Media Turmoil

Ban All Media Except Paramount?

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Article in The Wrap by Kim Murphy, 9/19/26

Headline: “Elizabeth Warren Blasts Paramount Merger Settlement Talks: ‘Massive Mistake to Cave’”

Subhead: “The senator cites CNN’s ban from the White House in warning that the merger could create a ‘Trump-controlled media conglomerate'”

“Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) issued a warning Saturday that it would be a ‘massive mistake to cave’ on 12 states’ lawsuit against Paramount Skydance’s pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Warren’s statement comes amid reports that California Attorney General Rob Bonta is in advanced talks on a potential settlement with the company, which would remove the only remaining regulatory hurdle impending the transaction. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/public-policy-legal/elizabeth-warren-paramount-merger-settlement-massive-mistake/

Mediasphere Erupts Over Purge!

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Article in Common Dreams by Stephen Prager, 9/18/26

Headline: “‘Straight Out of the Authoritarian Playbook’: Trump Bans CNN, MSNOW, and Politico From White House”

Subhead: “One press freedom advocate said it was “difficult to imagine a more blatant violation of the First Amendment.”

“Donald Trump announced in a Friday afternoon tirade that he would ban CNN, MSNOW (formerly MSNBC), and Politico from the White House. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-bans-news-networks

Coverage on this issue from some other sources:

Status News:  https://www.status.news/p/trump-press-ban-cnn-ms-now-politico

Axios:  https://www.axios.com/2026/09/18/trump-ban-cnn-ms-now-politico-white-house

AP News:  https://apnews.com/article/trump-cnn-msnow-politico-media-bans-bb675679fb10738a51bef90bde6c525a

Reuters:  https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-bans-media-outlets-cnn-msnow-politico-white-house-2026-09-18/

The Hill:  https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6098639-trump-bans-cnn-msnow-politico-white-house/

Local News, New Flight Path

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Article in Poynter 9/16/26,by Stephanie Edgerly and Tim Franklin

Headline:  “Local news audiences aren’t disappearing, but their habits are changing fast”

Subhead:  “A three-year Medill survey found declining TV and radio use, growing reliance on smartphones and creators, and deep skepticism about AI in news”

“In 2024, the Medill Local News Initiative at Northwestern University conducted its first in-depth survey of Chicago-area news consumers to understand how smartphones and social media were remaking the relationship between audiences and local news. . .”

“This article was originally published by Northwestern University’s Medill Local News Initiative. . .”

Read the full  article at:

https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2026/medill-survey-local-news-consumption-2026/

NBC Interviews a Bot, Really!

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Article in Mediaite by Ahmed Austin Jr., 9/14/26

Headline: “‘How Bizarre Is This?’ NBC News Airs Interview with AI-Generated Actress”

“NBC News aired an interview Monday that entertainment correspondent Chloe Melas conducted with an AI actress named Tilly Norwood.

“The interview premiered on Monday morning’s edition of 3rd Hour of Today. While introducing the interview, co-host Al Roker remarked, ‘How bizarre is this?’ Melas then added it was ‘quite an assignment’ before the segment began.

“Melas effectively did the interview like she would with any other virtual interview, with her speaking to Norwood via video call. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/how-bizarre-is-this-nbc-news-airs-interview-with-ai-generated-actress/

Hen in a Foxhouse

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 9/14/26

Headline: “She’s Donald Trump’s least-favorite Fox News host. But Jessica Tarlov remains undeterred”

Subhead: “The 42-year-old liberal commentator regularly co-hosts the network’s 5pm talk show, taking flak from her conservative colleagues and harsh insults from the president.”

“. . .The US president regularly bashes Tarlov on his Truth Social platform, in April calling her “one of the Least Attractive and Talented People on all of Television”, and demanding that Fox “GET HER OFF THE AIR.”

But, as a rotating co-host of political talkshow The Five, the 42-year-old former pollster and Democratic strategist has carved out a prominent role for herself as the network’s most capable messenger for the left, regularly doing battle with conservative co-panelists like Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/sep/14/jessica-tarlov-fox-news-liberal

New Way to Spin the News

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Article in Status by Brett Giurato, 9/11/26

Headline:  “The Prediction Market Predicament”

Subhead:  “Prediction markets are making inroads with major news organizations, but at the Status Summit, two of the industry’s most influential leaders raised questions about whether embracing them could undermine reader trust.”

