Chris Becker

Chris Becker

@chrisbecker.bsky.social

Associate Professor in Film, Television, and Theatre and the Sport, Media, & Culture Minor at University of Notre Dame. Working on a local TV history project: https://sites.nd.edu/boc-project/

5.8K followers1.6K following366 posts

Chris Becker
@chrisbecker.bsky.social

It's buried below the Sexiest Man content, but even PEOPLE is on the story and uses the precise words: people.com/former-miss-...

people.comFormer Miss Switzerland Beatrice Keul Alleges Donald Trump Raped Her at the Plaza Hotel in 1993Former Miss Switzerland Beatrice Keul alleges Donald Trump raped her at a 1993 pageant at New York City’s Plaza Hotel, according to a new report from House Democrats.
Enjoyer of Hats@themikeheld.bsky.social

the fucking Wall Street Journal didn't post a single article about this.

Chris Becker reposted

Ernest Luckman
@ernieluckman.bsky.social

I think for the most part people see someone richer than them as having just nicer stuff than them. But if you’re rich enough you get access to new moneys you’ve never even heard of.

Jen Taub@jentaub.bsky.social

“Billionaires who popularized stock-based lending include Larry Ellison and Elon Musk. Both borrow to avoid having to sell shares—which could trigger a taxes and dilute their voting rights—in companies they founded.” www.wsj.com/finance/the-...

wsj.comThe ‘Buy, Borrow and Die’ Wealth Strategy Has Become a $5 Trillion MarketA Deloitte study found a booming market in stock-based loans to billionaires—and the lesser rich.

Chris Becker reposted

Marisa Kabas
@marisakabas.bsky.social

Replying to @marisakabas.bsky.social

Beyond a new rape allegation, the @democrats-judiciary.house.gov report implicates current Attorney General Todd Blanche, stating he "may have engaged in criminal obstruction of justice while acting on a mission to protect Trump," referring to an interview with Ghislaine Maxwell. Seems like news!

Chris Becker reposted

mtsw
@mtsw.bsky.social

Politico wrote up Zohran playing basketball with the uncovering-a-big-scandal tone the same day the NYTimes wrote up "credible allegation that The President of the United States raped a woman" as a political strategy story. Broken media in a nutshell

Chris Sommerfeldt@c-sommerfeldt.bsky.social

New: Mayor Zohran Mamdani and a group of his friends have been secretly using the NYPD Police Academy’s gymnasium in Queens to play pickup basketball — scrambling some operations at the facility. w/ @grahamrayman.bsky.social & Joe Anuta www.politico.com/news/2026/10...

politico.comMamdani is using NYPD gym to host pickup basketball games with friendsThe choice of location has scrambled NYPD training operations, angering a police union and a Republican lawmaker.

Chris Becker reposted

rowan kaiser
@rowan.monster

America has finally developed its own Messi! You'll ABSOLUTELY believe what happens next!!!

Yours in negritude, Ryan K. Smith@mewefree.bsky.social

They called the cops on this 3-year-old Black boy because he was kickin the white kids' ass on the soccer field.

Chris Becker reposted

shenaniganwatcher.bsky.social
@shenaniganwatcher.bsky.social

Normalizing dictatorial overreach behind soft vocabulary like "unmediated executive power" is exactly how the press fails the public 😡. Mark Jacob is exactly right: call out the weaponized DOJ directly instead of treating Caligula-style grabs for power like a law school textbook. #NYT

Mark Jacob@markjacob.bsky.social

First off, thanks to the NY Times for writing a story about Trump weaponizing the Justice Department to assault our election system. Secondly, why can’t NYT say things more directly? Do normal people know what “unmediated executive power” means? Please stop writing in code.

Chris Becker reposted

Soraya Nadia McDonald
@soraya.press

I need people to understand this selective good ole boy justice — the kind that protects abusers, rewards impunity, and openly flouts rule of law and equal protection under it — is Jim Crow shit, practically speaking. It's how Jim Crow terrorism FLOURISHED. Trump broadened the acceptable targets.

This post is unavailable.

Chris Becker reposted

flyingrodent
@flyingrodent.bsky.social

Again, it’s important to understand that the transgender terror did not arise organically from the public. It was imposed from above, by the world’s most hateful and poisonous media class.

