Media News

News about the media.

AI as Media Tool

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jem Bartholomew, 8/27/26

Headline: “Should the Press ‘Run Toward’ AI?”

Subhead: “A new book argues that news organizations should enthusiastically adopt AI to improve their journalism. Critics aren’t so sure.”

“. . .Rosenstiel, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism, argues that journalism is ‘failing democracy’ and should ‘become more focused on helping people live their lives than on merely getting their attention. . .”

“. . .instead of using datasets for one-off enterprise stories, journalists should work to combine multiple streams of information into a single, constantly updating hub—taking on the role of data wranglers, one might say—and then enable audiences to navigate that resource themselves, for instance with an AI chatbot. This, he argues, could help put newsrooms back at the center of their communities. The idea is about ‘extending the reach of human journalism using technology as a tool,’ he told me. ‘I’m not advocating having AI write stories.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/should-the-press-run-toward-ai-tom-rosenstiel-new-book-next-journalism-how-press-must-change-serve-democracy.php

Media Jobs Drought

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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/

Media Sharks Want to Feed

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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/

Post Sees Eyes on Things

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Article in Poynter by Angela Fu and Amaris Castillo

Headline:  “Opinion | A Washington Post investigation prompts changes at surveillance company Flock”

Subhead:  “The Post found dozens of cases of police misusing license plate readers. Flock is adding safeguards intended to prevent abuse.”

“Flock, the company that operates an extensive network of license plate readers, announced Thursday that it will implement new safety measures. . .”

“The Post noted that the announcement comes one week after the paper published an investigation finding dozens of examples of police officers using Flock’s cameras to stalk women without their knowledge or consent. In one case, a police chief searched his ex-girlfriend’s license plate more than 500 times and repeatedly sent her messages indicating he knew her location. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/flock-security-camera-changes-washington-post/

Catered Media Dinner

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Article in Reuters By Emily Giles, Elwely Elwelly and Melory Ghazi, 8/13/26

Headline:  “Iran’s state media mock Trump over airplane switch, meme shows him hiding in a catering truck”

“. . .Trump and a ​small group of aides used a catering truck to switch from the big blue-and-white presidential aircraft to a smaller, nondescript C-32A jet for the flight out of ​Turkey on July 8, while Air Force One departed separately carrying senior administration officials, White House staff and the [press], according to the first source. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/irans-state-media-mock-trump-over-airplane-switch-meme-shows-him-hiding-catering-2026-08-13/

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Article in The Borowitz Report by Andy Borowitz, 8/13/26

Headline: “Trump Regularly Hides in Catering Truck to Avoid JD Vance”

“. . .Donald J. Trump routinely hides in a catering truck parked outside the White House to avoid talking to JD Vance, Secret Service sources revealed on Thursday.

“According to the sources, when agents see the vice president approaching the Oval Office they immediately activate a silent alarm and hustle Trump out the back door. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.borowitzreport.com/

Pay for NBC News Now?

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 8/10/26

Headline: “The Peacock’s Paywall”

Subhead:  “NBC News once vowed to keep its journalism free, but the news outlet is now putting its exclusive and enterprise reporting behind a digitral paywall — and not everyone inside the company is thrilled, Status has learned

“Last February, NBC News Group boss Cesar Conde announced a major initiative in an internal meeting: a subscription service for NBC News. Until then, NBC News had proudly championed the fact that it made its reporting free. . . ”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/nbc-news-paywall-subscription-service

Code for Journalists

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Liz Skalka, 8/10/26

Headline:  “Revising the Ethics Code”

Subhead: “The Society of Professional Journalists is taking a red pencil to its ethics guidelines—the first update since 2014.”

“The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), a more than century-old industry organization. . . might be best known for its code of ethics, a set of bullet-pointed precepts that can fit on a poster designed to hang in journalism classrooms and newsrooms: ‘Seek Truth and Report It’; ‘Minimize Harm’; ‘Act Independently’; ‘Be Accountable and Transparent.’ . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/feature/society-professional-journalists-spj-revising-the-ethics-code-ethical-precepts-ai-voice-content-creators.php

Media Sinking Into the Swamp?

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Article in AP by Bernard Condon, 8/10/26

Headline:  “Trump media company announces a massive loss and new turnaround effort”

“The president’s media company posted a massive loss in the second quarter and announced plans to ditch new business lines and refocus as a forum for users to post their views.

“Trump Media & Technology, the company behind the Truth Social platform, said Monday that it lost $238 million in the three months through June as it branched into businesses unrelated to media, including crypto. That was more than 10 times the loss from a year earlier. The per-share loss widened to 86 cents from 8 cents. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://apnews.com/article/truth-social-media-trump-djt-crypto-e86747f01cc12dbee0146c5f0e79012b

Robots Reading You the News?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jem Bartholomew 7/6/26

Headline:  “All the News While Doing the Dishes”

Subhead:  “News organizations have embraced AI narrators. But how does artificial mediation change our relationship to a piece of writing?”

On major news sites, you may have started noticing a button—maybe a triangular ‘play’ symbol, or a little headphones icon—allowing you to hear an article read aloud. Tap the button, and you may be told that the piece is being ‘read by an automated voice.’ News outlets including the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal . . . have all embraced automated text-to-speech tools to oralize their journalism in recent years. . .”

“Does hearing journalism narrated by a synthetic voice change a reader’s relationship to the story?. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/all-the-news-while-doing-the-dishes-ai-narration-artificial-mediation-relationship-writing-new-yorker-new-york-times-singer-remnick-elevenlabs-staniszewski.ph0p

What Will Happen to CNN?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 8/5/26

Headline:  “Opinion | David Ellison broke months of silence on CNN’s future. His biggest critics won’t be reassured.”

Subhead:  “The Paramount CEO explained his vision for CNN and CBS News in a New York Times essay — but left key concerns unanswered”

“For months, the biggest media story has been Paramount’s attempt to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery for $111 billion. . .”

“There is another concern: that Paramount, which already owns CBS News, would also take control of CNN and, many fear, shift the network to the right because of Paramount CEO David Ellison’s evidently cozy relationship with President Donald Trump. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/david-ellison-cnn-nyt-op-ed/

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Article in The Hill by Dominick Mastrangelo, 9/5/26

Headline: “Ellison defends Paramount merger, argues he can ‘be trusted as a steward of CNN“

“Media executive David Ellison is defending Paramount’s bid to purchase Warner Brothers Discovery and defending himself against accusations of implementing political bias at his media properties. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/6007503-media-exec-denies-political-bias/