Broadcasting

. . .From the Frying Pan. . .

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 7/10/26

Headline: “Opinion | What’s going to happen to CNN?”

Subhead:  “The pending Paramount merger has fueled questions about CNN’s leadership, editorial autonomy and whether politics will shape its future”

“Paramount owns CBS, which oversees CBS News. Will it be left alone after the merger? Will it fall under the umbrella of CBS News? If so, will CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss become the big boss, taking over CNN along with her CBS News duties? Will decisions at CNN be driven at all by politics, considering Paramount CEO David Ellison (and his father Larry) are allies of President Donald Trump?. . .”

Read the full article at:

After Jail, go on Media Tour?

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Article in Media Matters by John Knefel, 7/10/26

Headline:  “Tina Peters’ right-wing media tour: Endless conspiracy theories about voter fraud and boasts about advising Trump on how to fix it”

Subhead:  “Peters’ complaints, including about ‘foreign agents,’ appear to be linked to a broader plot to subvert the midterms by manufacturing a pretext for Trump to declare a national emergency and seize control of voting systems”

“Following her release from prison last month, former Colorado election official Tina Peters has hit the ground running with more than 17 appearances in right-wing media. During her media tour, Peters has spread numerous conspiracy theories about supposed voter fraud and foreign interference in elections. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/voter-fraud-and-suppression/tina-peters-right-wing-media-tour-endless-conspiracy-theories-about

FCC Decides What is “News”?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 7/8/26

Headline:   “Opinion | ABC reminds the FCC it already ruled ‘The View’ is news”

Subhead:  “ABC argues that if the FCC can decide what qualifies as news, it can also dictate which political candidates programs may interview”

“ABC is stepping up its fight against the Federal Communications Commission.

“In what is shaping up to be an intense battle that could have long-lasting ramifications, Disney’s ABC and the FCC continue to trade blows. It all goes back to ABC’s ‘The View’ and whether it violated what is known as the ‘equal-time rule.’ That’s the rule that says if a TV or radio program talks to someone running for political office, it must offer their opponent the same amount of time. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/abc-the-view-fcc-fight/

Media Monopoly Struggle Continues

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Article in Reuters by Dawn Chmielewski and Jody Godoy 7/8/26

Headline:  “US states could sue next week to block Paramount-Warner Bros deal, sources say”

“U.S. states concerned that Paramount’s  $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery will hurt competition could sue to block the deal as soon as next week, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta ​has taken the lead in investigating whether the deal violates U.S. laws against mergers that would unlawfully harm ​competition. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-states-could-sue-next-week-block-paramount-warner-bros-deal-sources-say-2026-07-08/

Fleeing Hungry Hyena

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 7/2/26

Headline: “Opinion | CNN’s uncertain future claims its first major on-air talent”

Subhead: “Paula Reid is leaving for MS NOW after reportedly raising concerns about Paramount Skydance’s pending takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery“

“Paramount hasn’t yet taken over Warner Bros. Discovery and CNN. Bari Weiss isn’t overseeing CNN — at least not yet.

“But CNN has already lost a major on-air talent.

“Paula Reid, the network’s chief legal affairs correspondent, is leaving to join MS NOW. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/paula-reid-exit-cnn-msnow-bari-weiss/

Media Maintaining Illusions?

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Article in The Bulwark by Tim Miller and John Dickerson, 6/29/26

Headline:  “John Dickerson: When the Media Helps Rewrite Reality”

“The most powerful person in the world repeatedly creates his own narrative about a news event despite what we can see and hear with our own eyes and our own ears. Media organizations that don’t fight like hell in response are failing at doing their most basic job—and they’re failing the country and our democracy as well. That’s what CBS News did when it settled Donald Trump’s frivolous 60 Minutes lawsuit and when it tried to change the story of the Minneapolis protests to benefit Trump. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/john-dickerson-when-the-media-helps

O’Reilly Decides Who is a Journalist?

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Article in The Wrap by Jacob Bryant, 7/1/26

Headline: “Tucker Carlson Are Only Anti-Trump Because They’re ‘Personalities,’ Not Journalists.  ‘I’m not in it for clicks,’ he adds”

“. . .While talking with Piers Morgan on ‘Piers Morgan Uncensored,‘ O’Reilly was asked why he thought Kelly, Carlson and even people like Marjorie Taylor Greene had all started attack Trump more often. . .”

“O’Reilly thought that it all came down to one very important thing: Kelly and Tucker were personalities and not real journalists.

“ ‘Well, look, I can’t speak for them as far as their motivation is concerned. I can tell you that they’re not journalists! None of them are,’ he said. ‘They are personalities and very successful personalities. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thewrap.com/media-platforms/journalism/bill-o-reilly-slams-megyn-kelly-tucker-carlson-anti-trump/

Murdoch Media Menace?

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Article in The Guardian by Amanda Meade, 7/1/26

Headline: ” ‘This is the dark art’: new book claims pattern of personal attacks by Murdoch media empire”

Subhead: “In a book dedicated to ‘the bullied’, two former News Corp journalists outline a behavior pattern they call ‘getting Murdoched’, which they say harms individuals and public debate”

“‘Murdoched’, a term Dodd and Ricketson coin for the book, means to be ‘editorially attacked when one’s ideas or deeds do not accord with the media proprietor’s programs or publications.

“The book examines ‘murdoching’ across the US, the UK and Australia, including dozens of interviews with prominent people and ordinary citizens about the way they were treated in newspapers, such as the Sun and the New York Post, and cable television network Fox News.

Dedicated to ‘the bullied’, the book focuses squarely on Murdoch’s ‘way of doing journalism’ Dodd and Ricketson write. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jul/01/andrew-dodd-matthew-ricketson-getting-murdoch-book-bullying-factory