Media Turmoil

Trust the Media?

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Article in The Hill by Bernard Goldberg, 3/6/26

Headline: “With media distrust at an all-time high, journalists must do some soul-searching”

“Just about every day a new poll drops — and when it shows how unpopular President Trump is, the so-called mainstream media can’t wait to blast it across the screen. Breaking news! Flashing graphics! Panels of experts nodding gravely.

“Bad news for the president is good news for liberals — whether they’re in the media or just watching it.

“But there’s one poll the media treats like it has a contagious disease. It comes out every year from Gallup. And it measures something inconvenient: trust in the media. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/opinion/5769193-media-trust-erosion-journalism/

War – Not Iran – But MAGA Media

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 3/6/26

Headline: ” ‘You unbelievable coward’: conservative US media in open warfare over Iran”

Subhead:  “Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Ben Shapiro and Mark Levin are all trading blows over US involvement – while Sean Hannity says he’s staying out of it”

“The stars of the conservative media movement have been duking it out – in extremely personal terms – over Donald Trump’s decision to enter the United States into a conflict with Iran.

While it can be hard to cleanly group the warring factions, much of the fighting has centered on disagreements about whether the US is too deferential to Israeli interests. Those arguing that position most prominently include former Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly, while conservative media personalities like Mark Levin (a current Fox News host) and Ben Shapiro have strongly supported both the American intervention in Iran and collaboration with Israel. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/mar/06/conservative-media-open-warfare-over-iran

Slithering Around All The Media

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Article in The Ringer by Brian Phillipsm 3/3/26

Headline:  “The Terrifying Tentacles of Paramount’s Media Empire”

Subhead:  “The Ellisons are building a multicorporate network of data mining, surveillance, news, and entertainment. What could possibly go wrong?”

“What are the Ellisons building? I wonder if even they know. Last week, the news broke that the superbillionaire family had beaten out Netflix—or sort of beaten out Netflix? after Netflix had initially won?? and then the Ellisons swooped in and reversed the outcome through a combination of no-holds-barred political maneuvering and saying the biggest number???—in the battle to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery and its sprawling stable of media assets. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theringer.com/2026/03/03/media/paramount-warner-bros-discovery-larry-ellison-david-merger-netflix7:37 PM 3/5/2026

War Concerns Show Up in Media

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 3/3/26

Headline: “Opinion | As coverage intensifies, polls show Americans are uneasy about the Iran strikes”

Subhead:  “Nearly six in 10 Americans oppose the strikes and just as many don’t believe President Trump has a clear plan for handling the situation”

“. . .A CNN poll shows 59% of Americans disapprove of the attack. The poll also found that 60% of Americans don’t believe President Donald Trump has ‘a clear plan for handling the situation’. . .’

“Meanwhile, The Washington Post texted 1,000 Americans to get their thoughts on the attack. The results: 45% opposed, 39% supported and 17% were unsure. In addition, 47% said the U.S. should stop military strikes, compared to 25% who said they should continue.. .”

“The New York Times ran interesting side-by-side videos on its homepage on Monday. As I just referenced above, there was a clip of Trump saying, ‘I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars.’ Again, that was in 2024. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/trump-negative-polling-iran-strikes/

Will New Owner Melt CNN?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 3/2/26

Headline:  “Opinion | CNN’s coverage of Iran is a reminder of its power — and what could be lost in the wrong hands”

Subhead:  “The network’s all-hands coverage of the strikes shows exactly what’s at stake as a potential sale to Paramount raises fears inside the newsroom”

“At some point overnight Friday into Saturday, while battling insomnia, I was catching up on some programs I had recently recorded. When I was done and about to head to bed, I went back to cable and came across a startling overnight breaking news alert: The United States and Israel had launched coordinated attacks on Iran. . .”

“As someone who writes about the media and has a special interest in it, I couldn’t help but wonder what CNN will look and sound like when, eventually, it will come under the control of Paramount, with CEO David Ellison, and, perhaps, CBS News, with editor-in-chief Bari Weiss?. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/what-will-happen-cnn-sale-paramount/

Wagging the News-Dog?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jem Bartholomew and Ivan L. Nagy, 3/2/26

Headline:  “Blackout Iran”

Subhead:  “When the Trump administration launched a major attack on Iran, news organizations had to navigate a shaky environment for communications—and moral clarity.”

