Are we in an era of new McCarthyism? Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges and fellow journalism experts discussed media and the Foreign Agents Registration Act during a recent panel hosted by the Columbia Journalism School and the Harriman Institute.

Hedges was joined by Maria Snegovaya, a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science at Columbia University; Trevor Timm, executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation; and Jeffrey Trimble, deputy director of the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors. The discussion was moderated by Steve Coll, dean of the Columbia Journalism School.

Columbia’s Harriman Institute writes:

In November 2017, the U.S. forced RT, a Russian-financed international news outlet, to register as a foreign agent. Within weeks, Russia responded by labeling U.S.-funded Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty foreign agents. The actions come in the wake of a January 2017 report by U.S. intelligence agencies that accused the Kremlin of using RT America as a tool “to undermine faith in the US Government and fuel political protest.”

Hedges, who hosts a show on RT, speaks at length about how corporate control of media in the U.S. has pushed him into other outlets. He also discusses the “degradation of journalism” and the importance of progressive sites like Truthdig.

Watch the full panel discussion in the player above.

–Posted by Emma Niles.

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