Corporate Media

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

Media Cover Up Voter Suppression?

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Article in AlterNet by Thom Hartmann, 9/8/26

Headline: “The dark electoral secret the media has hidden for 50 years”

“For over 50 years, our media has been covering up Republican voter suppression efforts. This year, though, they’re getting so obvious that it’ll be interesting to see if they continue to whitewash the practice. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.alternet.org/long-lines-voting/

WaPo Tacking Left?

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Article in The Wrap by A.J. KAtz, 9/1/26

Headline: “Defends Iran War Report Amid ‘Traitor’ Criticism”

Subhead: “The update comes after the paper reported that senior military leaders warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth against prolonged large-scale operations”

“The Washington Post editorial board defended the paper’s reporting that senior military leaders are concerned the U.S. military is being stretched thin by the war with Iran, following criticism from the Pentagon and one of the newspaper’s own columnists.

“ ‘In a free society, there is an overwhelming public interest in knowing these facts,’ the board wrote. ‘The Constitution guarantees the rights of news organizations to publish such information.’

“The defense comes after WaPo columnist Marc Thiessen called the confidential government source behind the reporting a ‘traitor’ and said the leaker should be prosecuted, as TheWrap previously reported. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thewrap.com/media-platforms/journalism/washington-post-editorial-board-defends-traitor-iran-war-report/

Media Frenzy?

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Article in The Guardian by Mehdi Hassan, 9/1/26

Headline: “The media’s Hasan Piker obsession is letting Republican Mike Rogers off the hook”

Subhead:  “Mike Rogers isn’t merely campaigning alongside a controversial supporter. His campaign put an extremist on its faith leadership team”

“Turn on cable news. Pick up a newspaper. Log on to Twitter. It doesn’t seem to matter where you get your political news: for the past month, the leftist Twitch streamer has become one of the dominant subjects of coverage, conversation and controversy surrounding the crucial Michigan Senate race between the Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and the Republican Mike Rogers. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/sep/01/hasan-piker-mike-rogers-media

CBS Uses 9/11 for Political Attack?

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Article in Status by Oliver Darch, 8/30/26

Headline:  “CBS’ El-Sayed Scandal”

Subhead: “The Bari Weiss-led outlet is being pummeled by a storm of outrage over a story about Abdul El-Sayed—and Status has learned that within the network, some staffers have raised the matter with standards.”

“At 8:18 a.m. on Monday morning, CBS News published a post on X that immediately drew an avalanche of criticism: ‘As the nation prepares to mark 25 years since Sept. 11, 2001,’ the post said, ‘ Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan, may be facing the risk of renewed scrutiny and fresh political attack.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/cbs-news-el-sayed-bari-weiss-9-11