Different Questions for Different Areas?


Article in Al Jazerra by Patrick Gathera 6/30/26

Headline: “At the World Cup, the media has set up a moral checkpoint”

Subhead : “While US and European players just get to play football, Global South footballers are questioned about politics.”

” ‘Why is it that African teams and Middle Eastern teams have to answer for what their governments are doing but European teams don’t?’ South African comedian Trevor Noah asked recently during a World Cup watch party.

“He was reacting to the questions Western journalists had lobbed at Iranian players following their games. But the question goes far beyond Iran. It speaks to a familiar hierarchy in global journalism: Some players are allowed to be athletes. Others are turned into ambassadors, defendants and moral exhibits. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2026/6/30/at-the-world-cup-the-media-has-set-up-a-moral-checkpoint

Are the Media Drugged?

Article in Alternet by John Stoehr, 6/28/26

Headline: “Opinion | Trump is sleeping in public and possibly on experimental drugs—but the media is silent”

“Why did Donald Trump blow up a signing ceremony. . .”

“On Wednesday, California Congressman Ted Lieu suggested an answer – that the 80-year-old president no longer has the mental capacity to recognize what’s in his own best interest. . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.alternet.org/alternet-exclusives/old-trump-media/

Can’t Restrict Press

Article in The New Republic by Hafiz Rashid, 6/30/26

Headline:  “Judge Cites Hegseth’s Own Words as He Blocks Pentagon’s Media Limits”

Subhead:  “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s words came back to haunt him, as a federal judge blocked his restrictions on reporters covering the Pentagon.”

“Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s complaints about media coverage came back to bite him Tuesday.

“A federal judge ordered a preliminary injunction against the Defense Department’s restrictions on press access to the Pentagon, based in part on ‘a consistent stream of derisive comments beginning shortly after the confirmation of Secretary Hegseth and continuing through the present.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/post/212574/judge-cites-hegseth-blocks-pentagon-media-limits

What’s Hiding in FCC’s Safe?

Article in Ars Technica by Jon Brodkin, 6/28/26

Headline:  “FCC accused of hiding Chairman Carr’s messages with DOGE and Musk”

Subhead:  “FCC refuses to provide messages, has ‘wasted a year’ of court’s time, filing says.”

“. . .’The evidence clearly demonstrates that the FCC has acted in bad faith by withholding documents responsive to Plaintiffs’ FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] request,’ journalist Nina Burleigh and advocacy group Frequency Forward said in a filing yesterday in US District Court for the District of Columbia. ‘The FCC acted in bad faith when it redefined the search criteria without notice to Plaintiffs or this Court. Further, the FCC acted in bad faith by concealing the fact that the Chairman Carr has a Signal account on a phone he uses to conduct government business.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/06/fcc-accused-of-hiding-chairman-carrs-messages-with-doge-and-musk/

Some Media – Climate? No-Problem


Article in Media Matters by Evlondo Cooper, 6/29/26

Headline:   “Right-wing media could use a quieter 2026 hurricane forecast to downplay climate risk before storms form”

Subhead:  “El Niño may reduce Atlantic storm formation, but fewer expected storms does not mean lower public risk”

“Right-wing media have repeatedly cited the impacts of El Niño, short-term weather variability, and quieter stretches of hurricane season to argue that storm risks from climate change are exaggerated, and now the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s ‘below-normal’ 2026 Atlantic hurricane forecast gives that playbook a new opening. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/broadcast-networks/right-wing-media-could-use-quieter-2026-hurricane-forecast-downplay-climate-risk

No Climate for News Change


Article in FAIR by Olivia Riggio, 6/26/26

Headline:  “Covering the Impact of Climate Change—Without Mentioning Climate Change”

“. . .With extreme weather events worsening each year, and the world on track to surpass by 2030 the Paris Agreement’s attempt to limit global heating to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, connecting these disruptive and deadly events to climate change is a key part of the story.

“Yet on the evening of Tuesday, June 23, despite leading their shows with severe weather headlines, nightly news shows on NBC, ABC and CBS failed to mention climate even in passing. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/covering-the-impact-of-climate-change-without-mentioning-climate-change/

Sinclair Changes News


Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Susie Banikikarim, 6/26/26

Headline:  “Agenda Journalism”

Subhead:  The Baltimore Sun swipes at Wes Moore, and a seasoned reporter resigns. Plus: Holding the police accountable, and the grim reality of wellness treatments.”

“On Monday, Jeff Barker, who spent twenty-five years as a reporter at the Baltimore Sun, posted on X that he was resigning. ‘I was proud to have been there during a long period when our reporting followed the facts wherever they happened to lead,” he wrote. “I’m not saying anything readers can’t see for themselves, but The Sun has changed since its purchase by David Smith, executive chairman of the Sinclair Broadcast Group. I no longer fit there.’

“It was a stark rebuke of The Sun and of its owner, Smith, a wealthy conservative who once told Donald Trump: ‘We are here to deliver your message. Period’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/laurels-and-darts/agenda-journalism-baltimore-sun-west-moore-sinclair-david-smith-barker-resign-mississippi-senatobia-police-shooting-atlanta-journal-consitution-ajc-wellness-georgia.php

Mickey and Brendan


Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 6/25/26

Headline:  “US media regulator Brendan Carr accuses Disney of ‘misinformation’ on investigations”

Subhead:  Disney-owned ABC launched awareness campaign about two FCC investigations it faces, urging viewers to write in”

“Brendan Carr, the Trump-aligned chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has accused Disney of running a “campaign of misinformation” as the media group defends itself against investigations the regulator has initiated.

Disney-owned ABC launched a public awareness campaign earlier this week to encourage viewers to back the network as it faces two separate investigations before the US media regulator.

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jun/25/disney-brendan-carr-fcc-investigation

Killing the News?

Article in Democracy Now by Amy Goodman, 6/23/26

Headline:  “Remembering Ahmed Wishah, the Latest Palestinian Journalist Killed by Israel in Gaza”

“Israel is continuing to attack Gaza despite the so-called ceasefire. Israeli strikes killed Ahmed Wishah, a cameraman with Al Jazeera, and at least six people, including two children, on Saturday. Wishah’s brother Mohammed, who also worked for Al Jazeera, was killed in an Israeli strike this April. Israel has now killed over 260 journalists in Gaza, including at least 12 working for Al Jazeera, since October 2023. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.democracynow.org/2026/6/23/israel_gaza_journalists

Politically Targeting ABC?


Article in Free Press by Staff, 6/23/26

Headline:  Free Press Calls on the Carr FCC to End Its Corrupt Crusade Against ABC Programs and Stations”

On Monday, Free Press urged the Federal Communications Commission to stop Chairman Brendan Carr’s capricious and corrupt efforts to bully ABC into complying with President Trump’s political agenda.  . .”

“In a filing about whether the ABC program The View still qualifies for an exemption from the FCC’s Equal Opportunities Rule for political-candidate interviews, Free Press wrote: “The FCC is explicitly prohibited from dictating the editorial decisions of national news networks. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/free-press-calls-carr-fcc-end-its-corrupt-crusade-against-abc-programs-and-stations