Media News

News about the media.

Media Bribery?

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 5/20/25

Headline:  “Shari and the Senators”

Subhead:  “A new letter from three top Democratic senators warns Shari Redstone that settling Trump’s lawsuit could be more than a capitulation—it could be a crime.”

“On Tuesday morning, three senators dispatched a letter to Paramount Global boss Shari Redstone, the culmination of growing worry among Democrats on Capitol Hill that the media conglomerate could be on the brink of engaging in an unlawful quid pro quo with Donald Trump. In the letter—signed by Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden, and Bernie Sanders—the lawmakers warned that if Paramount settles Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit over a ’60 Minutes’ segment to win favor with the Trump administration, it could constitute criminal bribery—something that I’m told has also been cause for concern among the company’s three co-chief executives. . .”

Read the full story at:

https://www.status.news/p/senators-warn-paramount-trump-lawsuit

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Article in Poynter by Angela Fu, 5/20/25

Headline:  “For CBS News, Wendy McMahon’s resignation marks more than just a leadership change”

Subhead:  “CBS is caught in the crosshairs of a Trump lawsuit, an FCC probe and a looming merger. And its top news executive just stepped down.”

“McMahon, the president and CEO of CBS News and Stations as well as CBS Media Ventures, told staff in a memo that the past few months have been “challenging.”

“It’s become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward,” McMahon wrote. “It’s time for me to move on and for this organization to move forward with new leadership.”

“McMahon’s resignation comes as CBS faces a $20 billion lawsuit from Trump over its editing of a ’60 Minutes’ interview last October with then-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/cbs-news-wendy-mcmahon-resign-why-trump-60-minutes-shari-redstone/

End Diversity, Get License

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Article in Ars Technica by John Brodkin, 5/20/25

Headline:  “FCC Chair Brendan Carr is letting ISPs merge—as long as they end DEI programs”

It’s shaping up to be a big year for telecom mergers, and it appears the Federal Communications Commission is eager to approve the deals—as long as companies involved drop any DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) policies criticized by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. Verizon just got a big merger approved, and cable giant Charter is seeking permission to buy Cox.

The FCC on Friday announced approval of Verizon’s purchase of Frontier, one day after Verizon committed to end DEI policies in a filing with the commission. Carr previously sent letters to Verizon and other companies alleging that their diversity policies are “invidious forms of discrimination” that violate federal law and threatened to block mergers pursued by firms that enforce such policies. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/05/fcc-chair-brendan-carr-is-letting-isps-merge-as-long-as-they-end-dei-programs/

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Article in The Washington Post by Will Oremus and Andrea Jimenez, 5/20/25

Headline: “Carr’s FCC puts the political squeeze on media mergers”

“Now companies looking to close deals are also ditching diversity policies and, reportedly, responding to pressure to settle lawsuits with President Donald Trump.

“On Friday, Verizon won FCC approval to buy broadband internet provider Frontier for about $10 billion. The approval came the day after the company said in a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr that it would end its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs “effective immediately,” as the Intercept first reported.

“The agency cited that shift as a factor in its approval .  .  .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/05/20/verizon-dei-carr-fcc-merger-cbs/

“60 Minutes” Fallout

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 5/19/25

Headline:  “The Showdown Over ’60’ “

Subhead: “For months, CBS News boss Wendy McMahon faced mounting pressure over the network’s coverage of Donald Trump—and over the weekend, it hit a crescendo.”

“On Monday morning, Wendy McMahon walked into the CBS News offices on the west side of Manhattan and led the network’s daily editorial meeting as she always did. She congratulated “60 Minutes” on a standout season, acknowledged the unusual circumstances the newsmagazine had navigated, and went over programming plans. What she didn’t mention was that it would be one of her final days at the network. That came soon after, in a memo that stunned staffers across CBS News and sent a jolt through the broader media industry.

McMahon told staffers she was resigning from her role as president and chief executive of CBS News and Stations—a decision she’d quietly finalized over the weekend after a bruising, weeks-long battle with the company’s top brass. . .”

Read the fullarticle at:

https://www.status.news/p/cbs-news-60-minutes-wendy-mcmahon

FCC Free Speech Discussion

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Article in Free Press by Staff. 5/15/25

Headline: “PRESS ADVISORY: On May 28, Join FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez in Los Angeles for a Discussion of the Growing Threats to Free Speech Across America”

“Please join FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez for an in-person discussion of the administration’s efforts to chill dissent and censor a free press. Gomez has spoken out as the U.S. president and his FCC chairman harass and bully news outlets that don’t toe the administration’s authoritarian line. ‘Let’s be clear about what this administration is doing,’ she recently told CNN. ‘It is on a campaign to censor and control’ . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/press-advisory-may-28-join-fcc-commissioner-anna-gomez-los-angeles-discussion-growing-threats

 

Crash Landing for Media?