Leicester Gazette@leicestergazette.leicester.news

Two University of Leicester students speak out over ‘absurd’ and ‘Orwellian’ decision by the BBC and ITV Studios to edit out pride pins worn on University Challenge

leicester.newsBBC edits out pride pins on University Challenge in ‘Orwellian’ move* * * This story was published by **The Leicester Gazette** : a local, independent newspaper about Leicestershire. 1,000 people have already joined our community. Just use those buttons below to download our app and **sign up for free**. * * * Astrophysics student Samuel Carlier and History student Emmeline Hague-Wright were shocked to find that their LGBTQ+ pride pins had been edited out of their University Challenge appearance earlier this year. The episode, initially scheduled for BBC Two on 24 August, was delayed twice before airing on 7 September 2026. The pins showed the progressive LGBTQ+ pride flag, the bisexual pride flag and a rainbow feather. Speaking to the Leicester Gazette, Sam said: “Living in a liberal democracy and having the state broadcaster tell you ‘we’re editing how you look’, seems very Orwellian.” Sam described the choice to remove the pins before broadcast as “weird” and “absurd”. He said: “[Censoring] that seemed weird. If I had worn a rainbow shirt, would they have censored that? If the idea is to keep things impartial, where is that line in the sand?” A side by-side image of Sam wearing the pin and with it having been digitally removed. Photograph: supplied Sam contacted the BBC to try to understand why his pins had been edited out. He told the Gazette: “The BBC people said they’d ring me, and I chased them, they just said go to the complaints website and file a complaint there, that’s what I did.” Since then, Sam hasn’t had a response from the BBC as to why his pins were removed. After the episode had aired, Sam noted that his shirt ‘melted’ into itself occasionally, as a result of the editing. Photograph: supplied ## Students believe the decision was made following online transphobia Emmeline was also shocked when she found out that the feather pin she wore was due to be removed from the episode she was in. It was understood by Emmeline that there was online transphobia in response to previous episode of University Challenge, and she had been contacted by the BBC, anticipating support from the broadcaster. When the BBC contacted her, instead of an offer of support, she was told her pin was going to be removed. “At first it was mostly confusion,” she said. “I heard that they had received a lot of nastiness online from people and I thought they were going to call me to say ‘we have support services if needed,’ and that wasn't what I got at all.” Instead, Emmeline was notified that the episodes were going to be delayed. “It was out of left field, I was confused for a while,” she said. “This entire delay has been because of a feather and two badges on a teammate that were basically impossible [for viewers] to see.” Emmeline had expressed her frustrations with the repeated delays from the BBC, spanning from mid-July to early-September. She said: “We were announced on the website and then delayed again, and then announced on the website a second time, and delayed even further. Speaking about the removal, she said: “It takes a lot of time” she said. “Making it [the edit] look good would be even more expensive and time-consuming. It seems like drastically a lot of effort.” ## Join the conversation Our app is more than just a way to keep up – it's a gateway to award-winning journalism and the local community. __Want to support our work?__ Click here for membership__.__ ## Wider criticism on LGBTQ+ support The pins Sam wore during the episode. Photograph: supplied According to leading LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall UK, two in five LGBTQ+ students will hide their identities at university for fear of discrimination. Stonewall has reported that more than 36 per cent of trans students have received hostile conduct from university staff due to their gender identity. Reflecting on the digital removal of the pins, Sam spoke about how disheartening the choice was. He said: “There was maybe like a span of eight years where someone could be uncontroversially out in the open queer – now that’s gone again.” he said. The BBC has also been widely criticised for ‘an attack on the LGBTQ+ community’ by pulling its involvement with the popular show, RuPaul's Drag Race. The broadcaster pulled its involvement in September following “significant financial pressures” as the reason for axing their involvement. The criticism follows another recent controversial edit by the BBC. On its hit show, Strictly Come Dancing, a decision was made to edit out ‘Protect the Dolls’ from contestant Bethany Antonia’s T-shirt. It’s a slogan which has become widely used to support the rights of trans women. The BBC defended their decision, saying the changes were made to meet editorial guidelines. It comes as the LGBTQ+ community has faced challenges amid an increasingly less tolerant political climate. ## What the BBC had to say When we asked them about editing out the pins worn by Leicester’s University Challenge team, a BBC spokesperson said: “In line with our editorial guidelines, we advise that no badges, flags, and emblems or symbols are worn or visible during filming, along with clothing with obvious branding or slogans. If such items are not removed for any reason then a decision is made between the programme makers and the BBC regarding any edits to the programme.” The BBC said the delays to the episode were unrelated to the decision to edit out the pins. A spokesperson for ITV Studios said: “University Challenge is an entertainment quiz show and is made in accordance with the BBC Editorial Guidelines requirements for impartiality.” The University of Leicester refused to comment on the matter. * * * **Before you go…** We’ve recently surpassed 1,000 subscribers, which is amazing considering we’re a small team on a shoestring budget. Now, we’re ready for the next stage of the Leicester Gazette. **Download our new app and get all of our journalism anytime, anywhere.** The app connects with **Bluesky** , **Mastodon** and **Threads** , giving you access to a network of around 60 million people. It’s a safer, more meaningful alternative to mainstream social media – owned by the community. * * *
Chris Becker
@chrisbecker.bsky.social

Would Hot blonde be goonin’ in this establishment, @damorton.bsky.social?

