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Host: Amir Whitaker (@Drknucklehead_esq) and Diana Barbadillo (@deeeeezzyyy)

Guest: Adam Rose (@adamrose on Bluesky, @adjoro elsewhere)

Lexis Olivier-Ray (@shoton35mm)

YouTube

Description:

Investigative journalist Lexis-Olivier Ray of LA Taco and Adam Rose of the Freedom of the Press Foundation join us to break down what's really happening to press freedom in the United States today.

From covering the George Floyd protests and Dodgers championship celebrations to anti-ICE demonstrations and homeless encampment sweeps, Ray shares firsthand accounts of being targeted, beaten, and arrested by police while doing his job. Rose connects these stories to a troubling national pattern: dozens of documented attacks on journalists, new state protections like California's Senate Bill 98, and a U.S. ranking that has fallen into the 60s on the World Press Freedom Index.

We dig into the First Amendment's press clause, why "the press" includes independent and citizen journalists and not just legacy outlets, the growing militarization of police at protests, and the corporate consolidation, including the Paramount, CBS, and Warner mergers, that's reshaping who controls the news Americans see.

This conversation is a reminder that press freedom isn't just a professional privilege; it's a right that belongs to everyone, from credentialed reporters to citizen documentarians like Darnella Frazier. We also talk about why independent local outlets like LA Taco matter more than ever, and how everyday people can stay informed without burning out.

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