Broadcasting

Right-Wing Newser Called on Facts, Quits in Snit

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Article in The Daily Beast by Grace Harrington, 11/1/24

Headline: “Hugh Hewitt Resigns as Washington Post Columnist After Storming Off Paper’s Livestream”

Subhead: “The conservative had argued with two progressive columnists amid the backlash at the paper over owner Jeff Bezos’ endorsement decision.”

“Conservative columnist Hugh Hewitt resigned from The Washington Post on Friday, shortly after exiting a stormy livestream debate moderated by Jonathan Capehart, the New York Post reports.

“Hewitt walked off of the Post‘s show “First Look,” with liberal columnists Jonathan Capehart and Ruth Marcus, after a heated discussion on Donald Trump’s lawsuit about alleged voting irregularities in Pennsylvania.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/hugh-hewitt-resigns-as-washington-post-columnist-after-storming-off-papers-livestream/

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Article in The Hill by Donald Mastrangelo, 11/1/24

Headline:  “Conservative radio host and political pundit Hugh Hewitt stormed off a Washington Post live event Friday after an argument over former President Trump’s rhetoric on election integrity ahead of Tuesday’s election.”

“. . .After a brief pause, Capehart told Hewitt, “I don’t appreciate being lectured about reporting when, Hugh, many times you come here saying lots of things that aren’t based in fact.”

“I won’t come back, Jonathan, I’m done,” Hewitt said, ripping his earpiece out and standing up.

“I’m done. This is the most unfair election ad I’ve ever been a part of,” Hewitt continued, his face no longer visible on the screen. “You guys are working, that’s fine, I’m done.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/4965738-hugh-hewitt-washington-post-live-jonathan-capehart-ruth-marcus/

No Human Anymore . . . No Human Anymore . . . No Human . . .

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Article from AP on CNN Business, 10/24/24

Headline:  “Polish radio station replaces journalists with AI ‘presenters’ “

” A Polish radio station has triggered controversy after dismissing its journalists and relaunching this week with AI-generated “presenters.”

“Weeks after letting its journalists go, OFF Radio Krakow relaunched this week, with what it said was ‘the first experiment in Poland in which journalists … are virtual characters created by AI.’

“The station in the southern city of Krakow said its three avatars are designed to reach younger listeners by speaking about cultural, art and social issues including the concerns of LGBTQ+ people.”

“. . . The change got nationwide attention after Mateusz Demski, a journalist and film critic who until recently hosted a show on the station, published an open letter Tuesday protesting ‘the replacement of employees with artificial intelligence.’ ”

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/24/media/polish-radio-ai-presenters-scli-intl/index.html

Medicare Proposal Ignored by Broadcasters

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Article in Media Matters by Zachary Pleat, 10/23/24

Headline:  “Broadcast news mostly ignored Kamala Harris’ proposal expanding Medicare to cover in-home health care for 15 million seniors”

Subhead:  “Harris’ Medicare proposal was given just 35 seconds of combined airtime on ABC, CBS, and NBC news shows after two weeks”

“he major corporate broadcast news networks — ABC, CBS, NBC — largely ignored Vice President Kamala Harris’ proposal to expand Medicare to pay for long-term, in-home care services for seniors in the two weeks since she announced it.

“ABC, where Harris broke the news on an episode of The View, otherwise made only passing mention of the proposal, as did NBC, while CBS ignored it entirely. All told, this transformative expansion of Medicare garnered just 35 seconds of combined airtime across the three broadcast networks in the last two weeks.”

https://www.mediamatters.org/broadcast-networks/broadcast-news-mostly-ignored-kamala-harris-proposal-expanding-medicare-cover

S.O.S.! Someone Wants to Burn Down the Media

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Article in the New York Times by By Michael M. Grynbaum and David McCabe, 10/21/24

Headline:  “Trump Ratchets Up Threats on the Media”

Subhead:  “Presidents are not all-powerful, but, if elected, Donald Trump would have some influence with the federal regulators who oversee major television networks.”

“Threatening the news media is nothing new for former President Donald J. Trump. He has accused major news outlets of defamation, blocked journalists from rallies and White House events, goaded followers into profane chants about CNN and popularized the term “fake news,” now embraced by autocrats around the world.

“. . . Broadcast networks like ABC, CBS and NBC do not actually need a license to produce or publish news content. But the local affiliate stations that carry their broadcasts do require licenses. Those licenses are overseen by the F.C.C., which is independent from the White House.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/21/business/media/trump-media-broadcast-licenses.html

Media Feeding War?

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Audio interview of Norman Solomon on Alternative Radio by David Barsamian, 10/11/24

Headline: “War & the Media”

“In times of war the corporate media play a salient role in shaping public opinion. There are worthy and unworthy victims. Muslims, Arabs, and Iranians generally fall into that latter category whereas Washington and its allies are worthy victims that we support and empathize with. The current phase of the Gaza war did not begin on October 7 as the media repeat ad nauseum. But to dig into the underlying causes and provide context and history rarely occurs because it would undermine the dominant propaganda. Thus the Norah O’Donnells, Wolf Blitzers, Lester Holts and other corporate news anchors don’t question the embedded assumptions and simply mimic, with few exceptions, the dominant official line.”

https://www.alternativeradio.org/products/soln009/

Censoring Media is OK by Some Politicians

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Article in Raw Story by Erik De La Garza 10/18/24

. . . so – Reagan threw out the Fairness Doctrine but actually still exists for TV ads?

