Rt Wing Media

Media Matters Says Right Wing Media Busy

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Article by Matt Gertz in Media Matters 3/20/26

Headline: “Prime-time Fox shows gave less than a minute of airtime to the Pentagon’s $200 billion Iran funding request”

“Fox News isn’t bothering to sell the staggering cost of the ill-conceived war President Donald Trump launched against Iran. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/prime-time-fox-shows-gave-less-minute-airtime-pentagons-200-billion-iran-funding

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Article in Media Matters by John Knefel 3/20/26

Headline: “As Iran war drags on, right-wing media lash out at NATO and Iranians who haven’t overthrown their government”

Subhead: “When it comes to assigning blame for the Iran war spiraling out of control, MAGA media have found convenient scapegoats who aren’t named Trump”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/iran-war-drags-right-wing-media-lash-out-nato-and-iranians-who-havent-overthrown

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Article in Media Matters by Allison Fisher & Ilana Berger

Headline:  “As oil prices continue to rise, right-wing media urge Trump to seize Kharg Island

Subhead:  “Experts warn this type of escalation could further destabilize the global economy and put troops in harms way”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/oil-prices-continue-rise-right-wing-media-urge-trump-seize-kharg-island

Rt. Wing Media Upset?

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Article in Media Matters by Noah Dowe, Alex Guiden & Ben Van Bloem, 3/18/26

Headline: “Some right-wing media figures are urging Trump to declare early victory and leave Iran”

Subhead:  “Newsmax host Michael Savage: ‘Is it possible we could just pack up and go home? Or must we kill half the population in the name of peace?’ “

“As President Donald Trump’s war with Iran continues, some right-wing commentators are urging the administration to ‘declare victory’ and ‘get out’ of Iran ‘before it gets much worse’. . .”

“Some right-wing figures are fearful of what a military quagmire in the Middle East would “do to us at the midterms,” and a number of right-wing media personalities are now urging the administration to save face by declaring victory. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/some-right-wing-media-figures-are-urging-trump-declare-early-victory-and-leave

Hegseth Patriotic Media

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Article in New Republic by Greg Sargent, 3/13/26

Headline: “Raging at Media, Pete Hegseth Just Said the Quiet Part Out Loud”

Subhead:  “He wants ‘patriotic’ coverage of the Iran war. He doesn’t understand: In a democracy, coverage that asks difficult questions of the government is itself ‘patriotic.’ ”

“Pete Hegseth wants to live in a world in which the American military can drop bombs on scores of schoolchildren and not face serious media scrutiny over it. And he just might get that world soon enough. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/207760/pete-hegseth-iran-war-patriotic-media-coverage

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Article in Mediaite by Kathryn Wilkens 3/13/26

Headline:  Newsmax Host Greg Kelly Rips Hegseth’s Iran ‘Trash Talk’: Save It for Your ‘Podcast Bros’

“In a Friday X post, Newsmax host Greg Kelly ripped Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his “trash talk” amid the ongoing U.S. conflict with Iran, emphasizing that he should save that type of rhetoric for his ‘podcast bros.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/online/newsmax-host-greg-kelly-rips-hegseths-iran-trash-talk-save-it-for-your-podcast-bros/

Strait-Jacketed News?

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 3/13/26

Headline:  “Dire Strait: Trump’s Fox Cabinet ignored Hormuz in the month before the U.S. attacked Iran”

“It’s little wonder that President Donald Trump didn’t seem to worry about the Strait of Hormuz in planning his war of choice against Iran: His Fox News advisers utterly ignored the possibility that Iran could respond by closing that critical shipping lane as they urged the president to launch the attack last month.

