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Remember Media Duopoly Rules?

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Article in Poynter by Al Tompkins, 8/19/25

Headline: “Nexstar’s takeover of Tegna would require an overhaul of FCC ownership rules”

Subhead: “The proposed sale would exceed the FCC’s 39% cap, igniting debate among broadcasters, unions and press groups”

“Nexstar announced Tuesday that it intends to buy Tegna for $6.2 billion — a deal that has been rumored for weeks. To pull off what would be the biggest change in TV broadcast ownership history, however, the Federal Communications Commission would have to relax rules limiting how much of the country one company can reach with its over-the-air signal.. . ”

Read the full Article at:

https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2025/nexstar-tegna-fcc-ownership-rules-media-consolidation/

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Article in Freepress by Staff, 8/19/25

Headline: “Nexstar’s Unlawful Acquisition of TEGNA Is a Bad Deal for the Public “

“. . .The newly combined Nexstar entity, if allowed, would have 265 full-power television stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia and 132 of the country’s 210 television Designated Market Areas (or DMAs). The deal would violate the national broadcast-ownership cap, which the FCC lacks authority to increase or eliminate, as Free Press recently discussed in comments opposing the FCC’s proposed reexamination of this law. . .”

Read the full press release at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/nexstars-unlawful-acquisition-tegna-bad-deal-public

News Channel Clucked Too Much?

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Update below:

Article in Status by Jon Passantino, 8/18/25

Headline:  “Plucking MSNBC’s Feathers”

Subhead: “After nearly 30 years, MSNBC is dropping its name to become MS NOW a rebrand that sparked tension with NBCU and weeks of behind-the-scenes debate”

“On Monday morning, a little after 9 a.m. ET, Joe Scarborough delivered an unexpected jolt to MSNBC’s viewers. “We have breaking news as it pertains to our network: This morning, a new name of the network, the ‘Morning Joe’ host announced. ‘By the end of the year, we will become MS NOW, which stands for my source for news, opinion, and the world.’ The surprise decision unsurprisingly drew instant cheers from Scarborough, who hailed the network’s bold new logo as ‘very sporty,’ and cheered the name change as proof that ‘we’re independent.’ . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/msnbc-new-name-rebrand-ms-now

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Article in Daily Dot by Jamie Jirak, 8/19/25

Headline:  “MSNBC is officially changing its name to MS Now, and the internet reacted as you’d expect: with memes and conspiracy theories”

Subhead:  “ ‘It’s not shocking, but it is noteworthy.’ “

“. . .Why is MSNBC changing its name?

“According to the announcement, the name change is happening due to a move to a new media company called VERSANT. MS NOW will no longer be a part of NBCUniversal and NBCNews. Instead, they will be under the same umbrella as CNBC, Golf Channel, GolfNow, and SportsEngine. . .”

“Unsurprisingly, people have a wide range of thoughts about this news. People have taken to social media to share their feelings and make some clever jokes about MS NOW. With name changes becoming increasingly common, some people just aren’t having it. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailydot.com/viral-politics/msnbc-changing-name-to-ms-now/

Always Trust the AI Journalists

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Hilke Schellmann, 8/19/25

Headline:  “I Tested How Well AI Tools Work for Journalism”

Subhead: “Some tools were sufficient for summarizing meetings. For research, the results were a disaster.”

“Journalists now have access to an abundance of AI tools on the market that promise to assist with tasks such as transcription, note-taking, summarization, research, and data analysis. Are these tools trustworthy enough for use in the newsroom?

“There is not yet a clear answer to that question. While most news organizations have AI policies, the guidelines are typically abstract and broad, and do not address a journalist’s daily workflow. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/i-tested-how-well-ai-tools-work-for-journalism.php

Does the Shoe Fit?

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Article in The New Republic by Greg Sargent, 8/18/25

Headline:  “Trump’s Angry New ‘Dictator’ Rant to Media Alarms Experts: ‘Wake Up!’ “

Subhead:  “As Trump’s ugly ramblings about his militarization of cities get worse, prominent legal observer Joyce Vance explains how and why this is all heading to a very dark place—and what we must do to stop it.”

“With President Trump’s crackdown intensifying in Washington, D.C., he lashed out angrily at the media for describing him as a ‘dictator.’ In this same rant, he did not reassure D.C. residents and exaggerated wildly about crime there, suggesting people should thank him for his efforts. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/199192/trump-angry-new-dictator-rant-media-alarms-experts-wake-up

Dominion Over Rt. Wing Media

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Article in Daily Kos by Oliver Willis, 8/18/25

Headline:  “Right-wing media outlets are still paying up for 2020 election lies”

“Right-wing media company Newsmax has agreed to pay out $67 million in a settlement with Dominion Voting Systems for promoting lies about the 2020 election. The announcement adds to a tally of over $900 million paid out by right-wing outlets for peddling these lies, underlining their role in spreading mass disinformation. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/8/18/2339006/-Right-wing-media-outlets-are-still-paying-up-for-2020-election-lies?