Headline:  “Trump’s latest ask of Fox News is ‘arguably against the law’: media analyst”

“Donald Trump’s idea of demanding Fox News founder Rupert Murdoch stop the network from airing ‘negative commercials’ about him for the remainder of the election could be against the law, a CNN media analyst said Friday, adding that the former president’s comments show he is clearly bothered by the attack ads.

“Here’s the interesting thing: Trump asking Fox to ban anti-Trump ads is arguably against the law,” CNN media analyst Brian Stelter told anchor Wolf Blitzer on Friday night. “Fox operates local TV stations across the country that are subject to FCC oversight. The FCC has rules in place that require stations to be fair about airing political ads.”

https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-2669441295/

It’s the Media, Stupid!

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Update

Article in the Guardian by Carter Sherman, 10/18/24

Headline: “Judge slaps down Florida effort to ban abortion ad: ‘It’s the first amendment, stupid’”

Subhead: “State health department sent letter to stations demanding they not air TV ad backing abortion access ballot measure”

“Florida’s health department can’t block a TV advertisement in support of a ballot measure that would protect abortion rights, a federal judge ruled on Thursday, after the department sent letters to local TV stations commanding them to stop airing the ad or risk criminal consequences.

“The government cannot excuse its indirect censorship of political speech simply by declaring the disfavored speech is ‘false’,” US district judge Mark E Walker wrote in his ruling. “To keep it simple for the State of Florida: it’s the First Amendment, stupid.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/18/florida-abortion-ad

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Article in The Guardian by Carter Sherman, 10/9/24

Headline: “Florida threatens news stations over ad in favor of abortion rights measure”

Subhead:  “FCC chair condemns state health department for sending cease-and-desists over spot supporting abortion rights”

“The Florida health department has fired off cease-and-desist letters to local news stations over an advertisement urging people to vote in favor of a ballot measure that would expand abortion rights in the state.

” . . . On Tuesday, Jessica Rosenworcel, the Federal Communications Commission chair, condemned the cease-and-desist letters.

“ ‘The right of broadcasters to speak freely is rooted in the first amendment,’ Rosenworcel said in a statement. “Threats against broadcast stations for airing content that conflicts with the government’s views are dangerous and undermine the fundamental principle of free speech.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/09/florida-news-abortion-ballot-coverage

 

 

Fox in a Media Hole

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Harlanov Flikr Photo

Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 10/17/24

Hedline: “There is no Fox ‘news side.’ Wednesday’s Trump and Harris events prove it”

“Fox News’ Wednesday programming encapsulated the transformation of the network’s once-vaunted “news side” into an extension of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.”

“. . . Fox’s “news side” has been in steep decline since Trump took over the Republican Party and the network rebranded as his personal propaganda outlet. But even by those standards, the partisan divide it displayed on Wednesday was striking and would be catastrophically embarrassing to Fox’s employees if any of them were still capable of humiliation.”

“. . . The network has shortened its “news” hours and replaced newsroom staffers with GOP partisans.

“Reporters who tried to tell viewers the truth about Trump’s election fraud claims were first chastised by their bosses and then took jobs at other outlets.”

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/there-no-fox-news-side-wednesdays-trump-and-harris-events-prove-it

Media Ignore, “If it walks like a . . . “

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Article by in Media Matters by Tyler Monroe, 10/14/24

Headline: “Broadcast news shows and print outlets largely ignored Gen. Milley calling Trump “fascist to the core”

Subhead: “Only one article from The Washington Post and one segment from NBC News covered the comments”

“National broadcast news networks and print outlets buried recent comments from Donald Trump’s former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff retired Gen. Mark Milley calling the former president “fascist to the core.” Almost all broadcast news shows and the major newspapers ignored the comments, with only NBC’s Meet the Press and The Washington Post covering Milley’s “fascist” remarks.

“Reporting surfaced on October 11 that Milley called Trump “fascist to the core” in comments reported in journalist Bob Woodward’s upcoming book War.”

“. . . Broadcast and print news almost completely ignored Milley’s characterization of Trump as ‘fascist’.”

https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/broadcast-news-shows-and-print-outlets-largely-ignored-gen-milley-calling-trump

News Desert in Florida During Hurricanes

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Article in Poynter by Janet Coats and Joy Mayer 10/11/24

Headline: “Where’s the coverage of communities that didn’t ‘dodge a bullet’ with Hurricane Milton?”

Subhead: “Local television news forecast the storm up and down the coast. But after it struck, the cone of coverage felt like it narrowed”

“For days leading up to the storm, local and national news coverage focused on a threat to Tampa and St. Petersburg that none of us have seen in our lifetime. The Tampa region is one of the most vulnerable in the world to the storm surge a major hurricane brings. Both cities could be inundated with water. So the urgent warnings and tense anticipation about what would happen there made sense.”

“. . . In journalism, we’ve talked a lot about news deserts. Those conversations have focused on the decline and even death of local newspapers. But we also have local television news deserts. And that is a very real, life-threatening problem when a big storm comes to Florida.”

“. . .It’s a stark example of what it means to be in a television news desert. News deserts in proximity to major television markets aren’t just a Florida thing. As a friend and former Sarasota journalist noted: If a tornado happens in southern Indiana, coverage often comes out of Louisville. This also isn’t just a problem for natural disasters. People who live two hours from a major market are accustomed to being undercovered. The concentration of journalists in urban areas is unavoidable.”

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2024/hurricane-coverage-less-known-cities-lacking/