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Paramount Grabs CNN

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Article in FAIR by Ari Paul, 9/24/26

Headline:  “CNN Cleared to Join CBS Under Trumpian Paramount Ownership”

“Paramount’s purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, which faced legal action and concern that Paramount boss David Ellison may be consolidating too much media power, is now going forward. A dozen states brought litigation that tied the merger up in court, but they announced a settlement this week. According to California Attorney General Rob Bonta. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/cnn-cleared-to-join-cbs-under-trumpian-paramount-ownership/

Treasonous Reporters?

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 9.23.26

Headline: “President Trump keeps casually accusing news outlets of treason”

Subhead:  “He’s accused journalists of almost or actually committing treason at least 13 times since last year”

“President Donald Trump, in a Truth Social post published shortly before midnight on Tuesday, declared reporters at news outlets that produce reporting critical of his administration as ‘treasonous.’

“Trump, in his rambling and confused message, expressed dismay that CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and other unnamed “SLEAZEBAGS” had been present to cover his Tuesday appearance at the United Nations General Assembly after he banned CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House on Friday. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/president-trump-keeps-casually-accusing-news-outlets-treason-0

Tonight, WH Defies Judge?

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Article in the New York Times by Peter Baker, 9/24/26

Headline:  “In Trump’s White House, China’s Dictator Is Welcome. American Media, Less So.”

Subhead:  “The showdown over President Trump’s partial media ban played out as he welcomed President Xi Jinping, whose government is ranked among the most repressive in the world.”

“At the White House gate, a throng of Chinese journalists was being admitted onto the grounds of the Executive Mansion to cover the visit of President Xi Jinping. Out on the street, several American journalists were blocked from entering the White House on the orders of President Trump. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/us/politics/trump-xi-press-pool-boycott-media.html

Something Not Smelling Right?

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Article in Daily Kos by Oliver Willis, 9/23/26

Headline: “A foul Musk lingers over the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger”

“The conservative owners of the Paramount media empire are reportedly considering approaching billionaire Elon Musk for an investment.

“If a deal is made, it would give the GOP donor influence over Paramount—as well as Warner Bros. Discovery, which Paramount is set to acquire.

“Musk is a longtime friend of billionaire Larry Ellison, who owns Paramount alongside his son, David Ellison. Larry was an investor in Musk’s bid to buy Twitter. Now called X, its algorithms have been changed by Musk to promote hateful, bigoted, and conspiratorial content. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/9/23/800102363/media/musk-lingers-over-paramount-warner-bros-merger/

Coming Storm in the Media

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review By Carolina Abbott Galvão, Ivan L. Nagy and Riddhi Setty, 9/23/26

Headline: “How Should We Cover the Climate Story?”

Subhead:  “Speaking with climate reporters about staying on the beat—because, as Bill McKibben put it, ‘for better or for worse, by this time next year, there’s no doubt in my mind that climate coverage will be at the forefront.’”

“. . .Climate journalism can feel like a series of devastating yet foreseeable tragedies, all happening against a drumbeat of bad news—like the United Nations report this month that global temperatures will rise past a dangerous threshold. Meanwhile, climate desks at legacy organizations have shrunk or disbanded, including at NPR. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/feature/how-should-we-cover-the-climate-story.php

Punish Others for Your Own Leaks?

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 9/23/26

Headline: “The Source Behind the Ban”

Subhead: “The anonymous source behind one of the stories the White House cited to justify banning POLITICO was none other than Vice President JD Vance, Status has learned.”

“. . .The White House singled out six stories published by POLITICO, including a June 2026 article that cited a ‘senior administration official’ who put the odds of the U.S. striking a deal with Iran to end the war at between 80 and 85 percent. That senior administration official, Status has learned, was none other than Vice President JD Vance. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/white-house-press-ban-jd-vance-source-iran

Here Comes the Media Judge

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Article in Reuters by Jan Wolfe and Jack Queen, 9/23/26

Headline: “Judge skeptical of Trump’s White House media ban at hearing”

“US judge appeared skeptical on Wednesday about the legality of Donald Trump’s decision to bar CNN, ​MS NOW and Politico journalists from the White House, indicating he may grant their request to lift the ban they describe as unlawful retaliation for news coverage ‌the president dislikes.
US District Judge Timothy Kelly said at a hearing in Washington that Trump’s ban did not appear to comply with past legal precedents by failing to give the news outlets an opportunity to respond. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/news-outlets-will-ask-judge-end-trumps-white-house-ban-hearing-2026-09-23/

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr

Headline:  “Judge seems inclined to side with media outlets who were banned from White House in lawsuit”

Subhead:  “Due process was not followed, said judge, when CNN, MS Now and Politico were banned from White House”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/sep/23/white-house-media-ban-lawsuit

CNN in quicksand After Paramount?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Amos Barshad, 9/22/26

Headline:  “Done and Dusted”

Subhead:  “With the collapse of the California-led challenge to Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros., the future of an independent CNN hangs in the balance.”

“William Tong is the attorney general of Connecticut, a member of a coalition of states that, up until this weekend, was suing to stop Paramount’s 111-billion-dollar merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. . . Deep into Sunday night, Tong told me, ‘I was fighting. I wasn’t willing to concede until late into the evening.’ That fight is now officially over: a consent decree has laid out Paramount’s legally obligated concessions, allowing the merger to go forward. A string of major entertainment and news entities—including CNN and CBS—will be under the control of one corporate behemoth controlled by the Ellison family. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/news/done-and-dusted-paramount-warner-bros-discovery-takeover-california-states-challenge-collapse-attorneys-general-independent-cnn-consent-decree.php

Fox – News Into a Black Hole

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 9/22/26

Headline:  “The negative space in Fox News coverage”

Subhead:  “My latest for MS NOW is about the stories Fox News isn’t covering”

“Fox News’ MAGA stars have spent Donald Trump’s second term lavishing praise on the president and his purported accomplishments, denouncing his opponents in vitriolic terms and telling their viewers which culture war enemies to hate. But any understanding of the goals of a political outlet like Fox is incomplete without considering the stories it doesn’t cover: a list that, as of late, includes the Iran war, the Trump family’s alleged corruption and the president’s unpopularity. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/negative-space-fox-news-coverage

Out of the Pool Now.

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Article in The Guardian by Lucy Hough with Paul Owen , 9/22/26

Headline: “Donald Trump v the media: US networks unite in boycott – The Latest”

In what is probably one of the biggest battles yet between the press and Donald Trump, major TV networks have united in a boycott of pooled coverage of his administration. It comes after three news organisations – CNN, MS Now and Politico – were denied access to the White House because of Trump’s concerns about their coverage. Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s international news editor Paul Owen. . .

Watch he full episode at:

https://www.theguardian.com/news/video/2026/sep/22/trump-v-the-media-us-networks-unite-in-boycott-the-latest