Media Politicize

Chippin’ Away at the Media

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Article in The Washington Post by Brianna Tucker, 10/31/25

 

Headline:  “N.C. GOP spokesman urges reporter to drop news story, citing Trump ties

Subhead:  “Communications director Matt Mercer later says in a social media post that Trump should ‘feed ProPublica to the USAID wood chipper.’ ”

“A spokesman for the North Carolina Republican Party appeared to threaten the news outlet ProPublica — citing ‘connections’ to the Trump administration — over a story it reported and ultimately published on a prominent conservative state Supreme Court judge. . .:

“The story examined state Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby, his starkly conservative transformation of the court and power over the state’s politics. . .”

“. . .the publication said it received a response from North Carolina GOP spokesman Matt Mercer, attempting to coerce ProPublica to kill the story.

“ ‘I’m sure you’re aware of our connections with the Trump Administration and I’m sure they would be interested in this matter,’ Mercer said in an email that ProPublica published. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/10/31/republican-north-carolina-propublica-trump/

Radio Shutdown Coincidence?

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Article in The Guardian by Staff 10/30/25

Headline:  “Radio Free Asia suspends news operations amid cuts and US government shutdown”

Subhead:  “RFA will begin closing overseas bureaus, as well as laying off and paying severance to staff members, with the hope that it could return in the future”

“RFA was founded nearly three decades ago to report on China and other Asian countries without independent media.

“It has been operating with a skeleton staff the past few months, primarily producing a few stories online as the administration sought to choke off its funding. . .”

“Long a thorn in Beijing’s side, RFA’s closure comes after the US president met Chinese leader Xi Jinping on a trip to Asia. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/31/radio-free-asia-suspends-news-operations-amid-cuts-us-government-shutdown

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Article in Human Rights Watch by Staff, 12/23/25

Headline:  “Afghanistan: Taliban Tramples Media Freedom”

Subhead:  “Journalists Face Arrest, Torture; Journalists in Exile at Risk of Forced Return”

“The Taliban have gutted Afghan media since taking control of the country in August 2021 through the use of surveillance and censorship and by punishing media workers for perceived criticism.

“As the Taliban’s oppression of the media has increased, the need for independent news outlets in Afghanistan has become even greater. Journalists described both the harsh conditions in Afghanistan and growing challenges facing those living in exile. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/10/23/afghanistan-taliban-tramples-media-freedom

Someone Wants to Control All Media

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Article in The Guardian by Owen Jones, 10/29/25

Headline:  “From CBS to TikTok, US media are falling to Trump’s allies. This is how democracy crumbles”

Subhead:  “We’re watching the Orbánisation of the US – and as in Hungary, control of the media is key to consolidating power”

“Democracy may be dying in the US. Whether the patient receives emergency treatment in time will determine whether the condition becomes terminal. Before Donald Trump’s return to the presidency, I warned of ‘Orbánisation’ – in reference to Hungary’s authoritarian leader Viktor Orbán. There, democracy was not extinguished by firing squads or the mass imprisonment of dissidents, but by slow attrition. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/29/cbs-tiktok-us-media-donald-trump-allies-democracy

 

News in the Eye of the Beholder

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Article in Status by Natalie Korach, 10.29.25

Headline: “Paramount’s Eye Strain”

Subhead:  “It was a ‘traumatic’ day at CBS News, as David Ellison’s Paramount unleashed a fresh wave of layoffs across the company, hitting the news division hard.”

“On Wednesday morning, shortly after Paramount staffers received a memo from David Ellison outlining a ‘tough day’ of layoffs ahead, CBS News staffers joined the regular 9 a.m. editorial call where newly minted editor in chief Bari Weiss and president Tom Cibrowski addressed them on the forthcoming cuts. “\’This is just an enormously difficult day for so many people that have given years of their lives to this company,’ Weiss said.

“Indeed, it was another rough day inside CBS News, which has experienced no shortage of them in recent months. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/cbs-news-layoffs-paramount

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 10/29/25

Headline:  “CBS News staffers lose jobs in ‘bloodbath’ as part of sweeping cuts from Paramount”

Subhead:  “Paramount laying off about 1,000 staffers, including some in news, on Wednesday amid longer-term cost-cutting plan”

“For months, CBS News staffers have been on edge waiting for a long-expected round of layoffs as part of the $2bn in cost-cutting that had been promised after parent company Paramount’s successful merger with Skydance Media.

“Those cuts began on Wednesday morning and are expected to affect fewer than 100 people. The company declined to provide a specific number. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/oct/29/cbs-news-layoffs-paramount

One Media, One Country!

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jem Bartholomew, 10/27/25

Headline:  “The CEOs of Everything”

Subhead:  “Larry and David Ellison are poised to become the Trump era’s reigning media moguls.”

“. . .Larry Ellison’s net worth is currently 342.5 billion dollars, according to Forbes. As a businessman, Ellison characterizes his approach by paraphrasing Genghis Khan: “It is not sufficient that I succeed. Everyone else must fail.’. . .”

“The Ellisons are not the only billionaires buying newspapers, seizing power over TV networks, and remaking social media platforms. But what makes their efforts more formidable is the vertical integration they would command: movie studios, news networks, part of a social media platform, and user data on millions of people, all in one package.. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/ceos-everything-david-larry-ellison-oracle-skydance-paramount-kimmel-carr.php

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Article in The New Republic by Alex Shephard, 10/27/25

Headline:  “Larry and David Ellison Are Building a Pro-Trump Media Behemoth”

Subhead:  “With the president’s blessing, the Ellisons’ Skydance merged with Paramount, gaining control of CBS News. Now the new giant might gobble up Warner Bros. Discovery, which includes CNN.”

