In Memoriam: Doug Freshner

In my 35-plus years at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, I've become known as an outspoken person. Paradoxically, the people who've impacted me most intensely--those who model kindness, generosity, integrity, and decency--have often been soft-spoken.  

The greatest and most inspiring example is the late Doug Freshner. On January 24, 2026 Doug passed away. For about 3-5 years (in the 1998-2003 range), Doug was technical director for "Commentary," a cable television access program I co-produced and co-hosted with former Oshkosh Mayor James Mather. Working in a small Dempsey Hall studio, often with student interns, Doug treated "Commentary" like it had a budget of millions of dollars. (In fact we had no budget!). 

That's Doug Freshner in the middle around the year 2001, in between me and John Berens. Dr. Berens, former UW Oshkosh Polk Library Director, was also a great man who I admired. 

Mr. Mather and I interviewed local elected officials, local and state activists, Wisconsin democracy champions like Jay Heck and Mike McCabe, candidates for Wisconsin governor, local scholars and pundits, legendary Wisconsin journalists John Nichols and Joel McNally, and many others. I also hosted a few of Doug's "University" programs in which I had the opportunity to interview incredible people like food rights activist Deborah Toler, internationally acclaimed pianist Jania Aubakirova, and Friedhelm Ost of the German Bundestag. 

Thanks completely to Doug, Commentary/University won two "National Communicator" Awards of Distinction. 

How I came to work with Doug in the first place says a great deal about his character.  "Commentary" was originally produced in the early 1990s, when Radio/TV/Film students intrigued by my classroom rants about the need to create grassroots media to challenge the corporate behemoths, "challenged" me to start a campus program. The University administration hated the program from the beginning, in large part because Mr. Mather and I had the tendency to tell the truth and name names. Thankfully Mr. Mather had a great deal of credibility with the administrators, and I am convinced that it was only his presence that kept us on the air in the 1993-1995 range. In 1996 I suspended production of Commentary to run for the 54th assembly district, which I lost. I gave up on trying to bring Commentary back, in large part because by that time I was chair of a large and unwieldy Department of Communication and I no longer wanted to have to deal with administrative hostility. 

Then sometime in 1998 I got a call from Doug Freshner. I had met him only a few times at campus events, but he told me that he was a big fan of the old Commentary. He wondered if I would be interested in bringing it back. Doug was highly articulate about the role of--and need for--grassroots news media in places like northeast Wisconsin. His enthusiasm about that topic actually fired me up to want to work with him. He told me he had a studio in Dempsey Hall. I asked him if he was concerned about the harassment we would inevitably receive from the administrators, but he told me not to worry about it. To make a long story short, the programs Mr. Mather and I ended up doing with Doug were just incredible. Mr. Mather and I enjoyed every single moment we got to work with Doug Freshner. The quality of our programs was so high that, even when the administrators eventually forced Doug out of his studio, Mr. Mather and I were able to get student producers to take it on for another year or so. 

Doug Freshner hard at work in the studio around 2002.

For me Doug Freshner was like a local version of the great George Stoney, the "father of public access television" who understood that the media airwaves belong to the people, and that audiovisual technology should never be monopolized by for-profit corporations. Stoney once said: 

We look on cable as a way of encouraging public action, not just access. Social change comes with a combination of use of media and people getting out on the streets or getting involved. And we find that if people make programs together and put them on the local channel, that gets them involved.

Neither "Commentary" nor "University" had the reach of any mainstream cable television program. But did they provoke involvement and action? Absolutely. Good evidence of that is how hard upper level administrators worked to undermine or ban the program. Even better evidence is how many of Doug's interns, and students I worked with, went on and pursued careers in public service or became otherwise active in their communities.  

Every now and then Doug would post something on social media about Commentary

My favorite memory of Doug dates back to the summer of 2001. He knew that I was a great fan of Milwaukee's "Sewer Socialist" mayors of the 20th century. When I went to Doug's studio in early August of that year, Doug said, "do you think you and Mr. Mather would like to interview Frank Zeidler?"  Zeidler was the last of the Sewer Socialist mayors, serving from 1948-1960. Doug got Mayor Zeidler to agree to let us interview him in Zeidler's Milwaukee home. Zeidler was almost 90 years old at the time, yet he was the most lucid, insightful, and engaging former elected official I had ever spoken to. A few weeks after the interview he sent Doug a letter: 

September 6, 2001

Mr. Doug Freshner
Program Manager 
Electronic Media Relations 
UW Oshkosh 
Dear Mr. Freshner: 

Many thanks for the copy of the video you made of the interview of me by Tony Palmeri and Jim Mather. This video for the program "Commentary" gave me a good opportunity to air views on many subjects. I surely appreciate this. Mr. Palmeri and Mr. Mather's questioning and guiding of the discussion opened the way for responses to critical and important questions. It was a good occasion and I surely hope that the record thus made will be useful for viewers and students of local government. The University, yourself, and Mr. Palmeri and former Mayor Mather have my thanks for developing the video. I think I passed muster with my own family who viewed the presentation, though my statements could have been more clearly expressed on some topics.

