Which Road for CBS News?

by

Article in Status News by Oliver Darcy, 2/4/26

Headline:  “The Weiss Way or the Highway”

Subhead:  “As speculation swirls over whether CBS News will take any action after new health contributor Peter Attia was ensnared in the Epstein Files, Status has learned what Bari Weiss’s silence actually signals—and what it says about her leadership.”

“On Friday, the Department of Justice released millions of new pages from the Epstein Files, ensnaring some of the world’s wealthiest and most well-known men in the ever-growing scandal. . .”

“But over at CBS News, another name quickly caught the eye of staffers: Peter Attia, the YouTube wellness influencer whom Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss just proudly named as a network contributor.

Attia, it turns out, had exchanged dozens of emails with the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/peter-attia-epstein-files-bari-weiss-cbs-news

Media Smiling Time!

by


Article in Huffpost by Ed Mazza, 2/5/26

Headline:  ” ‘Truly Unhinged’: Critics Rip Trump After Uncomfortably ‘Weird Exchange’ With Reporter”

Subhead:  “Trump is facing heavy criticism over comments he made to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.”

“Collins had asked the president about justice for victims of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who was once his close friend. . .”

” ‘You are the worst reporter,’ Trump fired back. ‘CNN has no ratings because of people like you. You know, she’s a young woman ― I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile. I’ve known you for 10 years, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile on your face.’

“Collins tried to interject that she was asking about Epstein survivors, but Trump kept going. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-kaitlan-collins-smile-reaction_n_6982cdece4b074c50785b319?origin=top-ad-recirc

ALL The Media!

by


Article in FAIR by Caitlin Scialla, 2/4/26

Headline:  “The Digital Media Oligarchy: Who Owns Online News?”

“When Ben Bagdikian, an esteemed journalist and early FAIR contributor, published his groundbreaking book The Media Monopoly in 1983, he painted a troubling picture of US media consolidation, reporting that 50 corporations controlled the media business. With each reprint, that number dwindled. When FAIR replicated his analysis in 2011 , it stood at 20. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/the-digital-media-oligarchy-who-owns-online-news/

– – – – –

Article in The Guardian by Rafael Behr, 2/4/26

Headline:  “When Maga oligarchs control the platforms, it isn’t really a debate about ‘free speech’ ”

Subhead: “Moves to ban under-16s from social media should raise deeper questions about who controls democracy’s digital infrastructure”

“. . .Free speech is the lens that tech companies apply because it gives a democratic inflection to their commercial interests as oligopolists in an under-regulated digital realm. Far-right politicians adopt that frame because they are in the business of undermining the norms and institutions of liberal democracy. That agenda is well served by communications infrastructure that privileges frenzied intolerance. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/04/maga-oligarchs-social-platforms-free-speech-ban-under-16s-social-medi

Cooked Medium or Well-Done?

by

Article in The Hill by Dominick Mastrangelo, 2/3/26

Headline: “Netflix, Warner Bros Discovery execs grilled by Senators over megamerger”

“Executives for entertainment giants Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday faced a grilling from lawmakers on Capitol Hill, with senators raising concern about a planned megamerger between the two companies that would create one of the largest media conglomerates in the world. . .”

“Critics of the deal say it would harm competition in the entertainment production and film industry, giving Netflix too much control of the way millions of people in the U.S. and abroad see the world. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/media/5721455-netflix-warner-brothers-merger-hearing/

– – – – –

Article in Free Press by Staff, 2/4/26

Headline:  “Free-Expression Groups and Creative Labor Unions Call on the Senate to Protect Free Speech and Root Out Corruption in Review of Warner Bros. Discovery Takeover”

“On Tuesday, 11 civil-rights, free-expression, consumer-protection and creative professional organizations and unions called on the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights to prioritize free speech and investigate corruption in its review of the competing bids from Netflix and Paramount Skydance to take over Warner Bros. Discovery. . .”

“ ‘We request this subcommittee’s diligent oversight to ensure careful application of antitrust law, uphold the First Amendment, and guarantee this process is free of corruption and abuse.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/free-expression-groups-and-creative-labor-unions-call-senate-protect-free-speech-warner-bros-merger

Down the Drain?

by

Article in UPI by Mike Heuer, 2/4/26

Headline:  “The Washington Post fires nearly a third of its news staff”

More than 300 reporters and others are being let go from The Washington Post amid financial troubles, the Jeff Bezos-owned company announced on Wednesday.

“The firings amount to about a third of the total workers at the award-winning newspaper that once broke the Watergate break-in and other important news events. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/02/04/washington-post-firings/4841770239709/

– – – – –

Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Amos Barshad & Siddhartha Mahanta, 2/4/26

Headline:  “A Dismantling of the Washington Post”

Subhead:  “Our leadership destroyed our brand.”

