Media Politicize

Media Make Frank Unhappy

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Article in Raw Story by Robert Davis, 7/14/25

Headline:  ” ‘They’re pissed’: CNN hosts slam Trump for losing control of ‘MAGA Frankenstein’ “

“CNN host Abby Phillip and reporter Donie O’Sullivan slammed President Donald Trump on Monday night over his inability to speak to his base following the latest scandal.

“Last week, Justice Department officials issued an unsigned memo contradicting many points of the Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy theory that Trump and his surrogates have parroted for multiple years. The move set off a firestorm within the MAGA base and has become a political liability for the Trump administration.

” ‘Perhaps it’s not surprising that his ‘MAGA Frankenstein’ doesn’t believe him,’ Phillip said. . .”

Read the full story at:

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-2673207755/

Press Secretary in a Huff

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Article in The New Republic by Greg Sargent, 7/9/25

Headline:  “Trump Press Sec’s Fury at Media Over Texas Flood Exposes Worst of MAGA”

Subhead:  “As Karoline Leavitt rages at the media and Democrats for probing whether Trump policies made the Texas disaster worse, a writer on climate change argues that this absolutely is the time for such hard questions.”

“At least 109 people have died amid devastating flooding in Texas. Distressingly, 27 deaths occurred at a summer camp for girls, and the toll continues to rise. This week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt angrily lashed out at the news media and Democrats for asking whether Trump administration policies bear any blame for the disaster’s impact. What struck us, though, is her demand that we all treat this as a ‘national’ tragedy. She’s right that we should do this. But that solicitude is precisely what Donald Trump and MAGA deny to non-MAGA America at other urgent moments. And that’s the true MAGA ethic at its ugliest. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/197723/trump-press-sec-fury-media-texas-flood-exposes-worst-maga

How do you Cover Extremism?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Liam Scott

Headline: “How Local Reporters Manage the Dangers of Covering Extremism”

Subhead: “The extremism beat has gone mainstream—but in local markets, it’s still intensely personal.”

“Last Thanksgiving, Steven Monacelli was awoken early in the morning by the sound of police officers knocking on the door of his Dallas home. Someone had called the cops to report that Monacelli, a freelance investigative correspondent for the Texas Observer, was abusing his girlfriend. Monacelli’s girlfriend—who has since become his fiancée—came to the door to demonstrate that the abuse claims were false.

Monacelli was disturbed—but not particularly shocked. ‘I pretty much immediately knew why they were there,’ he said. For more than four years, he’s been covering the rise of far-right extremism across the state of Texas, including stories about right-wing influence in Texas schools and a so-called ‘white nationalist fight club.’ . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/local-reporters-dangers-covering-extremism.php

Are They Coming for You?

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Article in Daily Kos by Lisa Needham, 7/1/25

Headline:  “Now Trump’s weaponizing the DOJ in his war on the media”

“President Donald Trump is simply not going to stand for the media reporting anything he doesn’t like, and he’s going to use every tool in his toolbox to make that happen. If that means prosecuting media outlets, he’s down. If it means suing them, he’s all in. And if it means gutting nonpartisan government media, he’ll do it. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/7/1/2331160/-Now-Trump-s-weaponizing-the-DOJ-in-his-war-on-the-media?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_1&pm_medium=web

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Article in The Guardian by Edward Helmore, 7/1/25

Headline: “Trump team threatens to prosecute CNN over reporting on Ice-tracking app”

Subhead:  “Kristi Noem says ‘we’re working with [DoJ] to see if we can prosecute them’ while president fumes over Iran reporting”

“Donald Trump and administration officials have threatened CNN over what they said was its promotion of a new app that allows users to track and try to avoid Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents.

“Speaking to reporters in Florida on a trip . . . the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, said her department and the Department of Justice were looking at prosecuting CNN over its reporting on the app, called IceBlock.

“ ‘We’re working with Department of Justice to see if we can prosecute them,’ Noem said  . . . We’re going to actually go after them and prosecute them. What they’re doing is illegal.’ . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/01/trump-kristi-noem-cnn-threat

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Article in Alternet by Carl Gibson, 6/30/35

Headline:  ” ‘Why not the press?’ Trump may use this century-old law to prosecute and jail journalists”

Subhead:  “A new report suggests that President Donald Trump may soon be setting his sights on the Fourth Estate, and his administration is already allegedly looking for a ‘test case’ to see how much it can get away with in the courts.”

“That’s according to a Monday article in Rolling Stone, which reported that unnamed sources close to the White House say Trump is considering the Espionage Act to prosecute journalists who report on leaks obtained from inside the administration. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.alternet.org/trump-prosecute-journalists/

Musk Fans Heckle Journalists

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Article in The Verge by Mack DeGeurin, 6/29/25

Headline: ” ‘We are the media now’: why Tesla’s robotaxis were dominated by Elon Musk superfans”

Subhead:  “Journalists from the newsroom weren’t allowed inside the robotaxis and were mocked for asking riders basic questions”

“Over the years, Tesla has built part of its reputation on hosting big, bold events to generate authentic hype for upcoming releases. The robotaxi launch in Austin, Texas, last week wasn’t one of them.

“Coverage of the rollout was dominated by a close-knit cohort of Tesla influencers and Elon Musk superfans, many of whom are openly supportive of the CEO’s vision. Journalists and tech bloggers who might have been more critical of the technology were not only excluded but also actively ridiculed and mocked by Tesla fans and some of their followers for attempting to ask basic questions about the service. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theverge.com/tesla/694333/tesla-robotaxi-media-influencers-musk-fans

 

Changing Media Horses?