The video was very well done. I will be showing it at some of the meetings I attend in Milwaukee. Best success in your work in the complex and growing world of media relations.

Cooperatively,

Frank Zeidler

Doug Freshner retired from UW Oshkosh a long time ago. We lost touch, but thanks to the wonders of social media we were able to reconnect. Occasionally we would share some memories. Back in 2013, out of nowhere, he wrote me an unsolicited endorsement on LinkedIN: "Dr. Palmeri is a master of whatever he chooses to do. He's a problem solver. We worked on a cable TV program together. He in front of the camera, and me behind in the production end. In over 100 1hour programs, he always arrived at the studio well prepared. I witnessed him take on other challenges with the same thoroughness. That's why I recommend him."

I think this post only provides a glimpse of the greatness of Doug Freshner. If someone were to ask me whose picture should be in the dictionary to illustrate the word "gentleman," I would say Doug Freshner. He was truly a gentle man, respectful of and engaged with everyone in his presence. He understood, more keenly than most, that the "behind the scenes" people are the real generators of positive change. My life changed very much as a result of my interaction with Doug--very much for the better that is. 

Thank you Doug. You made a real difference. 

Ten Bold Cover Tunes, Part XV: Imagine Edition

Have not posted one of these in a while. For parts 1-14 in the Ten Bold Cover Tunes series, click this link and scroll down. 

Watching television this past New Year's Eve, I was reminded once again of just how awful the broadcast and cable shows leading up to midnight have become. As Times Square became more corporate, these highly contrived "celebrations" devolved into three hours of commercial product placement, narcissistic and not-so-funny hosts, excessively lip-synced musical guests, and cringeworthy patriotic displays.  

Be that as it may, every year there is one highlight: at 5-minutes before midnight in New York, an artist performs John Lennon's "Imagine."  The most recent New Year's Eve performance of the song, by Australian Indie-Pop artist Tones and I, was one of the best covers of the tune I have heard. Born Toni Watson, Tones and I has one of the most unique vocal styles among contemporary singers. That in addition to the somber tone with which she delivers the song--perhaps in recognition of the tragic state of the world right now--makes it very engaging. 

Here are nine additional covers of  "Imagine," in no particular order: 

*The pop-rock group Train performed one of the most rockin' versions of the song at the 2013 New Year's Eve festivities. The addition of a youth choir was a nice touch. 

*Lady Gaga's performance of "Imagine" at the opening ceremonies of the 2015 European Games is truly breathtaking. She starts off with a subdued style and then at around the half-way mark becomes an operatic force. 

*I remember watching Neil Young's performance of "Imagine" live on television on Sept. 21, 2001 as part of the "Tribute to Heroes" celebration of first responders and others. I found it profoundly moving at the time. 

*If Neil Young's version of Imagine is a classic Baby Boomer treatment, then Jessie J.'s has to be a Millennial Generation archetype. I love the passion in her version. 

*Rachel Platten thinks that song can change the world. I do too. 

*Another excellent version of "Imagine" features alternative rock band X Ambassadors and their great vocalist Sam Nelson Harris. 

*I find Garth Brooks' and Trisha Yearwood's version of "Imagine," performed at President Jimmy Carter's funeral, somewhat subversive given that their immediate audience are members of the political and institutionalized religion class(es) that John Lennon rebelled against. 

*I'm sure John Lennon looked fondly on his son Julian's version of "Imagine" featuring the great guitarist Nuno Bettencourt. 

*My personal favorite cover of "Imagine" is probably Shakira's, performed at the UN General Assembly in 2015. The General Assembly, filled as it is with a large share of Machiavellian political apparatchiks, religious posers, and assorted other disreputable characters, should be forced to listen to political protest songs every now and then. 

The 2025 Tony Awards

Welcome to the 2025 edition of the Tony Awards for Excellence in Media.  Every year these awards are completely subjective; I try to recognize works that--FOR ME--represent powerful alternatives to the too often lazy and morally compromised corporate press. When possible, I also recognize journalists/pundits working IN the corporate press who have the courage to serve the public interest and resist intense pressure to produce clickbait, false balance, and the view from nowhere. 

