Censoring War Coverage

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Article in Al Jazerra by Simon Speakman Cordall, 6/19/25

Headline:  “How does Israel restrict its media from reporting on the Iran conflict?”

Subhead:  “The military censor has introduced a slew of new restrictions on journalists covering the unfolding war.”

“The Israeli government has issued new directives restricting how its media covers its current war with Iran.

“On Wednesday, a circular from Israel’s military censor, Brigadier General Kobi Mandelblit, announced new rules on what Israeli media organisations and journalists within the country can – and cannot – publish about the effect of Iranian strikes. . .”

“According to figures from the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Israel has killed at least 164 journalists in Gaza since October 7, 2023. More have been killed in Lebanon, the occupied West Bank and, now, Iran. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/19/how-does-israel-restrict-its-media-from-reporting-on-the-iran-conflict

Run or Collaborate?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 6/18/25

Headline:  “Opinion | Should journalism embrace AI? Or run from it?”

Subhead:  “In the latest episode of ‘The Poynter Report Podcast,’ Alex Mahadevan explores what AI means for journalism and why reporters may not need to panic”

“. . .Should journalism run from AI? Or embrace it? Why are we scared of it? How can we put AI to good use? And how can we avoid the dangers of AI?

“And, what I wanted to know most of all: Are journalists someday going to become obsolete b . . .”cause some AI tool is going to produce its own newspaper? (And, gulp, newsletter?). . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/should-journalism-embrace-ai-or-run-from-it/

Report and . . . Off You Go

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Article in Common Dreams by Brett Wilkens, 6/18/25

Headline:  “Journalist Who Decried Trump’s ‘Deportation of Dissent’ Says He Was Deported for Dissent”

Subhead:  ” ‘Alistair Kitchen’s deportation is a clear case of retaliation in connection with his reporting, and such action sends a chilling message to journalists,’ said one press freedom defender.”

“A leading press freedom advocate on Tuesday condemned the United States’ ‘disturbing pattern’ of screening and expelling international visitors for their political viewpoints following the detention and removal of an Australian journalist who criticized the Trump administration’s targeting of Palestine defenders on college campuses.

“Alistair Kitchen said he was detained for 12 hours and interrogated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents in Los Angeles International Airport while en route from Melbourne, Australia to New York last week. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/alistair-kitchen

Media Driving War?

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 6/18/25

Headline:  “Trump’s Fox News obsession is driving the U.S. toward war with Iran”

“President Donald Trump appears to be careening toward a U.S. military strike on Iran as current and former Fox News figures — from posts on the network’s airwaves, elsewhere in the right-wing media ecosystem, and within his administration — fight to influence his decision.

“For years, Trump’s obsession with the Fox universe has driven policy decisions, administration staffing, and countless stream-of-consciousness social media posts. Now, the network will have an outsized role in determining America’s potential involvement in a spiraling regional military conflict.

” ‘The George W. Bush administration spent months “following a meticulously planned strategy to persuade the public, the Congress and the allies of the need to confront the threat from Saddam Hussein’ before finally launching that war in March 2003. That strategy — based on cooked intelligence about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction dishonestly sold to American people — resulted in the deaths of more than 4,000 U.S. service members and more than 200,000 Iraqi civilians as well as a massive financial cost. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/trumps-fox-news-obsession-driving-us-toward-war-iran

No Prescription for TV Ads

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Article in the Daily Caller by Robert McGreevy, 6/18/25

Headline:  “CNN Acknowledges RFK’s Drug Ad Ban Could ‘Cripple’ Broadcasting Giants “

“CNN admitted Wednesday policies to limit pharmaceutical TV advertising that are being considered by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could cripple the TV news business.

The policies, which include a plan to remove a loophole allowing pharmaceutical companies to write off advertising as a tax deduction, could ‘leave broadcasters in financial straits,’ CNN reported in a Wednesday article.

“While Kennedy Jr. has long advocated to end the practice of pharmaceutical direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising — a practice banned in almost every other nation globally — experts believe that pharmaceutical giants would challenge an outright ban on First Amendment grounds. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://dailycaller.com/2025/06/18/cnn-rfk-drug-ad-ban-cripple-broadcasting-giants-pharmaceuticals/

Trying to Hide From Media

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Article in the Daily Beast by Catherine Bouris, 6/17/25

Headline:  “Mike Lee Flees Questions About Deranged Assassin Tweet”

Subhead:  “The Utah senator was captured running from NBC journalists asking about his claim that Vance Boelter was a ‘Marxist.’ “

“Republican Sen. Mike Lee was caught fleeing from media questions about his inflammatory posts on the senseless murder of Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman.

