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Surprise! – Lay Off 1/3 of News Staff, Traumatic?

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 2/11/26

Headline:  “Washington Post editor acknowledges ‘genuine trauma’ over mass layoffs”

Subhead:  “Matt Murray defends paper’s strategy as ‘demoralized’ staffers ask tough questions in contentious town hall”

“Top Washington Post editor Matt Murray acknowledged “a widespread sense of loss, of genuine trauma” in a contentious town hall meeting with staff on Wednesday after the company laid off nearly a third of its employees a week ago – though he expressed confidence that the Post was now on a path to success.

“There’s no doubt that just the sheer depth of the cuts – and also, with that, the reality of what we face at the Post – has been a very hard thing to wrap our heads around and to grapple with,” Murray said, according to a recording of his remarks obtained by the Guardian. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/feb/11/washington-post-layoffs-matt-murray

Journalist Hires Prosecutor to Prosecute

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Article in New York Times by Ernesto Lodonu

Headline:  “Don Lemon Hires Federal Prosecutor Who Quit Over Immigration Crackdown”

Subhead:  “Facing charges over his role at a church protest, Mr. Lemon, a journalist, retained a veteran litigator who recently resigned from the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota.”

“The federal prosecution of the journalist Don Lemon took an unlikely turn on Tuesday.

“Facing charges over his presence at a church protest challenging the immigration crackdown in Minnesota, Mr. Lemon has hired as one of his defense lawyers a veteran criminal litigator who, until just weeks ago, was helping lead the prosecutor’s office that has charged Mr. Lemon with felonies.

“Joseph H. Thompson, a former senior federal prosecutor who resigned from the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota in mid-January over the Justice Department’s handling of the immigration operation, has joined Mr. Lemon’s defense team, according to a court filing. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/us/joseph-thompson-don-lemon-minneapolis-protest.html

 

 

WaPo = CBS Future?

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Article in Daily Kos by Lisa Neeham, 2/9/26

Headline: “Washington Post chief’s firing should terrify new regime at CBS News”

“Will Lewis is out at The Washington Post. Since he was a fancy ‘chief executive,’ his departure is being reported with the genteel framing of him ‘stepping down,’ even though it is very evident that Post owner Jeff Bezos sent Lewis packing.

“Ostensibly, Amazon billionaire Bezos felt that Lewis didn’t handle the complete decimation of the newspaper with enough gravitas and was instead partying in San Francisco at Super Bowl-related events. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/2/9/2367949/-Washington-Post-chief-s-firing-should-terrify-new-regime-at-CBS-News

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 2/9/26

Headline: “Opinion | The Washington Post just experienced a week that will live in infamy”

Subhead:  “The week’s upheaval ended with CEO Will Lewis stepping aside after being missing in action as the newsroom was cut”

“What a bizarre week at The Washington Post. Bizarre and puzzling and heartbreaking — not necessarily in that order.

It started last Wednesday with massive layoffs in what former editor Marty Baron called one of the “darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organizations.” Another former star reporter, Ashley Parker, called it a murder.

The week ended in startling fashion on Saturday when publisher and CEO Will Lewis abruptly resigned in a short (less than 100 words) note to staff. He said it was the “right time” to step away. . .:

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/washington-post-layoffs-will-lewis-gone/

FCC Probes ABC Now?

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Article in The Hill by Tara Suter, 2/8/26

Headline:  “FCC opens probe into ABC’s ‘The View’ after James Talarico interview: Reports “

“The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) launched a probe into ABC’s “The View” after the program held an interview with Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, according to multiple outlets.

Reuters reported Saturday that, per a source, the FCC began an investigation on whether “The View” broke rules for equal time when it comes to interviewing political candidates. . .”

“In January, the agency shook up rules, which exempted some late-night and daytime talk shows from having to give equal airtime to opposing political candidates. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5728540-equal-time-rule-fcc-the-view/

How Does Cable News Cover Racism?

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Article in Mediaite by Colby Hall 2/9/26

Headline:  “Trump Shares Racist Imagery. Cable News Reveals Its Priorities”

Subhead:  “The most revealing part of Trump sharing a video that depict the Obama as apes is not the post itself, but how uncertain the media is in how to cover it.”

“The most revealing part of President Donald Trump sharing a video that depicts Barack and Michelle Obama as apes is not the post itself. It is how clearly cable news has shown where it believes this kind of story belongs, and where it does not.

“That distribution of attention not only matters, but is truly revealing. . .”

“Programming that forces that audience into moral conflict with Trump cuts against the business model. Avoidance protects the product. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/opinion/trump-shares-racist-imagery-cable-news-reveals-its-priorities/

Justice Coming for Prosecutor?

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Article in Common Dreams by Staff, 2/9/26

Headline: “FPF complaint targets prosecutor over Washington Post reporter raid”

“WASHINGTON – On Friday, Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) filed an attorney disciplinary complaint against Gordon Kromberg, the federal prosecutor who reviewed and signed the search warrant application targeting Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson.

“. . . Recently unsealed court records disclose what many suspected: The government failed to alert the court that authorized the warrant to the Privacy Protection Act of 1980, a federal law that, in most cases, forbids the use of search warrants for journalistic work product and documentary materials.

Read the full article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/fpf-complaint-targets-prosecutor-over-washington-post-reporter-raid

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/