‘In a staffwide call with employees Wednesday morning, Matt Murray, the executive editor of the Washington Post, and Wayne Connell, the paper’s chief human resources officer, announced sweeping staff cuts. ‘Every department across the newsroom will be impacted to some degree,’ Murray said, in a recording of the call shared with CJR. The sports department and books section will be closed; Post Reports, a politics podcast, will be suspended. The paper’s international footprint will shrink. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/news/layoffs-dismantling-washington-post-bezos-murray.php

Playing a Game With The Media

by

Article in The Hill by Dominick Mastrangelo, 2/3/26

Headline:  “Netflix, Warner Bros Discovery execs grilled by Senators over megamerger”

“Executives for entertainment giants Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday faced a grilling from lawmakers on Capitol Hill, with senators raising concern about a planned megamerger between the two companies that would create one of the largest media conglomerates in the world. . .”

“Critics of the deal say it would harm competition in the entertainment production and film industry, giving Netflix too much control of the way millions of people in the U.S. and abroad see the world. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/media/5721455-netflix-warner-brothers-merger-hearing/

What You Report is a Crime?

by

Article in The Atlantic by The Editors, 2/2/26

Headline:  “Trump’s Relationship With the Media”

Subhead:  “Panelists joined to discuss the arrest of former CNN anchor Don Lemon, and more.”

“The former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested yesterday for covering a protest inside a church in Minnesosta. On Washington Week With The Atlantic, panelists joined to discuss what implications this may have, Donald Trump’s relationship with the media, and more.

“ ‘It’s true that Donald Trump has gone after the press’ before, Susan Glasser, a staff writer at The New Yorker, said last night. But ‘this is the first time he’s ordered the arrest of a journalist—so I do think a line has been crossed here.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theatlantic.com/national/2026/01/don-lemon-arrest-washington-week/685847/

– – – – –

Article in Democracy Now! by Staff, 2/2/26

Headline: ” ‘Journalism Is Not a Crime’: Georgia Fort & Don Lemon Arrested for Covering St. Paul Church Protest”

Read the article at:

https://www.democracynow.org/2026/2/2/georgia_fort

Rt. Wing Media – Whistle = Assault?

by

Article in Media Matters by Payton Armstrong, 2/3/26

Headline:  “Right-wing media figures are furious at activists for using whistles during ICE activity”

Right-wing media figures are lashing out at community members in Minnesota for using whistles to alert others of federal immigration enforcement in the area, asserting that whistles should be ‘considered a violent weapon and that their use constitutes ‘interference” with immigration enforcement operations or even “assault.’

“Activists and residents have explained that whistles are ‘a way to quickly draw witnesses and cameras when enforcement activity happens in neighborhoods.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/right-wing-media-figures-are-furious-activists-using-whistles-during-ice-activity

Media Threats – Democracy Menace?

by


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

Headline:  “Opinion | This is what it looks like when a government tries to intimidate reporters”

Subhead: “The arrest of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort signals a dangerous escalation in the Trump administration’s campaign against the press”

“President Donald Trump and his administration, over the past 10 years, have stooped to many low and distressing levels in their all-out assault on the media: lawsuits, threats of lawsuits, bans, funding cuts and insults.

But last week, the administration did what was previously thought of as unthinkable. It reached for an even more ominous attack. It arrested two journalists. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/trump-arrest-don-lemon-georgia-fort/

MAGA Media Distorting Minnesota?

by

Article in Media Matters by MAtt Gertz, 1/30/26

Headline:  “MAGA media demand Trump put down the Minnesota ‘revolution’ “

“A week after Border Patrol officers gunned down nurse Alex Pretti on the streets of Minneapolis, MAGA media’s biggest stars are portraying locals who oppose immigration enforcement officers’ brutal tactics as China-backed ‘revolutionaries’ seeking ‘the complete overthrow of Western civilization’ which they are urging President Donald Trump to put down at all costs…”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/maga-media-demand-trump-put-down-minnesota-revolution

– – – – –

Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jem Bartholomew, 2/2/26

Headline: ” I Might Get Arrested, People’ “

Subhead: “How MAGA media outlets are fueling Trump’s crackdown on the press.”

“. . .In the immediate aftermath of the church protest, the right-wing, MAGA-aligned mediasphere reacted with fury. ‘Don Lemon storms the church, rushes the altar in the middle of the sermon, harasses and threatens the pastor on a live feed,’ Benny Johnson, the right-wing YouTuber, posted on X, twisting the facts as aggressively as a powerlifter wringing out a wet towel. Johnson called for Lemon to be “frog marched before the cameras” and face “full federal charges with decades of prison time.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/don-lemon-georgia-fort-arrests-church-st-saint-paul-ice-pastor-dhs-maga-media-benny-johnson-tim-pool.php