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. |
 |
| 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. |
 |
| Former Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah |
 |
| Economist Kathryn Anne Edwards |
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 |
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.
*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 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":
