Editorial Content

Media Godfather?

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Article in The New York Times by Staff, 9/19/25

Headline:  “Trump Administration Live Updates: Cruz Calls F.C.C. Threats to Media ‘Dangerous as Hell’ “

“Cruz comments: Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, harshly criticized the Federal Communications Commission chairman, Brendan Carr, accusing him of mafia-like tactics and saying his threat to retaliate against media companies for speech on their airwaves was ‘dangerous as hell.’ President Trump said that news reporters who cover his administration negatively have broken the law, a significant broadening of his attacks on journalists . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/09/19/us/trump-news

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Article in The Washington Post by Alec Dent, 9/19/25

Headline:  “Republican Ted Cruz says FCC chair’s threats about Kimmel are ‘dangerous’ “

Subhead: “The conservative senator warns that letting the government threaten to censor voices it doesn’t like could hurt the political right if Democrats return to power.”

“. . .’No, no, no, no,’ Cruz said on his show after playing Carr’s comments. ‘What he said there is dangerous as hell.’ He added: ‘That’s right out of “Goodfellas.” That’s right out of a mafioso coming into a bar. “God, nice bar you have here. It’d be a shame if something happened to it”. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/09/19/ted-cruz-carr-fcc-jimmy-kimmel/

 

Closing the Window to the World

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Article in The Hill bySarah Fortinsky, 9/14/25

Headline:  “TV Academy chair scolds Congress for shuttering Corporation for Public Broadcasting”

“Television Academy Chairman Cris Abrego criticized Congress for voting to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), in a speech paying tribute to the organization at the Emmy Awards on Sunday evening.

“ ‘For more than 50 years, CPB has been the backbone of American Public Media, bringing us everything from ‘Sesame Street’ to ‘Mr. Rogers Neighborhood’ to ‘Finding Your Roots’ and keeping free local stations alive across the nation,’ Abrego said in his speech.

“ ‘And in many small towns, those stations weren’t just a cultural lifeline, they were the only emergency alert system families could count on,’ he continued. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5503327-corporation-public-broadcasting-emmys-congress/

Media Rhetoric Causes Violence

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Article in Raw Story by Tom Hartmann, 9/14/25

Headline:  “Opinion | This abject media cowardice only makes violent GOP rhetoric worse”

“As a guy who regularly gets death threats because of my media presence, I shouldn’t have to say that killing people — or even threatening them — for their politics is wrong. But here it is, for the record: nobody in America should die for their politics.

“. . .These are indeed very, very dangerous times. And the political rhetoric coming out of 1500 rightwing hate-radio stations, Republican politicians, and billionaire-funded hard-right-biased-social-media-algorithms is at the center of the crisis. . .”

Read the full story at:

https://www.rawstory.com/raw-investigates/2673989140/?utm_source=opinion

CBS “Anti-Woke” Leader?

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Article in The Guardian by David Klion, 9/10/25

Headline:  “Disgruntled NYT journalist to ‘anti-woke’ power grab: how far can Bari Weiss go?”

Subhead: “After leaving the New York Times, she turned her Substack into an unshakable pro-Israel voice. Now as Paramount eyes acquisition of her company, Weiss is poised to become Trump’s ally among media elites”

“. . .But one of the most buzzed-about aspects is Paramount’s possible acquisition of the Free Press, the digital media company founded by Bari Weiss as a Substack newsletter in 2021, and Weiss’s potential new role steering CBS’s editorial slant. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/ng-interactive/2025/sep/10/bari-weiss-cbs

Pants on Fire Not News?

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Article in The Nation by Chris Lehmann, 9/9/25

Headline:  “Why the Media Allows MAGA to Cover Up Their Lies With More Lies”

Subhead:  “The MAGA movement can “walk back” outrageous statements, and the press hardly asks a follow-up.”

“For all the justified focus on the second Trump administration’s authoritarian agenda, and the suite of debased governing protocols that go with it, the basic messaging apparatus behind it has received scant attention. As it happens, this past weekend supplied a pair of textbook illustrations showing how the MAGA power elite throttle the mediasphere to serve their purposes. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/walk-back-media-maga-trump-lies/

What Should Media Call Things

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jon Allsop, 9/9/25

Headline: “War Games”

Subhead:  “Should the press follow Trump in calling the Pentagon the ‘Department of War’?”

“. . .Pete Hegseth, the Fox & Friends host turned defense (sorry, war) secretary, returned to his old stomping ground to roll the pitch. (‘We think words and names and titles matter,’ he said, before attempting to tease an upcoming change to the signage behind him by pointing over the wrong shoulder.) . . .”

“. . .The rebrand may sound—and, on some level, absolutely is—very silly: a predictable move for a military apparatus that is ultimately led by a pair of TV stars obsessed with looking and sounding cool. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/war-games-defense-department-hegseth-trump-name-change.php

Reporters Trust Political Doctors?

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Article in AP by David Bauder, 9/3/25

Headline: “US media quickly forced to revisit a thorny question: How should a president’s health be covered?”

“. . .Beyond punditry, however, news outlets face serious questions about how to handle the story, much like they did with Biden. The physical signs that have been pointed out online should trigger serious probes into the president’s health. Some critics, like historian Garrett Graff, said it was puzzling that many in the media hadn’t treated it like a news story — although the timing over a holiday weekend surely made it more challenging.. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://apnews.com/article/trump-health-media-coverage-1541184240d9092f08159fa36a05a955

 

Attacking Reporters in Gaza

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Article in The New York Times by the Editorial Board, 8/31/25

Headline:  “Israel’s Gaza Media Ban Is Indefensible”

“All wars are dangerous to cover, but Gaza holds a place of its own among modern conflicts for the peril faced by journalists. Some 200 journalists have been among the estimated 63,000 people killed since the Gaza war began — an overwhelming majority killed by the Israeli military. Those deaths have helped make the past two years the deadliest period for journalists since the Committee to Protect Journalists, a nonprofit organization, started keeping records in 1992. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/31/opinion/israel-gaza-media-journalists-ban.html

Need to Protect Journalists

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Josh Hersh, 8/28/25

Headline:  “Hind Hassan Is Sorry We Didn’t Do More to Make Journalism Safe”

Subhead:  “ ‘We’re responsible for what our industry stands for,’ the documentary news reporter says.”

“Earlier this month, Hind Hassan, a decorated documentary news reporter who has covered everything from conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon, and Ukraine to the bizarre underworld of the global wellness industry, spoke at a graduation ceremony for students at Columbia Journalism School. . .”

“ ‘We’re responsible for what our industry stands for,’ she said. ‘I think it is the responsibility of the industry, of those who have the power, of heads of news organizations, to defend journalists when they come under attack, no matter where they are.’ . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/kicker/hind-hassan-gaza-journalism-safety.php

Another One Bites the Dust?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 8/29/25

Headline:  “Opinion | The Atlanta Journal-Constitution to end print, move to digital only in 2026″

Subhead: “After 157 years, of print, the AJC will focus on digital growth, promising top-notch journalism and a modern user experience”

“One of America’s best-known newspapers, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, made a stunning announcement on Thursday: it will stop publishing its print edition at the end of 2025 and start 2026 as a digital-only product.

“Andrew Morse, president and publisher of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, said in a statement, “The entire news industry is being upended by rapidly evolving technology and consumer behavior. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/atlanta-journal-constitution-ends-print-newspaper/