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The guardrails protecting democracy may have buckled, but they are not broken. Autocratic forces are ascendant in America, but the story isn’t fully written. Truth-telling independent media is one remaining bulwark against Trump’s unrestrained exercise of power. Our nonprofit newsroom is built for what’s ahead. No oligarchs or billionaires can tell us what to publish. Please stand with us.

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MSNBC
Gates entered the news control business when Microsoft Network teamed with National Broadcasting Corporation in this twin joint venture, a 24-hour cable TV news channel and Web site. Every story that mentions the naughty word “Microsoft”—it’s mentioned quite a lot—carries the disclaimer “Microsoft is a partner in the joint venture that operates MSNBC.” The editors must understand the glaring conflict of interest inherent in reporting on their boss, so they absolve themselves with 10 words and an acronym. The declaration doesn’t work—it just proves the editors know they can’t be objective with their reporting.