Against Corporate Power