Michael Baumann@baumann.bsky.social

Wisconsin is one of two states I've lived in whose insularity leads to the kind of evolutionary cultural craziness you find in animals in the Galapagos or language in isolated settlements. This is what hath been wrought in the name of sausage

Chris Becker reposted

Katie Mack
@astrokatie.com

It sounds like hyperbole to suggest the current administration WANTS measles to become common again but I can’t think of much they’d be doing differently if they didn’t want that. (I think some of them really are eugenicists who legit prefer disease spread to prevention; others just don’t care)

David Ho@davidho.bsky.social

The CDC denied a request from California, Hawaiʻi, Oregon, and Washington to validate a high-volume measles test, citing “other priorities.” 🤨

theguardian.comCDC denies approval for high-volume measles test, citing ‘other priorities’California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii health officials ask CDC, ‘prioritizing emerging technologies’, to reconsider

Chris Becker reposted

mtsw
@mtsw.bsky.social

This is how it works repeatedly with Trump — something pretty much everyone agrees is fucked up then Trump jumps in to side with the fucked up thing, and the result is not a story that's like "Trump sides with fucked up thing" but to change the fucked up thing to instead become "controversial"

CNN@cnn.com

President Donald Trump on Thursday encouraged Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to keep running a controversial ad featuring his opponent Amy Acton's estranged mother. CNN's Kaitlan Collins reports. Read more: https://cnn.it/3UH9xBq

Chris Becker reposted

Kyle Orland
@kyleor.land

This post sounds like an exaggeration but then you watch the ad and, yup, that's really the point of it

KetAnthropic JoshAI@ketanjoshi.co

The first genuinely honest ad for generative AI I've ever seen, from Microsoft / CoPilot A mediocre white guy sees his non-white colleague getting praised for good work, he asks AI to *literally copy it*, and then he gets all the praise instead: www.ispot.tv/ad/SoDi/micr...

Chris Becker reposted

Aaron Sojourner
@aaronsojourner.org

The Stop Bragging about PreK Achievements Challenge Difficulty level: Impossible

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Trump: "The first one is they show you a lion, a bear, a snake, and a giraffe. And they say, 'Which one is the giraffe?' I got a perfect score."

Chris Becker reposted

Oliver Willis
@owillis.bsky.social

This is the racism publications like the New York Times constantly edits out

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Trump: "You go up to Minnesota -- number one place in the entire country for the sale of Mercedes-Benz. And Somalians are buying them. They come here with low IQs and no money and they get rich. Do we feel stupid? Our fraud division is getting them all."

Chris Becker reposted

Jameel Jaffer
@jameeljaffer.bsky.social

Incredible that so many intelligent people--officials, lawyers, journalists--are spending their time on this idiocy. Think of all the more important things they could be doing! But this case is emblematic, not exceptional. The Trump era is just a colossal waste of good people's time and energy.

Roger Parloff@rparloff.bsky.social

At 10am Judge Ana Reyes will begin an evidentiary hearing in the golf course case at 10am. I'll try to live-blog from the US Courthouse media room for @lawfaremedia.org . This is a case to stop Trump from converting a historic public golf course, open to all, to a Trump style championship course.

Chris Becker reposted

public health guy
@publichealthguy1.bsky.social

you can really see how we ended up with an openly corrupt court yet very little media coverage of it for years

Tim Carvell@timcarvell.bsky.social

The thing about Jan Crawford’s “diatribe” and CNN’s “heated” is, we all could see the whole exchange with our own eyes, but it suggests they’ve fucked up a lot of coverage of things we couldn’t see.

Chris Becker reposted

Anat Shenker-Osorio
@anatosaurus.bsky.social

Let this inspire and also enrage. When we prevail in this election & deal a blow to MAGA's fascist forces, let us not declare that "the institutions held" & it was a "free & fair election." We will prevail DESPITE the authoritarian conditions in which the election is being held.

Phil Lewis@phillewis.bsky.social

Students from North Carolina A&T can be seen marching back to their HBCU after voting on the first day of early voting in the state. The Guilford County Board of Elections voted to remove the school’s on-campus polling site. (video via Todd Simmons) greensboro.com/news/local/g...

Chris Becker reposted

Mad Scholar Frights
@mattzollerseitz.bsky.social

You wanna know how this is legal? The Onion detailed it in their article about the little-known "No One Will Stop Me" loophole theonion.com/trump-claims...

theonion.comTrump Claims He Can Overrule Constitution With Executive Order Because Of Little-Known ‘No One Will Stop Me’ LoopholeWASHINGTON—Saying his latest executive order was legal due to an “underutilized but totally feasible workaround,” President Trump claimed Tuesday that he could overrule the U.S. Constitution by means ...
The New York Times@nytimes.com

Breaking News: President Trump signed an executive order to exempt Russia from new sanctions legislation that Congress passed last month. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/16/u...

