Media News

News about the media.

Reporters too Close to Sources?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 6/25/26

Headline: “Opinion | The Dianna Russini story isn’t over — and neither are the ethics questions”

Subhead:  “A New York Times deep dive revisits the former Athletic reporter’s relationship with sources and a revealing dispute over what’s ‘off the record’ “

“Not that long ago, Dianna Russini was at the top of her profession as an NFL insider for The Athletic. She was reportedly making nearly $800,000 and was considered one of the faces of the company, which is owned by The New York Times.

That all came crashing down with a series of photos that appeared in the New York Post in early “April. The photos showed Russini hanging out at an Arizona resort with Mike Vrabel, head coach of the New England Patriots. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/the-athletic-new-york-times-dianna-russini-story-off-record/

Better Media in the Past?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Alex Wright, 6/25/26

Headline:  “What 19th-Century Media Can Teach Us About the Future”

Subhead:  “In an era of change and fragmentation, the history of the early American press shows that media is shaped not only by technology, but by infrastructure, law, and society.”

“Stories about the crisis of journalism almost always begin with a now-familiar tale of technological disruption. First the internet shattered the traditional newspaper ‘bundle.’ Then social media came along and further balkanized the audience. Now artificial intelligence threatens yet more upheaval. Yet we are hardly the first generation of journalists to confront this degree of change.

“Before the rise of modern mass media, around the turn of the twentieth century, the United States supported a sprawling and wildly prolific newspaper culture. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/what-19th-century-media-can-teach-us-about-the-future.php

Sometimes, Media Admit Error

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Article in Daily Kos by Staff, 6/23/26

Headline:  “Conservative writer learns the hard truth about Trump”

” ‘CNN was right about the war, and I was wrong,’ reads The Hill headline of a column by Becket Adams.

“When it comes to President [Donald] Trump’s disastrous attempt this year at playing war chief, a whole lot of conservatives got it wrong, this author included,” Adams writes. . .”

“In fact, Adams deserves more credit than most conservatives simply for acknowledging the mistake instead of pretending it never happened or screaming, ‘Fake news!’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/6/23/800059611/media-and-culture/conservative-writer-learns-hard-truth-about-trump/

Posterior Reporting

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Article in Raw Story by Thom Hartman, 6/22/26

Headline:  “Opinion | The truth about Trump was finally blared across this newspaper’s front page “

“This weekend, the right-wing Italian daily Libero, a major conservative newspaper that shares a fair amount of Donald Trump’s politics, ran a one-word verdict on the President of the United States across its front page. The Italian word is coglione. The polite translation is ‘idiot.’ The translation that George Conway and half of social media reached for, and the one the paper plainly intended, is a good deal blunter than that and more dictionary accurate: ‘a–hole.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.rawstory.com/raw-investigates/trump-meloni/

Did Press Cover Iraq or Iran Better?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jem Bartholomew, 6/22/26

Headline:  “How’d We Do?”

Subhead:  “The press corps failed badly in the run-up to the US invasion of Iraq. Was coverage of the Iran war any better?

“. . .’Does this mean—whisper it—that overall the press has had a ‘good’ war, at least compared with the debacle of the run-up to Iraq? I’m still making up my mind. And I’m curious what CJR’s readers think about this—so do respond to this email or send me a note if you’d like to share your thoughts. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/howd-we-do-iran-war-press-corps-iraq-invasion-trump-bush-netanyahu-new-york-times-haberman-swan.php

Media Hawks are Angry

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz. 6/17/26

Headline:  “Right-wing hawks absolve Trump of Iran MOU responsibility, blame Vance instead”

“The right-wing media’s hawks recognize the reported memorandum of understanding that President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance signed with Iran on Sunday is a dog’s breakfast that fails to achieve the administration’s stated war goals and leaves the U.S. in a weaker geostrategic position than before it began. But they also understand that the cult-like structure of the MAGA movement means that criticizing Trump directly could trigger an audience revolt . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/right-wing-hawks-absolve-trump-iran-mou-responsibility-blame-vance-instead.

Hope for Citizen-Based News

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Article in Free Press by Staff, 6/16/26

Headline: “California’s Civic Media Program Marks Significant Progress Over Past Efforts to Fund Local News”

Subhead:  “Civic-media leaders say more improvements are necessary to meet the needs of the state’s diverse and historically underserved communities”

“SACRAMENTO — On Monday, the state of California unveiled the details of a groundbreaking multimillion-dollar program to support local newsrooms across the state. The California Civic Media Program will distribute an initial $20 million in grants as a public-private investment in local reporting that’s essential to the civic health of the state’s diverse communities. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/californias-civic-media-program-marks-significant-progress-over-past-efforts-fund-local-news

FAIR, 40 Years

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Article in FAIR by Jeff Cohen, 6/12/26

Headline: “Forty Years of Raising Hell About Corporate Media Bias”

“. . .I came up with the idea for FAIR in the mid-1980s, when corporate news outlets were on bended knee for a reactionary, declining, war-mongering president—and when Reaganism was ushering in an era of dangerous media mergers. Thankfully, FAIR is still around to challenge today’s even worse media conglomeration. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/forty-years-of-raising-hell-about-corporate-media-bias/

Trump Bad Encounter With Reporter?

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Article in the Babylon Bee by Staff, 6/8/26

Headline:  “Trump Narrowly Escapes Being Bitten By Rabid Kristen Welker”

“EAU CLAIRE, WI — In a frightening encounter during his trip to Wisconsin, President Donald Trump narrowly avoided being bitten by a rabid Kristen Welker.

“Witnesses reported that Welker approached Trump with her teeth bared and growling, shouting inane phrases and foaming at the mouth.. . .”

“Despite Trump’s efforts to soothe the delirious Welker, the former journalist continued to snarl and snap her teeth at the President. Then, according to witnesses, a horrifying scene played out as the rabies-addled Welker lunged toward Trump, trying to sink her teeth into his shoulder. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://babylonbee.com/news/trump-narrowly-escapes-being-bitten-by-rabid-kristen-welker

Stormy Time for Media Matters

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 6/8/26

Headline::  “Media Matters’ Musk Mayhem”

Subhead:  “The progressive media watchdog has been forced to undergo layoffs and take other cost-cutting measures as it continues to battle the “dark MAGA” billionaire in a costly legal war, Status has learned.”

“In March of this year, an uncomfortable reality dawned on Angelo Carusone, the president of Media Matters, and the non-profit’s leadership team. As he examined the progressive media watchdog’s finances, which had come under enormous strain over the last year amid a costly legal war waged by Elon Musk, Carusone concluded that he would need to make some difficult cuts to the organization. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/media-matters-elon-musk-lawsuit-layoffs