Snapping at the Media

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Article in The New Republic by Greg Sargent, 2/6/26

Headline:  “Trump Press Sec Snaps at Media as Spin on Threat to Rig 2026 Goes Awry”

Subhead:  “After Trump called for Republicans to “nationalize” the midterms, Karoline Leavitt struggled to spin it away. We talked to an election law expert who explains the nightmare scenarios we should fear the most.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt lost her temper with a reporter who asked if Donald Trump intends to flood polling places with ICE agents during the midterms. She called the question’silly’ and ‘hypothetical’ and ‘disingenuous,’ even though Steve Bannon, who’s influential in the White House, explicitly said this week that this will happen. This comes as Trump himself called for Republicans to ‘nationalize the voting.’ Leavitt also struggled to spin this threat from Trump, suggesting that’s not what he meant, only to have Trump undercut her by reiterating his demand soon after. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/206228/trump-press-sec-snaps-media-spin-threat-rig-2026-goes-awry

For Post, What’s Next?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Siddhartha Mahanta, 2/6/26

Headline:  “What the Post Cuts Will Do”

“Yesterday, hundreds of Washington Post journalists and supporters amassed in below-freezing temperatures outside the paper’s K Street headquarters to take part in a rally held by the Washington Post Newspaper Guild and the Washington Post Tech Guild. A veteran Post staffer said it was larger than any walkout or picket he’d seen in his time there. The day before, during a Zoom call with staff, Post leadership had announced sweeping cuts, . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/what-the-washington-post-cuts-will-do-layoffs-business-of-news-jeff-bezos.php

Rt. Wing Media Likes Coups?

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Article in Media Matters by Zachary Pleat, 2/6/26

Headline:  “Right-wing media rally behind Trump’s efforts to trigger regime change in Cuba”

“After right-wing media pushed for and then celebrated the Trump administration’s ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and seizure of the country’s oil supplies last month, they quickly pivoted to the administration’s reported efforts to overthrow Cuba’s government, which for now primarily involves starving the island of oil. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-media-rally-behind-trumps-efforts-trigger-regime-change-cuba

NBC Not Calling Out Lies?

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Article in AlterNet by Carl Gibson, 2/5/26

Headline: “CNN calls out NBC for letting Trump get away with ‘rapid-fire dishonesty’ “

“Earlier this week, President Donald Trump sat down with NBC News reporter Tony Llamas for a wide-ranging interview on multiple subjects. However, Llamas often let the president lie without pushing back. Now, CNN is taking Llamas to task for not doing his job — while debunking Trump’s lies.

In a Thursday article, CNN’s Daniel Dale did a point-by-point fact-check of Trump’s biggest lies, and admonished Llamas for doing little to counter what he called Trump’s ‘rapid-fire dishonesty.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.alternet.org/cnn-nbc-trump-interview/

Both Sides Right at Same Time?

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Article in FAIR by Jim Naureckas, 2/4/25

Headline:  “At NYT, Pretending You Don’t Know Makes You a Real Reporter”

“The New York Times is addicted to bothsidesing. Even when you have examples on video of people being shot down on the street by federal agents, the paper has to pretend there’s a valid case for justifying murder: on the one hand, on the other. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/at-nyt-pretending-you-dont-know-makes-you-a-real-reporter/

WaPo – Round and Round. . .

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 2/5/26

Headline:  “Mass layoffs fuel fears of ‘death spiral’ at Washington Post”

Subhead: “On Wednesday, storied newspaper axed nearly one-third of company after earlier unpopular moves by owner Jeff Bezos”

“Under Marty Baron, the Washington Post won 11 Pulitzer prizes and expanded its newsroom to house more than 1,000 journalists. The storied newspaper’s future is now in question, according to its former executive editor.

“The aspirations of this news organization are diminished,” Baron told the Guardian in an interview. ‘I think that’ll translate into fewer subscribers. And I hope it’s not a death spiral, but I worry that it might be.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/feb/05/mass-layoffs-washington-post

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 2/5/26

Headline:  “Opinion | Inside one of the ‘darkest days in the history’ of The Washington Post“

“That’s how Ashley Parker, a staff writer for The Atlantic and former star reporter at The Washington Post, described what happened at the Post on Wednesday.

“A third of the Post’s staff — about 300 journalists — was laid off. Nearly all departments were affected. The sports and books desks were pretty much eliminated. The foreign desk was gutted. . .”

