Economic News

The Door is Closing on Salon

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Article in The Wrap by Benjamin Lindsay, 11/5/26

Headline: “Salon, Pioneering Digital News Website, Shutters After 31 Years”

Subhead:  “It’s difficult to find the right words for the end of something that has meant so much to so many people,” site leadership writes in an open letter”

“. . .Founded by a small group of journalists on an aspirational idea of “what journalism could be,” the site touted a “strong voice, a curiosity about the world and a belief that the internet could bring journalism and readers together in new ways.” Its founding editors helped pioneer the internet news medium that came “to define an entirely new era of publishing,” the letter reads. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thewrap.com/media-platforms/journalism/salon-shuts-down/

AI and NYT Subscriptions?

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Article in The Wrap by A.j. Karz, 11/4/26

Headline:  “New York Times Faces AI Questions as Digital Subscriber Growth Shines”

Subhead:  “Publisher beats Wall Street expectations as CEO Meredith Kopit Levien addresses AI risks to its subscription business”

“. . .Even a strong quarter of subscriber growth couldn’t free New York Times CEO Meredith Kopit Levien from questions about the risks that artificial intelligence poses to the publisher. . .”

“The strong results come amid an undercurrent of concern over the potential impact of AI, from Google’s AI summaries reducing the need to people to actually read stories to AI agents proactively canceling subscriptions in an effort to save their users money. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/business/new-york-times-adds-420000-subscribers-as-q3-digital-revenue-rises/

Musk Buys into Media Control

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Article in The Guardian by Maya Yang, 10/22/26

Headline:  “Elon Musk reportedly invests $1bn in David Ellison’s Skydance“

Subhead:  “Musk’s investment into the new media empire comes after Paramount’s $111bn merger with Warner Bros Discovery”

“. . .The investment follows Paramount’s recent $111bn merger with Warner Bros Discovery, a huge acquisition that brought the media companies together under the Skydance name. At the head of the new media empire is David Ellison, the son of billionaire Oracle co-founder and Donald Trump ally Larry Ellison. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/oct/22/elon-musk-david-ellison-skydance-investment

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Article in Daily Kos by Oliver Willis 10/22/26

Headline:  “Musk’s $1B stake in Skydance fuels bigoted quest to dominate media”

“. . .Access to Skydance puts Musk, the richest man in the world, in the position of having even more influence over the media than he already has at X. A dizzying array of major media properties are under the Skydance umbrella, including the Warner and Paramount movie studios, CBS, HBO Max, CNN, TNT Sports, and others. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/10/22/800116213/media/musks-1b-stake-in-skydance-fuels-bigoted-quest-to-dominate-media/

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/

Who Paid for Trump Ads?

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Article in AP by Ali Swenson, 9/28/26

Headline:  “Taxpayers have funded nearly $1.5M in pro-Trump ads. Criticism is mounting, including from the GOP”

“The White House has spent days fiercely defending three taxpayer-funded advertisements that glorify President Donald Trump and are nearing at least $1.5 million in public spending, calling them public service announcements like those used in past administrations. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://apnews.com/article/trump-government-ads-taxpayer-funded-psa-propaganda-26ae03010d78221d1d93b06c0818d06d

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/

Some Rt. Media Questioning . . .

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Article in Media Matters by Sage Hodil, Hanne MacDonald & Reed McMaster,9/11/26

Headline:  “Why are some right-wing media figures pouring cold water on Trump’s sudden call to send Americans $5,000?”

Subhead: “While some call it ‘bold,’ others in right-wing media are saying that Trump’s $5,000 midterm idea is ‘flagrant bribery’ that ‘would simply be inflationary'”

“Right-wing figures are divided on President Donald Trump’s claim during his September 9 speech at the GOP midterm convention that the government will send $5,000 to every American adult if Republicans maintain control of Congress, with some arguing ‘we can’t afford’ the ‘inflationary’ payments and equating them to ‘flagrant bribery,’ while others claimed Trump’s plan is ‘creative’ and ‘a bet on the future.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/why-are-some-right-wing-media-figures-pouring-cold-water-trumps-sudden-call-send-americans

Newsroom AI Casualties

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Article in The Wrap by Tess Patton, 9/10/26

Headline:  “McClatchy Guts Newsrooms Nationwide Months After Controversial Push to AI”

Subhead: Papers in Miami, Kentucky and the Pacific Northwest saw as much as 30% of their staff cut on Thursday”

“McClatchy Media hit its newsrooms nationwide with significant layoffs on Thursday, with some newspapers gutted by a third of their staff.

“The layoffs came just months after the company’s push into AI with a controversial editorial tool that led to widespread revolt among staffers, as previously reported by TheWrap.

“The 168-year-old newspaper owner houses Pulitzer Prize-winning local outlets like the Bee, the Miami Herald and the Charlotte Observer, among many others. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thewrap.com/media-platforms/journalism/mcclatchy-newspapers-layoffs-ai-tool/

Corporate Reporting & McMansions

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Article in FAIR by Wilson Korik, 8/31/26

Headline:  “Corporate Media Worried Second Homes of ‘Blue-Collar’ Millionaires Might Be Taxed”

“. . .instead of accurately reporting on a modest wealth tax and fraud prevention measure, some corporate media took the opportunity to fabricate a reality in which the number of New Yorkers subjected to the tax was vastly overestimated, conjuring up a large mass of working- and middle-class New Yorkers who would have to deal with an opaque, complex exemption process. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/corporate-media-worried-second-homes-of-blue-collar-millionaires-might-be-taxed/