Media Reform

TV News Evolving

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Article in Poynter by Kerwin Speight, 10/30/26

Headline: “Opinion | Scripps is cutting anchors and adding reporters. Is this the future of local TV news?”

Subhead: “Anchorless newscasts offer an early look at what viewers could gain — and lose — as local TV evolves”

“CEO Adam Symson announced the job cuts Tuesday, marking the second wave of layoffs this year. In August, 268 employees were let go. Most notable among that group were news anchors at some stations.

At the same time, Scripps’ WMAR-TV in Baltimore debuted newscasts without anchors. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2026/scripps-anchorless-local-tv-news-reporters/

Time to Run Away From CBS?

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Article in the Daily Beast by Laura Esposito, 10/26/26

Headline:  “CBS News Staff Eye Escape From Trumpy Boss: ‘It’s Ugly’”

Subhead:  “’Folks are tired,’ a CBS News source told the Post.”

“David Ellison is offering buyouts to employees at CBS News and other Skydance properties. . .”

“The shake-up comes as Ellison, the son of Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, succeeded in his bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery under the Skydance Paramount umbrella. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/cbs-news-staff-eye-escape-from-trumpy-boss-david-ellison

Citizens Fight Media Supression

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Article in AP by Jocelyn Noveck, 10/26/26

Headline:  “6 citizens sue Trump, saying media ban deprives them of news as audience stakeholders”

“In the increasingly bitter legal standoff between President Donald Trump and media outlets whose reporting he dislikes, a new and crucial third party has emerged: citizens who watch and read the news and need it to do their jobs.

“A lawsuit filed Monday on behalf of six such citizens — essentially representing the wider public audience — argues that it’s not only the rights of news organizations that are violated when Trump bans them from White House premises. Even more fundamentally, the lawsuit argues, such bans violate the public’s right to independent reporting about its president and government. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://apnews.com/article/trump-media-ban-citizens-lawsuit-f5a70baaa97dba1bdd4cda365b5f635d

Media Groups Fight Consolidation

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Article in Free Press by Staff, 12/9/26

Headline:  “Unions and Nonprofits Representing Journalists, Writers and Communications Professionals Petition FCC to Stay Order That Would Allow Massive Media Consolidation”

Subhead:  “Groups call “unlawful” Carr’s move to eliminate a vital limit that prevented massive broadcast conglomerates from acquiring even more local outlets”

“WASHINGTON — A coalition of unions and nonprofit organizations representing journalists, writers and other communications professionals have urged the Federal Communications Commission to stay a recent order repealing its long-standing and congressionally required National Television Multiple Ownership Rule. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/coalition-petitions-fcc-stay-order-allowing-massive-media-consolidation

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Article in Common Dreams by Jake Johnson, 10/10/26

Headline:  “Coalition Files Emergency Motion to Stop Trump FCC From Unleashing Media Consolidation Spree”

Subhead: “The FCC simply cannot ignore the laws Congress makes just because the current agency head wants to.”

“A coalition of nonprofit groups and labor unions filed an emergency petition on Friday aimed at blocking the Federal Communications Commission’s recent repeal of a decades-old rule that limited consolidation among television broadcasters, a move that would allow media conglomerates to seize even more control over local news stations. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-fcc-tv-consolidation-2678069354

Independent News Needs Support

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Article in Poynter by Kristen Hare, 10/1/26

Headline:  “What does it take to make an independent local newsroom work? More than good journalism.”

Subhead:  “A new study of 112 independent publishers shows just how much local news entrepreneurs have to juggle”

“. . .A new study from Syracuse University’s Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship digs into the hard realities facing the local news entrepreneurs working to fill the huge and growing gaps left by shrinking local newspapers.

“A Hard Reality: Independent Local Journalism in the United States,” by Merrill Brown and Jacob Spudich, looks at survey responses from 112 publishers in 37 states and Washington, D.C . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2026/independent-local-newsrooms-sustainability-business-models/

Teeing-up Court Fight Over Press Freedom

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Article in The Guardian by AP, 7/15/26

Headline: “New York Times files motion to quash justice department’s subpoenas”

Subhead:  “Journalists who had reported on security concerns around the new Air Force One, a gift from Qatar, received summons”

“. . .’As we set out in our motion, these subpoenas are brought in bad faith to punish the Times for its coverage. They violate the constitutional rights of the Times and its journalists. We are going to court to defend our journalists’ rights to report freely on the administration and to provide the public with stories that matter,’ David McCraw, the newspaper’s senior vice-president and deputy general counsel, said in a statement. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/15/new-york-times-subpoenas-air-force-one

Hope for Citizen-Based News

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Article in Free Press by Staff, 6/16/26

Headline: “California’s Civic Media Program Marks Significant Progress Over Past Efforts to Fund Local News”

Subhead:  “Civic-media leaders say more improvements are necessary to meet the needs of the state’s diverse and historically underserved communities”

“SACRAMENTO — On Monday, the state of California unveiled the details of a groundbreaking multimillion-dollar program to support local newsrooms across the state. The California Civic Media Program will distribute an initial $20 million in grants as a public-private investment in local reporting that’s essential to the civic health of the state’s diverse communities. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/californias-civic-media-program-marks-significant-progress-over-past-efforts-fund-local-news

Community Media Pioneer Dies

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Article in Democracy Now! by Staff, 5/29/26

Headline:  “Philadelphia Community Access Media Founder Gretjen Clausing Dies at 61”

“Gretjen Clausing, the founding executive director of Philadelphia Community Access Media, has passed away at the age of 61. Clausing dedicated decades of her life advocating for public access to the media and freedom of expression and was actively involved in national campaigns in support of community media and local journalism. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.democracynow.org/2026/5/29/headlines/philadelphia_community_access_media_founder_gretjen_clausing_dies_at_61

New Media Companies

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 12/23/26

Headline:  “A CBS News personality is starting his own media company – but keeping his day job”

Subhead:  “David Begnaud is launching an independent media company using the beehiiv platform while remaining a contributor at the network”

“As media jobs disappear and the industry shifts even further to a focus on individual personalities, rather than global brands, many journalists are choosing to leave stable jobs and strike out on their own by starting paid newsletters on platforms such as Substack and beehiiv. . .”

“On Monday morning, the longtime CBS News personality David Begnaud announced that he would be keeping his day job as a contributor while starting an independent media company called Do Good Crew . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/feb/23/cbs-news-david-begnaud-beehiiv

Students Fill Gap of Local Coverage?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Riddhi Setty & Carolina Abbot Galvao, 12/2/25

Headline:  “How Students Are Trying to Save Local News”

Subhead:  “Across the country, university programs are filling gaps in the coverage.”

At twenty-one, just after her graduation from the University of Vermont, Holly Sullivan became the editor of the Winooski News, the sole paper in Vermont’s smallest city—spanning a mile and a half, with about eight thousand residents who speak more than thirty languages. In the course of a few months, Sullivan went from being a student to editing articles and a newsletter that serve the area at large, written entirely by university students.

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/news/how-students-are-trying-to-save-local-news.php