Media Blacklist?

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Article in The Intercept by Nick Turse, 8/24/26

Headline:  “Pentagon Spokesperson Admits There’s a Secret Blacklist of Journalists”

Subhead:  “When pressed about the Iran war, a CENTCOM press official threatened to put an Intercept reporter on a ‘list of people to disregard.'”

“U.S. Central Command maintains a secret directory of journalists who have been blacklisted by the press office, according to an official with CENTCOM public affairs. The disclosure comes amid a failed war in Iran, a ‘cover-up’ of U.S. casualties from that conflict, and repeated refusals by CENTCOM to address questions about civilian deaths in Iran, including the killing of a family recently disclosed by The Intercept.

“The CENTCOM official who revealed the existence of the list threatened that this reporter could be added to it for calling the command too often. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://theintercept.com/2026/08/24/pentagon-military-journalist-blacklist-press-media/

Journalists Have Right to Opinions

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 7/24/26

Headline:  “Washington Post ordered to reinstate opinion writer fired over Charlie Kirk posts”

Subhead: “Arbitrator determined the Post improperly fired Karen Attiah, a union-protected employee, over social media posts”

“An independent arbitrator has ordered the Washington Post to rehire the high-profile opinion columnist Karen Attiah, abruptly fired by the news organization last September over comments she made on social media about Charlie Kirk, the then recently killed conservative activist.

“On Monday, an arbitrator ruled that the Post had violated her rights as a union-protected employee and ordered the newspaper to reinstate her and compensate her for lost wages.

“ ‘This decision confirms what we’ve said from the start: I was doing my job as an opinion journalist, and doing that job is not misconduct,’ Attiah said in a statement. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/aug/24/washington-post-reinstate-karen-attiah

Censoring News to Troops?

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Article in Daily Beast by Sarah-Jane Collins, 8/22/26

Headline:  “Hegseth Launches Twisted Attack on Free Press Over Carrier Scandal”

Subhead:  “The publisher and editor of Stars and Stripes were given the boot after an interview cautioning against censorship.”

“Long-time publisher Max Lederer and Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin were given “separation notices” that allow five days to appeal the decision. . .”

“Korte and Slavin traced the decision back to interviews they did that aired on CBS Sunday Morning in July.”

“ ‘According to the notice, I am being fired for stating in a CBS interview that censorship of news for service members would constitute a red line. The Pentagon’s public affairs office has charged me with insubordination,’ Slavin told CBS. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/hegseths-twisted-attack-on-free-press-over-carrier-scandal/

Media Harping on Trump Aide

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Article in The Atlantic by Jonathan Lemire 8/20/26

Headline: “The White House Freak-Out Over Natalie Harp”

Subhead:  “The West Wing’s explosive response to a fleeting jab didn’t kill the story. It enabled days of coverage.”

“. . .This past Sunday, Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia—who has become quite good at delivering viral campaign sound bites, slickly filmed by multiple cameras—unleashed a blistering indictment of President Trump’s leadership. . .”

“But then the West Wing lost its mind. And Trump did too. Their pushback was so overwhelming, so obviously coordinated, so ugly and personal that it became a story. The White House inadvertently created news, as well as a permission structure for even the most cautious, fact-based media organizations to take on the topic. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/08/ossoff-trump-natalie-harp/688365/

Picture worth 1,000 Pres Secretaries

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Article in The Babylon Bee, by Staff, 8/22/26

Headline:  “New Press Secretary To Just Be Picture Of Scott Jennings Doing That Face”

“. . . The White House has announced that the new Press Secretary will just be a poster-sized photo of Scott Jennings doing that face he does.

“After a week of searching for a replacement for Karoline Leavitt, the White House settled on a 27 inch by 40 inch inkjet poster of the face Jennings makes to the camera when liberal CNN panelists make foolish statements.

“‘We love what Scott’s face brings to the table,” said President Trump. . .You can feel the disdain for the losers and haters. That’s what the journalists here are, losers and haters, so it’s a great fit’. . .”

