Editorial Content

Reporters Expose Things

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jon Alsop, 6/9/25

Headline: “Doin’ It Live”

Subhead:  “A timely televised play won’t save the republic.”

“Fuck it! We’ll do it live! These, of course, are the immortal words of Bill O’Reilly. But George Clooney had a similar thought recently—involving a different former CBS newsman—when he decided to mount a live televised production of Good Night, and Good Luck, a Broadway play that he cowrote, based on a movie that he cowrote, based on Edward R. Murrow’s famous takedown of the demagogue Joseph McCarthy in the fifties. . .”

“Of course, Clooney and CNN were also interested in televising the show because its subject matter is supremely relevant right now, as every journalist covering it dutifully pointed out. The historical echoes ‘are extraordinary,’ even ‘eerie,’ CNN’s Brian Stelter wrote, noting the play’s themes of ‘unrestrained political power, corporate timidity and journalistic integrity.’ Clooney told the Times that, “unfortunately, this play always is timely. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/doin-it-live-clooney-cnn-good-night-good-luck-tv-live-broadcast-murrow-friendly-mccarthy.php

Make Media do the Job?

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Article in The Contrarian by Josh Levs, 6/4/25

Headline:  “Veterans’ D-Day rally is a chance to set the media straight”

Subhead:  “Americans need to know how Trump is hurting those who served.”

“Over the next two weeks, a new battle will take place over the U.S. military. The chief theater in which it’s fought will be the media. . .”

“Having spent two decades inside big legacy media, and now tracking its epic failures through my podcast and newsletter They Stand Corrected, I know some things we can expect. Unfortunately, Trump and his supporters are likely to get the exact kinds of storylines they want — unless the rest of us push the media to do its job. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://contrarian.substack.com/p/veterans-d-day-rally-is-a-chance

When Free Press is Gone

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Article in Poynter by Ren LaForme, 6/3/25

Headline:  “Opinion | We’re tracking the rising threats to press freedom”

Subhead:  “Because the warning signs are no longer subtle”

“There’s a saying: Health is a crown the healthy wear that only the sick can see. Most of us don’t recognize the treasure of good health until it’s gone.

“I wonder whether, when the dust settles, America will feel the same about press freedom — a right our Founding Fathers valued so deeply that they made it the First Amendment. . . .”

Read the full article here:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/press-freedom-watch/

CBS – How Times Have Changed

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Edward R. Murrow, 1962

Article in New York Times by James Poniewozik, 5/30/25

Headline: ” ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ Remembers When TV Had a Conscience, and a Spine”

Subhead:  “A TV critic looks at George Clooney’s play about CBS News standing up to political pressure, even as its current ownership might succumb to it.”

“In the Broadway play ‘Good Night, and Good Luck,’ the CBS newscaster Edward R. Murrow (George Clooney) allows himself a moment of doubt, as his program ‘See It Now’ embarks on a series of reports on the anti-communist witch hunts of the 1950s.

“ ‘It occurs to me,’ he says, ‘that we might not get away with this one.’

“It is a small but important line. We know Murrow’s story — exposing the red-baiting demagoguery of Senator Joseph McCarthy — as history. And history, once set down on the page and stage, can seem inevitable.

“But Murrow’s success was not preordained. It required hard, exacting work. It required guts. It required journalists to risk personal ruin and some of them to experience it. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/arts/television/good-night-and-good-luck-cbs-paramount.html

Media Joining the Parade?

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Article in The Guardian by Judith Levine, 5/30/25

Headline:  “We’re minimizing the horror of Trump’s military birthday parade”

Subhead:  “The media has focused on the price tag and potholes. But history may mark 14 June as the ceremonial birth of US fascism”

“In 2017, watching a two-hour Bastille Day procession, Donald Trump told the French president that we’d have one too, only better. . .”

“This time, as Washington prepares for a huge military shindig on 14 June, Trump’s 79th – and, oh yes, the US army’s 250th – birthday, the generals are silent. The Republicans have sworn allegiance to the king. And the media are focused on the price tag, the potholes and the impending pomp; on tensions between the blue city of Washington and the red capital; and on the decimation of veterans’ healthcare, housing, and pensions while the administration throws $25m to $45m at a circus of war. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/30/trump-military-parade-fascism

FCC Commissioner Defends Press Freedom

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Article in Free Press by Staff, 4/28/25

Headline:  “At Lively Public Forum, FCC Commissioner Gomez Rallies Angelenos in Defense of First Amendment Rights and a Free Press”

“On Wednesday, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez took a forceful stand against government censorship and intimidation of U.S. media during a boisterous Los Angeles forum co-hosted by Free Press.

“ ‘I launched this First Amendment tour to bring attention to this administration’s campaign of censorship and control — and I want to be clear, this is an administration-wide campaign,’ Gomez said during the event. ‘Freedom of the press requires journalists that are able to do their job without interference from their corporate parents. We are not seeing that today because of the actions of this administration and it is so dangerous. We all need to understand what is happening and we need people to speak up and to push back. . .’

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/fcc-commissioner-gomez-rallies-angelenos-defense-first-amendment-rights

Journalism: Holding Feet to the Fire

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 5/13/25

Headline:  “Opinion | Instead of answering legitimate ethics questions, Trump goes to his playbook and lobs insults at a reporter”

Subhead:  “He attacked ABC’s Rachel Scott after she questioned why he’d accept a $400 million jet from Qatar to use as Air Force One”

“Holding the powerful to account. That’s a key role for journalists.

“Among those in power are government officials. So whenever there is potential wrongdoing or misbehavior or shady business practices by our elected officials, it’s the duty of journalists to dig in and then confront those officials. . .”

