Corporate Media

Murdoch Grabbing More Media?

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Article in Reuters by Dawb Chmielewsk & Edumnd Lee, 5/20/26

Headline:  “James Murdoch to acquire New York Magazine and Vox Media Podcast Network”

“James Murdoch agreed to acquire New York ‌Magazine and the Vox Media podcast network in a deal that will significantly expand his portfolio and stands to boost his influence over news and entertainment.
The deal, valued at more than $300 million, gives Murdoch control of a storied magazine brand, known for its coverage of culture, politics and fashion, along with a podcast division . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/james-murdoch-acquire-three-major-units-vox-media-2026-05-20/

Gobbling-Up Media Quickly Now?

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 5/19/26

Headline:  “Ellison’s Fast and Furious Takeover”

Subhead:  “Paramount is hoping to close its deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery much sooner than the company has publicly stated, Status has learned.”

“Earlier this month, David Ellison addressed investors on Paramount’s quarterly earnings call, in which he reiterated his talking points regarding the company’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. During his remarks, the 43-year-old said again that the media conglomerate believes it is on track to clear the requisite regulatory hurdles and close its mammoth Warners deal by September. . .”

Behind the scenes at Paramount, however, the company has embraced a much more aggressive timeline, Status has learned. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/paramount-warner-bros-discovery-closing-date-david-ellison

Heat on CBS Chief?

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 5/19/26

Headline: “Paramount expresses support for CBS News leader Bari Weiss amid criticism”

Subhead:  “Online publication Puck previously reported Weiss could be moved to a new role with less oversight of the network”

“. . .The network released a statement supporting her after a report that senior leadership at the company has discussed changing Weiss’s role to lessen her oversight of CBS News – and, potentially, CNN, if the company’s acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery receives government approval. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/may/19/paramount-cbs-news-bari-weiss

Techno-Kings Controlling the Media?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Emily Bell & Heather Chaplin, 5/4/26

Headline:  “Journalism in the Age of Techno-Kings”

Subhead:  “How Elon Musk is colonizing the future.”

“Before Elon Musk, there was Henry Ford: an attention-seeking car manufacturer, newspaper owner, and media celebrity who pushed reactionary views on the public and transformed society around his business interests. . .”

“In a new book, Muskism, Ben Tarnoff, a technology writer, and Quinn Slobodian, a historian at Boston University, analyze Musk in similar terms, as a maverick businessman who stands for a new type of society and a new social contract. They find that “Muskism” provides a far more dystopian package than Fordism’s offering. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/kicker/journalism-in-the-age-of-techno-kings-muskism-elon-ben-tarnoff-quinn-slobodian.php

 

News Gamble

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Article in The New Republic by Grace Segers, 4/29/26

Headline:  “The Media’s Embrace of Prediction Markets Could Be a Devil’s Bargain”

Subhead:  “New relationships between media organizations and Kalshi and Polymarket could raise serious questions about institutional trustworthiness.”

“As prediction markets rise in popularity and notoriety, several news outlets have recently engaged in partnerships with the most prominent of these companies, raising questions about how and why media organizations would want to become entangled with an industry essentially predicated on gambling. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/209602/media-ethics-prediction-markets-kalshi-polymarket

Reporters Puzzled?

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Article in The Babylon Bee by Staff, 4/28/26

Headline:  “Media Still Stumped As To Motive Of Gunman With Manifesto Titled ‘Why I’m Going To Kill Donald J. Trump’ “

“U.S. — Members of the national media remained completely baffled as to the target or motive of a gunman carrying a detailed, 47-page manifesto entitled ‘Why I’m Going To Kill Donald J. Trump.’

“The document reportedly provided a handy bullet-pointed list of grievances along with a helpful table of contents detailing primary and secondary motivations for wanting to kill the president, but after hours of reviewing the manifesto, journalists came up empty as to who the gunman may have been targeting and why. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://babylonbee.com/news/media-still-stumped-as-to-motive-of-gunman-with-manifesto-titled-why-im-going-to-kill-donald-j-trump

Criticize Israel in the Media?

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Article in The Guardian by Jason Stanley, 4/27/26

Headline:  “Why is the US media silent about Israel’s role in Trump’s decision to go to war?”

Subhead:  “I suspect the main reason they avoid criticizing Israel is that they believe that would be antisemitic. But this is both dangerous and wrong”

“. . .The western media has been admirably clear that Putin has a closer relationship with Trump than any previous US president (and admirably critical of this relationship). But there has been no similar level of transparency in the media about Israel’s influence on US policy. . .”

“Crucially, propaganda does not just take the form of lies. Omitting mention in the news media of crucial facts is also paradigmatic of state propaganda. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/27/trump-israel-trump-war

Grabbing Radio

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Article in the New York Times by Lauren Hirsch and Benjamin Mullin

Headline:  “SiriusXM Said to Be in Early Talks to Acquire iHeartMedia”

Subhead:  “A deal, which was described by two people familiar with the discussions, would unite two major providers of traditional and satellite radio.”

“SiriusXM is in early-stage discussions to acquire iHeartMedia, a deal that would create an audio giant with a foothold in traditional and satellite radio and podcasts, two people familiar with the discussions said Friday.

“Should a deal come to fruition, it would be the culmination of years of speculation about a tie-up. Liberty SiriusXM Group, once an affiliate of John Malone’s media empire, formerly held significant stakes in both companies. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/24/business/media/siriusxm-iheart-radio.html

More Media Consolidation

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Article in Slashdot by BeauHD, 4/23/26

Headline: “Warner Bros Shareholders Approve Paramount’s $81 Billion Takeover”

“Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders have approved Paramount Skydance’s takeover bid, moving the massive Hollywood merger a step closer to completion. It’s not a done deal quite yet, though, as it still faces regulatory scrutiny and fierce opposition from critics who warn it will further concentrate media power. The Associated Press reports. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/26/04/23/1940241/warner-bros-shareholders-approve-paramounts-81-billion-takeover

Censoring Past Media Too?

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Article in FAIR by Janine Jackson 4/22/26

Headline:  “The Wayback Machine Has Been the Best Archive for Preserving Our Digital Lives”

Subhead:  “CounterSpin interview with Lia Holland on the Internet Archive”

“Janine Jackson: A recent report by Wired‘s Kate Knibbs leads with the contradiction: USA Today published a story recently on how ICE is misinforming about its detainment policies, a case that the paper built on data from the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, a nonprofit digital library that preserves webpages.

“At the same time, USA Today bars the Wayback Machine from archiving its work. Along with outlets like the New York Times, the paper is trying to block the Internet Archive project from doing their job of preserving reporting. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/the-wayback-machine-has-been-the-best-archive-for-preserving-our-digital-lives/