Pushing Ideology Into Iconic Program

Article in The Guardian by Anna Betts and Jeremy Bar, 6/3/26

Headline:  “Fired 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley says CBS told him to inject ‘falsehoods’ into reporting”

Subhead:  “Veteran journalist says executives pushed unverified claims and gave politicians a say in interviews”

“. . .’When stewardship of the program passed to my colleagues and me, our responsibility was to expand energetically into a new age of media technology while preserving the values our audience expects. Now, the new owner of our network is casting this legend aside, apparently to curry a moment of favor with the Trump administration.’

“Pelley criticized the new leadership at CBS, adding: ‘Last month, 60 Minutes lost its DNA when our entire senior leadership and two of our best on-air correspondents were cruelly fired without cause’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jun/03/60-minutes-scott-pelley-cbs-accusations

Media – Murder, She Wrote?


Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 6/1/6

Headline:60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley accuses Bari Weiss of ‘murdering’ show”

Subhead: “Pelley reportedly rebuked CBS ousting show’s executive producer, executive editor and two top correspondents”

“Scott Pelley, a veteran 60 Minutes correspondent, called out CBS News management in a heated meeting on Monday morning, attacking the network’s decision on Thursday to fire the show’s executive producer, executive editor, and two fellow correspondents, Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, as part of a broader overhaul of the show, sources tell the Guardian. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jun/01/60-minutes-scott-pelley-cbs-bari-weiss-cuts

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Article in The Washington Post by Scott Nover & Liam Scott, 6/1/26

Headline: ” ‘It was cruel’: Scott Pelley confronts new ‘60 Minutes’ boss in fiery meeting”

Subhead: “The veteran correspondent demanded answers on fired staff and the new executive producer’s qualifications for the job.”

“In a Monday-morning meeting, veteran ’60 Minutes’ correspondent Scott Pelley ripped into his new boss, Nick Bilton.

“ ‘What qualifies you to be in this position?’ Pelley demanded. . .”

“It was a hostile greeting for Bilton during his first meeting with the full ’60 Minutes’ staff since the technology journalist was announced Thursday as the show’s new executive producer. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/06/01/scott-pelley-confronts-new-60-minutes-boss-nick-bilton-fiery-meeting/

Podcast to Media Control in “60 Minutes”


Article in Daily Beast, 5/28/26

Headline:  “New ‘60 Minutes’ Producer’s Cringe Side Hustle Revealed”

“. . .Tech columnist Nick Bilton was tapped by   far more controversial editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, to sit at the helm of the network’s flagship newsmagazine show on Thursday—a move that sent shockwaves through CBS and beyond. The 49-year-old replaced Tanya Simon, a producer at the program for nearly 30 years, in one of Weiss’s boldest moves yet since coming aboard the network in October.

Weiss told The New York Times that she chose Bilton largely for his storytelling across multiple platforms, which apparently includes podcasting. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/nick-biltons-cringe-side-hustle-revealed/

Reporter Not in Jail Yet?

Article in Babylon Bee by Staff, 5/28/26

Headline: “Impatient Liberal Journalist Starting To Suspect Trump Will Never Send Her To A Concentration Camp”

“ATLANTA, GA — An impatient liberal journalist employed by . . . began to express doubts this week that President Trump will ever send her to a concentration camp.

“Sources said that Ginny Balton, a field reporter based in Atlanta, felt well-informed until only recently when she had to report on Trump exposing more government fraud and limiting the power of government, which was nothing at all like the actions of Adolf Hitler. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://babylonbee.com/news/impatient-liberal-journalist-starting-to-suspect-trump-will-never-send-her-to-a-concentration-camp

Foreigners in U.S. Media?


Article in Free Press by Staff, 5/27/26

Headline: “Free Press Urges FCC to Reject Paramount Skydance’s Request for Massive Foreign Investment from Governments Hostile to Press Freedom”

“. . . Free Press urged the FCC to reject Paramount Skydance’s petition to waive the Communications Act’s prohibition against the significant foreign investment that’s part of the massive media company’s proposal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.

If Paramount’s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery survives state antitrust review, at least half (or 49.5 percent) the ownership of the resulting colossus will end up in the hands of foreign investors, including the sovereign wealth funds of three Middle Eastern governments. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/free-press-urges-fcc-reject-paramount-skydances-request-massive-foreign-investment

A Lonely Fight at FCC


Article in AP by Steven Sloan, 5/25/26

Headline:  “Q&A: Anna Gomez is the sole Democrat on the FCC. She has a warning for big media companies”

“. . .Anna Gomez wakes up every morning and checks her phone to see if President Donald Trump has fired her yet.

“For now, she remains the sole Democrat on the Federal Communications Commission, where she’s on an increasingly urgent mission to press media companies to more forcefully combat an administration she says is cracking down on free speech. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://apnews.com/article/fcc-disney-censorship-trump-threats-commissoner-democrat-386b210604373bb19ec6a485b89222b1

NYT is a Fan?


Article in Daily Kos by Oliver Willis, 5/25/26

Headline:  “The Gray Lady is a Trump fangirl

“The New York Times has a long history of producing journalism that has changed the course of politics around the globe. And it has done this during Donald Trump’s two presidential terms, exposing inconvenient truths as well as his corruption.

“But unfortunately, in the 16 months since Trump was sworn in for a second term, the outlet has also embarrassed itself by advancing pro-Trump falsehoods, swooning over his rhetoric, and covering up his barrage of misstatements, gaffes, and outright lies. . .”

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/5/25/800043379/media/new-york-times-trump-fangirl/

Women Silenced in Major Media


Interview by Spenser Graves, on Radio Active Magazine airs Tuesday, 5/2/26

“Next Tuesday’s Radio Active Magazine features in interview with U Mass Amherst Communication professor Allison Butler on ‘How women are centered and silenced in the major media’.  She has a new book titled, ‘How women are centered and silenced in pop culture’. . .”

A video of the43-minute interview with her is available with the  podcast to air on Tuesday.  Also airs on Pacifica.

Listen live to the episode at on Tuesday, 6:00 PM at:

Killing Late Night TV too Softly?


Article in AlterNet by Adam Lynch, 5/21/26

Headline: “Inside Trump’s growing frustration as his revenge tour loses its grip on media”

“Even as late-night comedian and critic Stephen Colbert prepares to end his show this week, President Donald Trump is raging that his administration hasn’t managed to kill even more late-night shows. . . .”

“Suebsaeng added that sources inside the White House say Trump is furious at the lack of progress. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.alternet.org/trump-late-night-comedy-colbert/

Rt. Wing Media – Money for Mobs?

Article in Media Matters by Sophie Lawton, 5/21/26

Headline:   “Right-wing media react to Trump’s slush fund for allies with unquestioning loyalty — and some vague skepticism”

“Some right-wing media figures are jumping on board with the Trump administration’s newest effort to support MAGA allies despite numerous questions about its legality; a few are voicing light skepticism of the plan.

This week, the Department of Justice announced that the Trump family had agreed to drop a legally questionable $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS in exchange for the creation of a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” According to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the fund’s intended recipients are “victims of lawfare and weaponization” by the federal government. . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/right-wing-media-react-trumps-slush-fund-allies-unquestioning-loyalty-and-some-vague