Editorial Content

Not Even a Half of a Scaramucci!

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Article in The New York Times by Shawn McCreeshTyler Pager and Hamed Aleaziz, 11/16/26

Headline:  “Katie Zacharia Is Out After 5 Days as White House Press Secretary”

Subhead: “The ouster came as Ms. Zacharia was shadowed by questions about how she had presented her legal career and handled her first press briefing.”

“President Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, was fired Friday, after less than a week on the job, according to three people familiar with the matter.

“Neither the White House nor Ms. Zacharia responded to requests for comment. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/16/us/politics/katie-zacharia-fired-press-secretary.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

Press Secretary – No Press?

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Article in The Guardian by Shrai Popat, 10/15/26

Headline:  “Trump’s new press secretary says it’s ‘unknown’ how much she’ll deal with media”

Subhead:  “Katie Zacharia tells Guardian her first, widely panned, press briefing followed whirlwind sprint to appoint her to key role”

“Donald Trump’s new White House press secretary says it is ‘unknown’ how much she will engage with the press or hold briefings with reporters, as she faces mounting questions over her legal credentials.. . .”

“Now the White House press secretary, she also would not clarify on Thursday how often she intended to brief the press. . . ‘and that Trump “is his best spokesperson, and I will interact as needed’.”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/15/katie-zacharia-trump-press-secretary-interview

Press Sec. – On Sale for a Limited Time!

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Article in AP by Bill Colvin, 10/14/26

Headline:  “Trump press secretary Katie Zacharia faces scrutiny over claims she’s a lawyer”

“Katie Zacharia has long described herself as a lawyer as she has worked to establish herself as a commentator for conservative outlets like Fox News and Newsmax. But so far, she and the White House have offered no evidence that she passed the bar exam in any state or in China. . .’

Read the full article at:

https://apnews.com/article/katie-zacharia-lawyer-bar-trump-press-secretary-b3b7b9747856bcd11df094f331195119

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Article in The Hill by Judy Kurtz, 10/13/26

Headline:  “Scaramucci quips about new press secretary Zacharia’s tenure: ‘The clock is running’ “

“. . .’Thus far 1/11th of a Scaramucci,’ he cracked.

“Scaramucci famously served a speedy stint — just 11 days — as White House communications director in 2017 during President Trump’s first term in office. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/6145486-white-house-press-secretary-katie-zacharia-scaramucci/

A New Perfect Spokesperson

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Article in The Guardian by Arwa Mahdawi, 10/13/26

Headline:  “Loves Trump, lies and conspiracies: Katie Zacharia is the perfect presidential press secretary”

Subhead:  “The Maga member believes the 2020 election was stolen and seemingly her new boss is saving the world from a cabal of satanic paedophiles. She’ll fit right in then”

“While you’ve obviously got to worship the president to get a top comms role with him, there are a few other job requirements. Not least a willingness to embrace what former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway called ‘alternative facts’. . .”

“. . .If Zacharia lasts even a year in her new role, meanwhile, I’ll be surprised. With a (very likely) disastrous midterm election approaching, she has her work cut out and will need all the alternative facts she can find. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/oct/13/trump-lies-conspiracies-katie-zacharia-press-secretary

Too Chicken to Answer Questions?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones 10/12/26

Headline:  “Opinion | Jennifer Griffin has covered 8 defense secretaries. She’s never seen a Pentagon like this.”

