Broadcasting

VOA Angst

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Article in Poynter by Liam Scott, 4/23/25

Headline: ” ‘I am angry most of the time’: Inside a small VOA cohort’s return to work”

Subhead: “The bare-bones return has been marked by low morale, confusion and uncertainty, VOA sources say”

“Several weeks after the Trump administration began gutting Voice of America in March, the news agency is back — except, not really.

“A small cohort of Voice of America staffers quietly returned to the Washington office in early May, where they have been tasked with covering the news at a tiny fraction of the agency’s previous capacity.

“Instead of 49 languages, the congressionally funded but editorially independent news network is barely publishing in four. And instead of some 1,300 staffers, only about 30 are working. . .”

read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2025/voice-of-america-staff-back-office-skeleton-crew/

Book Sales Drive Media?

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Article in AlterNet by Ailia Zehra, 5/22/25

Headline:  ” ‘Fake outrage to gin up ratings’: Critics say Tapper’s book is ‘everything wrong with the media’ “

“CNN anchor Jake Tapper is being criticized over the information he supposedly had about former President Joe Biden’s mental acuity before the 2024 election as he promotes his new book about the former president’s decline.

“Some commentators have argued that talking about President Donald Trump’s actions and their impact is more important than discussing Biden’s cognitive health during his presidency.

“Political commentator Tristan Snell wrote on the social platform X: “Dear Jake Tapper, No, the original sin was JANUARY 6 — and not convicting Trump immediately after. Anything else is fake outrage to gin up ratings and book sales.”

Read the full article at:

https://www.alternet.org/jake-tapper-book/

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Article in The Hill by Dominick Mastrangelo, 5/22/25

Headline:  “Trump-related crisis deepens at CBS News“

“The departure of two top executives at CBS News in recent weeks has shaken journalists at the outlet and fueled speculation the network’s corporate parent will soon settle a high-profile lawsuit brought against the company by President Trump.

“The resignation this week of CBS President Wendy McMahon came just weeks after that of “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens.

“The back-to-back resignations served as the latest sign that a brooding crisis for one of the country’s largest and oldest broadcast news networks is reaching an inflection point. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/media/5312467-cbs-executives-resign-trump-lawsuit/

Insulting Journalists Presidential?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 5/22/25

Headline:  “Opinion | Another day, another press conference with President Donald Trump insulting a journalist”

Subhead:  “Trump goes after NBC’s Peter Alexander for Qatari plane question during meeting with South African president”

“Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A reporter asks a perfectly legitimate question of President Donald Trump. And because Trump doesn’t like the question, he verbally accosts the reporter, and the reporter’s news organization, with insults.

“Rinse and repeat.

“It’s getting tiresome, isn’t it? Not the story, but Trump’s repeated pettiness and attacks against the press that is unbecoming of the President of the United States. . .”

Read the full article at :

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/another-day-another-press-conference-with-president-donald-trump-insulting-a-journalist-wesley-lowery-lady-gaga/

RFE Back – for a while. . .

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Article in Al Jazeera by Staff, 5/20/25

Headline:  “EU to sustain Radio Free Europe with emergency funding after Trump cuts”

Subhead:  “Outlet is one of several media services whose funding was cut by the Trump administration amid an aggressive downsizing effort.”

“The European Union plans to step in to help save longtime media outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) after United States President Donald Trump’s administration abruptly stopped funding it.

“The bloc’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, told reporters after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Tuesday that 5.5 million euros ($6.2m) will be provided to “support the vital work of Radio Free Europe’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/20/eu-to-sustain-radio-free-europe-with-emergency-funding-after-trump-cuts

Short Right Wave

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Article in NPR On the Media by Staff, 5/21/25

Headline:  “S2 THE DIVIDED DIAL EPISODE 3: World’s Last Chance Radio”

“. . .The Divided Dial is the untold story of shortwave radio: the way-less-listened to but way-farther-reaching cousin of AM and FM radio. The medium was once heralded as a utopian, international, and instantaneous mass communication tool — a sort of internet-before-the-internet. But like the internet, it also took a turn for the chaotic. And like AM and FM talk radio, it also went hard to the right, with extremists and cults still finding a home on the shortwaves. . .

