Media Politicize

Stopping Reporting With Force

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Article in Mediaite by Michael Luciano, 10/10/25

Headline: “Border Patrol Agents Arrest Chicago News Producer and Ram Vehicle in Hasty Getaway”

“Masked Border Patrol agents on Friday arrested a TV producer for WGN News in Chicago, threw her into an unmarked van, and rammed into another vehicle as they drove away.”

“A video posted on Facebook by a bystander named Josh Thomas shows three masked agents pinning Debbie Brockman on a street in Chicago’s North Side as they handcuff her. Thomas asks her name, which she gives, before Thomas asks the agents, ‘You guys wanna share your names, too?’. . .”

“They declined. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/ice-agents-arrest-chicago-news-producer-and-ram-vehicle-in-hasty-getaway/

Mental Media Malpractice?

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Article in AlterNet by Adam Lynch, 10/9/25

Headline:  ” ‘The right is in deep trouble’: Expert says far-right media ‘promotes mental degeneration’ “

“UnHerd Editor Sohrab Ahmari tells the Washington Post that the ravings of the right-wing media’s pundit class have lately gotten even crazier.

“ ‘Much of right-wing media now resembles star-child radio: a vast chamber of oft-malignant fantasies, where even once-reasonable minds go to get euthanized,’ said Ahmari. ‘Each flick of the feed pulls up a paranoia-monger more wild-eyed than the previous, warning about the evil machinations of all-powerful … apparitions of their fever dreams’. . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.alternet.org/right-wing-media-mental/

Nothing New at Pentagon – Move Along

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Ivan L. Nagy, 10/9/25

Headline:  “The Pentagon Doubles Down on Muzzling Reporters”

Subhead:  “Members of the press corps covering the Department of Defense say guidelines, newly revised, remain unsignable.”

“Last month, the Department of Defense issued a memo to reporters imposing an unprecedented set of restrictions on covering the Pentagon and setting a deadline for members of the press to sign a pledge of compliance. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/news/pentagon-doubles-down-pete-hegseth-muzzling-reporters-press-corps-policy.php

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Article in Axios by Julianna Bragg, 10/8/25

Headline:  “New Pentagon policy sends ‘message of intimidation,’ press group says”

The Department of Defense plans to enforce new policies that ‘appear designed to stifle a free press,’ the Pentagon Press Association said Wednesday.

Why it matters: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has faced weeks of backlash over a Sept. 15 memo restricting engagements alongside new requirements that journalists sign an ‘express agreement’ not to gather any information the department hasn’t officially authorized for release, or they risk losing access to Pentagon facilities. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.axios.com/2025/10/09/pentagon-press-restrictions-trump-journalists-ppa

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 10/9/25

Headline:  “News organizations hold out on signing Pentagon media policies ‘designed to stifle a free press’

Subhead:  “Trump administration has been accused of preparing to severely limit journalists’ ability to cover the department”

“With days left before journalists covering the Pentagon must sign on to a new set of guidelines to retain physical access to the department, major US news companies – and organizations representing their interests – remain concerned about specific policies they fear will stifle independent reporting on the Pentagon. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/09/new-pentagon-press-rules-trump– – – – –

Article in The Contrarian by Jennifer Rubin and Ned Price, 10/8/25

Headline:  “The Pentagon handcuffs free press and Gaza’s potential peace deal with Ned Price”

Subhead:  “The president could really care less.”

“In a deep discussion with Jen, Ned presents the dangers of handcuffing independent journalists to reporting solely Pentagon-approved memos. “Day to day journalism is so important,” Ned shares, designating the burden of safeguarding classified information on the Pentagon. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://contrarian.substack.com/p/the-pentagon-handcuffs-free-press

Future of CBS News?

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Article in Democracy Now! by Amy Goodman, 10/9/25

Headline:  “Bari Weiss to Head CBS News as Pro-Trump, Pro-Israel Billionaire Ellison Family Expands Media Emire”

“We speak to journalist David Klion about the Trump-affiliated right wing’s increasing grip on mainstream news media, as “anti-woke” pundit Bari Weiss takes the helm as the new editor-in-chief of CBS News. The former New York Times opinion writer . . .in reality has a 20-year history of suppressing speech that she finds objectionable. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.democracynow.org/2025/10/8/bari_weiss_david_klion_cbs_paramount

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 10/9/25

Headline: “The Weiss House”

“As Bari Weiss settles into CBS News, she’s moving fast – taking anchors to lunch, phoning potential hires, and plotting a new “Evening News” with names like Norah O’Donnell and Tony Dokoupil in the mix. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/bari-weiss-cbs-news-evening-news

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 10/7/25

Headline: “CBS News staffers react to Bari Weiss being named editor-in-chief: ‘It’s utterly depressing’ “

Subhead:  “Six network employees expressed a mix of emotions over the appointment in conversations with the Guardian”

“. . .In conversations with The Guardian, six current network employees who were not authorized to comment publicly expressed a mixture of apprehension, skepticism and frustration . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/oct/07/cbs-news-staffers-react-bari-weiss-appointment

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Article in The Verge by Elizabeth Lopatto, 10/7/25

Headline:  “Memo to Bari Weiss Re: CBS News: You’re doomed”

“. . .No one can save CBS News, because it was made for a media ecosystem that is now dead. Broadcast television is slowly circling the drain, its aging audience drifting toward the great inevitable. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theverge.com/business/793525/bari-weiss-cbs-news-glass-cliff

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 10/7/25

Headline:  “Opinion | What will Bari Weiss do as head of CBS News? Her past may offer clues.”