This year's Tony Awards post is dedicated to all the international journalists killed or detained in 2025 for the "crime" of doing their jobs. According to Reporters Without Borders, 2025 was one of the deadliest years on record for journalists. As noted by Reporters Without Borders Director General Thibaut Bruttin: 

“This is where the hatred of journalists leads! It led to the death of 67 journalists this year – not by accident, and they weren’t collateral victims. They were killed, targeted for their work. It is perfectly legitimate to criticize the media — criticism should serve as a catalyst for change that ensures the survival of the free press, a public good. But it must never descend into hatred of journalists, which is largely born out of — or deliberately stoked by — the tactics of armed forces and criminal organizations . . . Key witnesses to history, journalists have gradually become collateral victims, inconvenient eyewitnesses, bargaining chips, pawns in diplomatic games, men and women to be ‘eliminated.’ We must be wary of false notions about reporters: no one gives their lives for journalism — it is taken from them; journalists do not just die — they are killed.”

And now, in no particular order, the 2025 Tony Awards. Drum roll please. 

*Saying NO to Oligarchy: The Wisconsin Voter.  In my 35+ years living in Wisconsin, I have never been as proud of my Badger brothers and sisters as I was on the night of April 1, 2025. That was when a majority of the state's voters loudly and proudly said NO to Elon Musk's overt and despicable attempt to buy a supreme court seat. While the corporate media kept insisting the race would be close--and uncritically reported Musk's attempts to seduce voters with million dollar bribes as a "large payout"--when all the votes were tallied liberal justice Susan Crawford secured a double-digit victory. 

Yes it is true that the oligarchic "donor class" wields huge influence in most state and federal elections, in both Republican and Democratic primaries and in general elections. But rarely are the oligarchs as open about their intentions as Mr. Musk. On a livestream reaching more than 10,000 people shortly before the election, Wisconsin's Republican US Senator Ron Johnson openly praised Musk's interference: 

"This is entirely winnable, and you know, if we do win it, again, we have to thank Elon for all the support he's given this race, and I was really glad to see President Trump throw in his endorsement as well." 

Thankfully Wisconsinites saw through the self-serving nonsense coming from Musk and the corporate media that enabled him. When MAGA eventually fades into oblivion, I firmly believe historians of the future will see the behavior of badger voters in April of 2025 as one of the major factors leading to that outcome. 

Elon Musk's absurd attempt to buy a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat was such a fiasco for the state's Republican party that pretty much the entire state swung blue--a striking rejection of oligarchy. 

The Wisconsin Republican Party claimed that billionaire George Soros' contributions to Dems were the equivalent of Musk's to the GOP. Yet as this chart clearly shows, Musk's money dwarfed all other rich donors. When you add in the additional dollars donated by GOP puppet masters Hendricks and Uihlein, Susan Crawford's victory looks even more impressive.

*Principled Pundits of the Year: Ann Telnaes and Karen Attiah. Speaking of entitled oligarchs, in 2025 Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon and owner of the Washington Post) competed with Musk for some kind of bizarre Asshole of the Year title. Late in 2024 Bezos refused to allow the Post to endorse Kamala Harris in the presidential election. Then in February of 2025 he announced that the Washington Post opinion page would now feature marketplace propaganda instead of a marketplace of ideas: 

"I’m writing to let you know about a change coming to our opinion pages. We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others." 

[Note: In 2013 I write a Media Rants post called Bradlees For Bezos that ended up being more spot on than even I could have ever imagined.]. 

Bezos' dickheaded dictum mandating free market supremacy on the opinion page did not actually come as a surprise, in large part because of cartoonist Ann Telnaes' resignation from the Post about one-month earlier. Her cartoon lampooning Bezos and other entitled billionaire tech broligarchs paying off Trump was censored. She resigned in protest. In a substack post explaining her actions, she said: 

"As an editorial cartoonist, my job is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable. For the first time, my editor prevented me from doing that critical job. So I have decided to leave the Post. I doubt my decision will cause much of a stir and that it will be dismissed because I’m just a cartoonist. But I will not stop holding truth to power through my cartooning, because as they say, 'Democracy dies in darkness'." 

The draft of the cartoon that led to Ann Telnaes resignation from the Washington Post. By censoring 
it, Jeff Bezos like Elon Musk attained the Broligarch Trifecta: Asshole, Bully, and Thin Skinned. 