Read or listen to the full article at:

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

End Diversity, Get License

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Article in Ars Technica by John Brodkin, 5/20/25

Headline:  “FCC Chair Brendan Carr is letting ISPs merge—as long as they end DEI programs”

It’s shaping up to be a big year for telecom mergers, and it appears the Federal Communications Commission is eager to approve the deals—as long as companies involved drop any DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) policies criticized by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. Verizon just got a big merger approved, and cable giant Charter is seeking permission to buy Cox.

The FCC on Friday announced approval of Verizon’s purchase of Frontier, one day after Verizon committed to end DEI policies in a filing with the commission. Carr previously sent letters to Verizon and other companies alleging that their diversity policies are “invidious forms of discrimination” that violate federal law and threatened to block mergers pursued by firms that enforce such policies. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/05/fcc-chair-brendan-carr-is-letting-isps-merge-as-long-as-they-end-dei-programs/

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Article in The Washington Post by Will Oremus and Andrea Jimenez, 5/20/25

Headline: “Carr’s FCC puts the political squeeze on media mergers”

“Now companies looking to close deals are also ditching diversity policies and, reportedly, responding to pressure to settle lawsuits with President Donald Trump.

“On Friday, Verizon won FCC approval to buy broadband internet provider Frontier for about $10 billion. The approval came the day after the company said in a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr that it would end its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs “effective immediately,” as the Intercept first reported.

“The agency cited that shift as a factor in its approval .  .  .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/05/20/verizon-dei-carr-fcc-merger-cbs/

“60 Minutes” Fallout

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 5/19/25

Headline:  “The Showdown Over ’60’ “

Subhead: “For months, CBS News boss Wendy McMahon faced mounting pressure over the network’s coverage of Donald Trump—and over the weekend, it hit a crescendo.”

“On Monday morning, Wendy McMahon walked into the CBS News offices on the west side of Manhattan and led the network’s daily editorial meeting as she always did. She congratulated “60 Minutes” on a standout season, acknowledged the unusual circumstances the newsmagazine had navigated, and went over programming plans. What she didn’t mention was that it would be one of her final days at the network. That came soon after, in a memo that stunned staffers across CBS News and sent a jolt through the broader media industry.

McMahon told staffers she was resigning from her role as president and chief executive of CBS News and Stations—a decision she’d quietly finalized over the weekend after a bruising, weeks-long battle with the company’s top brass. . .”

Read the fullarticle at:

https://www.status.news/p/cbs-news-60-minutes-wendy-mcmahon

Stopping Blackmail by Paying?

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Article in The Hill by Dominick Mastrangelo, 5/19/25

Headline:  “Trump threatens ABC News over Qatar jet coverage”

“President Trump is threatening ABC News over its coverage of a luxury jet he is set to receive from Qatar, a decision that is drawing criticism from both congressional leaders and national security experts.

“ ‘Why doesn’t Chairman Bob Iger do something about ABC Fake News,’ Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Saturday, name-checking the Disney CEO who presides over the broadcast news network.

“The president referenced a multimillion-dollar settlement the network paid him late last year over comments made by George Stephanopoulos in which the ‘This Week’ anchor falsely said Trump had been convicted of sexual assault. The company retracted and apologized for the remarks. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5307218-trump-threatens-abc-news-qatar-jet-coverage/

Cover the News – Get Suspended?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Meghnad Rose ahd Ann Okes, 5/19/25

Headline:  “Columbia Keeps ‘Investigating’ Student Journalists Covering Pro-Palestine Protests”

Subhead:  “Reporters on campus say it’s a threat to press freedom.”

“On the afternoon of Wednesday, May 7, Celeste Gamble was in Columbia University’s Butler Library, studying for her final exams, when about a hundred student protesters launched an occupation of the reading room. . .”

“Gamble, twenty, is a reporter for WKCR, Columbia’s student radio station. She pulled out her press ID, recognizing that the timing had given her unique access. . .”

“Less than twenty-four hours later, Gamble, Lahr, Huckabee, and a reporter from the Columbia Daily Spectator all received notice from the university that they’d been suspended for being ‘involved in a disruption at Butler Library’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/news/student-journalist-columbia-covered-a-pro-palestine-protest-graduation-under-threat.php