Broadcasting

Steaks, University, Watches, and Trump

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Article in The New York Times by By Maggie HabermanHamed AleazizShane Goldmacher and Jonathan Swan, 10/2/26

Headline: “Trump Directed Use of Taxpayer Money for Ads Praising His Presidency”

Subhead: “The government-funded ads show just how much President Trump has been able to use federal money for his own aims.”

“President Trump personally instructed his budget director to use taxpayer money for TV ads praising him and his presidency, setting in motion a $20 million contract that used funds from the Department of Homeland Security, according to people familiar with the matter.

“The ads have run across cable and network television — on Fox News, CNN and MS Now, with football games on Fox and with national newscasts on CBS, ABC and NBC, including ‘Meet the Press,’ which Mr. Trump is known to watch. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/02/us/politics/trump-ads.html

Fox News & Explosive Rage

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 10/1/36

Headline: “Donald Trump’s insatiable demand for Fox propaganda”

“President Donald Trump lashed out at Fox News on Wednesday with a lengthy online harangue that made little sense but demonstrates the network’s impossible task in satisfying the president’s demand for pure propaganda. . .”

“. . .The president’s commentary about Fox typically blends praise for the hosts he loves and segments he appreciates with critiques of personalities who don’t meet his standard for sycophancy and attacks on the network’s accurate pollsters. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/donald-trumps-insatiable-demand-fox-propaganda

Reporters Experience “Show Me State”

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 9/30/26

Headline: “Opinion | Sen. Eric Schmitt confused the Hawks and Hawkeyes and the political press had a field day”

Subhead:  “The Missouri senator accused Jack Smith of perjury over an Atlanta Hawks game. Smith had actually watched Caitlin Clark play … in Maryland.”

“The Republican senator thought he was going to dunk on his opponent. Instead, he ended up flat on his back in a wild moment on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. Get ready for a bizarre story that somehow includes basketball star Caitlin Clark.

“And it’s what the Washington media was buzzing about Tuesday. . . ”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/eric-schmitt-hawks-hawkeyes-hawks-jack-smith/

Carr Accident

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Article in Status, by Oliver Darcy, 9/29/26

Headline: “Comcast’s Carr Calculation”

Subhead: “While the company announced plans to spin off NBCUniversal, Status has learned executives are weighing whether to hang on to their local television stations rather than risk a fight with Trump’s FCC.”

“Earlier this summer, when Comcast announced that it would spin off its NBCUniversal assets into a separate company, most of the industry assumed that the conglomerate’s owned-and-operated television stations would be divested with the rest of the media portfolio. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/comcast-nbc-stations-spinoff-fcc-brendan-carr

Will Court Stop Media Ban?

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Article in The Washington Post by Victoria Craw, 9/29/26

Headline: “CNN, MS NOW and Politico ask judge to extend block on Trump’s media ban”

Subhead:  “The current 14-day order is due to expire Oct. 8, and the media outlets say the White House is preventing CNN from fulfilling its television pool duties.”

“CNN, MS NOW and Politico have asked a federal court to block President Donald Trump’s media ban beyond the current 14-day order while legal proceedings play out.

The outlets called for the ‘same access’ to the White House and president they had before Trump announced the ban on Sept. 18, accusing them of ‘FAKE NEWS.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/09/30/cnn-ms-now-politico-ask-judge-extend-block-trumps-media-ban/

Who Paid for Trump Ads?

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Article in AP by Ali Swenson, 9/28/26

Headline:  “Taxpayers have funded nearly $1.5M in pro-Trump ads. Criticism is mounting, including from the GOP”

“The White House has spent days fiercely defending three taxpayer-funded advertisements that glorify President Donald Trump and are nearing at least $1.5 million in public spending, calling them public service announcements like those used in past administrations. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://apnews.com/article/trump-government-ads-taxpayer-funded-psa-propaganda-26ae03010d78221d1d93b06c0818d06d

Something Was “Hatched” in the Media

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Article in Common Dreams by Stephen Prager, 9/24/26

Headline:  “White House Airs ‘Illegal’ Trump Propaganda Ad ‘Paid For By the US Government’ Weirdest way to violate the Hatch Act, ever.”

“The White House is being accused of violating federal law after it aired an ad glorifying President Donald Trump, which it explicitly said was ‘paid for by the US government.’

“The ad was first reported by CBS News Miami investigative reporter Jim DeFede, who saw it airing on Fox News Wednesday night. . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-government-funded-ad

No Coverage? Why Would That Be?

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Article in The New Republic by Greg Sargeant, 9/28/26

Headline: “Trump’s Rage Over Failing Press Ban Goes Off Rails in Epic Self-Own”

Subhead:  “As Trump’s fury at news organizations grows after he loses in court, the writer of a piece on Trump’s shrinking stature explains how the media can collectively resist his abuses of power.”

“A few days ago, Donald Trump exploded in an extended tirade at news organizations. Why? Because they had suspended TV pool coverage of him to show solidarity with three news outlets he’d banned from the White House. This resulted in no TV footage of his reception of Xi Jinping at the White House. Trump absurdly raged that news orgs were trying to deny him coverage of a major success. But in saying this, he actually revealed that he badly needs the attention of news outlets. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/215898/trump-rage-failing-press-ban-goes-off-rails-epic-self-own

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Article in Status by Natalie Korvach, 9/27/26

Headline: “The Press Pool Whiplash”

Subhead:  “Just as major networks thought their standoff with the White House was cooling, CNN was blocked from pool duty again, forcing the group into a day-by-day battle over coverage.”

Read the article at:

https://www.status.news/p/trump-cnn-msnow-white-house-press-pool-fight

Whose News is Fake News?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 9/28/26

Headline: “Opinion | Rachel Maddow on why Trump keeps attacking the media: ‘You play the hits’”

Subhead:  “Maddow kicks off season seven of ‘The Poynter Report Podcast’ to talk Trump, the press, polling and the future of news”

“Donald Trump, in perhaps his most brazen act as president, banned prominent news outlets from covering his administration. That battle rages on.

“In addition, he put out a TV commercial attacking ‘fake news’ — a common phrase he has used over the past decade whenever he is bothered by coverage he doesn’t like. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/poynter-report-podcast-rachel-maddow-msnow/

Will Reporter’s Barricade Last?

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Article in The Wrap by A.J. Katz, 9/25/26

Headline:   “Trump’s War With the Press Keeps Escalating. How Long Can the Guardrails Hold? | Analysis”

Subhead:  “A court victory and an unusual show of media solidarity ended the latest White House standoff — for now”

“The Trump administration’s latest confrontation with the press ended, for now, with the institutional guardrails holding. But not for lack of the president trying to barrel his way through them.

“A federal judge on Thursday ordered the White House to restore access to CNN, MS NOW and Politico. The major television networks stood together rather than replace CNN in the White House TV pool. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thewrap.com/media-platforms/journalism/trump-press-war-white-house-guardrails-analysis/