Links

Just Gotta Be On TV!

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Article in Daily Beast by William Vaillancourt, 9/21/26

Headline: “Press-Starved Trump, 80, Announces Desperate TV Move'”

subhead: “Trump TV” launched on Monday, following a rare lack of television coverage of the president.”

“President Donald Trump has launched his own television channel after banning three networks from the White House television press pool.

“The announcement comes three days after the president angrily removed CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the pool because he doesn’t like their coverage. Those outlets have since sued the administration, claiming a violation of their First Amendment rights.

“Trump TV, the White House announced, would begin airing at 7 p.m. on Monday night. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/press-starved-donald-trump-80-announces-desperate-tv-move/

Paramount Smiling – Sketchy Deal?

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 9/21/26

Headline:  “Ellison’s Bonta Blowout”

Subhead: “David Ellison worked the phones over the weekend to secure a settlement for his Warners takeover—but the deal’s supposed safeguard for CNN is already drawing skepticism from inside the network as staffers brace for what’s next.”

“On Monday afternoon, Paramount boss David Ellison and California Attorney General Rob Bonta formally announced that they had struck a deal to resolve the major antitrust lawsuit threatening the company’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. In announcing the settlement, ending a lawsuit brought by a dozen states and led by California, Ellison reiterated his belief that uniting the two companies through the mega-deal will ‘build’ a ‘stronger Hollywood.’

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/david-ellison-paramount-cnn-board-bonta-settlement

No Press Passes, No Coverage

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Article in The Guardian by Ariana Baio in New York and Maanvi Singh, 9/21/26

Headline:  “US TV networks suspend White House pool coverage over Trump media ban”

Subhead: “White House promoted its own ‘Trump TV’ feed online after ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC decline to participate”

“The major US television news outlets agreed to suspend their video coverage of Donald Trump after the administration banned journalists from several outlets from entering the White House grounds.

The collective decision came after the barred outlets – CNN, MS Now and Politico – sued the administration on Monday, saying the president’s actions were a violation of their first amendment rights.

The ban was an extraordinary escalation of Trump’s battle against news outlets. After a coalition of networks including ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC – which along with CNN form a press “pool” that share the responsibilities of capturing and distributing footage of the president carried by news outlets worldwide – announced they would cease coverage in solidarity with the barred outlets . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/21/trump-tv-networks-white-house-pool-coverage

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Article in UPI by Danielle Haynes, 9/21/26

Headline:  “News outlets decline press duties, sue Trump over White House ban”

“CNN, MS Now and Politico announced Monday they filed a lawsuit and other news organizations declined to participate in White House coverage after President Donald Trump banned the three outlets.

“CNN, MS Now and Politico filed the emergency request seeking to restore their access to the White House in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In a joint statement, they said the government should not be allowed to decide what the press reports. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/09/21/politico-cnn-ms-now-sue-trump/1631790000704/

Paramount and Foreign Ownership

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Article in Alternet America by Ryan Rose, 9/19/26

Headline: “First Trump Sold the Land, Then He Sold the News”

Subhead:  “The FCC Is More Worried About The View Than Foreign Governments Owning Paramount“

“Finally, CBS will have owners who hate journalists even more than Bari Weiss does.

“FCC Chairman Brendan Carr approved a petition from Paramount that would allow foreign investors to own at least 49.5 percent of its equity as part of its bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. Three sovereign wealth funds linked to the governments of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates are backing the deal. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.alternetamerica.com/p/trumps-fcc-just-handed-paramount

Authoritarians and the the Media

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Article in Mediaite by Sean James, 9/19/26

Headline:  “Rachel Maddow Vents Trump’s Press Ban Proves He Admires ‘Authoritarian Leadership’ of China”

“MS NOW star Rachel Maddow made a special appearance on a special edition of Peter Alexander’s State of Play on Saturday to share her thoughts on President Donald Trump banning her outlet, as well as CNN and Politico, from the White House. Maddow — as many longtime cable news viewers could have guessed — wasn’t a fan.

“The veteran host said Trump’s decision reinforced he admired the ‘authoritarian leadership’ of China and North Korea’s draconian Communist governments — and wished he could crack down on his critics even more, if it weren’t for America’s pesky laws. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/media/rachel-maddow-vents-trumps-press-ban-proves-he-admires-authoritarian-leadership-of-china/

Ban All Media Except Paramount?