“And so Parker wrote, “Jeff Bezos, the billionaire owner of The Washington Post, and Will Lewis, the publisher he appointed at the end of 2023, are embarking on the latest step of their plan to kill everything that makes the paper special. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/why-did-the-washington-post-layoffs-happen/

Which Road for CBS News?

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Article in Status News by Oliver Darcy, 2/4/26

Headline:  “The Weiss Way or the Highway”

Subhead:  “As speculation swirls over whether CBS News will take any action after new health contributor Peter Attia was ensnared in the Epstein Files, Status has learned what Bari Weiss’s silence actually signals—and what it says about her leadership.”

“On Friday, the Department of Justice released millions of new pages from the Epstein Files, ensnaring some of the world’s wealthiest and most well-known men in the ever-growing scandal. . .”

“But over at CBS News, another name quickly caught the eye of staffers: Peter Attia, the YouTube wellness influencer whom Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss just proudly named as a network contributor.

Attia, it turns out, had exchanged dozens of emails with the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/peter-attia-epstein-files-bari-weiss-cbs-news

Media Smiling Time!

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Article in Huffpost by Ed Mazza, 2/5/26

Headline:  ” ‘Truly Unhinged’: Critics Rip Trump After Uncomfortably ‘Weird Exchange’ With Reporter”

Subhead:  “Trump is facing heavy criticism over comments he made to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.”

“Collins had asked the president about justice for victims of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who was once his close friend. . .”

” ‘You are the worst reporter,’ Trump fired back. ‘CNN has no ratings because of people like you. You know, she’s a young woman ― I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile. I’ve known you for 10 years, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile on your face.’

“Collins tried to interject that she was asking about Epstein survivors, but Trump kept going. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-kaitlan-collins-smile-reaction_n_6982cdece4b074c50785b319?origin=top-ad-recirc

ALL The Media!

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Article in FAIR by Caitlin Scialla, 2/4/26

Headline:  “The Digital Media Oligarchy: Who Owns Online News?”

“When Ben Bagdikian, an esteemed journalist and early FAIR contributor, published his groundbreaking book The Media Monopoly in 1983, he painted a troubling picture of US media consolidation, reporting that 50 corporations controlled the media business. With each reprint, that number dwindled. When FAIR replicated his analysis in 2011 , it stood at 20. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/the-digital-media-oligarchy-who-owns-online-news/

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Article in The Guardian by Rafael Behr, 2/4/26

Headline:  “When Maga oligarchs control the platforms, it isn’t really a debate about ‘free speech’ ”

Subhead: “Moves to ban under-16s from social media should raise deeper questions about who controls democracy’s digital infrastructure”

“. . .Free speech is the lens that tech companies apply because it gives a democratic inflection to their commercial interests as oligopolists in an under-regulated digital realm. Far-right politicians adopt that frame because they are in the business of undermining the norms and institutions of liberal democracy. That agenda is well served by communications infrastructure that privileges frenzied intolerance. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/04/maga-oligarchs-social-platforms-free-speech-ban-under-16s-social-medi

Cooked Medium or Well-Done?

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Article in The Hill by Dominick Mastrangelo, 2/3/26

Headline: “Netflix, Warner Bros Discovery execs grilled by Senators over megamerger”

“Executives for entertainment giants Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday faced a grilling from lawmakers on Capitol Hill, with senators raising concern about a planned megamerger between the two companies that would create one of the largest media conglomerates in the world. . .”

“Critics of the deal say it would harm competition in the entertainment production and film industry, giving Netflix too much control of the way millions of people in the U.S. and abroad see the world. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/media/5721455-netflix-warner-brothers-merger-hearing/

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Article in Free Press by Staff, 2/4/26

Headline:  “Free-Expression Groups and Creative Labor Unions Call on the Senate to Protect Free Speech and Root Out Corruption in Review of Warner Bros. Discovery Takeover”

“On Tuesday, 11 civil-rights, free-expression, consumer-protection and creative professional organizations and unions called on the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights to prioritize free speech and investigate corruption in its review of the competing bids from Netflix and Paramount Skydance to take over Warner Bros. Discovery. . .”

“ ‘We request this subcommittee’s diligent oversight to ensure careful application of antitrust law, uphold the First Amendment, and guarantee this process is free of corruption and abuse.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/free-expression-groups-and-creative-labor-unions-call-senate-protect-free-speech-warner-bros-merger