Stopping Reporting With Force

by

Article in Mediaite by Michael Luciano, 10/10/25

Headline: “Border Patrol Agents Arrest Chicago News Producer and Ram Vehicle in Hasty Getaway”

“Masked Border Patrol agents on Friday arrested a TV producer for WGN News in Chicago, threw her into an unmarked van, and rammed into another vehicle as they drove away.”

“A video posted on Facebook by a bystander named Josh Thomas shows three masked agents pinning Debbie Brockman on a street in Chicago’s North Side as they handcuff her. Thomas asks her name, which she gives, before Thomas asks the agents, ‘You guys wanna share your names, too?’. . .”

“They declined. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/ice-agents-arrest-chicago-news-producer-and-ram-vehicle-in-hasty-getaway/

Local Journalism Gets it Right

by


Article in Media Matters by Noah Howe & Pete Tsipis, 10/10/25

Headline:  “Right-wing media say Portland is a war zone under siege. On-the-ground coverage paints a different picture.”

Subhead:  “Local coverage has highlighted the peaceful nature of protests and the violent response of federal agents”

“Right-wing media claim that Portland’s protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement show a city ‘under siege’ or ‘conquered by antifa,’ but on-the-ground coverage, by both national media outlets and local media outlets, has revealed the opposite.”

“Multiple local broadcast outlets report that protests are relatively small and peaceful, with many demonstrators ‘in pajamas, sharing pastries, throwing a frisbee, and playing board games’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-media-say-portland-war-zone-under-siege-ground-coverage-paints-different

– – – – –

Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Editors 10/10/25

Headline:  “Local TV News Does Good”

Subhead:  “Forget about the mergers and buyouts and executive leadership for a while. The local grunts keep breaking news.”

“. . .firestorm ignited by Porter’s [California Governor Candidate] reaction to Watts’s calm, sensible questioning was just one example of what has been a banner couple of weeks for the often overlooked foot soldiers of local television news. At a time when the national conversation about TV news has been dominated by anxiety about mergers and corporate politics and hostile takeovers, it’s reassuring to see the reporters on the ground continuing to do the kind of work that makes them indispensable to the communities they serve.”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/laurels-and-darts/local-tv-news-does-good-porter-california-governor-fox.php

by


Article in Raw Story by Robert Reich, 10/9/25

Headline:  “Opinion – How our media became so vulnerable to Trump — and what we can do about it”

“. . .today’s media ecosystem is far more vulnerable to authoritarianism than it was decades ago. . .”

“Today I want to explore three structural changes in our political economy that have made it so, and suggest what must be done to strengthen media independence.

” 1. Media concentration has facilitated censorship. . .; 2. Ultra-wealthy individuals are now controlling major media. These are people likely to be biased against the public’s right to know. . .; 3. The shift from stakeholder to shareholder capitalism. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.rawstory.com/bari-weiss-2674169028/?utm_source=breaking

 

Mental Media Malpractice?

by


Article in AlterNet by Adam Lynch, 10/9/25

Headline:  ” ‘The right is in deep trouble’: Expert says far-right media ‘promotes mental degeneration’ “

“UnHerd Editor Sohrab Ahmari tells the Washington Post that the ravings of the right-wing media’s pundit class have lately gotten even crazier.

“ ‘Much of right-wing media now resembles star-child radio: a vast chamber of oft-malignant fantasies, where even once-reasonable minds go to get euthanized,’ said Ahmari. ‘Each flick of the feed pulls up a paranoia-monger more wild-eyed than the previous, warning about the evil machinations of all-powerful … apparitions of their fever dreams’. . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.alternet.org/right-wing-media-mental/

CNN & Cable News Doomed?

by

Article in Mediaite by Colby Hall, 10/9/25

Headline:  “EXCLUSIVE: One-on-One With Mark Thompson — The Man Hired to Save CNN“

“. . .Like every legacy media institution, CNN faces pressures that go far beyond the traditional 24-hour news cycle. Linear television is steadily losing its grip on viewers, cord-cutting accelerates each year, social platforms like TikTok are siphoning attention, and AI threatens to redefine what it means to deliver trustworthy, fact-based news. . .”

Read the full article at:

Nothing New at Pentagon – Move Along

by


Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Ivan L. Nagy, 10/9/25

Headline:  “The Pentagon Doubles Down on Muzzling Reporters”

Subhead:  “Members of the press corps covering the Department of Defense say guidelines, newly revised, remain unsignable.”

“Last month, the Department of Defense issued a memo to reporters imposing an unprecedented set of restrictions on covering the Pentagon and setting a deadline for members of the press to sign a pledge of compliance. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/news/pentagon-doubles-down-pete-hegseth-muzzling-reporters-press-corps-policy.php

– – – – –

Article in Axios by Julianna Bragg, 10/8/25

Headline:  “New Pentagon policy sends ‘message of intimidation,’ press group says”

The Department of Defense plans to enforce new policies that ‘appear designed to stifle a free press,’ the Pentagon Press Association said Wednesday.

Why it matters: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has faced weeks of backlash over a Sept. 15 memo restricting engagements alongside new requirements that journalists sign an ‘express agreement’ not to gather any information the department hasn’t officially authorized for release, or they risk losing access to Pentagon facilities. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.axios.com/2025/10/09/pentagon-press-restrictions-trump-journalists-ppa

– – – – –

Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 10/9/25

Headline:  “News organizations hold out on signing Pentagon media policies ‘designed to stifle a free press’

Subhead:  “Trump administration has been accused of preparing to severely limit journalists’ ability to cover the department”

“With days left before journalists covering the Pentagon must sign on to a new set of guidelines to retain physical access to the department, major US news companies – and organizations representing their interests – remain concerned about specific policies they fear will stifle independent reporting on the Pentagon. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/09/new-pentagon-press-rules-trump– – – – –

Article in The Contrarian by Jennifer Rubin and Ned Price, 10/8/25

Headline:  “The Pentagon handcuffs free press and Gaza’s potential peace deal with Ned Price”

Subhead:  “The president could really care less.”