“Over the weekend, the Utah senator posted a photo of Boelter in a latex mask, adding the caption, ‘This is what happens… When Marxists don’t get their way.’ The backlash was swift, with many pointing at the copious amount of evidence that suggests Boelter was a conservative.

“Now, a journalist for NBC News has shared a video of Lee running from questions about his post, including whether or not he regrets the tweet. Instead of answering, Lee and his staffers quickly walk away from the cameras, with one staffer attempting to cover the camera with his iPad. . .”

Read teh full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/mike-lee-flees-from-media-questions-about-his-marxist-assassin-tweet/

FCC Being Blown Up?

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Article in Free Press, press release by Staff, 6/17/25

Headline:  “Senate Confirmation of Olivia Trusty Paves a Path for Trump’s Campaign to Control the Media”

Subhead:  “Her confirmation gives the FCC the Republican majority Chairman Carr needs to carry out the president’s dangerous agenda”

“WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate confirmed Olivia Trusty as a commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission. Trusty previously served as a top congressional staffer for Sen. Roger Wicker and Rep. Bob Latta, both Republicans.

“Upon her swearing in, Trusty will be the third member of the five-person Commission, with two recently created vacancies remaining. Her arrival will give FCC Chairman Brendan Carr a 2–1 Republican majority, likely allowing him to advance a number of controversial initiatives . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/senate-confirms-olivia-trusty-fcc-paves-path-trump-control-media

Still Attacking Media

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Article in Poynter by Editorial Staff, 6/17/25

Headline:  “Opinion | 10 years of Trump, 10 years of media attacks”

Subhead:  “Donald Trump has turned phrases like ‘fake news’ and ‘enemy of the people’ into rallying cries to undermine the free press”

“It was 10 years ago Monday that Donald Trump rode down his golden escalator and announced that he was running for president. . .”

“But the world and our country — and the media — have definitely changed. . .”

“Among Blake’s items is “The decline of truth.” Blake writes, “At this point, Trump’s falsehoods often aren’t even treated as news. And that’s because, strictly speaking, they’re not new. He spouted more than 30,000 false and misleading claims in his first term, according to The Washington Post. That averages out to nearly one every hour for four years. And it hasn’t stopped. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/decade-donald-trump-fight-free-press/

Media Hoodwinked?

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Article in Daily Kos by Bison 6/17/25

Headline:  “Let’s Not Be Hoodwinked Again by the Media on Trump’s G7 Debacle”

Subhead:  “The Media’s Silence on Trump’s G7 Embarrassment”

“I’m up far too early, listening to the news—and once again, the media is dancing around the truth. Donald Trump was laughed out of the G7. Full stop. He showed up with nothing—no substance, no strategy—just the same tired campaign slogans and his worn-out call to let Russia back into the G7, all of which fell flat with world leaders who’ve grown weary of the act. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/6/17/2328510/-Let-s-Not-Be-Hoodwinked-Again-by-the-Media-on-Trump-s-G7-Debacle

Iran and the Media

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jon Alsop, 6/17/25

Headline:  “Strikes on Iran Reverberate Through the Media”

Subhead:  “In Iran, Israel hit a state broadcaster. In the US, MAGA media is at war about war.”

“Yesterday, Sahar Emami, an anchor on Iran’s state broadcaster, was on air in a studio covering Israeli strikes on the country—the fourth day of missiles flying back and forth between the two powers since Israel launched a massive attack on Iran’s nuclear program. ‘Listen, what you hear is the sound of the aggressor,’ Emami said. ‘You hear the sound of the aggressor attacking the truth.’ Suddenly, an almighty sound could be heard on the broadcast; Emami quickly stood up and walked off-set as the studio shook, fragments of debris fluttered down, and a whirl of smoke passed across the camera. Israel, it transpired, had struck the building.

“Iran’s state media is indeed a mouthpiece, but US press-freedom groups nonetheless condemned the strike.  . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/iran-israel-nuclear-deal-trump-framing-farsi-voa.php