“As you might’ve heard, we held our first summit earlier this week in New York. I’m a little biased, but I’ve been to many media conferences like this, and honestly? They’re usually kind of boring. Wednesday’s affair at The Times Center was anything but—a day full of candid conversations about the state of the industry and its future. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/the-prediction-market-predicament

Fighting Authoritarian Media Control

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Emily Bell and Heather Chaplin, 9/10/26

Headline: “The Fight to Save Journalism in Georgia”

Subhead: “How independent media organizations are standing together against an authoritarian government.”

“In Georgia, since a new party took power in 2024, founded by a billionaire oligarch with links to Russia, journalists are facing unprecedented attacks. All sorts of repression have become more common: physical assaults, arrests, arbitrary fines, suspensions of accreditation, and more. But perhaps the most devastating blow was less direct. After the government clamped down on all foreign funding and grants to Georgian organizations, citing them as examples of malign foreign interference, many independent media outlets lost as much as 90 percent of their budgets. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/kicker/the-fight-to-save-journalism-in-georgia-zeg-tbilisi-sinatle-chai-khana-lights-must-stay-on-antadze-bakradze.php

Newsroom AI Casualties

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Article in The Wrap by Tess Patton, 9/10/26

Headline:  “McClatchy Guts Newsrooms Nationwide Months After Controversial Push to AI”

Subhead: Papers in Miami, Kentucky and the Pacific Northwest saw as much as 30% of their staff cut on Thursday”

“McClatchy Media hit its newsrooms nationwide with significant layoffs on Thursday, with some newspapers gutted by a third of their staff.

“The layoffs came just months after the company’s push into AI with a controversial editorial tool that led to widespread revolt among staffers, as previously reported by TheWrap.

“The 168-year-old newspaper owner houses Pulitzer Prize-winning local outlets like the Bee, the Miami Herald and the Charlotte Observer, among many others. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thewrap.com/media-platforms/journalism/mcclatchy-newspapers-layoffs-ai-tool/

FCC Meddles in Broadcast Content

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Article in Meidasnews by Brett Meiselas, 9/9/26

Headline:  “Kimmel Says Trump FCC Threats Forced Talarico Interview Off TV

Subhead:  “The ABC host says his interview with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico will be relegated to YouTube after threats from Trump’s FCC, months after Stephen Colbert’s Talarico interview was similarly kept off broadcast television.”

“Jimmy Kimmel says his upcoming interview with Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico will not air on ABC, pointing the finger directly at President Donald Trump’s Federal Communications Commission and its threats against the network and its affiliates.

“During his Wednesday night monologue, Kimmel announced that Talarico would appear for an interview Thursday, but viewers won’t actually be able to watch it on broadcast television. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://meidasnews.com/news/kimmel-says-trump-fcc-threats-forced-talarico-interview-off-tv

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Article in The Hill by Dominick Mastrangelo, 9/10/26

Headline:  FCC commissioner: Kimmel’s ‘self-censorship’ shows Trump’s bid to ‘control’ media working

“The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) lone Democratic commissioner is pointing to ABC comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s decision not to broadcast an interview with Texas Senate nominee James Talarico (D) as evidence of what she called the Trump administration’s attempts to stifle free press. . .

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/6082338-fcc-commissioner-censorship-jimmy-kimmel-abc/

Media Consolidation Backfire

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Carolina Abbott Galvão, 9/8/26

Headline:  “What Happened in Lancaster?”

Subhead:  “The saga of a public radio station, a regional newspaper, the Pennsylvania family that funded them, and an NPR host turned nonprofit executive.”

“. . .’To advance their legacy of supporting local journalism and media literacy, the Steinman family sought to pair LNP [daily newspaper] with another locally based media organization—one with a self-perpetuating community board and a track record of strong leadership,’ Krasne told LNP’s digital arm, LancasterOnline. . .”

“. . .On October 3, 2024, three out of the seven people working in the station’s newsroom were laid off, and a fourth was reassigned. McDevitt, Long, and Jordan Wilkie, a democracy reporter, were the only three people left on the editorial staff. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/feature/what-happened-in-lancaster-lnp-witf-steinman-family-npr-all-things-considered.php