“Roughly 20% of global crude oil and liquified natural gas, along with a ‘dominant’ share of global fertilizers, reach world markets by flowing from the Persian Gulf through the narrow strait between Iran and Oman and into the Indian Ocean. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/dire-strait-trumps-fox-cabinet-ignored-hormuz-month-us-attacked-iran

Media and Regime Collapse

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Article in Media Matters by John Knefel and Sophie Lawton, 3/12/26

Headline: “Right-wing media embrace “regime collapse” in Iran”

Subhead: “Fox’s Jack Keane: ‘You’re going to take that regime and put it on a pathway for its eventual collapse, and what follows after that is not particularly clear. And I think that’s OK.’ ”

“Prominent right-wing media figures have embraced regime collapse as a desirable, or at least acceptable, outcome of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Although most of these commentators are light on specifics, in many cases they acknowledge that what they’re calling for is something that looks more like a failed state than a transitional government. . .”

“. . .on March 4, prime-time host [Fox News] Jesse Watters praised the goal of regime collapse twice while cheerleading for the war in general. ‘Operation Epic Fury has entered a new phase — a shock and we campaign to trigger regime collapse,’ Watters said. ‘Anything can happen, but this war is off to the best start in American military history.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/right-wing-media-embrace-regime-collapse-iran

Reporters and Contradictions

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Article in Mother Jones by Anna Merlan, 3/11/26

Headline:  “The Pro-MAGA Press Can’t Agree on How to Cover Trump’s War on Iran”

Subhead:  “A combination of fight, flight, fawn, and freeze. ”

“Last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth conducted a remarkably peevish press conference on the United States and Israel’s attacks on Iran. At various points, journalists in the briefing room asked—reasonably enough—whether there was ‘a concern of this spiraling into a longer war.’

“ ‘Did you not hear my remarks?’ Hegseth responded, sounding indignant. . .”

“The prickly exchange was notable, considering that the current Pentagon press pool is almost entirely made up of right-wing outlets who typically provide overwhelmingly pro-Trump coverage. The previous Pentagon press corps walked out en masse in October after refusing to sign a restrictive media policy and were largely replaced by a variety of conservative media organizations and influencers. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/03/maga-press-iran-war-donald-trump/

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

Oily Media

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Article in Media Matters by Zachary Pleate, 3/10/26

Headline:  “Trump’s media allies embrace oil wars”

Subhead:  “Amid encouragement from right-wing media, Trump is reportedly considering seizing Iran’s oil”

“Soon after President Donald Trump launched his war against Iran, Fox News and Newsmax personalities began talking about the possibility of Trump taking control of Iran’s oil industry, and multiple news reports now say the administration is not ruling out such a move.

“This development follows months of encouragement from right-wing media figures to do a similar takeover of Venezuela’s oil industry, which Trump embraced after taking military action to depose President Nicolás Maduro. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/trumps-media-allies-embrace-oil-wars

Fox Gives Advice to Tanker Pilots

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Article in Daily Kos by Walter Einenkel, 3/9/36

Headline:  “Sailing through a war zone is no big deal, says Fox News”

“The crew over at ‘Fox & Friends’ is twisting itself into a propaganda pretzel trying to spin President Donald Trump’s Iran war, with hosts Brian Kilmeade and Lawrence Jones unabashedly sharing their bizarre thoughts Monday. . .”

“Kilmeade then chastised oil-tanker captains for refusing to sail through a potential war zone in the Strait of Hormuz.

“If you want to diminish the Iranian threat, if you want to make sure that this ends up with complete Iran capitulation, sow some guts and go through that strait and do it,” he said. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/3/9/2372385/-Sailing-through-a-war-zone-is-no-big-deal-says-Fox-News?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_9&pm_medium=web

FCC Doesn’t Probe Fox News?

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 3/9/26

Headline:  “Shouldn’t Brendan Carr be launching an FCC probe of Fox Broadcasting Co.?”

“Federal Communications Chairman Brendan Carr faces an important test of his stated standards for news organizations this week: If he’s not just looking to punish media outlets for being insufficiently deferential to President Donald Trump, he must launch a news distortion investigation of Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Broadcasting. . .”

“Fox News’ right-wing propagandists would lose their minds if a Democratic president did such a thing. But on Sunday morning, the network instead seemed to hide the president’s disrespect toward the dead. While purporting to cover the previous day’s event, Fox & Friends Weekend aired months-old footage. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/shouldnt-brendan-carr-be-launching-fcc-probe-fox-broadcasting-co