Media News

News about the media.

Rt. Wing Media – Bread or War?

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Article in Media Matters by John Knefel, 3/27/26

Headline:  “Divisions emerge in right-wing media as Iran war stirs anxiety about food production, fertilizer”

Subhead:  “Some conservative pundits are calling for escalation, while others criticize the war for surging fertilizer costs”

“The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran — which has been largely but not entirely supported by major right-wing media outlets — is threatening to upend not just international oil markets but also world food production, with fertilizer costs soaring just as farmers in the global north enter the spring planting season.

Some figures in right-wing media have taken notice, alarmed that a spike in domestic food prices could be disastrous for President Donald Trump and Republicans in the fall midterms. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/divisions-emerge-right-wing-media-iran-war-stirs-anxiety-about-food-production

ICE & Rt. Wing Media

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Article in Media Matters by Gideon Taaffe & Sage Hodil, 3/27/26

Headline:  “Right-wing media are calling for ICE to ‘surround the polls’ in midterms”

Subhead:  “Right-wing media figures claim Democrats are ‘basically admitting they’re cheating’ by opposing ICE at polling stations. But noncitizen voting is a fake problem and ICE has racially profiled US citizens.”

“Right-wing media personalities are pushing for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be deployed to polling stations during the 2026 midterm elections, claiming it will ‘fix the fraud’ of alleged noncitizen voting and suggesting the only reason Democrats oppose the idea is that ‘they want to cheat’ and ‘protect illegals’ voting rights.’ Department of Homeland Security officials, meanwhile, have put out mixed messaging regarding whether or not the department will consider this course of action.

“In reality, according to experts, instances of noncitizen voting are negligible and the presence of ICE agents at polling stations would be illegal, as it could intimidate voters into staying away and have a ‘chilling effect’. . .”

Read the full story at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/voter-fraud-and-suppression/right-wing-media-are-calling-ice-surround-polls-midterms

On the Radio – Listening for the Aether

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Article in Poynter by Amaris Castillo, 3/26/25

Headline:  “A quarter of US radio stations are religious, and most listeners aren’t tuning in for politics, study finds”

Subhead:  “The Pew-Knight study shows religious programming is nearly ubiquitous in the U.S. and often blends faith with lifestyle content”

“About a quarter of all AM/FM radio stations in the United States have a faith focus, and 98% of U.S. adults live within range of at least one religious radio station, a study from the Pew-Knight Initiative released Thursday found.

“The research found that while religion is a throughline, programming often interweaves lifestyle advice, conversations about family, parenting and education, and social commentary or discussions of politics and current events. Among listeners, 62% of those surveyed said they tune in because the content is “spiritually uplifting.”

“Most did not cite news and politics coverage as a core reason for tuning in. . .”

Read the full article at:https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2026/christian-news-radio-united-states/

The Power of Radio!

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 3/24/26

Headline:  “Opinion | Was a conservative radio caller behind the idea to send ICE agents into airports?”

Subhead:  “A suggestion from ‘Linda from Arizona’ on The Clay and Buck Show made its way to Fox News and, soon after, into White House policy”

“. . .So, where did President Donald Trump get the idea to send ICE into airports to help the TSA? It might have been. . .

“Linda from Arizona.

“Several media observers — including Semafor’s Ben Smith and CNN’s Brian Stelter — noted that a woman named Linda called into Clay Travis’ conservative radio show last Friday and made the suggestion to deploy ICE to airports.

“Linda told ‘The Clay and Buck Show,’  ‘I think I have a solution to the TSA problem. … We need to bring in ICE agents.’ Travis replied, ‘Linda, I have to say that’s kind of a brilliant idea.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/ice-airports-radio-show-linda-arizona/

RSF Saving Public Media

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Article in Reporters Without Frontiers by Staff, 3/23/26

Headline:  “USA: RSF and allies file second lawsuit to save public broadcaster VOA“

“Following courtroom victories in a first legal case to save Voice of America (VOA), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has joined a second lawsuit against the Trump administration to protect the international public broadcaster’s journalism. RSF’s first lawsuit established that the Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle VOA and its parent organization, the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), was illegal. This second case intends to protect VOA’s legally mandated editorial independence and prevent Trump from turning it into a propaganda outlet. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://rsf.org/en/usa-rsf-and-allies-file-second-lawsuit-save-public-broadcaster-voa

Media Uber Alles

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Article in The Nation by Steve Scherer, 3/20/26

Headline:  “Correspondent to Uber Driver”

Subhead:  “I once documented human displacement and desperation. Now, due to a crumbling media ecosystem, I am living it.”