“Journalists should press the president about whether it really is OK to accept such a gift from a foreign country. And that’s exactly what ABC News’ Rachel Scott did on Monday.

“Instead of answering these legitimate questions and explaining to Scott, to the media and, really, the rest of the country and world his rationale, Trump instead chose to attack Scott. . .”

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/qatar-give-us-plane-trump-ethics/

Media Not Accurate?

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Article in Alternet by Robert Reich Reich, 5/5/25

Headline:  “The Media Needs to stop pretending about Trump’s ‘conflicts’ “

“Words matter. When the media points out Trump’s ‘potential conflicts of interest,’ as it has in recent days when describing Trump’s growing crypto enterprise, it doesn’t come close to telling the public what’s really going on — unprecedented paybacks and self-dealing by the president of the United States, using his office to make billions.

“The correct word is corruption. . .”

“He posts news-making announcements on Truth Social, the company in which he and his family own a significant stake. Truth Social thereby becomes the world’s semi-official means of knowing Trump’s thinking and policies. . .”

“To describe these as ‘potential conflicts of interest’ misses the point. A ‘potential conflict of interest’ sounds like an unfortunate situation in which it’s possible that Trump might choose his own personal interest over the nation’s. Stated this way, the problem is the conflict. . .”

“Trump is the most corrupt president in American history. His self-dealing makes Warren G. Harding’s look like a child shoplifting candy.

“Why isn’t the media calling this what it is? Americans deserve to know. . .”

https://www.alternet.org/trump-maga-2671892224/

‘New Media’ – “Tell Us What to Write”

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Article in the Daily Dot by Mikael Thalen, 4/29/25

Headline:  ” Trump’s first ‘new media’ briefing hosts influencer who spent 7 days convinced the moon had disappeared”

Subhead: ” ‘Has anyone seen the moon lately? I’ve been looking for 7 days.’ “

“A conservative influencer who was convinced last year that the moon had disappeared attended a press briefing on Monday held at the White House.

“Kambree Nelson, an ambassador for the American First Policy Institute, was one of several individuals permitted to join a special briefing reserved solely for members of the ‘new media.’

“ ‘This is our first official influencer briefing,’ White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced at the press conference’s start. ‘Millions of Americans are now turning to social media and independent media outlets . . .”

“Nelson, who boasts more than 625,000 followers on X, was immediately ridiculed for her performance, asking Leavitt to tell her what questions she should ask the administration.

“Yet among all the members of the new media invited to the White House, a collection of independent journalists who all support President Donald Trump, Nelson is receiving extra attention given her outlandish beliefs and fears. . .”

https://www.dailydot.com/debug/kambree-nelson-moon-white-house-press-briefing/

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Article in Mediaite by Ahmad Austin Jr., 4/28/25

Headline:  ” ‘New Media’ Reporter Straight Up Asks Karoline Leavitt to Tell Her What to Cover: ‘What Direction Do You Advise Me to Go In?’ “

“During the new media briefing, American First Policy Institute ambassador Kambree Nelson first bashed traditional media outlets for their coverage of the president — before asking Leavitt to give her marching orders.

“ ‘I’ve noticed — this is kind of like a repeat of 2016 — the legacy media has gone back to not reporting anything on President Trump,’ Nelson said. ‘In the beginning, we had them reporting everything that he was doing. Now, they’re kind of going back, again, to not reporting everything that he is actually doing.

“ ‘I’m kind of the nerd when it comes to reporting. I’m not the headline news girl. I’m the nuts-and-bolts, I’m the policy-type nerd; so what direction do you advise me to go into? Like the White House files that y’all send out every single day? Because that’s what people are used to. When they wanna ask me questions, they wanna know the nuts and bolts of everything.’ . . .”

https://www.mediaite.com/news/new-media-reporter-straight-up-asks-karoline-leavitt-to-tell-her-what-to-cover-what-direction-do-you-advise-me-to-go-in/

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Article in Media Matters by Pete Psipis & Reed McMaster, 4/24/25

Headline:  “By the numbers: As Trump snubs legacy media, data shows his press briefings elevate right-wing outlets”

“A Media Matters review of White House press briefings held so far in President Donald Trump’s second administration found that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called on right-wing media outlets 41% of the time, and 4 of the 5 reporters called on most were from right-wing outlets.

“The press briefings now include a ‘new media’ seat which the White House has used to amplify more right-wing voices. While the White House attacks traditional press freedoms, the press briefings are now littered with biased questions from the administration’s most staunch supporters. . .”

https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/numbers-trump-snubs-legacy-media-data-shows-his-press-briefings-elevate-right-wing

Media Missing Something?

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Article in The New Republic bu Michael Tomasky, 4/25/25

Headline:  “Trump Just Did the Most Corrupt Thing Any President Has Ever Done”

Subhead:  “He’s using the White House to get rich from anonymous investors—and it’s hardly even a news story.”

“Imagine that Joe Biden, just as he was assuming office, had started a new company with Hunter Biden and used his main social media account to recruit financial backers, then promised that the most generous among them would earn an invitation to a private dinner with him. . . .”

“Take a minute, close your eyes. Let yourself see Jim Jordan’s face go purple in apoplexy, hear the moral thunder spewing out of Jesse Watters’s mouth, feel the shock (which would be wholly justified) of the New York Times editorial board as it expressed disbelief that the man representing the purported values and standards of the United States of America before the world would begin to think it was remotely OK to do such a thing. The media would be able to speak of nothing else for days. Maybe weeks. . .”

https://newrepublic.com/post/194420/trump-memecoin-dinner-corrupt-president