Broadcasting

One Media, One Country!

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jem Bartholomew, 10/27/25

Headline:  “The CEOs of Everything”

Subhead:  “Larry and David Ellison are poised to become the Trump era’s reigning media moguls.”

“. . .Larry Ellison’s net worth is currently 342.5 billion dollars, according to Forbes. As a businessman, Ellison characterizes his approach by paraphrasing Genghis Khan: “It is not sufficient that I succeed. Everyone else must fail.’. . .”

“The Ellisons are not the only billionaires buying newspapers, seizing power over TV networks, and remaking social media platforms. But what makes their efforts more formidable is the vertical integration they would command: movie studios, news networks, part of a social media platform, and user data on millions of people, all in one package.. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/ceos-everything-david-larry-ellison-oracle-skydance-paramount-kimmel-carr.php

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Article in The New Republic by Alex Shephard, 10/27/25

Headline:  “Larry and David Ellison Are Building a Pro-Trump Media Behemoth”

Subhead:  “With the president’s blessing, the Ellisons’ Skydance merged with Paramount, gaining control of CBS News. Now the new giant might gobble up Warner Bros. Discovery, which includes CNN.”

“Donald Trump is about to give Larry Ellison and his son David another present. In July, the Trump administration gifted the mogul Paramount, whose properties include Paramount Studios and CBS, allowing it to merge with the Ellisons’ Skydance, despite antitrust concerns. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/202272/larry-david-ellison-paramount-warner-pro-trump-media-behemoth

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Article in The Daily Beast by Eboni Boykin-Patterson, 10/23/25

Headline:  “Jon Stewart Predicts ‘Bloodletting’ From His New Billionaire Boss”

Subhead:  “ ‘Just one guy controls all of the media—what could go wrong?’ Stewart said Thursday.”

“Jon Stewart joked that his new boss should “have it all,” as his network’s new overlord Skydance continues to gobble up the country’s biggest media companies.

“Skydance CEO David Ellison now has his sights set on acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery after its acquisition of Paramount, The Daily Show’s parent company.

“ ‘He should have it all,’ Stewart quipped on The Weekly Show Thursday. ‘My guy should have it all. He should be the leader of all… Why are there other media companies? Shouldn’t they all just be one?. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/jon-stewart-sounds-off-on-his-new-billionaire-boss-david-ellison/

Journalists – Not So Happy

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 10/28/25

Headline:  “Comcast’s Ballroom Bash”

Subhead:  “NBC News and MSNBC journalists are appalled after learning their parent company, Comcast, helped bankroll Donald Trump’s ballroom—prompting behind-the-scenes venting and on-air rebukes of the corporate giant.”

“Last week, as NBC News and MSNBC staffers navigated the awkward mechanics of their impending corporate split, an unexpected development briefly united the two camps. The White House released a list of donors bankrolling Donald Trump’s ballroom project in which, buried among the corporate names, was Comcast. The revelation stunned staff inside both newsrooms. . .”

Read the cull article at:

https://www.status.news/p/comcast-ballroom-msnbc-nbc-news-outrage

 

CBS – Off to the Dump?

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Article in Mother Jones by David Corn, 10/28/25

Headline:  “Another Big Reason to Worry About Bari Weiss’ Tenure at CBS News”

Subhead: “Right now, a potential peril is at hand: the end of truth.”

“The appointment of Bari Weiss, the former New York Times opinion writer who started the heterodox Free Press website, to lead venerable CBS News set the media world in a tizzy. Since she had no experience in television broadcast news operations, David Ellison, the CEO of Paramount Skydance, must have selected her for ideological and editorial reasons. . .”

“Weiss’ first days at the network yielded worrisome signs. She asked senior staff at 60 Minutes, why does the country think you’re biased? This query suggested she buys the right-wing narrative Donald Trump propels about the media. . .”

Read the full article at:


https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/10/bari-weiss-cbs-news-david-ellison-larry-ellison-artificial-intelligence-ai-60-minutes/

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Article in The Guardian by Eric Berger & Jeremy Barr, 10/27/25

Headline:  “CBS News anchor John Dickerson becomes latest figure to exit network”

Subhead:  “Announcement comes amid concerns about network’s ownership and ability to maintain editorial independence”

“John Dickerson, a longtime CBS News journalist, has become the latest high-profile figure to resign from the network amid concerns about its ownership and ability to maintain editorial independence. . .”

“Bari Weiss, the new CBS News editor-in-chief, is expected to revamp the evening news and has been working to find a new anchor. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/oct/27/cbs-evening-news-anchor-john-dickerson-resigns

Redlining the Media?

