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Weekly News Digest
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August 5, 2025 — In addition to this week's NewsBreaks article and the monthly NewsLink Spotlight, Information Today, Inc. (ITI) offers Weekly News Digests that feature recent product news and company announcements. Watch for additional coverage to appear in the next print issue of Information Today.
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Perspectives on Trump's Latest Attack on Data, This Time at the BLS
The United States’ slow march toward total authoritarian control continues with the Trump administration’s firing of President Biden-appointed Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) commissioner Erika McEntarfer because “the latest monthly jobs report came in well under expectations,” POLITICO reports. “The removal of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner came after Trump reprised prior accusations that BLS surreptitiously put out overly rosy jobs numbers at the tail end of the Biden administration that were revised in an effort to influence the election. Economists have roundly dismissed those claims as a misunderstanding of the agency’s revision processes.” The deputy commissioner, William Wiatrowski, who served during Trump’s first term, became acting commissioner. POLITICO features reactions from around the federal government.The Hill published more reactions, in: The Hill records Trump’s reaction and notes, “White House officials said … that Trump wants his own nominee to run the bureau, which is tasked with working on data related to other economic metrics as well such as inflation.” And, chillingly, Kevin Hassett, chair of the National Economic Council, said, “The president wants his own people there so that when we see the numbers, they’re more transparent and more reliable. …” NPR shared an audio reaction from former BLS commissioner Erica Groshen, who explains the commissioner’s inability to influence or change any data. The Friends of BLS issued a statement condemning Trump’s action, as did the Association of Public Data users. The New York Times digs into the historical precedents for Trump’s actions, stating: When President Trump didn’t like the weak jobs numbers that were released on Friday, he fired the person responsible for producing them. It was a move with few precedents in the century-long history of economic statistics in the United States. And for good reason: When political leaders meddle in government data, it rarely ends well. ABC News looks at Trump’s personal history of “bashing jobs report numbers,” stating, “Trump's public frustrations with the economics and statistics agency appear to date back to his 2016 presidential campaign.” The New York Times offers a profile on McEntarfer, noting, “Nearly the entire Senate supported Erika McEntarfer in 2024 to lead the agency that produces key data on jobs and inflation. The widely respected economist was confirmed on a bipartisan 86-8 Senate vote, with support from Vice President JD Vance, who was then an Ohio senator, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, then a Florida senator.” TIME has a succinct overview of the latest jobs data in the following categories: data revisions from past months, federal government sector loss of jobs, manufacturing industry loss of jobs, and where jobs are still growing.
Reactions to the Elimination of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Trump administration has targeted another public good: “the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced that it will begin a ‘wind-down of its operations’ and ultimate full operational closure following the passage of a federal rescissions package and the release of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s FY 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-H) appropriations bill,” NPR reports.The CPB states, in part: “For nearly 60 years, CPB has carried out its Congressional mission to build and sustain a trusted public media system that informs, educates, and serves communities across the country. Through partnerships with local stations and producers, CPB has supported educational content, locally relevant journalism, emergency communications, cultural programming, and essential services for Americans in every community.” The Associated Press (AP) writes, “The demise of the corporation, known as CPB, is a direct result of President Donald Trump’s targeting of public media, which he has repeatedly said is spreading political and cultural views antithetical to those the United States should be espousing. The closure is expected to have a profound impact on the journalistic and cultural landscape—in particular, public radio and TV stations in small communities across the United States.” The Los Angeles Times echoes this: “Roughly 70% of the corporation’s money went directly to 330 PBS and 246 NPR stations across the country. The cuts are expected to weigh most heavily on smaller public media outlets away from big cities, and it’s likely some won’t survive. National Public Radio’s president estimated that as many as 80 NPR stations may close in the next year.” The New York Times weighs in with: “The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has been in the cross hairs of Republicans for decades. Conservative policy advocates, legislators and presidents argued persistently that the public shouldn’t be responsible for financing media they perceived as having a liberal bias. But repeated attempts to defund public broadcasters failed, until this year.” The Hill reports, “Many Republicans say the cuts are long overdue, singling out NPR and PBS for what they perceive as political bias. But Republicans in both chambers have expressed concerns about how the cuts would impact the smaller stations they say their constituents depend on.”
Internet Archive Joins the Federal Depository Library Program
The Internet Archive has been designated a Federal Depository Library. “The Archive’s digital-first approach makes it the perfect fit for a modern federal depository library, expanding access to federal government publications amid an increasingly digital landscape,” says Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), who made the designation.For more information, read the blog post.
CCC and TCC Africa to Enhance the Identification of African Institutions Doing Scholarly Research
CCC signed “a strategic collaboration agreement with the Training Centre in Communication [TCC Africa] to support the identification of organization affiliations to help improve the tracking of research output from African institutions.” This collaboration aims to improve organization matching for institutions that are affiliated with the Africa PID Alliance.The press release continues, “CCC’s leading persistent identifier (PID)-based solution, Ringgold, contains more than 750,000 records of global organizations engaged in scholarly research. … TCC Africa will use a subset of Ringgold organization data within the Digital Object Container Identifier (DOCiD). CCC will incorporate updates to African institutions in the Ringgold database.” For more information, read the press release.
Playaway Makes Products Available via Education Mega Store
Playaway Products partnered with Education Mega Store (EMS), an online marketplace for families of homeschooled and special education students. “The award-winning Wonderbook read-along, Playaway audiobook, Launchpad tablet, and new WhaZoodle speaker are now available through EMS,” the press release notes. “Supplemental curriculum gives homeschool families the flexibility to support each child’s unique learning journey. Whether reinforcing core subjects, filling skill gaps, or exploring new interests, these resources offer targeted support without an overwhelming approach.”“Our partnership with Education Mega Store opens the door for more families to access the tools their children need to thrive,” says Aaron Rinehart, national sales manager at Playaway Products. “Together, we’re breaking down barriers to learning by putting high-quality supplemental curriculum and instructional resources directly into the hands of students learning at home or with unique educational needs.” For more information, read the press release.
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Brandi Scardilli
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