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Article in Status by Jon Passantino, 6/28/25

Headline:  “Gavin Takes Off the Gloves”

Subhead:  “Gavin Newsom spent months cozying up to MAGA media – now he’s suing Fox News for $787 Million, signaling a sharp break from his flirtation with the far right”

“After months of cozying up to the far right—hosting MAGA extremists on his podcast where he offered them praise, and trying on a strange ‘reach across the aisle’ persona—the California governor made a sharp reversal. On Friday, the likely 2028 contender filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News, alleging the network manipulated video footage to falsely portray him as lying about a phone call with Donald Trump. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/gavin-newsom-fox-news-lawsuit

 

NYT Not Caving?

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Article in Mediaite by Alex Griffing, 6/26/25

Headline: “Trump Threatens to Sue The NY Times and CNN Over ‘Unpatriotic’ Reporting”

Subhead:  “No retraction is needed. No apology will be forthcoming. We told the truth to the best of our ability. We will continue to do so.”

“The New York Times struck a defiant tone in a Thursday letter in response to a personal lawyer for President Donald Trump demanding the paper ‘retract and apologize’ or be sued over a report on the state of Iranian nuclear sites following Trump’s bombings.

“The Times reported on the letter sent by Alejandro Brito, which threatened to sue the paper and CNN for publishing reports on a leaked Pentagon assessment that said Trump’s bombings only set Iran’s nuclear program back a few months. . .”

Read the full story at:

https://www.mediaite.com/politics/trump-threatens-to-sue-the-ny-times-and-cnn-over-unpatriotic-reporting-on-u-s-military-intel/

Media Beating a War Drum?

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Article in The New Republic by Edith Olmsted, 6/23/25

Headline:  “Fox News Played Unsettling Role in Trump’s Decision to Bomb Iran”

Subhead:  “Here’s where Donald Trump got the idea to strike three of Iran’s nuclear facilities”

“Donald Trump’s decision to drag the United States into a war in the Middle East was all about how it would look on television.

“The New York Times reported Sunday that Trump had been effusive about Israel’s sweeping military operation in Iran, targeting the latter country’s ballistic missile and nuclear facilities, military officials, and nuclear scientists.

” ‘Ever the entertainer, Trump asked an ally how the Israeli strikes were “playing” on Friday June 13. ‘He said that “everyone” was telling him he needed to get more involved,’ the Times reported, but it’s not clear who exactly Trump was talking about.

“The next day, Trump’s team reportedly paid close attention to how his supporters were responding to Israel’s military campaign. Meanwhile, Trump kept his eyes glued to Fox News as it aired “wall-to-wall praise” of Israel’s operation and hosted guests urging the president to wade into the conflict. . .”

“Last week, CNN’s Brian Stelter reported that Fox News had gone all in on attacking Iran. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/post/197110/donald-trump-bomb-iran-fox-news-role-decision

 

No Voice for America

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Article in Salon by CK Smith, 6/21/25

Headline:  ” ‘Dark day for truth’: Kari Lake slashes U.S. global media agency by 85%”

Subhead: “Critics say layoffs at Voice of America and others threaten press freedom and U.S. soft power abroad”

“Once a Cold War-era powerhouse for U.S. diplomacy, the U.S. Agency for Global Media has been gutted under a Trump executive order — slashing 1,400 jobs, or 85% of its workforce — in a move Kari Lake calls a win for taxpayers and critics warn is a death knell for press freedom. . .”

“But journalists and press advocates say the move silences independent reporting and undermines U.S. credibility abroad. ‘This spells the death of 83 years of independent journalism,’ said VOA White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., called it ‘a dark day for the truth.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.salon.com/2025/06/21/dark-day-for-truth-kari-lake-slashes-us-global-media-agency-by-85/

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Article in The Guardian by Marian Dunbar, Maya Yang, and Tom Ambrose, 6/20/25

Headline:  “Trump administration lays off hundreds of Voice of America employees”

Subhead:  “The layoffs will reduce the staff at the agency to fewer than 200, around one-seventh of its total at the start of 2025”

“The Trump administration sent layoff notices today to more than 600 employees at Voice of America, a federally funded news organization that provides independent reporting to countries with limited press freedom, the New York Times reports.

“The layoffs will reduce the staff at the agency to fewer than 200, around one-seventh of its total at the start of 2025. The notices put journalists and support staff on paid leave until they are officially let go on 1 September.

“In March, Donald Trump accused Voice of America of spreading ‘anti-American’ and partisan ‘propaganda’ and called it ‘the voice of radical America’. . .”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2025/jun/20/us-politics-latest-news-donald-trump-national-guard-ice-republicans-democrats-live

MAGA Hates Fox News?

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Article in Daily Beast by Jack Revell, 6/20/25

Headline:  “Trump Has a Fiery New Excuse for Why MAGA ‘Hates’ Fox News”

Subhead:  “It’s all the fault of a single host who won’t toe the line.”

“President Donald Trump has taken a fresh swipe at Fox News, claiming his MAGA base ‘hates’ the network, following the stinging rejection of recent polling. Trump has appeared to pin the blame for falling ratings—which he describes as the ‘highest ever’—on a single Fox News critic who is ‘soiling’ his otherwise ‘record-breaking’ performance.

“ ‘Why does Fox News allow failed TV personality Jessica Tarlov to ‘soil The Five?’ Trump raged on Truth Social. ‘Her voice, her manner, and above all else, what she says, are a disgrace to television broadcasting’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-has-a-fiery-new-excuse-for-why-maga-hates-fox-news/