Whither Goest CNN?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones 2/27/26

Headline:  “Opinion | CNN future in question after Thursday’s stunning Warner Bros. Discovery sale news”

Subhead:  “Paramount’s bid for Warner Bros. Discovery puts CNN’s future and its editorial independence in question”

“What does the future hold for CNN?

“That’s one of the big media questions following the stunning news that broke Thursday evening. Netflix has decided to withdraw its pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery. That now paves the way for David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance to take over WBD, including cable news network CNN . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/netflix-pulls-out-warner-bros-discovery-paramount-deal/

Cheerleading or Reporting?

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Article in FAIR by Ricardo Vaz, 2/27/26

Headline:  “Western Gangster Journalism Runs Cover for Trump’s ‘Donroe Doctrine’ in Venezuela”

“US forces launched a military attack against Venezuela on January 3, reportedly killing over 100 people and kidnapping Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores, who also serves as a National Assembly deputy. . .”

“The brazen act of war has elicited zero dissent from the Western media establishment, no urge to challenge Trump’s return to early 20th century ‘gunboat diplomacy.’ Worse, with the White House pushing to impose a semi-colonial protectorate and plunder Venezuela’s wealth, corporate outlets continue working overtime to normalize US imperialist predations. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/western-gangster-journalism-runs-cover-for-trumps-donroe-doctrine-in-venezuela/

Don’t Call Me Shirley!

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Article in Media Matters by John Knefel, 2/27/26

Headline:  “MAGA media provocateur Nick Shirley boosted an antisemitic video. It was only a matter of time.”

Subhead:  “Shirley, who helped spur the federal crackdown in Minneapolis, promoted and defended a video from Tyler Oliveira titled ‘I Exposed New Jersey’s Jewish Invasion…’ ”

“One of the most important developments in right-wing media in the last few years is the rise of a class of provocateurs who create on-the-ground, documentary-style videos targeting communities based on their religion, ethnicity, or political beliefs. . .”

“On February 25, Shirley promoted and defended an antisemitic video made by fellow YouTuber Tyler Oliveira titled ‘I Exposed New Jersey’s Jewish Invasion… .’ The video runs more than an hour long, and it seeks to transform pedestrian, local issues about land use into something sinister by relying on longstanding antisemitic tropes about Jews controlling the financial system. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/antisemitism/maga-media-provocateur-nick-shirley-boosted-antisemitic-video-it-was-only-matter-time

Media Deal or Not?

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Article in The Guardian by Coral Murphy Marcos, 2/27/26

Headline: ” ‘Not a done deal’: California vows ‘vigorous’ review of Paramount-Warner Bros takeover”

Subhead: “Attorney general says $111bn deal will be investigated amid concerns over monopoly power and job losses”

“Rob Bonta, California’s attorney general, said his office will investigate a possible merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery, hours after Netflix backed away from a planned takeover. . .”

”Bonta said in a post on X. ‘These two Hollywood titans have not cleared regulatory scrutiny — the California Department of Justice has an open investigation, and we intend to be vigorous in our review.’ . . . ”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/27/california-paramount-warner-bros

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

Headline:  “With Paramount set to take over WBD, Trump just steered a major news outlet into the hands of a crony”

Subhead:  “He wants to turn America into Hungary”

“Another major media conglomerate teeters on the precipice of being absorbed by a deep-pocketed ally of President Donald Trump and his administration.

At the end of last week, Netflix had a signed deal to purchase the theatrical and streaming divisions of Warner Bros., with the company’s cable division — including CNN — set to be spun off into a separate company. Netflix had previously defeated a rival offer for all of Warner Bros. from Paramount, the media conglomerate owned by David Ellison, a Trump favorite and the son of the president’s buddy Larry Ellison, the billionaire. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/cnn/paramount-set-take-over-wbd-trump-just-steered-major-news-outlet-hands-crony

More Grabbing ALL the media

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Article in the New York Times, by By Lauren HirschMichael M. Grynbaum and Benjamin Mullin, 2/26/26

Headline:  “Netflix Backs Out of Bid for Warner Bros., Paving Way for an Ellison Takeover”

Subhead:  “The move was a stunning development in the long-running corporate battle for the storied media giant.”

“Netflix said on Thursday that it would not counter Paramount’s higher bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, a stunning development that essentially assures the media giant will end up under the control of a rival bidder, the technology heir David Ellison.

“Netflix had beat out Paramount in December to sign an $83 billion deal to acquire a large portion of Warner Bros. Discovery’s business, including HBO and the storied Warner Bros. movie studio. The acquisition was poised to cement Netflix, once a striving outsider to the film and entertainment business, as the pre-eminent juggernaut of Hollywood. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/business/warner-bros-discovery-paramount-deal-netflix.html

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

Headline: “Paramount wins bid to acquire Warner Brothers Discovery after Netflix bows out”

“Netflix on Thursday said it would not match a bid from Paramount seeking to acquire Warner Brothers Discovery, the sprawling media empire that includes legacy brands in news and entertainment like CNN and HBO.

