Media Turmoil

Rt. Media Eating Their Own

by

Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 9/3/26

Headline: “Bartiromo’s Fox Betrayal”

Subhead: “Fox News offered no explanation for Maria Bartiromo’s abrupt firing. But Status has learned what happened behind the scenes, and why it put the longtime host at odds with her own network.”

“On Thursday afternoon, Fox News issued a press release that reverberated through the media and political worlds. In a terse statement, the network announced that it had severed ties with Maria Bartiromo, the once-respected business journalist who in recent years became consumed by right-wing conspiracy theories. . .”

“Status has learned that Bartiromo’s termination stems from an incident, which has not previously been reported, that occurred in July. After Trump delivered his unhinged prime time speech. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/maria-bartiromo-fox-news-announcement-departure

– – – – –

Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 9/3/26

Headline: “Fox News Media abruptly ousts longtime anchor Maria Bartiromo”

Subhead: “Bartiromo had been a host at the network for more than a decade and Fox gave no explanation for the decision”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/sep/03/maria-bartiromo-fox-news-departure

WaPo Tacking Left?

by


Article in The Wrap by A.J. KAtz, 9/1/26

Headline: “Defends Iran War Report Amid ‘Traitor’ Criticism”

Subhead: “The update comes after the paper reported that senior military leaders warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth against prolonged large-scale operations”

“The Washington Post editorial board defended the paper’s reporting that senior military leaders are concerned the U.S. military is being stretched thin by the war with Iran, following criticism from the Pentagon and one of the newspaper’s own columnists.

“ ‘In a free society, there is an overwhelming public interest in knowing these facts,’ the board wrote. ‘The Constitution guarantees the rights of news organizations to publish such information.’

“The defense comes after WaPo columnist Marc Thiessen called the confidential government source behind the reporting a ‘traitor’ and said the leaker should be prosecuted, as TheWrap previously reported. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thewrap.com/media-platforms/journalism/washington-post-editorial-board-defends-traitor-iran-war-report/

Media Jobs Drought

by

Article in The Wrap by Casey Loving, 8/28/26

Headline: “Longtime WNBC Investigative Reporter Reveals Network Eliminated Her Position, Cites Changing Media Landscape”

Subhead: ” ‘ No, I’m not retiring,’ Sarah Wallace says while teasing her next move”

“After parting ways with New York-based news station WNBC, longtime investigative journalist Sarah Wallace wants to clear the air: She’s not retiring.

“Instead, the seasoned journalist, whose resume boasts 19 Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award, revealed in a direct-to-camera social media video on Friday that her position was entirely eliminated from the company, citing the changing media landscape as the cause for her career change. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thewrap.com/media-platforms/journalism/longtime-wnbc-investigative-reporter-position-eliminated/

Legacy Media Not Adapting?

by

Article in Poynter by Tom Rosenstiel, 8/26/26

Headline:  “Opinion | To survive, journalism must become indispensable”

Subhead:  “News organizations need to understand what audiences actually need — and build their journalism around those needs”

“One of the most important and misunderstood reasons for the crisis in journalism has little to do with revenue or technology. The problem is the journalism itself.

“. . .what made newspapers, radio newscasts and TV news programs indispensable to people in the 20th century was not the journalism but what surrounded it. . .

“Today, people find nearly all of that elsewhere. . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/journalism-must-become-indispensable/

Media Sharks Want to Feed

by


Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 8/24/26

Headline: “Opinion | Why the media has reason to focus on Natalie Harp story”

Subhead:  “Influential aide to President Trump who shapes information he receives wrote personal letters, defended him on social media after Jan. 6”

“Perhaps the most publicized name on the national political scene over the past couple of weeks has been Natalie Harp, the White House aide who never seems more than a few steps away from President Donald Trump.

“And there’s a good reason for all the attention and coverage she is receiving. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/why-the-media-has-reason-to-focus-on-natalie-harp-story/

Latest Media Threats

by

Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 8/25/26

Headline:  “Checking in on Trump’s war on the press since his White House Correspondents’ dinner speech”

“Journalists assembled in Washington, D.C., sat impotently as the president delivered remarks that mixed empty platitudes about his “respect for your profession” with withering insults directed at individual reporters. The evening “was a public humiliation for the White House Correspondents’ Association”

“Since then – . . .”

“None of this seems likely to convince the WHCA to change course, and it’s unclear what if anything Trump could do to the press that would result in the rescission of his invitation for next year’s dinner. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/index%2Ephp/donald-trump/checking-trumps-war-press-his-white-house-correspondents-dinner-speech

Censoring News to Troops?

by


Article in Daily Beast by Sarah-Jane Collins, 8/22/26

Headline:  “Hegseth Launches Twisted Attack on Free Press Over Carrier Scandal”

Subhead:  “The publisher and editor of Stars and Stripes were given the boot after an interview cautioning against censorship.”

“Long-time publisher Max Lederer and Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin were given “separation notices” that allow five days to appeal the decision. . .”

“Korte and Slavin traced the decision back to interviews they did that aired on CBS Sunday Morning in July.”

“ ‘According to the notice, I am being fired for stating in a CBS interview that censorship of news for service members would constitute a red line. The Pentagon’s public affairs office has charged me with insubordination,’ Slavin told CBS. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/hegseths-twisted-attack-on-free-press-over-carrier-scandal/

Media Run Toward Fake Poles?

by


Article in Status by Brett LoGiurato, 8/21/26

Headline: “The Media’s Fake Poll Flub”

Subhead: “A fake polling firm fooled Rupert Murdoch’s California Post and local outlets, exposing how quickly bogus numbers can become news and raising fresh questions about reporting standards.”

“Earlier this week, the California Post, the fledgling Los Angeles-based tabloid of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, reported a shocking story about a bogus poll from a fake firm called ‘Median Strategies’ that fooled everyone up to the city’s mayor, Karen Bass.

“The story featured a comment from Bass, whose office demanded that those behind it face the ‘full force of the law.’ It ended with a comment from a veteran political consultant who said that ‘whoever is responsible for this ought to be exposed.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/california-post-fake-poll-mistake

Some Military News – Gone?

by

Article in UPI by Don Jacobson, 8/21/26

Headline:  “Pentagon fires Stars and Stripes editor-in-chief, publisher, reporter”

Subhead: “Stars and Stripes, the U.S. military newspaper founded in 1861, lost its editor-in-chief, publisher and Middle East reporter to firings Friday for what the Pentagon described as insubordination. File Photo by Sgt. Brendan Mackie/U.S. Army National Guard”

“The Pentagon has fired the publisher, editor-in-chief and Middle East reporter of the venerable military newspaper Stars and Stripes, the publication reported Friday.

“Editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, publisher Max Lederer Jr. and civilian reporter Lara Korte, who covers the Middle East, have all received termination notices, a Pentagon source confirmed to the newspaper. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/08/21/Pentagon-fires-Stars-Stripes-editor-in-chief-publisher-reporter/1571787353309/

Media and Exploding Lawsuits

by

 

Article in Axios by Sara Fisher and Kerry Flynn, 8/18/26

Headline:  “Trump’s media and defamation legal battles skyrocket”

Subhead:  “Media and defamation lawsuits involving Trump”

“. . .Trump’s efforts to target government-funded broadcasters and broadcasters regulated by the Federal Communications Commission have prompted many of those cases.”

“. . .According to Axios’ analysis, Trump, his businesses and his administration have been involved in 61 media and defamation lawsuits since 2015, including 16 in 2025 and nine so far in 2026.

Read the full article at:

https://www.axios.com/2026/08/18/trump-media-defamation-lawsuits