“. . .Sunday front pages of the [New York] Times and [Washington] Post did not mention the question of legality, and other outlets, such as CBS News and Fox News, uncritically accepted the administration’s framing of the attack as a ‘preemptive strike.’ Though news organizations did vital reporting before the US assaults in both Venezuela and Iran, exposing the brutality of those regimes, Kourosh Ziabari, an Iranian freelance journalist based in New York who writes for outlets including New Lines Magazine and Foreign Policy, told CJR that the attack must ‘be framed as what it is: an unlawful and illegal military strike.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/iran-war-trump-epstein-hegseth-tehran-casualties.php

Whither Goest CNN?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones 2/27/26

Headline:  “Opinion | CNN future in question after Thursday’s stunning Warner Bros. Discovery sale news”

Subhead:  “Paramount’s bid for Warner Bros. Discovery puts CNN’s future and its editorial independence in question”

“What does the future hold for CNN?

“That’s one of the big media questions following the stunning news that broke Thursday evening. Netflix has decided to withdraw its pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery. That now paves the way for David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance to take over WBD, including cable news network CNN . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/netflix-pulls-out-warner-bros-discovery-paramount-deal/

Media Deal or Not?

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Article in The Guardian by Coral Murphy Marcos, 2/27/26

Headline: ” ‘Not a done deal’: California vows ‘vigorous’ review of Paramount-Warner Bros takeover”

Subhead: “Attorney general says $111bn deal will be investigated amid concerns over monopoly power and job losses”

“Rob Bonta, California’s attorney general, said his office will investigate a possible merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery, hours after Netflix backed away from a planned takeover. . .”

”Bonta said in a post on X. ‘These two Hollywood titans have not cleared regulatory scrutiny — the California Department of Justice has an open investigation, and we intend to be vigorous in our review.’ . . . ”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/27/california-paramount-warner-bros

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 2/26/26

Headline:  “With Paramount set to take over WBD, Trump just steered a major news outlet into the hands of a crony”

Subhead:  “He wants to turn America into Hungary”

“Another major media conglomerate teeters on the precipice of being absorbed by a deep-pocketed ally of President Donald Trump and his administration.

At the end of last week, Netflix had a signed deal to purchase the theatrical and streaming divisions of Warner Bros., with the company’s cable division — including CNN — set to be spun off into a separate company. Netflix had previously defeated a rival offer for all of Warner Bros. from Paramount, the media conglomerate owned by David Ellison, a Trump favorite and the son of the president’s buddy Larry Ellison, the billionaire. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/cnn/paramount-set-take-over-wbd-trump-just-steered-major-news-outlet-hands-crony

WaPo and Gaza

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Megan Greenwell, 2/26/26

Headline:  “A Look Back at Covering Gaza for the Post“

Subhead: “Since October 7, 2023, Miriam Berger has been on assignment in Jerusalem, covering Israel, Palestine, and war. A few weeks ago, she learned she and hundreds of colleagues were being laid off.”

“. . She was one of three hundred–plus journalists who learned early this month that they would be laid off by the Washington Post, a dismantling that all but eliminated the publication’s international desk. Berger was on leave when the cuts were announced, working on a book about Israel’s starvation of Gaza. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/kicker/miriam-berger-look-back-covering-gaza-washington-post-layoffs.php

MAGA Defector Bridge-Burning?

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Article in Raw Story by Robert Davis, 2/23/26

Headline:  “This MAGA media figure is about to cause ‘a whole lot more drama’ for Trump: analyst:”

“A MAGA media figure is about to cause ‘a whole lot more drama’ for President Donald Trump, according to one analyst.

“Last week, Tucker Carlson released an interview with Trump’s ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, where he accused a former Israeli Prime Minister of visiting the infamous Epstein Island and other remarks that left pro-Israel Republicans steamed, Will Sommer at The Bulwark reported on Monday. For instance, pro-Israel voices like Laura Loomer and Dave Rubin spoke out against Carlson’s interview. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-2675303066/