Links

Spreading the Right Word

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Article in The Washington Post by Sarah Ellison, 7/9/25

Headline:  “Trump’s social media company strikes deal with friendly news outlet”

Subhead:  “Truth+, a new streaming service attached to the Truth Social platform, will expand globally, featuring Trump-friendly Newsmax.“

“The company that owns the social media platform Truth Social and counts President Donald Trump as its largest shareholder said Monday that it had reached a deal with Newsmax, which its founder has described as “supportive of the President and his policies,” to stream Newsmax content globally.

“The unprecedented deal links a company whose largest shareholder is the sitting president with a conservative media ally, in a deal that could benefit both parties financially. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/07/09/trump-truth-social-newsmax-streaming-deal/

Selective News Coverage?

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Article in FAIR by Belen Fernandez, 7/9/25

Headline:  “Massive Expansion of Trump’s Deportation Machine Passes With Little Press Notice”

“And so it has come to pass: US President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” has set the stage for tax cuts for the rich, slashed services for the poor, and a host of other things that qualify as “beautiful” in the present dystopia. Some cuts, like those to Medicaid, have been heavily covered by the corporate media. But one key piece of the bill has gotten much less media scrutiny: The preposterous sum of $175 billion has been allocated to fund Trump’s signature mass deportation campaign, which, as a Salon article (7/3/25) points out, exceeds the military budget for every single country in the world aside from the US and China. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/massive-expansion-of-trumps-deportation-machine-passes-with-little-press-notice/

 

Epstein in Media Again

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 7/7/25

Headline:  “MAGA media eat their own after Trump administration denies their Epstein conspiracy theories”

“. . .The White House brought 15 MAGA influencers in to meet with Bondi in February, sending them home with glossy binders labeled ‘The Epstein Files: Phase 1.’ When those binders did not satisfy the MAGA faithful, the attorney general reportedly tasked ‘hundreds of FBI employees’ with reviewing Epstein investigation documents for release. In May, Patel and Bongino were sent to Fox to make the case, with the fervor of the converted, that Epstein had actually killed himself. And now the FBI and DOJ have produced a memo detailing their findings and released footage taken from outside Epstein’s cell in the hours surrounding his suicide.

“The final result left Trump’s most zealous online allies with two options: They could finally acknowledge that they had been peddling nonsense for years — or they could insinuate that the Trump administration itself is part of the cover-up. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/maga-media-eat-their-own-after-trump-administration-denies-their-epstein-conspiracy

How do you Cover Extremism?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Liam Scott

Headline: “How Local Reporters Manage the Dangers of Covering Extremism”

Subhead: “The extremism beat has gone mainstream—but in local markets, it’s still intensely personal.”

“Last Thanksgiving, Steven Monacelli was awoken early in the morning by the sound of police officers knocking on the door of his Dallas home. Someone had called the cops to report that Monacelli, a freelance investigative correspondent for the Texas Observer, was abusing his girlfriend. Monacelli’s girlfriend—who has since become his fiancée—came to the door to demonstrate that the abuse claims were false.

Monacelli was disturbed—but not particularly shocked. ‘I pretty much immediately knew why they were there,’ he said. For more than four years, he’s been covering the rise of far-right extremism across the state of Texas, including stories about right-wing influence in Texas schools and a so-called ‘white nationalist fight club.’ . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/local-reporters-dangers-covering-extremism.php

End of Political Broadcasting Humor?

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 7/8/25

Headline:  “Ellison’s Late Night Limbo

“Subhead:  “As the Ellisons Prepare to Take Over Paramount,  the Future of Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, and CBS’ Appetite for Political Comedy Hangs in the Balance”

“Jon Stewart opened Monday’s episode of ”The Daily Show’ not mincing words, calling Paramount’s settlement with Donald Trump ‘shameful.’ Just as he was digging in, a fake Arby’s ad suddenly appeared on screen, as if to cut him off mid-rant for criticizing Comedy Central’s parent company. ‘Did they? Son of a bitch!’ Stewart exclaimed, playing along with the bit—yet nodding to a deeper fear that his commentary might soon be silenced amid all the corporate upheaval.

“Later in the episode, Stewart continued to needle Paramount, sitting down with former ’60 Minutes’ correspondent Steve Kroft for a candid and unsparing conversation. Kroft described the settlement in clear terms: ‘It was a shakedown.’ . . .”

Read the full article at:

State Violence Against Journalists?

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Article in Poynter by Kelly Kimball, 7/8/25

Headline:  “As police face lawsuits over attacks on journalists during LA protests, experts warn press safety is disappearing across the US”

“Lawsuits after ICE raids and No Kings march say officers targeted reporters, raising alarms about press freedom even in states with strong protections . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2025/journalists-injured-la-police-protests-press-freedom-lawsuit/

 

Evangelists Destroy Rt. Wing Network?

