Media in Crisis?

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Article in Common Dreams by Victor Packard, 2/17/26

Headline:  “Why the US Media Is in Crisis and How to Rescue It”

“What we’re witnessing isn’t a singular breakdown, but discrete and cascading layers of ‘media capture’ by capitalists, oligarchs, and authoritarians that produce censorship, exclusion, and democratic failure.

“From the recent gutting of the Washington Post to the rightward lurch of CBS, the sheer proliferation and variation of media failures and attacks on the press during Trump 2.0 are difficult to grasp. Regulatory bodies have become political weapons. Major news organizations have complied and retreated. Media ownership has consolidated in the hands of a few feckless billionaires. Taken together, these developments endanger our information and communication systems, our First Amendment freedoms, and our democracy. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/us-media-crisis

More Gloming Up Media?

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Article in Reuters by Milana Vinn & Dawn Kopecki, 2/17/26

Headline:  “Warner Bros rejects revised Paramount bid, but remains open to a final offer”

Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O), opens new tab on Tuesday rejected Paramount Skydance’s (PSKY.O), opens new tab latest $30-a-share hostile bid, but gave the rival Hollywood studio seven days to submit a “best and final” offer to top an existing agreement to sell its businesses including HBO Max and “Harry Potter” franchise to Netflix.

“Paramount informally broached an even higher per-share price of $31, Warner Bros said, apparently enticing the board to the table. But its response to Paramount indicates Warner Bros prefers its deal with Netflix, and the odds of a switch are long. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/warner-bros-rejects-paramounts-revised-offer-gives-studio-week-negotiate-better-2026-02-17/

CBS “Balanced” to the Right?

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Article in New York Times byJohn Koblin, 2/17/26

Headline:  “Colbert Says CBS Pulled Senate Candidate Interview”

Subhead: “Stephen Colbert said he had to drop an interview with James Talarico from his Monday broadcast because of new F.C.C. guidance that targeted political interviews on late-night shows.”

“Stephen Colbert said on his late-night show on Monday that his network, CBS, barred him from airing an interview with a Democratic candidate for a U.S. Senate race because of new guidance from the Trump administration about equal airtime for political candidates. . .”

“Mr. Colbert pointed to new guidance from the F.C.C. from January, warning media companies that talk shows carried on local broadcast networks were required to offer equal airtime to candidates competing for the same office. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/business/media/colbert-cbs-fcc-talarico-carr.html

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Article in Daily Kos by Emily Singer, 2/17/26

Headline: “How the GOP’s latest media meddling is a major self-own”

“If you wanted a textbook example of the Streisand Effect, look no further than the Trump administration’s meddling in the Texas Senate race.

CBS News refused to air late night host Stephen Colbert’s interview with Democratic Texas state Rep. James Talarico, who is currently locked in a competitive Senate primary with Rep. Jasmine Crockett. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/2/17/2369185/-How-the-GOP-s-latest-media-meddling-is-a-major-self-own?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_1&pm_medium=web

“No Stinkin’ Press Credentials”

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by John Stang, 2/17/26

Headline: “Elbowing In”

Subhead:  “In Olympia, Washington, a few right-wing media figures have been trying to get credentialed to cover the statehouse. Their efforts—which now include a lawsuit—have shaken up the entire press corps.”

“Last week, in Olympia, Washington, a group of three right-wing media figures filed a lawsuit confronting a question that is becoming increasingly fraught across the United States: who is and is not a journalist in a government building. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/feature/olympia-washington-press-corps-statehouse-credentials-lawsuit-brandi-kruse-jonathan-choe-ari-hoffman-correspondents-association-legislature.php

Paramount Choosing News?

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 2/17/26

Headline:  “Paramount is mangling CBS — and CNN may be next”

Subhead:  “Trump’s corruption makes capitulation a media business plan”

“The Tuesday announcement by Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN, that it is reopening deal talks with Paramount marks the latest example of President Donald Trump’s corrupt effort to quell dissent by pushing media companies into the hands of his supporters.