Much to the chagrin of Bezos and his toadies choosing to stay with the Post, Telnaes ended up winning her second Pulitizer Prize in 2025, "for delivering piercing commentary on powerful people and institutions with deftness, creativity – and a fearlessness that led to her departure from the news organization after 17 years."  Kudos to the Pulitzer selection committee! 

As if losing Ann Telnaes was not bad enough, in 2025 the Post fired the great Karen Attiah, an award winning African-American journalist and pundit known for writing and speaking with clarity and courage on a range of global and national topics. When Charlie Kirk was assassinated, Post management somehow saw fit to fire Attiah for a series of thoughtful posts she made on the BlueSky platform about the media's ritualized responses to gun violence, and for merely repeating back claims Mr. Kirk had actually made about African-Americans and others. Read Ms. Attiah's powerful response: "The Washington Post Fired Me - But My Voice Will Not Be Silenced." 

Former Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah

*Best New Podcast: Optimist Economy with Economist Kathryn Anne Edwards and Editor Robin Rauzi. Somehow the Tik Tok algorithm god sent "Optimist Economy" clips to my feed, and I was immediately taken with the intelligence, humor, and practical policy suggestions set forth by the hosts. Probably my favorite episode of the  year was a recent one (“Thanksgiving Prep: An Optimist’s Guide to Dinner Table Debate”) in which Kathryn Anne Edwards communicated a provocative and (for me anyway) sensible take on the issue of trans women in sports. 

Economist Kathryn Anne Edwards

*Best Media Criticism: Margaret Sullivan's "American Crisis" Substack. I've been a huge fan of Margaret Sullivan since her days as the New York Times' Public Editor (a position that the Times eliminated in 2017. That the NYT has declined in substantive and disturbing ways since then is really not even debatable at this point.). 

Sullivan explains the purpose of American Crisis this way:  "My aim is to use this newsletter (it started as a podcast in 2023) to push for the kind of journalism we need for our democracy to function — journalism that is accurate, fair, mission-driven and public-spirited. That means that I point out the media’s flaws and failures when necessary."

Two posts I found especially insightful in the past year were "Do better, Big Journalism. Please do much, much better" and "Four Essentials For the Press Right Now." In both, Sullivan describes specific ways the mainstream press is failing to meet the urgency of the moment, while also providing concrete ways they can be better. 

Media Critic Margaret Sullivan 

*Best Political Substack: Paul Krugman. Last year's entire Tony Awards post was dedicated to celebrating Dr. Krugman, the Nobel prize winning economist who in 2024 resigned from the New York Times' op-ed page that he had contributed to for more than 20 years. Any worry I and others had about not being able to get enough of Krugman after he resigned from the NYT turned out to be misguided. In fact, his substack (co-edited with his spouse Robin) ended up becoming one of the most prolific and thoughtful on the Net. He somehow finds a way to upload rigorously supported posts virtually every day of the week--most of them for free (only highly detailed, weekend wonkish pieces on economics are put behind a paywall.). 

Paul Krugman

In less than a year Krugman's substack became one of the top-ten on the platform in terms of paid subscriptions. Writing about his experience, Krugman says: 

I never envisaged this Substack as a full-time job. It was supposed to be just a way to keep my voice out there post-NYT. But as it turns out, both Robin and I are working longer hours than we ever did in the past.

And the truth is that it’s great. I just hope that readers find what we’re doing useful in these scary times.

Speaking just for me, I find Krugman's daily posts extremely useful in these scary times. In fact his end of the year post on "Immigrant Derangement Syndrome" is the perfect segue into the next couple of Tony awards. 

*Best Letter to the Editor: Martin Oppenheimer in the New York Times. Dr. Oppenheimer is an emeritus professor of sociology at Rutgers University and a refugee from Nazi Germany. In response to a New York Times report on the USA's not-so-slow drift into authoritarianism, he submitted this short, eloquent letter: 

As a refugee from Nazi Germany, I noticed that there is one indicator of authoritarianism that you did not mention: the use of masked agents grabbing people off the streets and from their workplaces, invading their homes in the wee hours and “disappearing” them without hearings or even allowing them to contact their relatives. I believe that the danger of this tactic outstrips all the others.

Martin Oppenheimer
Franklin Township, N.J.

Maybe it's just me, but I think we really should be listening very closely these days to what refugees from Nazi Germany have to say. 

*Best Immigration Reporting From a Wisconsin Media Source: Sophie Carson's and Jovanny Hernandez's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Reports on the Case of Yessenia Ruano. 