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Article in The Black Wall Street Times by Tiana Manon, 10/20/25

Headline: ” FCC Drew the Map: Media Redlining Still Shapes Who Controls the Airwaves”

Subhead: “ ‘Media Redlining,’ How Today’s Media Inequality is Rooted in Harmful Historic FCC Practices”

“The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has recently made headlines for its approval of the massive and controversial merger between Paramount and CBS deal and for investigating the DEI practices of companies like Comcast. Across the industry more broadly, major firings of Karen Attiah at the Washington Post and the temporary suspension of Jimmy Kimmel caused rumblings among everyday people who worry about the administration’s overreach. And now most recently, President Donald Trump’s lashing out at Al Sharpton for his show on MSNBC, stating perhaps the FCC should “look into” it. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://theblackwallsttimes.com/2025/10/20/fcc-drew-the-map-media-redlining-still-shapes-who-controls-the-airwaves/

Journalism by Order of Management

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 10/24/25

Headline:   “Ex-60 Minutes producer Bill Owens says bosses discouraged him from covering Gaza and Trump”

Subhead: “Show’s leader, who resigned in April, says he was also pressured to apologize for edit of Kamala Harris interview”

“The former executive producer of 60 Minutes, Bill Owens, said he faced intense internal pressure from his corporate bosses to avoid certain stories that had the potential to generate backlash for parent company Paramount, in his first public remarks since his sudden resignation in late April.. .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/24/60-minutes-bill-owens

Public Radio Fallout

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Article in Freepress.net by Amy Kroin, 10/23/25

Hedline:  “The Defunding of Public Media Is Hitting Local Stations Hardest”

Subhead:  “The decision to end federal funding for public media in the United States already has local stations reeling. . .”

“A New York Times analysis found that 245 stations in rural communities were at risk of closure. That’s because rural stations were far more dependent on CPB funding than many urban stations, which often have a far greater range of underwriters and larger donor pools.

Rural stations have long served as a lifeline for local communities. At a time when media consolidation has decimated local news, public-media stations are often the only source of local journalism. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/blog/defunding-public-media-hitting-local-stations-hardest

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Article in NPR by Staff, 10/22/25

Headline: “How Funding Cuts Are Changing Public Radio”

“This summer, Republicans clawed back over a billion dollars that had been pledged to public media. . . . Now, many stations are weighing whether to spend their shrinking budgets on national programming from the likes of NPR, or to fund journalism on their local communities. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.npr.org/podcasts/452538775/on-the-media

Grabbing All the Media?

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Article in The Guardian by Laura Aratani, 10/21/25

Headline:  “Warner Bros Discovery considers sale as potential buyers show interest”

Subhead:  “Netflix, Comcast and Paramount Skydance are reportedly among possible bidders in sale that could shake up industry”

“Warner Bros Discovery is considering putting the entire company up for sale, a move that could see huge restructuring in an industry that has seen ripples of changes since Donald Trump took office. . .”

“Warner Bros Discovery is the parent company of several subsidiaries including CNN, HBO, DC Studios and the Harry Potter franchise. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oct/21/warner-bros-discovery-considers-sale

Burning Down Local Radio

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Article in Al Jezeera by Andy Hirschfeld, 10/20/25

Headline:   “As US public media funds officially dry up, local radio stations struggle”

Subhead:  “Local stations like the Allegheny Mountain Radio serve as a key resource for locals during crises.”

“For Scott Smith, the cuts to the Corporation For Public Broadcasting are existential.

He is the general manager of Allegheny Mountain Radio, which he runs alongside programme manager Heather Nidly. The funds were slashed as part of United States President Donald Trump’s vast tax cut and spending bill that was signed into law in July. As a result, the station, which has been on air for more than four decades, lost 65 percent of its funding. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2025/10/20/as-public-media-funds-officially-dry-up-local-radio-stations-struggle

 

TV News Loses to Monopolies

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Kyle Paoletta 10/20/25

Headline:  “Brendan Carr’s Deregulation Blitz Is a Disaster for TV News”

Subhead:  “The FCC chairman is clearing the way for Trump and corporate broadcasters to control the airwaves.”

“. . .Under his leadership, the FCC is in the midst of a historic deregulation spree he’s calling “Delete, Delete, Delete.” The campaign is currently reviewing the agency’s “multiple ownership” rules, which prohibit any one company from exerting outsize control over the local television market. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/brendan-carr-fcc-deregulation-blitz-is-a-disaster-for-tv-news.php

Fox in a Whitehouse

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Article in Media Matters by Tyler Monroe, 10/20/25

Headline: “Star Fox host Laura Ingraham is now in business with the president’s son”

“Fox News star Laura Ingraham spent years railing against the purported corruption caused by the business interests of President Joe Biden’s son. But now she’s going into business with Donald Trump Jr., federal records show, a wildly and obviously unethical conflict of interest that no credible news outlet would tolerate. . .

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump-jr/star-fox-host-laura-ingraham-now-business-presidents-son