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Article in The Wrap by Kim Murphy, 9/19/26

Headline: “Elizabeth Warren Blasts Paramount Merger Settlement Talks: ‘Massive Mistake to Cave’”

Subhead: “The senator cites CNN’s ban from the White House in warning that the merger could create a ‘Trump-controlled media conglomerate'”

“Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) issued a warning Saturday that it would be a ‘massive mistake to cave’ on 12 states’ lawsuit against Paramount Skydance’s pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Warren’s statement comes amid reports that California Attorney General Rob Bonta is in advanced talks on a potential settlement with the company, which would remove the only remaining regulatory hurdle impending the transaction. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/public-policy-legal/elizabeth-warren-paramount-merger-settlement-massive-mistake/

Comcast Censoring Musk Film?

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Article in Common Dreams by Brad Reed

Headline: “Will Universal Studios, Owned by Comcast, Decide to Withhold Elon Musk Documentary?”

Subhead: “’Have I mentioned lately that oligarch-owned media consolidation is bad?’ said one critic.”

“Filmmaker Alex Gibney’s scathing four-hour documentary about SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has received rave reviews since its debut at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month, but it could soon be without an international distributor.

“According to a Wednesday report from The Hollywood Reporter, Comcast-owned Universal Pictures, which holds distribution rights to the film outside the North American market, is getting ‘cold feet’ about releasing it. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/tag/elon-musk

Streaming Killing Public Media?

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Article in The Guardian by Mark Sweney, 9/19/26

Headline:  “‘A losing battle’: will UK public service broadcasters survive amid US onslaught?”

Subhead:  “Jobs and programme budgets in firing line at BBC, Channel 4 and ITV as they are outgunned by YouTube and Netflix“

“‘I wouldn’t be surprised if the BBC or Channel 4 disappeared,’ says one of the thousands of TV staff at risk of redundancy, as British broadcasters face what has rapidly become a fight for survival against US digital rivals.

“’My generation grew up with Netflix and YouTube … Honestly, I feel like it is a losing battle.’

“Over the course of the summer the crisis facing the UK’s biggest public service broadcasters (PSBs) – the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV – has reached fever pitch amid announcements of deep job cuts and talk of business models unfit to face up to the deep-pocketed streamers. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/sep/19/uk-public-service-broadcasters-us-bbc-channel-4-itv-netflix-disney-amazon

Mediasphere Erupts Over Purge!

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Article in Common Dreams by Stephen Prager, 9/18/26

Headline: “‘Straight Out of the Authoritarian Playbook’: Trump Bans CNN, MSNOW, and Politico From White House”

Subhead: “One press freedom advocate said it was “difficult to imagine a more blatant violation of the First Amendment.”

“Donald Trump announced in a Friday afternoon tirade that he would ban CNN, MSNOW (formerly MSNBC), and Politico from the White House. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-bans-news-networks

Coverage on this issue from some other sources:

Status News:  https://www.status.news/p/trump-press-ban-cnn-ms-now-politico

Axios:  https://www.axios.com/2026/09/18/trump-ban-cnn-ms-now-politico-white-house

AP News:  https://apnews.com/article/trump-cnn-msnow-politico-media-bans-bb675679fb10738a51bef90bde6c525a

Reuters:  https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-bans-media-outlets-cnn-msnow-politico-white-house-2026-09-18/

The Hill:  https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6098639-trump-bans-cnn-msnow-politico-white-house/

AI and McClatchy

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Riddhi Setty, 9/17/26

Headline: “McClatchy’s Post-Layoff Future”

Subhead:   “AI is clearly part of the plan moving forward,” Ariane Lange, an investigative reporter at the Sacramento Bee, said. “It’s been part of the plan for quite some time.”

“Over the summer, journalists at McClatchy battled with management over the company’s plans to use artificial intelligence—and union members, organized in several regional guilds, largely seemed to be making headway. In July, newspapers in Washington State and Idaho ratified a union contract with significant AI provisions, including ones preventing the company from using AI to replace staff, using AI to impersonate journalists, or disciplining members for a chatbot’s mistakes. . .”

Then, last week, McClatchy laid off more than ninety unionized media workers across seventeen publications. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/mcclatchys-post-layoff-future-artificial-intelligence-ai-labor-union.php