Subhead: “On  ‘The Poynter Report Podcast,’ the longtime Fox News correspondent reflects on nearly four decades of reporting, from war zones to Washington”

“. . .Griffin went on to explain why, but also said, ‘There are still very important stories being broken. Every time there’s a story the Pentagon doesn’t want, they call it fake news. That’s just a real cop-out. That’s a cop out for not wanting to answer questions — not wanting to answer questions from Congress, not wanting to answer questions from the press, and I don’t think the American people are buying it anymore’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/fox-news-jennifer-griffin-pentagon-pete-hegseth/

CBS Puts Whole Hand on Scale

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 10/8/26

Headline:  “Opinion | CBS gives JD Vance a prime-time town hall just before the midterms”

Subhead: “The Michigan event gives the vice president a national stage as Republicans make their closing argument to voters”

“In timing that is certainly good for a Republican Party looking for a last-minute rally ahead of the midterm elections, CBS announced Wednesday that it will air a town hall with Vice President JD Vance on Oct. 17 — just two and a half weeks before the pivotal Election Day. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/jd-vance-cbs-town-hall-midterms/

Media in the Lifeboats!

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Article in Mediaite by Alex Griffing, 10/7/26

Headline: “Pete Hegseth Welcomes USS Lincoln Crew Home With a Rant Against the Media: They Tried to Say it Was a ‘Failed Mission!’”

“. . .Hegseth slammed the media for its reporting on the conditions aboard the vessel during his remarks. ‘And there were a few folks in the media who tried to turn the USS Abraham Lincoln into some sort of symbol: a symbol of dysfunction, or a symbol of low morale, or a symbol of a failed mission,’ Hegseth fumed, adding:

“‘And what I look out at right here, and what I talked to your leadership about – and I have had a chance to talk to a number of you – I know it’s the exact opposite, which is actually what the media does so often.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/pete-hegseth-welcomes-uss-lincoln-crew-home-with-a-rant-against-the-media-they-tried-to-say-it-was-a-failed-mission/

Reporters Experience “Show Me State”

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 9/30/26

Headline: “Opinion | Sen. Eric Schmitt confused the Hawks and Hawkeyes and the political press had a field day”

Subhead:  “The Missouri senator accused Jack Smith of perjury over an Atlanta Hawks game. Smith had actually watched Caitlin Clark play … in Maryland.”

“The Republican senator thought he was going to dunk on his opponent. Instead, he ended up flat on his back in a wild moment on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. Get ready for a bizarre story that somehow includes basketball star Caitlin Clark.

“And it’s what the Washington media was buzzing about Tuesday. . . ”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/eric-schmitt-hawks-hawkeyes-hawks-jack-smith/

No Coverage? Why Would That Be?

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Article in The New Republic by Greg Sargeant, 9/28/26

Headline: “Trump’s Rage Over Failing Press Ban Goes Off Rails in Epic Self-Own”

Subhead:  “As Trump’s fury at news organizations grows after he loses in court, the writer of a piece on Trump’s shrinking stature explains how the media can collectively resist his abuses of power.”

“A few days ago, Donald Trump exploded in an extended tirade at news organizations. Why? Because they had suspended TV pool coverage of him to show solidarity with three news outlets he’d banned from the White House. This resulted in no TV footage of his reception of Xi Jinping at the White House. Trump absurdly raged that news orgs were trying to deny him coverage of a major success. But in saying this, he actually revealed that he badly needs the attention of news outlets. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/215898/trump-rage-failing-press-ban-goes-off-rails-epic-self-own

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Article in Status by Natalie Korvach, 9/27/26

Headline: “The Press Pool Whiplash”

Subhead:  “Just as major networks thought their standoff with the White House was cooling, CNN was blocked from pool duty again, forcing the group into a day-by-day battle over coverage.”

Read the article at:

https://www.status.news/p/trump-cnn-msnow-white-house-press-pool-fight

Whose News is Fake News?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 9/28/26

Headline: “Opinion | Rachel Maddow on why Trump keeps attacking the media: ‘You play the hits’”

Subhead:  “Maddow kicks off season seven of ‘The Poynter Report Podcast’ to talk Trump, the press, polling and the future of news”

“Donald Trump, in perhaps his most brazen act as president, banned prominent news outlets from covering his administration. That battle rages on.

“In addition, he put out a TV commercial attacking ‘fake news’ — a common phrase he has used over the past decade whenever he is bothered by coverage he doesn’t like. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/poynter-report-podcast-rachel-maddow-msnow/