Corporate Media

Selective Analysis in NYT

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Article in Daily Kos by Oliver Willis, 10/15/26

Headline:  “New York Times cleans up Vance’s bigotry”

“Earlier this week, Vice President JD Vance became one of the most prominent Republican voices to attack Texas’ Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico with bigoted homophobic and transphobic remarks.

“But in covering these smears, The New York Times downplayed Vance’s hateful rhetoric and even sought out a justification from a friendly pro-Republican source. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/10/15/800112897/media/new-york-times-cleans-up-vances-bigotry/

Media Consolidation a Problem?

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 10/6/26

Headline: “David Ellison denies he has ‘politicized’ Skydance despite close Trump links”

Subhead:  “Ellison admits ‘good relationship’ with administration in remarks to reporters about newly merged media company”

“David Ellison, the chief executive of the newly formed media conglomerate Skydance, denied that he has “politicized” the company despite the close connection he has forged with Donald Trump’s White House over the 20 months of his administration. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/oct/06/skydance-david-ellison-trump

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Article in The Washington Post by Scott Nover and Miriam Waldvogel, 10/6/26

Headline:  “Paramount closes $110B deal with Warner Bros. Discovery after months of wrangling”

Subhead: “The deal unites Paramount and Warner Bros. film and TV studios along with CNN and CBS, creating a new megacorporation in Hollywood, streaming and news.”

Read the article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/10/06/paramount-closes-110b-deal-with-warner-bros-discovery-after-months-wrangling/?itid=hp_mv-top-stories_Biz/Nat_p008_f001

After Merger, Comes the Cutting

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Article in Reuters by Deborah Mary Sophia and Neil J Kanatt, 10/1/26

Headline:  “David Ellison’s appointment of Kreiz brings cost-cutter to Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery”

“. . .David Ellison’s choice of Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz as his co-captain at the new Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery signals what the media behemoth will care about most: running a lean, cost-efficient ​business that can pump more money out of its storied franchises. . .”

“That skillset positions Kreiz well to take on the task of knitting together two legacy media giants saddled with roughly $80 billion in debt while delivering the $6 billion in cost-savings promised from the industry-shaping merger. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/david-ellisons-appointment-of-kreiz-brings-cost-cutter-paramount-warner-bros-2026-10-01/

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

Paramount Grabs CNN

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Article in FAIR by Ari Paul, 9/24/26

Headline:  “CNN Cleared to Join CBS Under Trumpian Paramount Ownership”

“Paramount’s purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, which faced legal action and concern that Paramount boss David Ellison may be consolidating too much media power, is now going forward. A dozen states brought litigation that tied the merger up in court, but they announced a settlement this week. According to California Attorney General Rob Bonta. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/cnn-cleared-to-join-cbs-under-trumpian-paramount-ownership/

CNN in quicksand After Paramount?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Amos Barshad, 9/22/26

Headline:  “Done and Dusted”

Subhead:  “With the collapse of the California-led challenge to Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros., the future of an independent CNN hangs in the balance.”

“William Tong is the attorney general of Connecticut, a member of a coalition of states that, up until this weekend, was suing to stop Paramount’s 111-billion-dollar merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. . . Deep into Sunday night, Tong told me, ‘I was fighting. I wasn’t willing to concede until late into the evening.’ That fight is now officially over: a consent decree has laid out Paramount’s legally obligated concessions, allowing the merger to go forward. A string of major entertainment and news entities—including CNN and CBS—will be under the control of one corporate behemoth controlled by the Ellison family. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/news/done-and-dusted-paramount-warner-bros-discovery-takeover-california-states-challenge-collapse-attorneys-general-independent-cnn-consent-decree.php

AI and McClatchy

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Riddhi Setty, 9/17/26

Headline: “McClatchy’s Post-Layoff Future”

Subhead:   “AI is clearly part of the plan moving forward,” Ariane Lange, an investigative reporter at the Sacramento Bee, said. “It’s been part of the plan for quite some time.”

“Over the summer, journalists at McClatchy battled with management over the company’s plans to use artificial intelligence—and union members, organized in several regional guilds, largely seemed to be making headway. In July, newspapers in Washington State and Idaho ratified a union contract with significant AI provisions, including ones preventing the company from using AI to replace staff, using AI to impersonate journalists, or disciplining members for a chatbot’s mistakes. . .”

Then, last week, McClatchy laid off more than ninety unionized media workers across seventeen publications. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/mcclatchys-post-layoff-future-artificial-intelligence-ai-labor-union.php

Spiteful Media Exit?

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Article in The Wrap by Lucas Manfredi, 9/16/26

Headline:  “Paramount Preps California Exit Amid State AGs’ Warner Bros. Merger Battle”

Subhead:  “The David Ellison-led media giant has informed AG Rob Bonta and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ offices of the plans”

“Paramount has informed the offices of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Attorney General Rob Bonta that it is preparing to leave the state amid a legal battle over its $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.

“A Paramount spokesperson had no comment when asked about the plans, while a spokesperson for Bass told TheWrap she is ‘focused on protecting and fighting for jobs in L.A., including critical jobs in the entertainment industry that have been a vital part of Los Angeles’ economy.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/business/paramount-david-ellison-california-exit/

Hen in a Foxhouse

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 9/14/26

Headline: “She’s Donald Trump’s least-favorite Fox News host. But Jessica Tarlov remains undeterred”

Subhead: “The 42-year-old liberal commentator regularly co-hosts the network’s 5pm talk show, taking flak from her conservative colleagues and harsh insults from the president.”

“. . .The US president regularly bashes Tarlov on his Truth Social platform, in April calling her “one of the Least Attractive and Talented People on all of Television”, and demanding that Fox “GET HER OFF THE AIR.”

But, as a rotating co-host of political talkshow The Five, the 42-year-old former pollster and Democratic strategist has carved out a prominent role for herself as the network’s most capable messenger for the left, regularly doing battle with conservative co-panelists like Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/sep/14/jessica-tarlov-fox-news-liberal

New Way to Spin the News

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Article in Status by Brett Giurato, 9/11/26

Headline:  “The Prediction Market Predicament”

Subhead:  “Prediction markets are making inroads with major news organizations, but at the Status Summit, two of the industry’s most influential leaders raised questions about whether embracing them could undermine reader trust.”

“As you might’ve heard, we held our first summit earlier this week in New York. I’m a little biased, but I’ve been to many media conferences like this, and honestly? They’re usually kind of boring. Wednesday’s affair at The Times Center was anything but—a day full of candid conversations about the state of the industry and its future. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/the-prediction-market-predicament