“In a deep discussion with Jen, Ned presents the dangers of handcuffing independent journalists to reporting solely Pentagon-approved memos. “Day to day journalism is so important,” Ned shares, designating the burden of safeguarding classified information on the Pentagon. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://contrarian.substack.com/p/the-pentagon-handcuffs-free-press

Future of CBS News?

by

Article in Democracy Now! by Amy Goodman, 10/9/25

Headline:  “Bari Weiss to Head CBS News as Pro-Trump, Pro-Israel Billionaire Ellison Family Expands Media Emire”

“We speak to journalist David Klion about the Trump-affiliated right wing’s increasing grip on mainstream news media, as “anti-woke” pundit Bari Weiss takes the helm as the new editor-in-chief of CBS News. The former New York Times opinion writer . . .in reality has a 20-year history of suppressing speech that she finds objectionable. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.democracynow.org/2025/10/8/bari_weiss_david_klion_cbs_paramount

– – – – –

Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 10/9/25

Headline: “The Weiss House”

“As Bari Weiss settles into CBS News, she’s moving fast – taking anchors to lunch, phoning potential hires, and plotting a new “Evening News” with names like Norah O’Donnell and Tony Dokoupil in the mix. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/bari-weiss-cbs-news-evening-news

– – – – –

Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 10/7/25

Headline: “CBS News staffers react to Bari Weiss being named editor-in-chief: ‘It’s utterly depressing’ “

Subhead:  “Six network employees expressed a mix of emotions over the appointment in conversations with the Guardian”

“. . .In conversations with The Guardian, six current network employees who were not authorized to comment publicly expressed a mixture of apprehension, skepticism and frustration . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/oct/07/cbs-news-staffers-react-bari-weiss-appointment

– – – – –

Article in The Verge by Elizabeth Lopatto, 10/7/25

Headline:  “Memo to Bari Weiss Re: CBS News: You’re doomed”

“. . .No one can save CBS News, because it was made for a media ecosystem that is now dead. Broadcast television is slowly circling the drain, its aging audience drifting toward the great inevitable. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theverge.com/business/793525/bari-weiss-cbs-news-glass-cliff

– – – – –

Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 10/7/25

Headline:  “Opinion | What will Bari Weiss do as head of CBS News? Her past may offer clues.”

Subhead:  “Weiss promises courage and truth at CBS News. Her track record running The Free Press shows what that might look like.”

“. . .The acquisition puts one of the country’s most traditional news institutions — the former home of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite — under the editorial guidance of a journalist who rose to fame in part by critiquing old-line media. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theverge.com/business/793525/bari-weiss-cbs-news-glass-cliff

Media Fading Away?

by


Article in Axios by Sara Fisher, 10/7/25

Headline: “Job cuts in news stabilize while broader media industry struggles”

“News media job cuts are more tempered so far this year, despite a few outlier organizations hit by public funding cuts and looming layoffs tied to consolidation.

“Why it matters: 2024 was a particularly brutal year for the news industry, as outlets raced to cut positions in an attempt to offset a weak ad market and get ahead of business disruptions from artificial intelligence. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.axios.com/2025/10/07/news-media-job-losses

Media Consolidation & Intimidation

by


Article in FAIR by Pete Tucker, 10/8/25

Headline:  “MAGA’s Little Helpers: Sinclair, Nexstar and the Consolidation of Broadcast TV”

“When Jimmy Kimmel made his dramatic return to ABC’s airwaves on September 23, I was eager to be one of the over 6 million who tuned in. Only I couldn’t, at least not on TV.

That’s because the local ABC station in the DC area, WJLA, is owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Network. And the right-wing network refused to air the Jimmy Kimmel Show! on any of its 38 ABC affiliates. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/magas-little-helpers-sinclair-nexstar-and-the-consolidation-of-broadcast-tv/

– – – – –

Article in Mother Jones by Monika Bauerlein, 10/8/25

Headline: “Nice Little TV Network You Got There”

Subhead: “How easily has Trump rolled corporate media? So much more easily than he probably expected.”

“The most basic American freedom, the first one enumerated in the Constitution, the right to say whatever the hell we please, including and especially about the powerful, was no longer reliable—for a celebrity employed by one of the world’s biggest media corporations, and thus for any of us.

Read the full article at:

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/10/cbs-news-bari-weiss-free-press-corporate-media-nice-little-tv-network-trump/

Community Radio Our Last Hope?

by


Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Luch Shiller, 10/7/25

Headline:  “Too Small to Mess With”

Subhead:  “Against the precipitous backdrop of funding cuts to public media, low-power radio emerges as a lesser-known source of inspiration.”

“Years ago, in Louisville, “people just didn’t understand this concept of having a radio station where people could just walk in and play what was interesting to them, or talk about what was on their mind,” Sharon Scott told me. ‘This was just totally radical.’ Scott started ART-FM, otherwise known as WXOX 97.1 FM, in 2011, out of her family’s living room. Her husband, Sean Selby, a carpenter, helped put it together. She served as the general manager. . .”

More at https://www.kkfistory.org/ Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/feature/public-media-funding-cut-low-power-radio-lessons-community-broadcasting.php