Press Asks About Nobel

Article in AlterNet by Adam Lynch, 1/9/26

Headline:   “Internet erupts after Trump’s ‘delusional’ press conference” 

Subhead:  “Critics across the internet tore into President Donald Trump’s impromptu meeting with reporters on Friday.”

“Trump took time out from a meeting to pressure oil executives to invest in the freshly decapitated nation of Venezuela. . .”

“When asked by a reporter If he would change his view on Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado running the country if she would give him her Nobel Peace Prize Trump answered: ‘Well, I’m going to have to speak to her. She might be involved in some aspect of it. I can’t think of anybody in history that should get the Nobel prize more than me’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.alternet.org/trump-delusional-presser/

Buttoning Down the Media

Article in Poynter by Louis Jacobson, 1/8/26

Headline:  “A brief history of the media through political convention pins”

Subhead:  “Collect ‘em and trade ‘em … and watch how they trace the evolution and decline of legacy media brands”

“. . .Recently, I realized that some of my souvenirs from those conventions accidentally tell a story about the media’s evolution over the past three decades.

“The souvenirs I’m referring to are pins, mostly the size of the average thumbnail. Despite their modest size, these trinkets tell a story of the media’s proximity to power, the ebb and flow of journalistic resources and the media pecking order. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2026/political-convention-pins-media-history-journalism-decline/

 

Some Media Support Trump’s Invasion

Article in FAIR by Ari Paul, 1/6/26

Headline:  “Editorial Boards Cheer Trump Doctrine in Venezuela” 

Article shows stance of newspapers including Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, Dallas Morning News, Miami Herald, and The Chicago Tribune toward the attack on Venezuela.

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/editorial-boards-cheer-trump-doctrine-in-venezuela/

BBC Questionable Right?

Article in Slashdot bu Sagepub, 1/2/26

Headline:  A Decade of BBC Question Time Data Reveals Imbalance in Journalist Guests

A new study [PDF] from Cardiff University analyzing a decade of the popular topical debate programme BBC Question Time found that the broadcaster’s flagship political debate show relies disproportionately on journalists and pundits from right-wing media outlets, particularly those connected to The Spectator magazine.

Researcher Matt Walsh examined 391 editions and 1,885 panellist appearances between 2014 and 2024. Journalists from right-leaning publications accounted for 59.59% of media guest slots, compared to just 16.86% for left-leaning outlets. . .”

No equivalent frequency existed for left-wing journalists. . . The BBC maintains that Question Time aims to present a “breadth of viewpoints,” but the data suggests the programme’s construction of impartiality tilts notably in one direction.

Read the full article at:

https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/01/02/1542232/a-decade-of-bbc-question-time-data-reveals-imbalance-in-journalist-guests

No Bones About Media Scanning?

Article in Raw Story by David Edwards, 1/2/26

Headline: ” ‘What is wrong with journalism?’ MAGA doc slams reporters for believing Trump’s MRI claim”

“Pro-MAGA podcaster Dr. Drew Pinsky lashed out at reporters for believing President Donald Trump’s claim that he had an MRI procedure instead of being tested by CT scan equipment. . .”

” ‘He did not have an MRI. He did not have a CAT scan. He had a coronary calcium score, which is done with a CAT scan machine,” Pinsky said during his Friday broadcast. “They’re so effing ignorant! They don’t know how to ask the right questions!’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.rawstory.com/drew-pinsky-trump-mri/?utm_source=superhead

Network Slowly, Slowly Sinking

Article in Mother Jones by Mika Bauerlein, 12.30.25

Headline:  “The End of CBS News”

Subhead:  “Why corporate media won’t come to save us.”

“. . .Now, editors-in-chief often, annoyingly, ask for changes in stories. I was one, and I did it. But what no editor in her right mind will do is yank a piece at the last minute, after it has been reported, vetted, fact-checked, lawyered, greenlit for publication, and promoted for several days. For if you do that, the issue will no longer be the reporting. The issue will be your management. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/12/the-end-of-cbs-news/

Standing Firm Against Targeting


Article in the New York Times by Benjamin Mullin

Headline:  NPR’s C.E.O. Was a Right-Wing Target. Then the Real Trouble Started.”

Subhead:  “Katherine Maher has taken an unyielding approach to NPR’s biggest battles — which has sometimes put her at odds with her colleagues in public media.”

“. . .Ms. Maher, 42, stood by her strategy.

“ ‘The government targeted public funding to punish specific editorial decisions it disagreed with,’ she said in a recent interview with The New York Times. ‘That’s not a funding dispute dressed up as a constitutional case; that’s textbook First Amendment retaliation.’

“Ms. Maher’s stance brought support pouring in for her organization. NPR emerged from the biggest political battle in its history on firm footing, generating record donations. . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/business/npr-katherine-maher.html

2025 – Year in Political Cartoons

Martin Rowson/The Guardian

Article in The Guardian by Anna Mohdin and Sundus Abdi,12/30/25

Headline:  “Tuesday briefing: A surreal year in news gives our cartoonists endless material”

Subhead:  “In today’s newsletter: Covering everything from Donald Trump to AI, and Gaza to Ukraine, award-winning cartoonist and illustrator Ben Jennings shares his favourite caricatures of 2025, and we share ours too.”

“Good morning. It’s been one of those years where the news cycle felt almost too surreal to caricature. From Jeff Bezos commandeering Venice for his lavish wedding at a time of a growing backlash over inequality, to the spectacle of Donald Trump returning to office for a second term, the material was endless for cartoonists, though often difficult to navigate.  .  .”
Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/30/first-edition-political-cartoons-of-2025

Reading the “Fake News” Now?

Article in The Washington Post by Meryl Kornfield, Hannah Natanson, and Azi Paybarag, 12/25/25

Headline:  “Despite anti-media rhetoric, the government is still reading the news”

Subhead:  “The Trump administration is spending tens of thousands of dollars on paywalled news sites, including Politico and Bloomberg, despite earlier criticism of media outlets.”

“Agencies across the Trump administration have taken out subscriptions in recent months to news organizations that officials had very publicly cut off this year, reversing an earlier decision to cancel them that Elon Musk, senior White House aides and President Donald Trump had declared was necessary to end what they called a scandal. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/12/24/paywalled-news-sites-trump-administration/

Killing the News

Article in Reporters Without Borders, 12/22/25

Headline: “2025, a deadly year for journalists: this is where hate and impunity lead”

Subhead:  “Journalists do not just die – they are killed. The number of murdered journalists has risen again, due to the criminal practices of military groups — both regular and paramilitary — and organised crime. . .”

“. . .“This is where the hatred of journalists leads! It led to the death of 67 journalists this year – not by accident, and they weren’t collateral victims. They were killed, targeted for their work. It is perfectly legitimate to criticise the media — criticism should serve as a catalyst for change that ensures the survival of the free press, a public good. But it must never descend into hatred of journalists, which is largely born out of — or deliberately stoked by — the tactics of armed forces and criminal organisations. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://rsf.org/en/2025-deadly-year-journalists-where-hate-and-impunity-lead