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Article in Daily Kos by Egberto Willies, 5/112/25

Headline:  “Trump controlling the media with Qatar 747 not reconciliation. We can change our economic system”

“The Qatar plane Trump scandal is a distraction, the MSM is falling for as Medicaid is cut. We cannot do anything about Manifest Destiny and the Monroe Doctrine, but we can change our economic system.”

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/5/13/2322146/-Trump-controlling-the-media-with-Qatar-747-not-reconciliation-We-can-change-our-economic-system?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

 

 

No Journalistic Standards for Bots?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Laura Preston, 5/13/25

Headline:  “Study Guide Supremacy”

Subhead:  “Getting my news from ChatGPT”

“If you spend any time among people in the AI space, you’ll hear a common refrain. Large language models (LLMs) like Google’s Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT are handy tools for searching the internet, separating facts from the chaff, and delivering information objectively. Of course, we’ve already invented a system for dispatching neutral information, and that system is called journalism. Herein lies a serious irony. Many LLMs are trained on content produced by journalistic institutions, but do not adhere to journalistic standards when rehashing the material. . .”

https://www.cjr.org/feature-2/getting-my-news-from-chatgpt-ai.php

Calling for Kinder Media

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Article in UPI by Paul Godfrey, 4/112/25

Headline: “Pope Leo XIV tells media to help promote global peace by ‘disarming’ words”

“Pope Leo XIV on Monday called for a kinder, gentler media, one that speaks up for those with no voice and in defense of free speech, and expressed solidarity with reporters imprisoned around the world for doing their job.

“In his first meeting with the more than 1,000 journalists who make up the Vatican press corps, Leo thanked them their work covering the papal transition and urged them to use their platform to foster peace by taking care over ‘how people and events are presented’. . .”

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2025/05/12/Vatican-Pope-says-media-must-promote-peace/4361747052191/

Some of the “New Media”

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Article in The Guardian by Richard Luscombe, 5/5/25

Headline:  “Maga media mob: meet the new rightwing faces in the White House briefing room”

Subhead:  “A banjo player and a Black Maga influencer, among others, now attend Trump administration press briefings”

“A disgraced ultra-conservative banjo player ousted from his Grammy-winning band; a far-right conspiracy theorist with alleged ties to Russia; a TikTok creator known as ‘Maga Malfoy’ for his resemblance to the Harry Potter character; and an extremist social media ‘influencer’ once banned from Twitter for posting a video depicting sexual abuse of a child.”

“These are just some of the ‘new media’ personalities courted by the White House to take part in a series of alternative briefings championed by Donald Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. . .”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/05/white-house-briefing-rightwing-media

Another Newspaper Attack

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 5/2/25

Headline:  “Opinion | Trump threatens The New York Times as his press attacks continue”

Subhead:  “He lashed out after a Times report said Paramount may settle his baseless lawsuit — a move tied to its pending sale”

“President Donald Trump unleashed more unhinged attacks on the press Wednesday, going after both CBS’s “60 Minutes” and The New York Times — even going so far as to threaten legal action against the Times.

“His “60 Minutes” attacks are nothing new. He already is suing CBS’s owner, Paramount, claiming the network deceptively edited an interview last October with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris to, in effect, help her win the election. . .”

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/trump-nyt-liable-tortious-interference/

 

 

Media-Craving Campaign

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 4/29/25

Headline:  “Opinion | After 100 days of chaos, Donald Trump is hitting the media trail”

Subhead:  “You can’t help but wonder if his sudden desire to talk to traditional news outlets is due to his dreadful approval ratings”

“. . .What will the press in this country look like on Jan. 20, 2029, when Trump’s second term comes to an end?. . .”

“He and the administration have kicked the always-neutral Associated Press out of the press pool. Trump is suing CBS. He had already sued ABC. He is trying to end Voice of America. He is threatening the funding of NPR and PBS. He constantly attacks the media — including MSNBC, CNN, The New York Times, the major networks and even, on occasion, Fox News. His press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, consistently demeans the media during her White House briefings. . .”

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/trump-interviews-abc-news-newsnation-atlantic/