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Article in Raw Story by Matthew Chapman, 7/3/25

Headline:  “Dr Phil sues televangelist network for ‘sabotaging’ his bankrupt media company”

“Daytime talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw’s startup right-wing cable network is declaring bankruptcy — and he’s suing a prominent televangelist broadcast network he had partnered with to get it set up.

“According to Variety, “Merit Street filed for bankruptcy and the related lawsuit naming TBN [Trinity Broadcast Network] as a defendant with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of Texas on Wednesday (July 2). The complaint alleges that TBN, which was Merit Street’s broadcast partner, reneged on its obligations and instead ‘abused its position as the controlling shareholder.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.rawstory.com/dr-phil/

A Sad Day for Journalism?

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Article in The Guardian by Anna Betts, 7/3/25

Headline:  “Former CBS anchor slams Paramount settlement with Trump: ‘It was a sellout’ “

Subhead:  “Dan Rather laments ‘sad day for journalism’ after company settles for $16m over 60 Minutes Kamala Harris interview”

“A former CBS News anchor and 60 minutes correspondent, Dan Rather, has blasted the $16m settlement between Paramount, the parent company of CBS News, and Donald Trump, calling it a ‘sad day for journalism’.

“ ‘It’s a sad day for 60 Minutes and CBS News,’ Rather, a veteran journalist who was a CBS News anchor for over 20 years, told Variety in an interview published on Wednesday. ‘I hope people will read the details of this and understand what it was. It was distortion by the president and a kneeling down and saying, “yes, sir,” by billionaire corporate owners.’ . . .”
Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/jul/03/dan-rather-cbs-paramount-settlement-trump

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Kyle Paolettam 7/2/25

Headline:  “Paramount Will Pay President Trump $16 Million to Settle 60 Minutes Lawsuit”

Subhead:  ” ‘It is a dark day for independent journalism,’ says Sen. Bernie Sanders.”

“Late last night, Paramount, the corporate parent of CBS News, agreed to pay Donald Trump $16 million to settle the president’s lawsuit over the network’s editing of a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris during the 2024 election. This agreement comes six months after ABC paid $15 million to Trump’s foundation to end his suit over how George Stephanopoulos characterized the president’s sexual assault of E. Jean Carroll. Taken together, these settlements represent a troubling compromise of editorial independence for two of the standard-bearers of American broadcast journalism. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/news/paramount-will-pay-president-trump-16-million-to-settle-60-minutes-lawsuit.php

Blackmailing the Media

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Article in The Washington Post by Sara Ellison & Jeremy Barr, 7/2/25

Headline:  “How Trump’s media war brought Paramount to its knees”

Subhead:  “Tuesday night’s $16 million settlement with Trump followed months of tension between CBS’s journalistic mission and its corporate interest.”

“The breaking point came on a Saturday night in the middle of May. CBS President George Cheeks called news division chief Wendy McMahon with a suggestion: “It’s probably time.”

“Two days later, McMahon announced her departure.

“The forced resignation marked a turning point: The network of Edward R. Murrow, which stood against McCarthyism and once defined American broadcast journalism, was capitulating to White House pressure as its corporate owner sought approval for a lucrative merger. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/07/02/trump-paramount-cbs-settlement-media/

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Article in The Washington Post by Eric Wemple, 7/2/25

Headline:  “Paramount betrays ‘60 Minutes’ and the rest of us

Subhead:  “Parent company caves to baseless suit by Donald Trump.”

“. . .On Tuesday night came the news that Paramount had agreed to pay $16 million to settle the suit, which stemmed from a ‘60 Minutes’ interview with then-vice president and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. The money, which covers the president’s legal fees and costs, will go to his future presidential library.

What happened between disputation and capitulation? . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/07/02/paramount-settlement-trump-betrayal/

Talk Show Bias?

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Article in FAIR by Keiwana Grant-Floyd & Julie Hollar, 7/1/25

Headline:  “FAIR Study: Sunday Talkshows Downplayed Criticism During Trump’s Second Transition”

“. . . After Donald Trump was declared the winner of the 2016 and 2024 elections, the Sunday shows had an opportunity to hold up both his campaign promises and his cabinet picks to scrutiny. With his campaigns’ racist attacks on immigrants and diversity initiatives, as well as his movement’s assaults on the rights of women and trans people, inviting guests who more accurately reflect the diversity of the country would seem to be a journalistic imperative. Yet a new FAIR study finds that the Sunday shows’ coverage of the Trump transitions were even more heavily white and male than usual.”

read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/fair-study-sunday-talkshows-downplayed-criticism-during-trumps-second-transition/