Subhead:  “Weiss promises courage and truth at CBS News. Her track record running The Free Press shows what that might look like.”

“. . .The acquisition puts one of the country’s most traditional news institutions — the former home of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite — under the editorial guidance of a journalist who rose to fame in part by critiquing old-line media. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theverge.com/business/793525/bari-weiss-cbs-news-glass-cliff

Riding the Press?

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Article in The Hill by Max REgo, 10/6/25

Headline:  “Hegseth defends media restrictions: ‘The Pentagon press corps can squeal all they want’ “

“Pete Hegseth is doubling down on the Pentagon’s new restrictions for the press corps, arguing it will not change despite complaints from the press.

“ ‘I think the American people see things like that as absolute common sense,’ the Defense secretary told Fox News on Sunday. ‘The Pentagon press corps can squeal all they want, we’re taking these things seriously. They can report, they just need to make sure they’re following rules.’ . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5540286-hegseth-defends-pentagon-rules/

 

Reporting Limitations at Pentagon

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 9/25/25

Headline:  “Predicament at the Pentagon”

Subhead:  “News organizations face a looming deadline from Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon which is demanding they sign restrictive new rules, or risk being expelled from the building entirely”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/pentagon-press-restrictions-pete-hegseth

Booted Off the Air?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Carolina Abbott Galvao & Riddhi Setty, 9/25/25

Headline: “Local ABC Affiliates Are Getting Slammed”

Subhead:  “Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, promised to bring power to community stations. But it’s their corporate owners who make the big decisions—while regional reporters and station managers take the heat.”

“Fewer and fewer local broadcasters are independently owned: “In the early eighties, it was north of fifty companies that owned or controlled 90 percent of broadcast media. And I think over the last decade or so, it’s become five or six, depending on how you break it down,” Reed Showalter, the former antitrust enforcer now running for Congress in Illinois, said. . .”

“. . .”Louis Wall, the president of Sagamore Hill Broadcasting, a privately owned broadcaster in Georgia . . . who considers himself to be “very supportive” of the First Amendment, has suddenly had to navigate a complex and often contradictory set of political, ideological, and financial concerns. “Broadcast is under attack from so many different mediums and video sources, we don’t need another piece of our armor or another piece of our programming to be lost,” he said.

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/news/local-abc-affiliates-nexstar-sinclair-getting-slammed.php

 

Gotta Catch ‘Em All

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Article in The New York Times by Cecelia Kang, 4/24/25

Headline:  “Brendan Carr Plans to Keep Going After the Media”

Subhead:  “While “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” returned to ABC on Tuesday, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission has promised to continue his campaign against what he sees as liberal bias in broadcasts.”

“. . .Driven by the belief that liberal tech and media companies have unfairly silenced viewpoints on the right, Mr. Carr is working to transform the F.C.C. from a once sleepy agency best known for licensing local TV stations and expanding 5G cellular networks into a protector of conservative speech. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/technology/brendan-carr-fcc-kimmel.html

Media Megaphones

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Article in Daily Kos by Olliver Willis, 9/22/25

Headline:  “Trump gives his Fox News pals a new platform to push propaganda”

“President Donald Trump has reportedly chosen Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, owners of Fox News, as part of a group that will have control over TikTok’s influential algorithm.

The move further consolidates right-wing media control while the Trump administration engages in a full-scale assault on the First Amendment. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/9/22/2344922/-Trump-gives-his-Fox-News-pals-a-new-platform-to-push-propaganda?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_1&pm_medium=web

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Article in The New York Times by David Streitfeld and Theodore Schleifer, 9/23/25

Headline:  “Larry Ellison, a Media Mogul Like No Other”

Subhead: “The database billionaire and his son, David, are Trump favorites. The family could soon control an empire that includes CBS, Paramount, Warner, CNN and a piece of TikTok.”

” . . . At any other time, the regulatory hurdles to owning TikTok, CBS and CNN along with a major swath of Hollywood would have been insurmountable. This is a decidedly different era, where being in the good graces of Mr. Trump counts for a great deal. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/technology/larry-ellison-oracle-tiktok.html

Shots at the Media

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Article in Media Matters by Gideon Taaffe. et. al., 9/18/25

Headline:  “How right-wing media sow distrust and confusion around vaccines and science”

Subhead: “As Florida ends school vaccine requirements and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s leadership comes under fire, the right has repackaged anti-science talking points as well-meaning skepticism”

“Amid the rise of the so-called ‘Make America Healthy Again’ movement, right-wing media figures have employed a variety of tactics that sow doubt and confusion around vaccine efficacy and science more broadly. These efforts to capitalize on existing distrust of public health institutions and pharmaceutical companies have gained renewed momentum following Florida’s elimination of vaccine requirements for schools . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/how-maha-media-sow-distrust-and-confusion-around-vaccines-and-science