Of a Feather – On Same Branch

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Article in Mediaite by Zachary Leeman, 10/6/26

Headline: ” ‘It’s Gonna Be a Great Company!’ Trump Raves About Ally David Ellison Taking Over Warner Bros in Massive Merger”

“President Donald Trump raved about the $111 billion merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, saying it will be a “great company” headed by “terrific people.”

“Trump spoke with the press before a departure to Maryland on Tuesday. He avoided multiple questions about his recent remarks about Iran’s ability to ‘take out’ Los Angeles and San Diego, but he was full of praise over Paramount’s David Ellison taking over Warner Bros. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/its-gonna-be-a-great-company-trump-raves-about-ally-david-ellison-taking-over-warner-bros-in-massive-merger/

Next: Kash Selling Vacs Door-to-door?

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Article in The New Republic by Edith Olmstead, 10/6/26

Headline:  “Why the Hell Is Kash Patel’s FBI Making Campaign Ads?”

Subhead:  “Patel has turned the bureau into a P.R. agency for Donald Trump.”

“Kash Patel’s FBI slammed Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in a wildly partisan, and likely illegal, propaganda video Tuesday.

“In a two-minute video posted on social media, the supposedly nonpartisan agency decried “democratic socialist leaders” for calling to defund the police. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/post/216292/kash-patel-fbi-campaign-ads-donald-trump11:34 PM 10/6/2026

Media Reported “Little Excursion”?

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Article in Poynter by Amy Sherman and Maria Briceño, 10/6/26z

Headline:  “Trump said the Iran war would last weeks. Now he says the media got it wrong.”

Subhead:  “Trump now says his 4-6 week estimate was about eliminating Iran’s nuclear threat. That’s not what he said at the time.”

“Donald Trump told them would be over in a matter of weeks — has led to higher inflation and energy prices, including for gasoline.

“Now seven months into the conflict, Trump is defending his decision to attack Iran with Israel on Feb. 28, but he’s recasting his initial timeline for what he once labeled a ‘little excursion.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2026/trump-iran-war-timeline-media-fact-check/

Media Consolidation a Problem?

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 10/6/26

Headline: “David Ellison denies he has ‘politicized’ Skydance despite close Trump links”

Subhead:  “Ellison admits ‘good relationship’ with administration in remarks to reporters about newly merged media company”

“David Ellison, the chief executive of the newly formed media conglomerate Skydance, denied that he has “politicized” the company despite the close connection he has forged with Donald Trump’s White House over the 20 months of his administration. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/oct/06/skydance-david-ellison-trump

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Article in The Washington Post by Scott Nover and Miriam Waldvogel, 10/6/26

Headline:  “Paramount closes $110B deal with Warner Bros. Discovery after months of wrangling”

Subhead: “The deal unites Paramount and Warner Bros. film and TV studios along with CNN and CBS, creating a new megacorporation in Hollywood, streaming and news.”

Read the article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/10/06/paramount-closes-110b-deal-with-warner-bros-discovery-after-months-wrangling/?itid=hp_mv-top-stories_Biz/Nat_p008_f001

Empty House, Arrest Reporter

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Article in The Hill by Max Rego, 10/5/26

Headline:  “Trump calls for media outlets to be ‘arrested’ over rally coverage”

“President Trump said Monday that reporters from The New York Times and other media outlets should be ‘arrested’ over their coverage of his Saturday rally in Ohio.

‘The Ohio Arena was already full to the brim — And yet these people were still trying to get in,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social, sharing a video of people in line for the rally.

“New York Times correspondent Katie Rogers wrote Sunday that ‘several areas of an upper deck were empty’ by the time the president finished speaking at Butler High School in Vandalia. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6130397-trump-media-arrests-ohio-rally/

Steaks, University, Watches, and Trump

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Article in The New York Times by By Maggie HabermanHamed AleazizShane Goldmacher and Jonathan Swan, 10/2/26

Headline: “Trump Directed Use of Taxpayer Money for Ads Praising His Presidency”

Subhead: “The government-funded ads show just how much President Trump has been able to use federal money for his own aims.”

“President Trump personally instructed his budget director to use taxpayer money for TV ads praising him and his presidency, setting in motion a $20 million contract that used funds from the Department of Homeland Security, according to people familiar with the matter.

“The ads have run across cable and network television — on Fox News, CNN and MS Now, with football games on Fox and with national newscasts on CBS, ABC and NBC, including ‘Meet the Press,’ which Mr. Trump is known to watch. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/02/us/politics/trump-ads.html

Near Monopoly Threat to Press?

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Article in Free Press by Staff, 10/1/26

Headline:  “Free Press: Judge’s Approval of the Paramount Mega-Merger Is a Call to Action Against Billionaire Control of the Media”

“On Wednesday, Federal Court Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín approved the proposed consent decree that Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery struck with 12 state attorneys general to settle their case against the companies’ $111 billion mega-merger.

“Last week, Free Press and other core partners in the coalition had filed an amicus brief calling for the federal court to reject the consent decree and prevent the merger from going forward, citing its failure to remedy harms to competition and to the very people that state attorneys general are supposed to represent. . .

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/free-press-judges-approval-paramount-mega-merger-call-action-against-billionaire-control-media

Independent News Needs Support

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Article in Poynter by Kristen Hare, 10/1/26

Headline:  “What does it take to make an independent local newsroom work? More than good journalism.”

Subhead:  “A new study of 112 independent publishers shows just how much local news entrepreneurs have to juggle”

“. . .A new study from Syracuse University’s Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship digs into the hard realities facing the local news entrepreneurs working to fill the huge and growing gaps left by shrinking local newspapers.

“A Hard Reality: Independent Local Journalism in the United States,” by Merrill Brown and Jacob Spudich, looks at survey responses from 112 publishers in 37 states and Washington, D.C . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2026/independent-local-newsrooms-sustainability-business-models/

Fox News & Explosive Rage

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 10/1/36

Headline: “Donald Trump’s insatiable demand for Fox propaganda”

“President Donald Trump lashed out at Fox News on Wednesday with a lengthy online harangue that made little sense but demonstrates the network’s impossible task in satisfying the president’s demand for pure propaganda. . .”

“. . .The president’s commentary about Fox typically blends praise for the hosts he loves and segments he appreciates with critiques of personalities who don’t meet his standard for sycophancy and attacks on the network’s accurate pollsters. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/donald-trumps-insatiable-demand-fox-propaganda

No Access for CNN Again

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 10/1/26

Headline:  “White House removes CNN from press pool for second time in a week”

Subhead:  “Network was listed as primary TV pool covering Thursday’s presidential activities but then was abruptly removed”

“For a second time in a week, the White House has unilaterally removed CNN from its assignment as the primary television pool representative covering Donald Trump.

“CNN was excluded on Saturday from pool duty onboard Air Force One, despite a district judge’s ruling – two days earlier – overturning the White House’s ban on the network and two other media organization. . .”

“Then, on Wednesday night, the White House abruptly removed CNN from pool duty for the following day, leaving Real America’s Voice as the only pooler as the president travels to Texas and Oklahoma. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/oct/01/nn-white-house-second-removal-media-ban