Editorial Content

Did Press Cover Iraq or Iran Better?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jem Bartholomew, 6/22/26

Headline:  “How’d We Do?”

Subhead:  “The press corps failed badly in the run-up to the US invasion of Iraq. Was coverage of the Iran war any better?

“. . .’Does this mean—whisper it—that overall the press has had a ‘good’ war, at least compared with the debacle of the run-up to Iraq? I’m still making up my mind. And I’m curious what CJR’s readers think about this—so do respond to this email or send me a note if you’d like to share your thoughts. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/howd-we-do-iran-war-press-corps-iraq-invasion-trump-bush-netanyahu-new-york-times-haberman-swan.php

Media Hawks are Angry

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz. 6/17/26

Headline:  “Right-wing hawks absolve Trump of Iran MOU responsibility, blame Vance instead”

“The right-wing media’s hawks recognize the reported memorandum of understanding that President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance signed with Iran on Sunday is a dog’s breakfast that fails to achieve the administration’s stated war goals and leaves the U.S. in a weaker geostrategic position than before it began. But they also understand that the cult-like structure of the MAGA movement means that criticizing Trump directly could trigger an audience revolt . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/right-wing-hawks-absolve-trump-iran-mou-responsibility-blame-vance-instead.

Local Stations – Exploding Prices?

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Article in Media Matters by Zachary Pleat & Gideon Taaffe, 6/15/26

Headline:  “Sinclair’s national programs offer a Trump-friendly spin on his costly oil and gas prices, while local broadcasts show harm to Americans”

Subhead: “Local stations — including some owned by Sinclair — have been at the forefront of documenting American pain at the pump”

“Americans are feeling pain at the pump and elsewhere thanks to the ongoing surge in oil and fuel prices from President Donald Trump’s war on Iran, and local television news stations have been at the forefront of documenting that pain, with even some local stations owned by the right-wing Sinclair Broadcast Group airing such coverage. Sinclair’s national programming, however, has often applied a Trump-friendly spin while discussing high gas prices, downplaying the increases and suggesting they’ll be short-lived. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fuel-files-rising-gasoline-oil-and-fertilizer-prices/sinclairs-national-programs-offer-trump

60 Minutes Losing its Glow?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 6/12/26

Headline:  “Opinion | Will we recognize the country’s most-watched news program after this overhaul?”

Subhead: ” ’60 Minutes’ is at a crossroads, and some wonder how — and if — the show will recover from recent changes”

“. . .This past season, the show had seven people introduce themselves: Anderson Cooper, Scott Pelley, Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega, Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim. All of them, superb journalists.

That number is now down to four. Cooper left the show on his own accord after the season, saying his schedule had become too busy and that he wanted to spend more time with his family. Vega and Alfonsi were fired by CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss, who also fired the show’s executive producer, Tanya Simon, and replaced her with Nick Bilton, who has no real experience in TV news. . .”

Read the full article at

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/will-60-minutes-be-recognizable-new-york-knicks-win/

Media Lessons from Civil Rights Era

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Article in The New Republic by Perry Bacon, 6/10/26

Headline:  “What Today’s Media Can Learn From the Civil Rights–Era Black Press”

Subhead:  “Journalism professor Kathy Roberts Forde argues that journalists should lean into values such as promoting democracy instead of hiding between claims of neutrality.”

“Kathy Roberts Forde, a journalism professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, says that it’s critical that journalists and media organizations stop pretending that there is a neutral way to cover the news that expresses no underlying values. A “view from nowhere,” the term that journalism expert Jay Rosen uses, is misleading (journalism requires making decisions on what to cover and how) and empowers people who use this neutrality standard to attack all journalism as biased. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/211588/today-media-can-learn-civil-rights-era-black-press

Interview Tyrants?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Joel Simon, 6/1/26

Headline:  “Should Journalists Interview Dictators?”

Subhead:  “Encounters on the line between control and conditions.”

“. . .The trope of the dictator interview—presenting a despot as a celebrity, a figure of popular fascination with whom a reporter has managed to secure time—crystallized in the sixties and seventies, when Oriana Fallaci, an Italian journalist and provocateur, confronted Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, among others. In 1979, not long after the triumph of the Iranian revolution, she interviewed Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and—famously—ripped off her chador, calling it a “stupid medieval rag.” Barbara Walters took the opposite tack, humanizing and personalizing repressive leaders such as Fidel Castro, whom she first interviewed in 1977, and Mu‘ammar Gaddhafi, with whom she spoke a dozen years later. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/feature/should-journalists-interview-dictators-dan-rather-jon-lee-anderson-christiane-amanpour.php

“60 Minutes”-Fired

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 6/2/26

Headline:  “Opinion | Scott Pelley is fired, deepening the crisis at ‘60 Minutes’ “

Subhead: “After publicly challenging network leadership, Pelley became the latest casualty in a sweeping remake of CBS News“

“Scott Pelley is out as a correspondent at ’60 Minutes,’ according to multiple reports.

On Monday, Pelley blasted new ’60 Minutes’ executive producer Nick Bilton in a staff meeting and accused CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss of ‘murdering’ the iconic news show.

The Wall Street Journal’s Isabella Simonetti reported Tuesday night that Bilton sent Pelley a note to say he was being terminated for cause. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/scott-pelley-fired-60-minutes-cbs-news/

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy 6/2/26

Headline:  “Clock Strikes Midnight for Pelley”

“The ’60 Minutes’ correspondent was fired by email Tuesday night after a dramatic showdown with CBS News leadership, throwing the show into an unprecedented and existential crisis. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/scott-pelley-fired-60-minutes-bari-weiss-nick-bilton

Slicing the Post

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Article in Status by Natalie Korach, 5/25/26

Headline:  “Bezos’ Subdivided Post”

Subhead:  “The Washington Post is preparing to significantly shrink its K Street headquarters, Status has learned, marking a stark reversal for the building once touted as a symbol of Jeff Bezos’ vision for the paper’s future.”

“. . .The Post is preparing to slash a significant portion of the very headquarters Bezos once championed as a symbol of the paper’s future, Status has learned. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/washington-post-offices-sublease-jeff-bezos

News Access or Not?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 5/19/26

Headline: “Opinion | Why The New York Times is suing the Pentagon — again”

Subhead: “The news outlet says the Pentagon’s latest press-access restrictions are unconstitutional and retaliatory after an earlier court loss”

“For the second time, The New York Times is suing the Department of Defense, claiming it’s a violation of the First Amendment for journalists to be required to have an escort while working inside the Pentagon.

“This is just the latest volley in a continuing conflict between the press and President Donald Trump’s Defense Department, led by Defense Secretary and former Fox News talking head Pete Hegseth. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/new-york-times-pentagon-lawsuit-escort/

Euphemisms in the Media?

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Article in FAIR by Gregory Shupak, 5/19/26

Headline:  “‘Buffer Zone’ Is Media’s Euphemism for Israeli Occupation”

“Since October 2023, Israel has occupied vast stretches of territory in Gaza, Syria and, most recently, Lebanon. Corporate media have been reluctant to use clear, direct language to characterize US-backed Israeli land grabs in each of these places, preferring to describe Israel’s policies with euphemistic terminology.

“ ‘Buffer’ is chief among these. For instance, a Wall Street Journal article (4/9/26) told readers that ‘Israeli forces now hold buffer zones inside Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/buffer-zone-is-medias-euphemism-for-israeli-occupation/