Broadcasting

Consolidating Media Costs Jobs?

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Article in The Wrap by Lucas Manfredi, 8/19/26

Headline:  “Paramount-WB Deal Could Cost LA 4,500 Film and TV Jobs and $2.8 Billion, Study Finds | Exclusive”

Subhead:  “Over 5,800 indirect or induced jobs from related small businesses could also be at risk over the next three years”

“. . .If the two companies merge, the decisions they make about where to
film their shows could dramatically affect how much production stays in California, CVL and DEO said. The high cost of living in L.A. County and California, combined with stronger incentives out of state and abroad, also contribute to work shifting out of the state and country. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/deals-ma/paramount-warner-bros-deal-job-losses-los-angeles/

Fighting Media Takeover

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Article and photo from Democracy Now! by Amy Goodman, 8/19/26

Headline:  “Trump’s ‘Authoritarian Takeover’ of the Media, ABC Suing FCC & the Meta Trial: Free Press’s Jessica González”

“We look at major media news with Jessica González, co-CEO of the advocacy organization Free Press. She discusses the landmark lawsuit against Meta for making its social media platforms addictive for young people, efforts to halt the Paramount-Warner Bros. megamerger, and Disney’s lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission over what it calls the Trump administration’s “retaliatory campaign” against the ABC television network. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.democracynow.org/2026/8/19/disney_paramount_meta

Battle for Free Press?

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 8/18/26

Headline:  “Disney Goes To War”

Subhead:  “In an extraordinary lawsuit, the Josh D’Amaro-led company accused the federal government of serious First Amendment violations and warned that if it loses, “the press could in no way be described as free.”

“. . .It was evident to Disney executives all along that Carr’s probe into the company was about much more than its D.E.I. policies. A person familiar with the Josh D’Amaro-led company’s thinking told Status. . .

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/disney-abc-fcc-lawsuit-brendan-carr-stations

Stop Broadcast License Burning?

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 8/18/26

Headline:  “ABC sues Trump’s media regulator over demand for TV license renewals”

Subhead:  “Network alleges FCC is trying to send ‘chilling message’ in retaliation for content the administration disapproves of”

“ABC has sued the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), arguing that it is being retaliated against for content-based reasons in a move it warns threatens the independence of the press.

“The network filed the lawsuit on Tuesday after being forced to apply early to renew its license to broadcast on the eight local television stations it owns. It is waiting to hear whether the Brendan Carr-led FCC approves its renewal requests, or, more likely, holds a hearing on their merits. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/18/abc-sues-trump-federal-communications-commission

 

Trumps Dodge Subpoenas From Broadcaster

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Article in The New Republic by Hafiz Rashid, 8/17/26

Headline:  “Trump Kids Hide From Subpoenas as BBC Defamation Lawsuit Backfires”

Subhead: “President Trump is losing control over his own lawsuit against the BBC.”

“President Trump’s family members are dodging subpoenas in his defamation lawsuit against the BBC.

“The British network asked a U.S. federal judge for help in getting documents and testimony from Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and her husband Jared Kushner, the Associated Press reports, citing court documents. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/post/214418/trump-kids-hide-subpoenas-bbc-defamation-lawsuit-backfires

Media Damage Control?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jem Bartholomew, 8/17/26

Headline:  “What Karoline Leavitt Leaves Behind”

Subhead:  “The outgoing press secretary further damaged the relationship between the federal government and the journalists who cover it.”

“. . .What Leavitt seemed to understand better than many of her predecessors was that, inside the MAGA court, the goal of press relations is to put on a good show. . .”

“. . .The Guardian’s Arwa Mahdawi wrote on Friday. ‘Leavitt’s legacy in government was attacking Trump’s enemies and spouting lie after lie after lie.’

“What I find most troubling about Leavitt’s tenure is how she and the wider Trump administration seemed to conceptualize the role of their press relations team. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/what-karoline-leavitt-leaves-behind-trump-press-secretary-outgoing-damaged-relationship-white-house-press-corps-federal-government-journalists-combative-style-showmanship.php

Media Didn’t Smile for Trump

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Article in Daily Beast by Erkki Forster, 8/16/26

Headline: “Trump, 80, Declares Fox News Host an Enemy of MAGA”

Subhead:  “The president worked himself into a fury after watching the Fox News host.”

“President Donald Trump melted down at Fox News host Shannon Bream after her Sunday broadcast failed to flatter him.

“The TV-obsessed president appeared to have tuned into Bream’s program on Sunday morning, where the Fox News host grilled Trump’s handpicked attorney general Todd Blanche over the $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization” fund and pressed him on why the president is building the White House ballroom without congressional authorization. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-80-declares-fox-news-host-shannon-bream-an-enemy-of-maga/?via=mobile&source=Reddit

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. . .  wait, wait there’s more! . . .

Article in The Guardian by Sam Levin, 8/17/26

Headline: “White House launches personal attack on CNN reporter over question to Trump”

Subhead:  “CNN says attack ‘beneath the office’ after Kristen Holmes asked president about Jon Ossoff’s comments on key aide”

“The White House launched a personal attack against a CNN reporter on Monday with a social media post that mentioned her children and accused her of asking a ‘disgusting and inhumane question’. . .:”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/17/white-house-personal-attack-cnn-reporter-trump

Avoiding Shot in the Dark

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Article in Status by Brett LoGiurato, 8/14/26

Headline:  “The Media’s Vaccine Hesitancy”

Subhead:  “Donald Trump’s executive order attempting to gut the childhood vaccine schedule was built on debunked science. Too much of the news media’s coverage treated it as a political dispute.”

“. . .the position pediatric medicine has been forcibly pushed into over the past decade, or even longer—having to defend established science to the public because of the rampant mis-and-disinformation poisoning the public discourse.

“That is also the kind of posture the press should have taken this week when Donald Trump signed an executive order that aims to drastically reshape the childhood vaccine schedule. Unfortunately, much of the news media. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/trump-vaccine-order-media-coverage-mmr

Take Political Media With a Grain of. . .

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Article in Daily Kos by Weinsch, 8/14/26

Headline:  “Listen to Political Media — But Listen Carefully”

“Folks who are new or sporadic voters should avoid a mistake that many make: Don’t put too much faith in political media. . .”

” it’s fair to say that the political media craves drama. It makes things more interesting for them. Whether it’s the primaries or the general election, the job is much easier for these folks if a theme or narrative develops into which daily or weekly news fits. The campaign becomes a novel with a beginning, middle and conclusion (or “denouement,” as we learned in high school) instead of an endless series of repetitive and disconnected short stories. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/8/14/800084505/community/listen-to-political-media-but-listen-carefully/

In Sheep’s Clothing?

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy 8/12/26

Headline:  “Ellison’s CNN Board Game”

Subhead: “Paramount is floating an oversight board to safeguard CNN’s independence under Ellison ownership—but inside the network, staffers tell Status that they aren’t buying it.”

On Wednesday, by way of The Wall Street Journal, Paramount floated creating an editorial board to oversee CNN. In theory, the board would safeguard the news organization’s independence, should David Ellison be successful in his odyssey to acquire the outlet’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/cnn-board-david-ellison-paramount