“Warner Bros. agreed in December to sell its movie and streaming assets to Netflix and spin off its cable networks, including CNN, into a new entity. But Paramount, owned by David Ellison, the son of megabillionaire Trump ally Larry Ellison, is mounting a hostile bid to take over the entire company — and the Ellisons have a powerful ally in the White House. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/cnn/paramount-mangling-cbs-and-cnn-may-be-next

Manipulating the News?

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Article in The Guardian by JAne Martinson, 2/14/26

Headline:  “Learn this from Bezos and the Washington Post: with hyper-capitalists in charge, your news is not safe”

Subhead:  “His shameful stewardship of a once great title highlights how much we lose when private interest eclipses the public good”

“. . .Job cuts in an industry that has struggled financially since the internet came into existence and killed its business model is hardly new, but last week’s brutal cull of hundreds of journalists at the Bezos-owned Washington Post marks a new low. . .”

“Why it happened is still baffling, at least for anyone not inside the head of one of the world’s richest men. Marty Baron, the Post’s former editor, highlighted the owner’s “sickening” efforts to curry favour with Donald Trump in a “case study in near-instant, self-inflicted brand destruction”. . .

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/14/jeff-bezos-washington-post-news-not-safe

Another One Bites the Dust

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Article in Mediaite by Sarah Rumpf, 2/16/26

Headline:  ” ‘Another Black Eye for Bari’: Insiders Dish on What Drove Anderson Cooper to Quit 60 Minutes“

“. . .Cooper, who also anchors his AC360 show weeknights on CNN and is a correspondent for the cable news network, has been a correspondent with 60 Minutes for nearly two decades, winning four Emmys and numerous other accolades for his reporting. . .”

“His departure from 60 Minutes — first reported by Lachlan Cartwright at Breaker — comes after a tumultuous year on the venerated television program, after several longtime staffers left, network brass pushed through a controversial settlement with President Donald Trump in order to help pave the way for CBS’s parent company Paramount’s merger with Skydance Media. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/another-black-eye-for-bari-insiders-dish-on-what-drove-anderson-cooper-to-quit-60-minutes/

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 2/16/26

Headline: “Cooper’s Final Minutes”

Subhead: “While Anderson Cooper cited the desire to spend more time with family as he announced his exit from “60 Minutes,” Status has learned that deeper issues at the Bari Weiss-led network played a role in his stunning departure.”

Read the article at:

https://www.status.news/p/anderson-cooper-60-minutes-bari-weiss

Media Unmasking ICE?

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Article in Media Matters by Reed McMaster & Isabella Sherk, 2/12/26

Headline:  “Right-wing media’s claims that ICE agents need to be masked for safety fall apart”

Subhead:  “Right-wing media have argued for months that immigration officers and their families are in danger of being doxed, assaulted, and even murdered if agents don’t wear mask”

“Right-wing media have claimed Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agents are in danger of being “doxed” and even murdered if they are unable to conceal their identity. New reporting shows that working in immigration enforcement is actually safer than being a civilian, and there are no recorded incidents of agents being doxed. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-medias-claims-ice-agents-need-be-masked-safety-fall-apart

CBS Still Shrinking

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 2/13/26

Headline:  “Opinion | Buyouts signal growing fracture inside CBS News“

Subhead:  “Recent departures sharpen scrutiny of Bari Weiss’ vision”

“Unrest continues at CBS News.

“As I linked to in the newsletter earlier this week, the New York Post’s Alexandra Steigrad reported that about a quarter of ‘CBS Evening News’ staffers eligible for buyouts have chosen to take them ahead of possible impending layoffs under new CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/buyouts-layoffs-cbs-news-bari-weiss/

More Media Targets!

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Article in Washington Post by Will Oremus, 2/13/26

Headline:  “Trump’s campaign against ‘left-wing’ media finds a new target: Apple News“

Subhead:  “Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in a letter to Apple that he’s “not the speech police” but warned the company that its choice of articles could violate the law.”

“Apple News, the popular newsreader app that comes installed on every iPhone, is the latest media property to be warned by a regulator appointed by President Donald Trump over charges of liberal bias.

“On Wednesday, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson sent a letter to Apple chief executive Tim Cook expressing concern about ‘reports that Apple News has systematically promoted news articles from left-wing news outlets and suppressed news articles from more conservative publications.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/02/12/apple-news-bias-ftc-ferguson-letter/