Media Corruption

Oily Fox News?

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Article in Media Matters by Zachary Pleat, 4/23/36

Headline:  “As gas prices go up from the Iran war, Fox News celebrates the ‘biggest payday in history’ for oil companies”

Subhead:  “The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is straining the American and global economies”

“Fox News is embracing the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to President Donald Trump’s war against Iran as an economic boon for U.S. petroleum exports — even though the closure will further increase American gasoline prices. Fox has already tried to downplay the increasing fuel prices that have resulted from the closure, which is currently straining both the U.S. and global economies in numerous ways, including threatening famine and global recession. , ,”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/gas-prices-go-iran-war-fox-news-celebrates-biggest-payday-history-oil-companies

Censorship at WaPo

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Article in The Nation by Nathan Robinson, 4/21/26

Headline:  “The Bezos Post Editorial Page Has Become a Mouthpiece for Pro-Billionaire Propaganda”

Subhead:  “Jeff Bezos said The Washington Post would no longer publish opinion pieces critical of free markets. Recent editorials show just how seriously the paper has taken this mandate.”

“During his first 10 years as the owner of The Washington Post, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos reportedly took a fairly hands-off approach to managing the paper, with the Columbia Journalism Review observing that he was ‘not inclined to spend his time on the phone haranguing Post editors about coverage decisions.’ But that was then. Last year, Bezos publicly announced that there would be ‘a change coming to our opinion pages,’ and that henceforth ‘we are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets.’ Viewpoints critical of these ‘pillars,’ he said, would no longer be appearing in the Post. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/washington-post-editorial-shift-bezos-pro-billionaire-propaganda/

Mega Media Money Melting?

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Headline:  “Trump Library Saga Takes Dark Turn: Where Did Millions in Funding Go?”

Subhead:  “Four huge media conglomerates forked over $63 million in ‘settlements’ earmarked for Trump’s presidential library. Democrats are trying to track that money—and the latest developments don’t inspire confidence.”

“Last year, four huge companies pledged tens of millions of dollars to help fund the creation of Donald Trump’s presidential library, a planned monstrosity in Miami that—in a perfect Trumpian twist—may also double as a hotel. The companies—ABC; Paramount; Meta; and X, formerly Twitter—entered into the agreements with Trump to settle legal cases he’d brought against them which experts had dismissed as dubious.

“After the companies agreed to these shakedowns—sorry, settlements—the fund created to receive donations was dissolved last September. Since then, Senate Democrats have been asking: What happened to the money?. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/209254/trump-library-funding-millions-media-companies

Journalism Compass Burning?

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Article in AP by David Bauder, 4/16/26

Headline:  “In address on media ethics, former Washington Post editor worries about fading moral compass”

“. . .Worries that ‘to each his own’ is replacing an ethical compass

“While conceding he risked sounding sanctimonious, Baron dove right in. He said he worried that journalists can’t agree on an ethical compass — seeking the truth with humility is his suggestion — and that “to each his own” is becoming the evolving ethos for many who cover and talk about the news. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://apnews.com/article/journalism-baron-ethics-trump-coverage-7e2e01e8d447c75c22a41695cdb2e498

CBS – What Me Worry?

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Article in Daily Beast by Janna Brancolini, 4/13/26

Headline:  “MAGA-Curious CBS Boss Accused of Not Caring About Top Show”

Subhead:  “The embattled ‘CBS Mornings’ just experienced its worst quarter ever.”

“CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss has been accused of dragging her feet in filling a key role at the network’s flailing morning show.

‘Weiss tapped former CBS Mornings host Tony Dokoupil to helm the network’s newly revamped MAGA-friendly CBS Evening News broadcast starting in January.

“Since then, both shows have struggled to attract viewers, with CBS Mornings experiencing its lowest-rated quarter on record. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-curious-cbs-boss-bari-weiss-accused-of-not-caring-about-top-show/

State Media Propaganda Gone?

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Article in Reuters by Krisztina Than, 4/13/26

Headline: “Hungary’s election winner Magyar says to suspend state media news broadcast”

” Hungary’s ​election winner ‌Peter Magyar ​said ​on Monday that ⁠his ​government will ​suspend the news broadcast ​of ​public state media ‌until ⁠unbiased news coverage ​can ​be ⁠ensured.

“Magyar’s Tisza ​party ​scored ⁠a landslide victory ⁠in ​Sunday’s ​elections. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/hungarys-election-winner-magyar-says-suspend-state-media-news-broadcast-2026-04-13/

TV President Redux?

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Article in Poynter by Pete Croatto, 4/9/26

Headline:  “Q&A: What Tucker Carlson’s path reveals about where journalism is headed”

Subhead:  “New Yorker staff writer Jason Zengerle, author of a biography on the former Fox News star, breaks down why Carlson may run for president”

“Tucker Carlson’s career is ‘a good cautionary tale,’ says The New Yorker’s Jason Zengerle, author of ‘Hated By All the Right People: Tucker Carlson and the Unraveling of the Conservative Mind,’ a riveting, sharp-eyed biography of the political pundit’s rise from acclaimed magazine writer to cable news mainstay to leading MAGA shriek.

“His path also represents the crumbling of journalism and the growing, troubling influence of a man who increasingly lives in an echo chamber. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2026/jason-zengerle-tucker-carlson-unraveling-conservative-mind/

How to Flatter Yourself in the Media

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Article in The Nation by David Futrelle, 3/6/26

Headline:  “The AI Sector’s Crass Bid for Media Domination”

Subhead:  “When you’re a galactically rich tech mogul upset with adverse press coverage, you just buy yourself more flattering media outlets.”

” ‘Freedom of the press,’ A.J. Liebling famously wrote, ‘is guaranteed only to those who own one.’ This pithy observation from one of Liebling’s 1960 ‘Wayward Press’ columns in The New Yorker sums up a great deal about how journalism is transacted under the pressures of American capitalism. But the gist of it has to hit different if you have several hundred million dollars sitting around and a reputation that could use a bit of burnishing. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/ai-techonology-business-and-programming-network-podcasts/

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

WAPO and Nuclear Option

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Article in FAIR by Peter Castagno. 4/1/26

Headline:  “Washington Post Promotes Nuclear Agenda Tied to Bezos’ Investments”

“The Washington Post has devoted four editorials to supporting the expansion of nuclear energy in the past three months, relying on factual errors and distortions to make the case for the Trump administration’s unprecedented cuts to nuclear safety regulation. The Post‘s owner, Jeff Bezos, is the chair of Amazon, a company dependent on electricity-guzzling data centers that invested more than $1 billion in nuclear energy last year. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/washington-post-promotes-nuclear-agenda-tied-to-bezos-investments/