Media Turmoil

Media Merger on Hold

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Article in UPI by Joe Fisher, 7/20/26

Headline:  “Judge temporarily halts Paramount, Warner Bros. merger”

Twelve state attorneys general won a court order on Monday to halt Paramount’s merger with Warner Bros. for at least 14 days.

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin in the Northern District of California granted a temporary restraining order to a coalition of 12 states, including New York and California, in their lawsuit to block Paramount’s purchase of Warner Bros.

A hearing in the case is scheduled for Aug. 3. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/07/20/judge-grants-restraining-order-paramount-warner-bros/3721784575875/

Media Precedent Still Valid?

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Article in The New York Times by Adam Liptak, 7/16/26

Headline:  “Could a 50-Year-Old Case Thwart Trump’s Attacks on the News Media?”

Subhead:  “The precedent said that ‘official harassment of the press’ is forbidden by the First Amendment.”

“It has been more than half a century since the Supreme Court issued its only decision on whether the First Amendment allows prosecutors to force reporters to testify about their confidential sources.

“The meaning of that precedent, Branzburg v. Hayes, is contested, and how the courts apply it may determine the fate of the Trump administration’s aggressive efforts to compel journalists to reveal their sources. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/us/politics/the-docket-supreme-court-press.html

Media Crash by Paramount?

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Article in The Wrap by Roger Cheng, 7/14/26

Headline:  “Paramount-Warner Bros. May Face Devastating Delay With State Antitrust Suit | Analysis”

Subhead:  “The state attorneys general’s effort lives and dies on whether it gets its request for a preliminary injunction to halt the merger granted”

“A dozen states have thrown the long-awaited wrench into the Paramount deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, raising the prospect that its plan faces a delay it can ill afford.

“The 12 state attorneys general, led by California AG Rob Bonta, on Monday filed their lawsuit challenging the $110 billion merger, alleging the deal would reduce competition in the distribution of films and give the combined company too much power when negotiating with TV distributors. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/deals-ma/paramount-warner-bros-what-happens-next-after-ags-lawsuit/

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Article in Reporters Without Borders by Staff, 7/13/26

Headline:  “USA: It’s up to state attorneys general to save the US news ecosystem from the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger”

“Time is running out to stop the proposed $111 billion merger between media conglomerates Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, which would place some of the most influential news brands in the US and worldwide under the control of a single owner. . . Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges state attorneys general (AGs) to block this merger, warning that it would reduce Americans’ access to reliable information and undermine media pluralism. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://rsf.org/en/usa-it-s-state-attorneys-general-save-us-news-ecosystem-paramount-warner-bros-merger

Right Sites Wrong Now?

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Article in The Righting by Howard Polskin , 7/13/26

Headline:  “Visits to All Top Right-Wing News Websites Drop for Second Straight Month”

“For the second consecutive month, year-over-year (YOY) visits to all of the 20 most popular right-wing news websites declined. According to TheRighting’s exclusive analysis of mobile and desktop traffic based on Similarweb data in June, 17 of top 20 right-wing news websites tracked regularly by TheRighting experienced double-digit decreases.

“The ongoing negative trend in traffic is bad news for news websites,” said Howard Polskin, President, TheRighting. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://therighting.com/traffic-reports/visits-to-all-top-right-wing-news-websites-drop-for-second-straight-month/

Media Trying to Catch-Up?

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Article in The Guardian by Margaret Sullivan, 7/13/26

Headline:  “Did the media fall short in its reporting on Graham Platner?”

“After the New York Times published an article in early June about the Senate candidate Graham Platner’s treatment of the women he dated, the story’s main source reacted with disappointment and anger.

It was a “gift to the Platner campaign”, charged Lyndsey Fifield, who had dated the Democratic combat veteran years ago and who spoke candidly to the Times about that experience.

The story’s headline called his behavior “unsettling”. That adjective seemed particularly careful and quite mild if you read deeper into the story. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/13/graham-platner-media

Media Monopoly Struggle Continues

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Article in Reuters by Dawn Chmielewski and Jody Godoy 7/8/26

Headline:  “US states could sue next week to block Paramount-Warner Bros deal, sources say”

“U.S. states concerned that Paramount’s  $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery will hurt competition could sue to block the deal as soon as next week, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta ​has taken the lead in investigating whether the deal violates U.S. laws against mergers that would unlawfully harm ​competition. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-states-could-sue-next-week-block-paramount-warner-bros-deal-sources-say-2026-07-08/

Courting Defamation?

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Article in Washington Post by Scott Nover, 7/7/26

Headline:  “Judge rules for The Washington Post in $3.8B defamation suit brought by Trump Media”

Subhead:  “The social media company failed to identify convincing evidence that The Post acted with actual malice, a federal judge in Tampa ruled.”

“. . .U.S. District Judge Thomas Barber, who is based in Tampa, wrote in a summary docket entry — known as a minute order — that Trump Media “failed to present evidence that would allow a jury to find by clear and convincing evidence” that The Post “published the allegedly defamatory statements with actual malice.” Barber granted The Post’s motion for summary judgment and denied one from Trump Media. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/07/07/judge-rules-washington-post-38b-defamation-suit-brought-by-trump-media/

The Bowing Media, Gets Them Nothing

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Article in Daily Kos by Oliver Willis, 7/3/26

Headline:  “Mainstream media gets nothing from caving to Trump”

“But soon after Trump’s victory, the press—which already spent years normalizing Trump’s racist and corrupt behavior—seemed ready to capitulate even further, in some instances completely compromising their independence while attempting to curry favor with him and his most ardent supporters. . .”

“And even when the mainstream media carries Trump’s water, he has still relentlessly attacked them, constantly lashing out at the “fake news” and encouraging his supporters to do the same. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/7/3/800063207/media/mainstream-media-gets-nothing-from-caving-to-trump/

 

Can’t Restrict Press

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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

CBS in the Crystal Ball

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 6/29/26

Headline:  “Opinion | What’s next for CBS News, CNN and ‘60 Minutes?’ “

Subhead: “Wall Street Journal reporter Isabella Simonetti breaks down the upheaval at CBS News and what the Paramount merger could mean for CNN”

“Has there been a bigger media story in 2026 than the upheaval at CBS News?

“CBS has a new owner who has a cozy relationship with President Donald Trump. The news division is being run by someone who had no meaningful TV news experience before she was hired. The evening news has a new anchor whose tenure is off to an uneven start. And even the network’s most dependable and respected product — the venerable ’60 Minutes’ — has been besieged by controversy, massive changes and unpopular firings. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/whats-next-cbs-news-cnn-60-minutes-paramount-bari-weiss/