Brian Bannon

No relation to Steve! I'm an Atlanta writer and comedian who sometimes blogs about GA media issues.
@sobsax.bsky.social

[Brian Bannon @SobSax]

not via secret, backroom deals that prioritize access relationships w/ favored reporters, pundits, lobbyists, and the Cox oligarchy.
#gapol

[Brian Bannon @SobSax]

There may be political pressure for Georgia Public Broadcasting to do something similar, especially within GA's Republican Party.
#gapol
#atl

[Public Media Fans 📺📹📻🎙 @PubMediaFans]

.@MPBOnline are DROPPING all @PBS and @NPR programming as a result of federal budget cuts. The changes will take place July 1st, 2026.

The story from @MSTodayNews:
https://t.co/h0RXeoqKHQ

[Brian Bannon @SobSax]

I'll say again that the future of public media in Georgia, be it defunding GPB, consolidation with WABE, turning GPB into an independent non-profit, playing nothing but high school sports, etc. should be decided in public
#gapol

[Brian Bannon @SobSax]

The paper’s support for the project isn’t new. It ran multiple columns and editorials pushing for it even before Morse became publisher this past Jan.
But the new column follows a resolution passed by Georgia’s state Senate this week.
https://t.co/vVYLYXhbuG

[Brian Bannon @SobSax]

Last week, the FCC denied my FOIA request for letters it sent to public radio stations about sponsorships. Yesterday, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr appeared on the John Fredericks Radio Network, which actively promoted an alleged $140 million Ponzi scheme.
https://t.co/L91qG4E4V7

[Brian Bannon @SobSax]

Lawson penned a pro- DOGE cuts piece in the Washington Examiner. But Lawson also has ties to Cox and Friends, having penned an op ed in the AJC, in support of Georgia Power's energy plan, and appeared on “Politically Georgia,” both before and after it ended airings on WABE.

[Brian Bannon @SobSax]

Governor Brian Kemp has made new appointments to the governing board of Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB). The timing of the appointments isn’t directly linked to federal rescission, but who he appointed may carry political implications. #atl #gapol
https://t.co/Kyb9kwjjj7

[Brian Bannon @SobSax]

Stephen Lawson is a Dentons lobbyist and former aid to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Surrounding the federal rescission fight, several GOP-controlled states have pushed for cuts to state funding. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, for instance, vetoed $6 million in such funding this year.

[Brian Bannon @SobSax]

Unsaid at the time was that the AJC was already planning its exit from WABE later that month.

Media accountability should matter for the AJC as much as it does for NPR and PBS.
#gapol

https://t.co/ACVWgg9D7h

[Brian Bannon @SobSax]

“And Congressional appropriators’ frustration with funding multiple PBS and NPR stations in the same media markets, including in Atlanta, never led CPB to make changes on its own.”

The AJC was complicit in Atlanta’s public media competition despite #SaveWRAS protests.
#gapol

[Atlanta Journal-Constitution @ajc]

Big Bird meets his match in MTG https://t.co/ZG9wuGNq80

[Brian Bannon @SobSax]

@RepMTG 's debut on Politically Georgia last Feb. was mutually beneficial after years of her criticizing the AJC and it calling her fringe and far-right.

https://t.co/mXPVFhPcYV

[Brian Bannon @SobSax]

#gapol

[RegFlow Hub @RegFlowHub]

🇺🇸 SEC | SEC Charges First Liberty Building & Loan, LLC and Founder in $140 Million Ponzi Scheme

• SEC files charges against First Liberty Building & Loan, LLC and Edwin Brant Frost IV for defrauding 300 investors of at least $140 million in a Ponzi scheme.

• Defendants offered promissory notes with returns of up to 18%, falsely representing that funds would be used for high-interest bridge loans, leading to defaults and no repayments.

• First Liberty operated as a Ponzi scheme since 2021, using new investor funds to pay existing investors while misappropriating funds for personal use, including luxury expenses.

• SEC seeks emergency relief including asset freeze, appointment of receiver, and permanent injunctions against the defendants, with monetary remedies to be determined later.

• SEC warns investors to be cautious of high-return investments, signaling potential impacts on investor trust and regulatory scrutiny in the financial industry.

#FinancialServices #SecuritiesFraud #PonziScheme #AssetFreeze #FinancialRegulation #InvestorProtection

https://t.co/EkNd6Gnmcn

[Brian Bannon @SobSax]

‘On Air’ in Cox City: What Steve Oney’s NPR History Does (and Doesn’t) Say About Public Radio in Atlanta
#gapol

https://t.co/K7wDmAOAaq

[Brian Bannon @SobSax]

Georgia’s Public Media in Flux: House Passes Rescission on Partisan Lines while Cox and Friends…
#gapol
https://t.co/miHbbI5IQm

[Brian Bannon @SobSax]

So Bill Nigut could talk to AJC journalists and Dentons lobbyists.

The defense of the CPB that cuts would hurt rural areas most was wasted in Georgia after a decade of GPB and WABE competing in Atlanta. MTG led the defunding effort and all of GA's GOP reps voted to defund.

[Brian Bannon @SobSax]

"Boston is one of only four cities that has the luxury of two NPR stations; the others are Atlanta, San Francisco, and Los Angeles."

GPB on WRAS was never a luxury. It was a petty power play by the #gapol elite who wanted a platform for themselves.

[Boston Globe Opinion @GlobeOpinion]

"Do we really need two NPR affiliates in Boston?" writes @JillAbramson. "Rather than cutting both operations to the bone and seeing a decline in the quality of their programs, might it be wiser to merge the two stations?" https://t.co/BdE6tnmgMH

[Brian Bannon @SobSax]

The Trump admin has sent a rescission package to Congress. GPB, which had suspended its reluctant involvement in Protect My Public Media, quickly resumed while WABE & NPR stepped up their own advocacy.

But so did MAGA and some GA Republicans.
#Gapol

https://t.co/tve3kWky4O

[Brian Bannon @SobSax]

Greene floated a Senate run to the AJC Just before they pulled their show from WABE. Greene is leading calls to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

As Gov. Greene could seek to gut state funding to Georgia Public Broadcasting.

https://t.co/ACVWgg9D7h

#gapol

[Atlanta Journal-Constitution @ajc]

AJC interview: MTG flirts with Georgia governor bid https://t.co/n1HUeAMn3c

[Brian Bannon @SobSax]

From attacking the AJC to his grass roots strategy, Steve Bannon has arguably done more than anyone to disrupt Cox’s gatekeeping of #gapol. But his mutual admiration for Axios made it a leading Trump whisperer.

Steve Bannon and the Cox Media Universe https://t.co/zjB2WNNbAu