Podcast Summary: It Could Happen Here
Episode: The Tech Fascist Takeover of the Media
Date: December 15, 2025
Host (main speaker): Mia Wong
Episode Overview
This episode of It Could Happen Here explores the rapid and alarming consolidation of American media into the hands of right-wing tech billionaires, focusing on how figures like Larry Ellison, Jeff Bezos, and others have increasingly controlled major news institutions. Host Mia Wong traces how this consolidation pushes a reactionary, anti-democratic agenda, resulting in ideological purges, dismantling of diverse media outlets, union-busting, and the wholesale reengineering of both traditional and social media to serve fascist interests.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
The Myth of the Free Press in America
- Main Takeaway: The U.S. never truly had a "free press," but a capitalist press fundamentally influenced by the interests of those with capital.
- "Writing and especially reporting is a material product. Journalists have to eat, they have to...meet people, all of this requires capital. And the problem...is that capital is not a neutral entity, and the people who possess capital have interests." — Mia Wong [01:37]
Historical Flashpoints: 2020 and Media Battles
- The 2020 uprisings posed a major ideological threat to the ruling class.
- Major controversy arose inside the New York Times over publishing pro-military intervention op-eds ("Send in the troops" by Tom Cotton).
- Bari Weiss's resignation from the NYT was less about 'cancellation' and more about positioning herself as a right-wing martyr and transitioning to independent, ideologically driven media ventures.
- "[Bari Weiss]...was not canceled. She literally resigned of her own free will...to pursue a career as a right wing grifter..." [06:27]
The Bari Weiss and Larry Ellison Axis
- Bari Weiss's Substack (ostensibly The Free Press) was acquired by Larry Ellison, who then placed her as the ideological director for his takeover of Paramount (owner of CBS).
- The acquisition facilitated a large-scale purge:
- Firing of non-white employees.
- Closure of bureaus focused on Black, Asian American, Latino, and LGBTQ+ stories at NBC.
- CBS News' Johannesburg bureau closure, with Africa coverage shifted to London.
- "They closed the South Africa bureau, this is CBS bureau in South Africa, and moved their coverage of Africa from Africa to London." [10:24]
Monopolization & Capital Consolidation
- Media ownership has shrunk from five to fewer conglomerates, enabling ideologically aligned billionaires (Larry Ellison, Jeff Bezos) to single-handedly direct editorial policy.
- Ellison merged SkyDance with Paramount, effectively swallowing a media giant and exerting direct editorial influence.
- “As capital becomes increasingly more and more concentrated...their ability to simply swallow the rest of their competition and consume it increases.” [13:45]
Larry Ellison’s Broader Political Project
- Historical Highlights: Ellison’s involvement in post-2020 election strategies to contest legitimacy of the vote with Trump allies.
- AI & Surveillance: Ellison champions expanding AI surveillance in policing.
- “We’re going to have supervision. Every police officer is going to be supervised at all times...AI will report that problem and report it to the appropriate person...because we are constantly recording and reporting everything...” (Ellison, as quoted by Wong) [15:13]
- Oracle’s Success: Benefiting from government and AI contracts, enabling Ellison to pour further resources into ideological control projects.
The Washington Post and Further Editorial Rightward Shift
- Jeff Bezos’s policies shifted the Post’s opinion section to only promote “personal liberties and free markets,” using editorial power to exclude dissenting viewpoints.
- "We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars, personal liberties and free markets...viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others." (Bezos, quote read by Wong) [17:40]
- Editorial Exodus: David Shipley (editor) resigned over the shift to full-throated right-wing propaganda.
- “The Washington Post is not a money making outlet. The Washington Post is a chance to shape the way that the country thinks.” [19:32]
Destruction of Progressive Outlets & Union Busting
- Teen Vogue (Condé Nast) shuttered after years of leftist, pro-labor, anti-racist reporting—despite strong readership growth.
- Illegal firings of union workers at Condé Nast point to a pattern: media unions, which have promoted diversity and worker power, are directly targeted.
- "Workers...less racist than the bosses, and in fact would like there to be more non white people and don’t like it when non white people are discriminated against.” [24:51]
Social Media Takeover and Reengineering
- Twitter: Under Musk (purchased with Ellison’s help), transformed into a haven for right-wing extremism and government surveillance, making it actively hostile to any dissenters.
- TikTok: Ellison aligns with the Trump administration in attempts to purchase TikTok after its ban, further consolidating control over online discourse.
The Next Battleground: CNN and Warner Brothers
- Ongoing battle for Warner Brothers between Netflix and Ellison/Paramount, with Trump pressuring for a buyout of CNN to ensure friendlier coverage.
- Threat of direct state intervention: “I don’t really think I need to explain why it’s extremely bad that the President of the United States could simply order a news outlet to be bought out...” [30:53]
- “We don’t live in anything that even sort of looks like a democracy. We live in the dictatorship of capital.” [30:57]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On the U.S. Media System:
“We do not have a free press. We have a capitalist press.” — Mia Wong [01:47] -
On Editorial Purges:
“The ideological purge executor, I guess you could call it, of CBS.” — Mia Wong [10:35] -
On Social Media Transformation:
“Effectively turned Twitter into another arm of Stormfront...” — Mia Wong [25:35] -
On Union-Busting:
“Media unions were also a very powerful force for encouraging diversity...so of course a part and parcel of this has been the targeting of the union.” — Mia Wong [24:33] -
On Democracy and Capital:
“We don’t live in anything that even sort of looks like a democracy. We live in the dictatorship of capital.” — Mia Wong [30:57] -
On Potential Resistance:
“But these people are not undefeatable. We beat them before, we can beat them again...they may simply be taking control of a husk that they had already caused to rot from the inside.” — Mia Wong [31:33]
Important Segment Timestamps
- [01:35] — Introduction and critique of the "free press"
- [04:30] — 2020 New York Times controversy & Bari Weiss’ background
- [08:21] — Weiss leaves NYT, launches her personal Substack
- [09:44] — Bari Weiss and Larry Ellison’s consolidation of media
- [10:24] — Details of the editorial purges (e.g., bureau closures)
- [13:40] — Capital consolidation and emerging monopolies
- [15:13] — Larry Ellison’s rise, AI, and policing
- [17:40] — Bezos' letter announcing rightward editorial change at WaPo
- [20:19] — Demise of Teen Vogue and its left-wing reporting
- [24:33] — Attacks on unions and labor organizing
- [25:35] — Social media under Musk/Ellison: Twitter and TikTok
- [28:32] — Hostile takeover attempts with Warner Bros. and CNN
- [30:57] — Broader analysis: dictatorship of capital, prospects for resistance
Final Analysis & Tone
The episode adopts an urgent yet sardonic tone, mixing dark humor with incisive analysis of the current state of American media. Wong highlights the ease with which reactionary billionaires can simply “buy the media and take control of it,” but maintains that this project is not invincible: historic patterns of resistance, unionization, and popular discontent may blunt their ambitions. Wong’s voice is critical, exasperated, but ultimately hopeful.
Essential Message:
The U.S. media landscape is now a prime battleground in a larger struggle over democracy and authoritarianism, where unchecked capital enables right-wing billionaires to reshape both information and ideology. But, despite the scale of the takeover, the potential for resistance and renewal endures.