Events

Article in Poynter by Amaris Castillo, Ren LaForme, Angela Fu and Nicole Slaughter Graham, 10/22/26

Headline:  “Opinion | Brendan Carr warns broadcasters about ‘fake polls’ as a real polling scandal unfolds”

Subhead: “Carr didn’t identify the polls he was targeting but warned that broadcasters could run afoul of their federal licenses”

“Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr warned broadcasters Wednesday that airing what he calls “Fake Polls and Suppression Polls” could violate their regulatory obligations, putting the FCC in the middle of how broadcasters cover political polling less than two weeks before the midterm elections. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/brendan-carr-fcc-fake-polls-broadcasters/

Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jem Bartholomew, 10/19/26

Headline:  “What Is a White House Press Secretary For?”

Subhead:  “Katie Zacharia was out after five days. Where that leaves the role—and the White House Correspondents’ Association—is uncertain.”

“. . .After a decade of Donald Trump’s breathless, impulsive rhetoric, it can be strange to remember that, not so long ago, the messaging of politicians and presidents was so stage-managed that it sometimes seemed as if the spin doctors were really in charge. The idea of Trump taking advice, let alone direction, from a communications strategist seems faintly absurd. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/what-is-a-white-house-press-secretary-for-katie-zacharia-five-days-correspondents-association-future.php

Article in The Intercept by Adam Johnson, 10/15/26

Headline:  “Trump Is Targeting Ilhan Omar. Where’s the Elite Media Outrage?”

Subhead: “Unlike the raid on John Bolton, the targeting of Omar has elicited zero condemnation from NYT, WSJ, and Washington Post.”

“. . .But with rare exception, the response from the mainstream media’s pundit class has been largely muted, with the vast bulk of the coverage coming in the form of he said/she said, down-the-middle reporting. This is in stark contrast with how elite opinion-shapers responded with uniform outrage in the days after Trump’s also dubious raid on John Bolton. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://theintercept.com/2026/10/15/ilhan-omar-raid-corporate-media-coverage/

Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 10/1/26

Headline:  “White House removes CNN from press pool for second time in a week”

Subhead:  “Network was listed as primary TV pool covering Thursday’s presidential activities but then was abruptly removed”

“For a second time in a week, the White House has unilaterally removed CNN from its assignment as the primary television pool representative covering Donald Trump.

“CNN was excluded on Saturday from pool duty onboard Air Force One, despite a district judge’s ruling – two days earlier – overturning the White House’s ban on the network and two other media organization. . .”

“Then, on Wednesday night, the White House abruptly removed CNN from pool duty for the following day, leaving Real America’s Voice as the only pooler as the president travels to Texas and Oklahoma. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/oct/01/nn-white-house-second-removal-media-ban

Article in Poynter by Alex Mahadevan, Angela Fu, Amaris Castillo and Nicole Slaughter Grahamcle, 8/18/26

Headline:  “Opinion | More than 200 AI-generated ‘local news’ sites just went dark”

Subhead:  “Prism News promised ‘zero humans’ and ‘infinite AI scale.’ Local journalists found plagiarism and falsehoods.”

“Prism News has suspended its network of more than 200 AI-generated “local news” sites following investigations from multiple outlets that exposed plagiarism and falsehoods. . .”

“Articles on the sites — which bore the tagline ‘(t)he stuff mainstream media skips, finally getting the coverage it deserves’ — were published under fake, AI-generated bylines and regularly included information and quotes lifted from local reporting. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/prism-news-local-news-ai-fake-shuts-down/

Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Amos Barshad, 7/13/26

Headline:  “If They Can’t Block This Merger, Can Anyone?”

Subhead:  “State attorneys general are trying to stop Paramount Skydance from merging with Warner Bros. Discovery. It’s the best shot left at preventing—or at least stalling—what seems inevitable.”

Last month, the Department of Justice officially blessed Paramount Skydance’s merger with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), praising the proposed deal for its potential to boost competition “across the media and entertainment ecosystem.” On July 13, a coalition of twelve state attorneys general, including Rob Bonta of California and Letitia James of New York, filed a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of California arguing more or less the opposite. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/if-they-cant-block-this-merger-can-anyone-paramound-skydance-warner-bros-discovery-merger-state-attorneys-general-northern-district-california.php

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