We're seeing the same far-right media consolidation in America as during Putin's rise to power. Bari Weiss is the new Roger Ailes, hired to destroy CBS News. The far-right Ellisons are aggressively going after Warner Bros. to build a media monopoly to dumb down more Americans so that we're easier to control.

That's why Andrea spoke at Courier News' Courage & Cowardice event in Washington, DC on December 11. Courier, the team that built the searchable Epstein files database released by Congress, brought together independent journalists and creators who still believe journalism is a public good. The main focus of the conversation, which you can listen to here on Gaslit Nation, was how to build and sustain independent media. Andrea was joined by progressive YouTuber Jack Cocchiarella, Brian Beutler, formerly of Crooked Media and The New Republic who now runs Off Message; TikTok comedian Meredith Lynch; and in a discussion moderated by veteran editor Mark Jacob, formerly of the Chicago Tribune, to talk about media capitulation and how to fight back. Here's some info on the event.

Luckily, the Media and Democracy Project (MAD) exists and provided us with the following actions you can take:

1. Make videos highlighting moments of real accountability like celebrating the ABC reporter Mary Bruce who pressed MBS and Trump with tough, substantive questions.

2. Credit your sources clearly and encourage your audience to click through and read the original reporting.

3. Introduce your audience to journalism and media-education initiatives such as States Newsroom, the News Literacy Project, and Rebuild Local News.

4. Synthesize and share this essential explainer from Democracy Forward on the link between local news and democracy: https://democracyfund.org/idea/new-research-explores-connection-between-democracy-and-local-news/

5. If you're a journalist, whether independent or in a newsroom, regularly lift up the work of your colleagues.

Everyone should keep the conversation of journalism being the bedrock of a democracy front and center. Use your time online wisely: repost, share stories, and boost public-interest journalism whenever you can.

Most importantly, stay connected with MAD.