Kudos to Wisconsin's largest newspaper, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel--and especially reporter Sophie Carson--for providing some outstanding coverage of the real world consequences of the Trump Administration's mass deportation program. Ms. Carson's in-depth reporting on the specific case of Yessenia Ruano, a married Salvadoran immigrant with twins, a job as a teacher's aide and no criminal record during 14 happy years in Milwaukee, is as infuriating as it is heartbreaking.  Please read "14 Years in Wisconsin, A New Life in El Salvador" for a gut-wrenching example of the truly shameful actions that are currently being carried out in our names. After Yessenia made the decision to self-deport rather than continue being bullied and harassed by agents of the federal government, the Milwaukee Common Council observed 14-minutes of silence in solidarity with her. 

Fun Fact: After graduating from college, Sophie Carson worked briefly for the Oshkosh Northwestern as a reporter covering crime and the courts. 

Photojournalist Jovanny Hernandez traveled to El Salvador for video coverage of Yessenia's new life in that country. 

*Best Data Driven Media Criticism: Media Matters For America's Report on "The Right Dominates the Online Media Ecosystem, Seeping Into Sports, Comedy, and Other Supposedly Nonpolitical Spaces." 

This in-depth and important study, written by MMFA's research director Kayla Gogarty with the help of a team of data collecting researchers, should be a wake-up call for the alleged progressive activists who still don't fully grasp or appreciate the role of digital social media in normalizing reactionary, anti-(small d) democratic viewpoints for millions of people.  

Media Matters For America Research Director Kayla Gogarty.

When presented with the reality of right wing dominance of the online media ecosystem, the stupid response from so-called progressives is along the lines of "we need a left wing Joe Rogan," as if progressive policy ideas would gain more traction if we would just dumb them down, communicate them in a Trumpian troll fashion, or turn them into rage bait. Good luck with that. 

Here's a thought: what if progressives actually started practicing what they preach? Specifically, why not create a spirit of SOLIDARITY among left/grassroots/progressive digital content creators? We (i.e. progressive content creators) do a piss-poor job of promoting each other's work. This Tony Awards column is just one tiny example of what should be done on a much larger scale: RECOGNITION of--and an attempt to get wider EXPOSURE for, content creators who operate in good faith and respect the intelligence of their audience(s). You know, the OPPOSITE of dumbing down, trolling, and rage baiting. 

*Media Rants Interview Of The Year: A Conversation With Mike McCabe About "Miracles Along County Q."

In an attempt to practice what I have personally been preaching for a long time, I created two YoutTube podcasts in 2025 to bring attention to people and ideas I perceive as aiding humane and valuable work. The 498 Show podcast features conversations with former UW Oshkosh students I've been blessed to work with over many years. The Media Rants podcast is a complement to this blog, featuring guests who shed light on anything media related. 

I thoroughly enjoyed every interview I was fortunate to conduct in 2025, and received some uplifting feedback along the way. One interview that stood out for me was Part One of my August of 2025 conversation with democracy activist, substacker, and novelist Mike McCabe. In that interview, which covered Mike's inspirational novel Miracles Along County Q, we discussed a number of ways in which some of the book's core themes challenge contemporary values, especially the tendency to think positive change is impossible and forgiveness is passe'. The book introduces readers to Ebiyan House, described in Mike's Substack as "A place like no other, off the beaten path, where cruelty meets its match and despair goes to die." It occurred to me that worthwhile public affairs media should be similar: a space where cruelty meets its match and despair goes to die. I submit to you that when progressive media content creators collectively adopt Ebiyan House values, they will have uncovered the secret to becoming trusted sources that masses of people actually care about.  

*The Tom Paxton/Phil Ochs Award For Best Topical Folk Music: Jesse Welles. In the 1960s Tom Paxton and Phil Ochs, both of whom were inspired by Bob Dylan, became (IMHO) the two greatest topical folk singers of their generation. Paxton's 1964 "Ramblin' Boy" album and Ochs' 1964 "All the News That's Fit to Sing" remain as groundbreaking works in the folk protest genre. Ochs tragically took his own life in 1976, but 88-year-old Paxton is still out there fighting the good fight: check out his wonderful 2025 song "No Kings Here."

Originally from Ozark, Arkansas, 33-year-old Jesse Welles is carrying on the Paxton/Ochs tradition in the digital age. YouTube recordings of his songs, often featuring just Jesse in a field with his guitar, have the passion, wit, and moral clarity of the best of the 1960s protest singers. One excellent example from 2025 is "The Department of War":

I realize the my Tony Award recipients represent only a fraction of the works that are deserving. If you are aware of media products that I should definitely be checking out, I would love to hear about them. 

If you got this far, thank for reading. And Happy New Year! Let's hope in 2026 our country can begin to find it's way back to sanity and solidarity.