Broadcasting

Article in the Columbia Journalism Review by Betsy Morais, 1/24/25

Headline:  “The Flurry at CNN”

Subhead:  “A major network charts a digital course—and makes layoffs.”

“Washington weather report: “In a flurry of activity that is happening almost too swiftly to follow,” per CNN, “Trump is giving his critics every reason to think their worst fears for his new presidency will be realized and worse.” Back at CNN headquarters, there was other news in the air: a major restructuring that will cut about two hundred jobs focused on the company’s television programming and put about as many to work on digital products and services. “Recruiting the right people will take some time,” Mark Thompson, the CEO, wrote in a memo to the staff, “but we hope to open up and fill at least 100 new posts in the coming months to help execute the new plans.” He told the New York Times, “This is a moment where the digital story feels like an existential question. If we do not follow the audiences to the new platforms with real conviction and scale, our future prospects will not be good.”

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/cnn_digital_layoffs_mark_thompson.php

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Article in The Nation by Jeet Heer, 1/24/25Headline:  “CNN Surrenders to Trump”

Headline:  “The corporate media’s commitment to fighting autocracy proves fickle.”

“US President Donald Trump points to journalist Jim Acosta from CNN during a postelection press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on November 7, 2018. ‘Will no one rid me of this troublesome journalist?’ (Jim Watson / AFP)

“CNN anchor Jim Acosta is fated to be a barometer of his network’s relationship with Donald Trump. During Trump’s first term, Acosta’s tough questioning at press conferences gave CNN credibility as a news outlet uncowed by the president’s bullying and willing to uphold the principle of accountability. In 2018, Trump denounced Acosta as a ‘rude, terrible person’ and the White House revoked Acosta’s press pass. CNN sued Trump and his top aides on behalf of Acosta, successfully forcing the White House to give the reporter back his press pass.

“If Acosta’s jousting with Trump was once celebrated by CNN, it has now become a source of shame. With Trump winning not just a second term but also having, for the first time, a popular vote victory (however narrow), CNN and other corporate media outlets have been thoroughly cowed.”

https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/cnn-surrender-trump-corporate-media/

Article in The Hill by Howard Husock, 1/17/25

Headline:  “Fixing the missing ‘N’ in ‘NPR’: Public media must serve the American public at large”

“If the pledges of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are to be believed, the incoming Trump administration will make defunding public broadcasting a priority. The Department of Government Efficiency leaders have specifically targeted the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which directs federal funds to National Public Radio and public television. Their view is in line with that of conservatives generally, who have come to see public media as a progressive bastion.

Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, has said, ‘NPR and PBS have among the bigger partisan gaps in believability.” Only 16 percent of Republicans, the Pew project has found, say they believe what they hear on NPR.”

https://thehill.com/opinion/5089700-defunding-public-broadcasting/

Article in AP by David Bauder, 1/17/25

Headline:  “Florida jury says CNN defamed Navy veteran in story about endangered Afghans”

Subhead:  “A Florida jury on Friday found that CNN defamed a U.S. Navy veteran in a 2021 story about people paid to rescue endangered Afghans following the Taliban takeover of that country.”

It was an unusual ruling against a media outlet in a defamation case. Libel laws are generally protective of news organizations, and plaintiffs must meet a high standard to prove defamation.

The jury in Panama City, Florida, deliberated for more than eight hours starting Thursday before ruling in favor of Zachary Young, who blamed CNN for destroying his business by showing his face onscreen in a story about a “black market” of smuggling out desperate Afghans for high fees.

The jury awarded Young $5 million in damages and is now being asked to determine whether CNN must pay additional punitive damages.

https://apnews.com/article/cnn-guilty-defamation-afghans-137bf5dbc2d72762d29c9f7596f63ec2

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Article in The Hill by Dominick Mastranagelo, 1/17/25

Headline: “Jury finds CNN defamed Navy veteran with segment on Afghan refugees”

“A jury in Florida on Friday found that CNN defamed a Navy veteran with a report on his business that aired in 2021 and awarded him $5 million damages.”

“. . .The jury is also set to decide Friday afternoon on putative damages CNN must pay Young.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5092006-cnn-defamation-lawsuit-zachary-young-navy-veteran/