“. . .After serving as Reuters’s Ottawa bureau chief for five years, my job was eliminated in a cost-cutting drive. . .”

“As a correspondent who covered politics on two continents, I have seen politicians in other countries use immigrants as scapegoats. It’s always a deadly approach, especially for the immigrants. But Trump needs scapegoats to distract from the gaping wound that is the relentless shrinking of America’s once-great middle class. That social grouping once included me. But not anymore. . . .”

“South of the border, in the United States, more than 10,000 journalists lost their jobs between 2022 and 2024, according to Nieman Reports. . .”

“When I lost my job, I told myself, ‘If all else fails, I’ll drive for Uber.’ Well, here I am, and it’s not as comforting as I thought it would be. I used to think I was different from the migrants I wrote about—protected by a passport, a salary, a press badge. But the past two years have stripped away that illusion. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/from-foreign-correspondent-to-uber-driver/

Internet Media in Trouble?

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Article in Status by Natalie Korach, 3/18/26

Headline:  “HuffPost’s Buzz Kill”

Subhead:  “As BuzzFeed teeters on the brink, HuffPost staffers tell Status that anxiety is rippling through the newsroom and raising uncomfortable questions about the progressive outlet’s uncertain future.”

“Last week, BuzzFeed sent another shockwave through media circles by disclosing that the company may not have enough liquidity to continue operating over the next year, raising speculation that what was once one of digital media’s crown jewels could be heading toward bankruptcy. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/buzzfeed-bankruptcy-huffpost-future

Notice on Washington Post

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 3/17/26

Headline:  “US media mogul sees a big opportunity in the cuts at the Washington Post“

Subhead:  “Robert Allbritton’s Notus plans to double its newsroom staff, which includes hiring prominent ex-Post journalists”

“Robert Allbritton, the billionaire media entrepreneur, said he was “pained” by the Washington Post’s decision to lay off a large chunk of its newsroom in early February. But he also saw it as an opportunity to hire some of the Post’s most well-known journalists, including many who would have been hard to poach in previous years. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/mar/17/notus-hire-washington-post-staff-robert-allbritton

Join or Fight AI?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Stephen J. Adler, 3/13/26

Headline:  “How Journalists Can Make AI Work for Them”

Subhead:  “A framework for newsrooms to use AI in ways that don’t sacrifice quality or lessen oversight.”

“Ask a working journalist about AI, and you’re likely to hear a string of expletives, an indictment of tech companies, and—especially if the person is over fifty—a searing lament for times past.

“The use of AI in journalism has recently created controversy everywhere from the Cleveland Plain Dealer to the Associated Press, as many reporters have passionately disagreed with managers who have insisted on its value in reporting and drafting stories. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/how-journalists-can-make-ai-work-for-them.php

No Press Pass For You

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Article in AP by Martha Bellisle, 3/10/26

Headline:  “Judge denies restraining order for conservative media figures who sought press passes”

“SEATTLE (AP) — Washington state lawmakers were within their rights when they declined to issue press passes to three conservative media figures, a federal judge ruled Tuesday in a case that echoes a national discussion over who qualifies as a journalist.

“The Democratic-controlled Washington House of Representatives early this year declined to issue press credentials that would have granted the three access to parts of the Capitol in Olympia that are off-limits to the general public. The body said they were not bona fide journalists because they are participants in the political arena — advocating for certain agendas and hosting or speaking at rallies. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://apnews.com/article/press-pass-podcasters-conservative-media-a8f5b5ceac3627dc1931b07a87952551