“The White House Press Corps was outraged by the decision, stating that the lack of an actual human Press Secretary would grossly inhibit their ability as independent media to hold the government accountable for its actions.

” ‘How can an independent media function when the government will not allow us to even ask questions of a real Press Secretary?’ cried a CNN reporter. The photo of Scott Jennings, however, only smirked in response. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://babylonbee.com/news/new-press-secretary-to-just-be-picture-of-scott-jennings-doing-that-face

Went Past Media Hook

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Article in Common Dreams by Julia Conley, 8/21/26

Headline:  “In Post-Primary Media Tour, Angie Nixon Refuses to Take Corporate Media’s Bait on Hasan Piker, DSA”

Subhead: “I am actually focused on Florida and making sure that I’m talking to voters here, to uplift their needs and their concerns,’ said the progressive Democrat. ‘And so that’s what my focus is going to be over the next 76 days.”

“The corporate media has spent months helping to push the narrative that progressive Democratic candidates are anti-American and have radical foreign policy views . . .”

“But Nixon (D-13) suggested Thursday night she prefers to discuss her desire to represent working Florida residents’ interests in the Senate over the topics that news anchors are eager to talk about. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/angie-nixon-senate

 

Media Run Toward Fake Poles?

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Article in Status by Brett LoGiurato, 8/21/26

Headline: “The Media’s Fake Poll Flub”

Subhead: “A fake polling firm fooled Rupert Murdoch’s California Post and local outlets, exposing how quickly bogus numbers can become news and raising fresh questions about reporting standards.”

“Earlier this week, the California Post, the fledgling Los Angeles-based tabloid of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, reported a shocking story about a bogus poll from a fake firm called “Median Strategies” that fooled everyone up to the city’s mayor, Karen Bass.

“The story featured a comment from Bass, whose office demanded that those behind it face the ‘full force of the law.’ It ended with a comment from a veteran political consultant who said that ‘whoever is responsible for this ought to be exposed.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/california-post-fake-poll-mistake

FCC Second Home?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 8/20/26

Headline:  “Opinion | How close is FCC chair Brendan Carr to the Trump White House? New records offer a look.”

Subhead:  “The FCC is supposed to operate as an independent agency. New records reveal extensive ties among its chair, the White House and conservative media.”

“The Federal Communications Commission is supposed to be an independent government agency that “regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories.”

“But it’s pretty clear that under FCC chair Brendan Carr, the agency has been acting on behalf of President Donald Trump through threats and actions against network programming that Trump doesn’t like. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/fcc-ties-white-house-trump-conservative-media/

Some Military News – Gone?

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Article in UPI by Don Jacobson, 8/21/26

Headline:  “Pentagon fires Stars and Stripes editor-in-chief, publisher, reporter”

Subhead: “Stars and Stripes, the U.S. military newspaper founded in 1861, lost its editor-in-chief, publisher and Middle East reporter to firings Friday for what the Pentagon described as insubordination. File Photo by Sgt. Brendan Mackie/U.S. Army National Guard”

“The Pentagon has fired the publisher, editor-in-chief and Middle East reporter of the venerable military newspaper Stars and Stripes, the publication reported Friday.

“Editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, publisher Max Lederer Jr. and civilian reporter Lara Korte, who covers the Middle East, have all received termination notices, a Pentagon source confirmed to the newspaper. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/08/21/Pentagon-fires-Stars-Stripes-editor-in-chief-publisher-reporter/1571787353309/

“60 Minutes” Running Out of Time?

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 8/20/26

Headline: “The ’60 minutes’ Countdown”

“The newsmagazine is racing to air amid major turbulence, with Bill Whitaker worrying he is a ‘traitor,’ Bari Weiss expressing frustration with a new contributor, and screenings behind the normal schedule, Status has learned. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/60-minutes-bari-weiss-bill-whitaker-nick-bilton-premiere