“Donald Trump is about to give Larry Ellison and his son David another present. In July, the Trump administration gifted the mogul Paramount, whose properties include Paramount Studios and CBS, allowing it to merge with the Ellisons’ Skydance, despite antitrust concerns. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/202272/larry-david-ellison-paramount-warner-pro-trump-media-behemoth

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Article in The Daily Beast by Eboni Boykin-Patterson, 10/23/25

Headline:  “Jon Stewart Predicts ‘Bloodletting’ From His New Billionaire Boss”

Subhead:  “ ‘Just one guy controls all of the media—what could go wrong?’ Stewart said Thursday.”

“Jon Stewart joked that his new boss should “have it all,” as his network’s new overlord Skydance continues to gobble up the country’s biggest media companies.

“Skydance CEO David Ellison now has his sights set on acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery after its acquisition of Paramount, The Daily Show’s parent company.

“ ‘He should have it all,’ Stewart quipped on The Weekly Show Thursday. ‘My guy should have it all. He should be the leader of all… Why are there other media companies? Shouldn’t they all just be one?. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/jon-stewart-sounds-off-on-his-new-billionaire-boss-david-ellison/

US Cuts Independent Media

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Article in The Nation by Rani Chor, 10/23/25

Headline:  “Independent Media in Cambodia Is Collapsing. Washington Made It Worse.”

Subhead:  “The Thai-Cambodian border conflict is just one of the many stories going underreported in the country as Trump’s funding cuts leave citizens and journalists scrambling.”

“. . .All the while, independent local journalists struggle to tell the stories of those in Run Ta Ek and across the country as funding for their reporting runs dry. . .”

“In January 2025, President Donald Trump signed an order to suspend foreign assistance—resulting in a devastating drop in funding for independent media, particularly in fragile or authoritarian contexts where support is most needed. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/independent-media-cambodia-usaid-budget-cuts/#

Redlining the Media?

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Article in The Black Wall Street Times by Tiana Manon, 10/20/25

Headline: ” FCC Drew the Map: Media Redlining Still Shapes Who Controls the Airwaves”

Subhead: “ ‘Media Redlining,’ How Today’s Media Inequality is Rooted in Harmful Historic FCC Practices”

“The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has recently made headlines for its approval of the massive and controversial merger between Paramount and CBS deal and for investigating the DEI practices of companies like Comcast. Across the industry more broadly, major firings of Karen Attiah at the Washington Post and the temporary suspension of Jimmy Kimmel caused rumblings among everyday people who worry about the administration’s overreach. And now most recently, President Donald Trump’s lashing out at Al Sharpton for his show on MSNBC, stating perhaps the FCC should “look into” it. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://theblackwallsttimes.com/2025/10/20/fcc-drew-the-map-media-redlining-still-shapes-who-controls-the-airwaves/

Journalist Opinion Not Allowed

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Article in The Guardian by Michael Sainato, 10/26/25

Headline:  “ICE detains British journalist after criticism of Israel on US tour”

Subhead:  “Trump ally Laura Loomer took credit for Sami Hamdi’s detainment in move denounced as ‘affront to free speech’ “

“British journalist Sami Hamdi was reportedly detained on Sunday morning by federal immigration authorities at San Francisco international airport, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) says that action is apparent retaliation for the Muslim political commentator’s criticism of Israel while touring the US. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/26/ice-detains-british-muslim-journalist-laura-loomer

Don’t Look in the Media-Mirror!

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Article in Comic Sands by Amelia Mavis Christnot, 10/23/25

Headline:  “Fox News Host’s Gripe About The ‘Slobbering Media’ Is An Awkward Self-Own For The Ages”

Subhead:  “Greg Gutfeld called out the ‘allied slobbering media’ while criticizing former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s new book—and the hypocrisy is off the charts. . .”

“Gutfeld, a well-documented media minion for MAGA Republican President Donald Trump, made the hypocrisy of his gripes evident by including effusive, over-the-top praise of Trump as part of his indictment of the media coverage of President Biden. . .”

“Gutfeld, apparently unaware of his own network’s programming or reality, claimed:

” ‘Who is the most successful politician this century? Donald Trump, with 98% of the media against him.’

” ‘Then you look at the KJPs, you look at the Joe Bidens, you look at the Kamala Harrises. They are all abject, pathetic figures. They’re failures, and they had the media on their side. They failed.’

” ‘What does that tell you? An allied slobbering media does you no favors. It leaves you as an incompetent, arrogant, entitled fool’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.comicsands.com/greg-gutfeld-slobbering-media

Sir! – Your Loyal Press Corps is Here!

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 10/23/25

Headline:  “Opinion | The Pentagon’s new press corps — journalists or advocates?”

Subhead:  “When real reporters walked out, the Pentagon handed press badges to the MyPillow crowd and MAGA influencers”

“For years, the Department of Defense — one of the most important, scrutinized and reported-on departments in our government — has been covered extensively by reporters from inside the Pentagon. This included journalists from some of the most respected and accomplished news outlets in the business, such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, NBC, CBS, ABC, and CNN, just to name a few. . .”

“But those outlets are no longer in the Pentagon after refusing to sign a new press policy that prohibits journalists from accessing or soliciting information that the Defense Department doesn’t make available to them, including even unclassified information. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/pentagon-press-corps-mypillow-tv-lindell-tim-pool/