Not Even a Half of a Scaramucci!

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Article in The New York Times by Shawn McCreeshTyler Pager and Hamed Aleaziz, 11/16/26

Headline:  “Katie Zacharia Is Out After 5 Days as White House Press Secretary”

Subhead: “The ouster came as Ms. Zacharia was shadowed by questions about how she had presented her legal career and handled her first press briefing.”

“President Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, was fired Friday, after less than a week on the job, according to three people familiar with the matter.

“Neither the White House nor Ms. Zacharia responded to requests for comment. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/16/us/politics/katie-zacharia-fired-press-secretary.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

Selective Analysis in NYT

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Article in Daily Kos by Oliver Willis, 10/15/26

Headline:  “New York Times cleans up Vance’s bigotry”

“Earlier this week, Vice President JD Vance became one of the most prominent Republican voices to attack Texas’ Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico with bigoted homophobic and transphobic remarks.

“But in covering these smears, The New York Times downplayed Vance’s hateful rhetoric and even sought out a justification from a friendly pro-Republican source. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/10/15/800112897/media/new-york-times-cleans-up-vances-bigotry/

Reporters Unwelcome

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Article in Poynter by Angela Fu, 10/15/26

Headline: “A shrinking local press is making it easier for public officials to restrict access”

Subhead: “Reporters across the country say they’re being denied credentials, shut out of government spaces and stonewalled by public officials”

“As CNN, Politico and MS NOW challenge their White House ban in court, a similar press access battle is playing out in Utah — one that dates back to the beginning of last year. . .”

“Across the country, journalists at the state and local levels are experiencing many of the same access issues as their national counterparts. They are being turned away from press conferences, stonewalled by politicians and excluded from government spaces they previously had access to. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2026/local-news-press-access-public-officials/

Spanish-Language Media Shift

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Media Matters illustration

Article in Media Matters by Monica Rodriguez, Janos Balazs & Torri Lonergan, 10/15/26

Headline:  “Discontent in Spanish-language conservative media illustrates GOP’s deteriorating Hispanic coalition”

“Since early in his second term, President Donald Trump has been facing criticism from Spanish-language right-wing media figures over his approach to the economy, the Iran war, and mass deportation. This fall — as some of these figures have warned that Republicans will suffer in the midterm elections as a result of the administration ‘failing’ on immigration and economic policy — polls suggest that Latino voters could be a major swing demographic in November. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/spanish-language-media/discontent-spanish-language-conservative-media-illustrates-gops

Press Secretary – No Press?

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Article in The Guardian by Shrai Popat, 10/15/26

Headline:  “Trump’s new press secretary says it’s ‘unknown’ how much she’ll deal with media”

Subhead:  “Katie Zacharia tells Guardian her first, widely panned, press briefing followed whirlwind sprint to appoint her to key role”

“Donald Trump’s new White House press secretary says it is ‘unknown’ how much she will engage with the press or hold briefings with reporters, as she faces mounting questions over her legal credentials.. . .”

“Now the White House press secretary, she also would not clarify on Thursday how often she intended to brief the press. . . ‘and that Trump “is his best spokesperson, and I will interact as needed’.”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/15/katie-zacharia-trump-press-secretary-interview

Rt. Media and Deporting Americans

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Article in Media Matters by Reed McMaster & Ben Van Bloem, 10/14/26

“Right-wing media figures have long spread conspiracy theories against Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN). During the second Trump administration, this has manifested in calls to deport Omar, an American citizen, citing as supposed evidence the conspiracy theories that have spread for years. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/benny-johnson/maga-media-figures-demanded-and-teased-immigration-action-against-rep-ilhan-omar-and

Press Sec. – On Sale for a Limited Time!

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Article in AP by Bill Colvin, 10/14/26

Headline:  “Trump press secretary Katie Zacharia faces scrutiny over claims she’s a lawyer”

“Katie Zacharia has long described herself as a lawyer as she has worked to establish herself as a commentator for conservative outlets like Fox News and Newsmax. But so far, she and the White House have offered no evidence that she passed the bar exam in any state or in China. . .’

Read the full article at:

https://apnews.com/article/katie-zacharia-lawyer-bar-trump-press-secretary-b3b7b9747856bcd11df094f331195119

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Article in The Hill by Judy Kurtz, 10/13/26

Headline:  “Scaramucci quips about new press secretary Zacharia’s tenure: ‘The clock is running’ “

“. . .’Thus far 1/11th of a Scaramucci,’ he cracked.

“Scaramucci famously served a speedy stint — just 11 days — as White House communications director in 2017 during President Trump’s first term in office. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/6145486-white-house-press-secretary-katie-zacharia-scaramucci/

Judge Rules Against WH Media Ban

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Article in The Wrap by Alyssa Ray, 10/13/26

Headline:  “Judge Rules Against White House Resuming Ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico as Legal Battle Continues”

Subhead: “'[The outlets] are likely to succeed not only on their due process claim, but also on their two First Amendment claims,’ Judge Timothy Kelly writes”

“Federal Judge Timothy Kelly barred the Trump administration from reinstating its ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters accessing the White House grounds.

In a new ruling, which granted the outlets’ motion for a preliminary injunction, the U.S. District judge declared that CNN, MS NOW and Politico “are likely to succeed not only on their due process claim, but also on their two First Amendment claims,” extending their journalists’ access to the White House. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thewrap.com/media-platforms/journalism/judge-extends-cnn-ms-now-politico-white-house-access/

In the Fire With a CBS’ Dear Leader

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 10/13/26

Headline: “CBS’ Foreign Explosion”

Subhead: “Bari Weiss’ handpicked foreign editor unleashed an explosive tirade at CBS News staffers, threatened insubordinate journalists with firing, and clashed with correspondent Holly Williams, according to audio obtained by Status.”

“. . [Shayndi] Raice told the assembled journalists that she wanted to address the report, before launching into an uninterrupted 15-minute tirade in which she fiercely defended her editorial decisions, insisted they did not constitute ‘interference,’ and warned that ‘insubordination’ would not be tolerated, declaring it ‘legal grounds for firing.’. .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/bari-weiss-holly-williams-cbs-news-israel-coverage

Trump’s Media Lawsuit Failing?

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Article in The New Republic by Hafiz Rashad, 10/13/26

Headlline:  “Trump Tries to Get Out of Deposition as His BBC Lawsuit Backfires”

Subhead: “Donald Trump sued the BBC—and the case keeps going downhill for him.”

“President Trump is trying to get out of testifying in a lawsuit that he initiated.

“As part of his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC, Trump was scheduled to sit for a deposition with the U.K. broadcaster’s lawyers on Friday. However, according to a court filing Tuesday, the president’s attorneys canceled the session, saying he would be unavailable for about two months, well after the discovery period in the case ends, Politico reports. . .”

Read the full article at:

(for more information about this lawsuit, type BBC in the FCM search box)

https://newrepublic.com/post/216587/trump-bbc-lawsuit-deposition