Chris Becker reposted

tvdoc
@tvdoc.bsky.social

Trump's press secretaries so far have been Sean Spicer, Sarah Sanders, Kayleigh McEnany, Karoline Leavitt, and Katie Zacharia? So, that's SS and KKK? Wonder what the next initialism will be ...

Chris Becker reposted

Mark Jacob
@markjacob.bsky.social

🧵🧵🧵 The NY Times posted a 15-minute video today in which I got to tell NYT what’s wrong with its coverage. They said they saw my critical posts on Bluesky and invited me to do a video with them to air my grievances. Weird, right? I didn’t hold back. I blasted their sanewashing of MAGA extremism.

nytimes.comVideo: A Reader on What He Thinks We Get Wrong About TrumpIn this first installment of “Sound Off,” Patrick Healy, assistant managing editor for The New York Times, speaks with Mark Jacob, former metro editor for The Chicago Tribune, who shares his criticism...

Chris Becker reposted

Garrett M. Graff
@vermontgmg.bsky.social

An amazingly stark example of how the US economy has broken: Zaslav clears nearly a *billion* dollars amid a CEO tenure where he made basically anything he touched worse, harmed multiple prestigious brands, led huge layoffs—but delivered a corrupt merger for shareholders. variety.com/2026/tv/news...

variety.comDavid Zaslav Gets $606 Million Payout From Paramount-Warner Bros. MergerDavid Zaslav will receive $606 million as he leaves Warner Bros. Discovery, after the company's merger with David Ellison's Paramount was completed.

Chris Becker reposted

Philip Bump
@pbump.com

a sure sign that something is "highly accepted" is if you have to threaten to impose the power of the state against those who don't accept it

Chris Becker reposted

Stephen Nuñez
@socio-steve.bsky.social

Replying to @socio-steve.bsky.social

What really gets me is the utter lack of imagination. You claim to have met the Creator, the Eternal, the Lord of this unfathomable universe and you came up with, "Jesus is a 6 foot tall macho guy but also he is made of fire?"

Chris Becker reposted

The Heathen Historian
@heathenhistory.bsky.social

The fact that the tree is as old as the United States should not be lost on anyone. What a metaphor.

Raider@iwillnotbesilenced.bsky.social

The Trump administration’s actions resulted in the destruction of the largest ancient Cottonwood tree on Indigenous territory in Arizona. This tree, known as the “Grandmother Tree,” was 250 years old.

Chris Becker reposted

Andrew Lawrence
@ndrew.bsky.social

shes saying this on the same network that just interviewed a guy who said he spent 18 days in heaven chilling with jesus christ

Justin Baragona@justinbaragona.bsky.social

Harris Faulkner: "We have a society now that’s losing its grip and respect and need for the truth. Which is why the disinformation and misinformation and the conspiracy theories are so popular and they break through on social media. People have a complicated relationship with the truth." uh huh...

Chris Becker reposted

Dave Levitan
@davelevitan.bsky.social

I know this isn’t useful but it’s weird how “the president should be coherent” was a Very Important Thing just a few years ago and then suddenly wasn’t.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Trump: "I take an aspirin a day. I don't know if it works but psychologically I need it. It thins the hell out of your blood I guess ... They want me to go down to the 80. I take the 386. I don't know what the hell it is. It's a monster. They said, 'Sir, you don't need that!'"

Chris Becker reposted

Hagen Blix
@hagenblix.bsky.social

We need to rephrase the whole discussion in terms of hazardous products, instead of "minds". And then we need to make sure that there's liability. A model hacks someone? Put a C-suite guy in jail. A model produces sexual harassment material? Put a C-suite guy in jail. Watch how fast things get safe

Adrienne LaFrance@adriennelaf.bsky.social

New just now in The Atlantic: David Robinson resigned this week. He was among the longest-tenured employees at OpenAI—and oversaw safety reports on 12 frontier launches. He is very worried: “The time for trial and error is over.” You can read his essay here: www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...

theatlantic.comI Quit OpenAI Because Its Culture Is BrokenThe industry’s approach to safety guarantees more failures.

Chris Becker reposted

Jessica Luther
@jessicawluther.com

Another moment when sports is useful, when it gets right at the truth of things. People want so damn badly to move on from reports of harm, from having to even think about the harm that men have done to women. Playing well in a game allows that. It's crude, yes, but it's common. ANYTHING to move on.

Sarah Spain ✨@sarahspain.com

I feel like I’m taking crazy pills.

Chris Becker reposted

Jesse Raub
@jesseraub.online

people are unfair about Sophie Cunningham’s stats because they don’t understand she’s a role player. that role? game loser