Information Overload

Picture or Imagine That?

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Article in Poynter by Mark E. Johnson

Headline:   “Article about free images ‘contradicts everything I hold true about journalism’ “

“. . .With one post, two people who I have worked closely with attempted to raze everything I have done over the last quarter century.

“Their story, titled, ‘These tools will help you find the right images for your stories,’ contradicts everything I hold true about journalism — textual and visual:

“Journalism is specific, journalism is not generic.
Journalism is precise, journalism is not vague.
Journalism illuminates, journalism does not decorate.

“To believe otherwise is to demean visual journalists, to believe they are lesser, to establish a class system. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/ethics-trust/2018/article-about-free-images-contradicts-everything-i-hold-true-about-journalism/

Journalism in a Hall of Mirrors

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Article in The Guardian by Katherine Viner, 5/6/26

Headline: “How to survive the information crisis: ‘We once talked about fake news – now reality itself feels fake’ “

Subhead:  “In this age of crisis, technology is pulling us apart. At its best, journalism can bring us together again, writes Guardian editor-in-chief Katharine Viner”

“. . .As tech companies have prioritised capturing attention, truth has been downgraded. AI slop and deepfakes are now so rampant that it feels that your brain can no longer compute what it’s seeing. You start to question things that turn out to be true. It doesn’t help that reality itself has become so much stranger and more grotesque. . .”

“. . .Before I talk about Guardian journalism, I’m going to talk about what makes that journalism possible. Now, I’ll admit that the words ‘ownership model’ might not set the pulse racing. But it really matters. At the Guardian, we have no proprietor demanding political or commercial returns. We have no profit-driven shareholders demanding cuts or cash. The purpose of the Scott Trust, which owns the Guardian, is to keep the Guardian going in perpetuity, serving the public interest, not the interests of the wealthy. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/ng-interactive/2026/may/06/how-to-survive-the-information-crisis-we-once-talked-about-fake-news-now-reality-itself-feels-fake

News Gamble

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Article in The New Republic by Grace Segers, 4/29/26

Headline:  “The Media’s Embrace of Prediction Markets Could Be a Devil’s Bargain”

Subhead:  “New relationships between media organizations and Kalshi and Polymarket could raise serious questions about institutional trustworthiness.”

“As prediction markets rise in popularity and notoriety, several news outlets have recently engaged in partnerships with the most prominent of these companies, raising questions about how and why media organizations would want to become entangled with an industry essentially predicated on gambling. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/209602/media-ethics-prediction-markets-kalshi-polymarket

Doppelganger Reporting

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Article in The Intercept by Katherine Krueger, 4/7/26

Headline: “The Media Just Can’t Help Turning Iran Fighter Jet Rescue Into ‘Black Hawk Down’ “

Subhead: “Everyone reported the exact same story at the exact same time — and they all relied on the same liars who got us into this mess.”

“Neither Josh Hartnett nor Ewan McGregor were there, but the way the mainstream media is telling it, they might as well have been. The Sunday morning rescue of a U.S. airman shot down over Iran launched a thousand breathless tick-tock retellings from the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, CBS News, and many, many more — helpful water-carrying for an administration prosecuting a deeply unpopular war without a clear end in sight. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://theintercept.com/2026/04/06/iran-fighter-jet-rescue-media-coverage/

Fox News More of a Gamble Now?

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Article in The Hill by Ashleigh Fields, 4/7/26

Headline:  “Fox integrating Kalshi prediction markets data across news platforms “

“The Fox Corporation on Tuesday said it would integrate data from Kalshi prediction markets across multiple platforms to enhance the audience experience.

“Insight from the prediction market will be shared on Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox Weather and the Fox One platform, according to a press release announcing the integration sponsored by Kalshi. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5820864-fox-corporation-integrates-kalshi-markets/

 

Betting on the News

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Klaudia Jazwinska, 4/3/26

Headline:  “The Problem with Binding News and Prediction Markets”

Subhead:  “Polymarket and Kalshi are quickly making deals with news publishers, with potential implications for the regulation of prediction markets. It’s unclear how journalism wins.”

“Prediction markets—platforms where users can place wagers on the outcomes of future events —are suddenly all over the news. Every day we’re seeing headlines—allegations of insider trading, states accusing prediction markets of violating gambling laws, warnings about the “depravity economy.” We’re also seeing prediction markets’ efforts at becoming part of the news ecosystem. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/tow_center/the-problem-with-binding-news-and-prediction-markets-polymarket-kalshi-regulation-cftc-insider-trading.php

Lebanon Invisible to Reporters?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Zahra Hankir, 3/31/26

Headline:  “Who Is Left to Cover Lebanon?”

Subhead:  “A nation that helped shape modern war reporting is now treated as peripheral. In the wake of journalist killings, the consequences are clear not only for members of the press, but for how the story of Lebanon is being told.”

“. . .Western newsrooms have, thus far, largely framed the story of Lebanon as a sideshow to the war in Iran. Coverage of the bombardment and subsequent invasion has been reactive, relegated to live blogs and breaking news updates; there are few in-depth stories on the political and humanitarian situation. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/feature/who-is-left-to-cover-lebanon.php

Fabricated Media are Here!

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Emily Bell  3/26/26

Headline: “Did I Really Say That?”

Subhead:  “A European journalist apologized for using AI to fabricate quotes—including from me. But there’s little accountability in blaming a chatbot.”

“Three weeks ago, a Dutch freelancer named Menno van den Bos contacted CJR and the Tow Center for Digital Journalism to tell us he had found a writeup of our Journalism 2050 issue in his country’s press that he suspected of containing AI-generated inaccuracies. In itself this is not surprising. As we have written here before, the incidence of fake quotes and citations from journalists and academics is a growing menace. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/tow_center/did-i-really-say-that-dutch-journalist-ai-fabricate-quotes-vandermeersch-mediahuis.php

News – Harumph!

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 2/12/26

Headline:  “Opinion | Americans say the news is essential. They just don’t enjoy it much.”

Subhead:  “The latest Pew data reveals a growing gap between the civic duty to follow the news and the willingness to support it”

“If you’re reading this newsletter, it likely means that you care about the news and you’re interested in the media. Or you’re related to me.

“But news consumption for most Americans has become complicated and confusing in recent years. There is, no doubt, news fatigue among some who are tired of divisive politics and seemingly constant bad news. Meanwhile, many news organizations are struggling financially to the point that they either shut down or severely cut staff, creating news deserts across the country. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/do-americans-consume-news-anymore/

Gambling with the News?

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Article in Slashdot by BeauHD, 1/21/26

Headline:  “America Is Slow-Walking Into a Polymarket Disaster’

“In an opinion piece for The Atlantic, senior editor Saahil Desai argues that media outlets are increasingly treating prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi as legitimate signals of reality. The risk, as Desai warns, is a future where news coverage amplifies manipulable betting odds and turns politics, geopolitics, and even tragedy into speculative gambling theater. . .”

“The problem is that prediction markets are ushering in a world in which news becomes as much about gambling as about the event itself. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/01/22/006212/america-is-slow-walking-into-a-polymarket-disaster