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Article in UPI by Allen Cone, 8/18/25

Headline:  “Newsmax settles defamation suit by Dominion Voting Systems for $67M”

Subhead:  “Dominion alleged statements made in Newsmax’s coverage about the 2020 election were defamatory.”

“Newsmax on Monday agreed to pay $67 million to Dominion Voting Systems in a defamation suit against the conservative media company over its 2020 presidential election coverage. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/08/18/Newsmax-settle-defamation-suit-Dominion-Voting-Systems-67-million/7281755536574/

First Amendment Wins!

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Article in Media Matters by Staff, 8/15/25

Headline:  “Media Matters wins preliminary injunction against retaliatory FTC investigation”

Subhead:  “Judge writes that the ‘case presents a straightforward First Amendment violation’ “

“. . .Angelo Carusone, Chairman and President of Media Matters, issued the following statement:

“ ‘The court’s ruling demonstrates the importance of fighting over folding, which far too many are doing when confronted with intimidation from the Trump administration. This case is not just about the campaign to punish and silence Media Matters, however. It is a critical test for whether the courts will allow any administration – from any political party – to bully media and non-profit organizations through illegal abuses of power. We will continue to stand up and fight for the First Amendment rights that protect every American.”. . .”

Read the the full article at”

https://www.mediamatters.org/justice-civil-liberties/media-matters-wins-preliminary-injunction-against-retaliatory-ftc

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Article in Raw Story by Matthew Chapman, 8/15/25

Headline:  ” ‘It should alarm all Americans’: Judge blasts Trump’s FTC for retaliating against watchdog”

“A federal judge issued a scathing takedown on Friday of President Donald Trump’s Federal Trade Commission, shutting down their investigation of the liberal watchdog Media Matters for America. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-ftc-media-matters/

Without Local News . . .?

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Article in Poynter, by Kim Kleman, 8/15/25

Headline:  “Opinion | After 100,000 stories, the lesson is clear: America needs more local news”

Subhead:  “From exposing corruption to filling food pantries, local reporting via Report for America is driving change in communities nationwide”

“. . .sheer quantity of local news is important to bolster newsrooms across America. No, with every one of these stories, we’re reminded of what good local coverage does: introduces neighbor to neighbor, holds city hall and the school board accountable, distills how federal actions affect local businesses, and informs folks that the food pantry’s shelves are bare, so residents know to help fill them. . .”

Read the full story at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/report-for-america-local-news-stories/

Cuts Hurt Public Media

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Article in The Verge by Charles Pulliam-Moore, 8/15/25

Headline:  “PBS is slashing its budget in response to Trump’s attack on public media”

Subhead:  “The broadcaster also plans to reduce its member station dues by $35 million.”

“Now that Congress has passed a bill that will defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS is taking drastic measures to stay alive. . .”

“The Trump administration has made clear that it sees public media outfits like the CPB, NPR, and PBS as bastions for an liberal bias. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theverge.com/news/760026/pbs-is-slashing-its-budget-in-response-to-trumps-attack-on-public-media

Targeting Journalists?

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Update

Article in The Guardian by Lorenzo Tondo, 8/17/25

Headline:  “Israeli media ‘completely ignored’ Gaza starvation – is that finally changing?”

Subhead:  “A growing focus on hunger in Gaza in the global media has led some Israeli outlets to report on it for the first time”

“. . .more than three-quarters of Jewish Israelis – 79% – said they were either ‘not very troubled’ or ‘not troubled at all’ by reports of famine and suffering among Gaza’s Palestinian population.

“According to Anat Saragusti, an expert on the media, the reason is simple: most people in Israel are unaware of those reports because for months they have never seen them.

“ ‘Until a couple of weeks ago, you could count only a handful of reports from Gaza not filtered by the IDF,’ said Saragusti, the head of freedom of the press at the Union of Journalists in Israel. . .”

Read the full story at:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/17/israeli-media-completely-ignored-gaza-starvation-is-that-finally-changing

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Article in The Guardian by Mohamad Bazzi, 8/16/25

Headline:  “Western journalists are failing to stand up for their colleagues in Gaza”

Subhead:  “This hypocrisy of western media has been laid bare by Israel’s targeting of journalists since the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack”

“For nearly two years, Israel has been systemically targeting and killing Palestinian journalists in Gaza. On Sunday night, the Israeli military brazenly killed another six journalists, who had been sheltering in a tent housing media workers in Gaza City. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/aug/16/israel-gaza-war-journalists

Kill the Media, Hide the News

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Article in Daily Kos by Thom Hartmann

Headline:  “Are Americans Being Conditioned by Our Media to Become ‘Good Germans’?”

“. . .Nazi loyalists and party-friendly oligarchs took over the press outlets that remained in a massive media consolidation project, ensuring that every headline and every radio news report served the regime much like Fox ‘News’ and rightwing hate-radio/podcasts do today for Trump. . .”

“In both 1940s Germany and today’s America, the effect is similar: the public is shielded from the human scale of state-led actions against targeted groups, making it easier for those policies to continue without mass pushback. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/8/15/2338560/-Are-Americans-Being-Conditioned-by-Our-Media-to-Become-Good-Germans?