“News of the streamer bowing out of its deal with Warner Bros. Discovery came just minutes after the David Zaslav-led company said it considered the hostile bid mounted by Paramount to be a ‘superior’ offer to the one it struck with the streamer late last year. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5757985-netflix-declines-warner-discovery/

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

Headline: “Paramount Skydance’s Takeover of Warner Bros. Is Bad News for Workers, Consumers and Free Expression”

“On Thursday, the Warner Bros. Discovery board decided to abandon its plans to sell the company to Netflix in favor of a Paramount Skydance bid. . .”

Free Press Co-CEO Craig Aaron said:  “The Netflix deal was disastrous but this new one is even worse. The idea that Paramount should be allowed to control CBS and CNN should be unthinkable, especially given their record of turning the Tiffany Network into a trash heap. The Ellisons have already promised the Trump administration that they’ll make sweeping changes to CNN given the chance, and we know what that means: firing journalists, spiking important stories, and replacing the news with empty propaganda. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/paramount-skydances-takeover-warner-bros-bad-news-workers-consumers-and-free-expression

WaPo and Gaza

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Megan Greenwell, 2/26/26

Headline:  “A Look Back at Covering Gaza for the Post“

Subhead: “Since October 7, 2023, Miriam Berger has been on assignment in Jerusalem, covering Israel, Palestine, and war. A few weeks ago, she learned she and hundreds of colleagues were being laid off.”

“. . She was one of three hundred–plus journalists who learned early this month that they would be laid off by the Washington Post, a dismantling that all but eliminated the publication’s international desk. Berger was on leave when the cuts were announced, working on a book about Israel’s starvation of Gaza. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/kicker/miriam-berger-look-back-covering-gaza-washington-post-layoffs.php

CNN Now Discovering Evidence?

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Article in Mediaite by Tommy Christopher, 2/26/26

Headline: “CNN Anchors Make Major Change To Trump-Epstein Sex Crimes Disclaimer Amid Bombshell Revelations”

“. . .For months, CNN anchors and reporters have frequently followed their discussions of Trump and Epstein by saying, for example: “We should point out there is no evidence of wrongdoing against President Trump related to Epstein.’ That verbiage has been used as recently as this past week. . . .’

“On Wednesday night’s edition of CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, host Anderson Cooper reported on the new development with a new disclaimer, telling viewers “we should point out here the President has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with Jeffrey Epstein” . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/cnn-anchors-make-major-change-to-trump-epstein-sex-crimes-disclaimer-amid-bombshell-revelations/

Corporate Media & Labor

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Photo by Brontë Wittpenn via Getty Images

Article in FAIR by Silas Gaughran Bedell, 2/26/26

Headline:  “Corporate Media Mock Chicago Teachers for Trying to Help Their Community”

“The Washington Post editorial ‘The Chicago Teachers Union’s New Year’s Resolution: More Mediocrity (1/10/26)’  is the latest in a string of opinion pieces from both the Post and Wall Street Journal attacking the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), amid historic victories for teachers and school staff. The opinion pages of these billionaire-owned media outlets have consistently relied on cherry-picked test scores to obscure union successes. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/corporate-media-mock-chicago-teachers-for-trying-to-help-their-community/

Untrustworthy Media Search?

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Article in ArsTechnica by Jon Brodkin, 2/25/26

Headline:  “Judge doesn’t trust DOJ with search of devices seized from Wash. Post reporter”

Subhead:  “Court to search devices itself instead of letting government have full access.”

“A federal court will conduct a search of devices seized from a Washington Post reporter after a magistrate judge decided yesterday that the Department of Justice cannot be trusted to perform the search on its own.

“US Magistrate Judge William Porter criticized government prosecutors for not including key information in a search warrant application. The court wasn’t aware of a 1980 law that limits searches and seizures of journalists’ work materials when it approved the warrant, Porter acknowledged. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/02/judge-doesnt-trust-doj-with-search-of-devices-seized-from-wash-post-reporter/

Media Ignore Victims?

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Article in FAIR by Raina Lipsitz, 2/24/26

Headline:  “Media Focus on Epstein’s Powerful Friends Erases Their Victims”

“Much has been written about sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, whose numerous social and business ties to members of the global elite are still being untangled. . .”

“Yet most elite media coverage has focused not on Epstein’s victims, the criminal justice system’s failure to protect them, or the ways in which powerful government officials have colluded to shield Epstein and his high-powered associates from accountability. Rather, the spotlight has been on the lifestyles of Epstein and his rich and famous friends—and the supposed lack of evidence that anyone other than the late Epstein and the incarcerated Maxwell sexually abused or facilitated the abuse of minors. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/media-focus-on-epsteins-powerful-friends-erases-their-victims/