Broadcasting

What’s Hiding in FCC’s Safe?

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Article in Ars Technica by Jon Brodkin, 6/28/26

Headline:  “FCC accused of hiding Chairman Carr’s messages with DOGE and Musk”

Subhead:  “FCC refuses to provide messages, has ‘wasted a year’ of court’s time, filing says.”

“. . .’The evidence clearly demonstrates that the FCC has acted in bad faith by withholding documents responsive to Plaintiffs’ FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] request,’ journalist Nina Burleigh and advocacy group Frequency Forward said in a filing yesterday in US District Court for the District of Columbia. ‘The FCC acted in bad faith when it redefined the search criteria without notice to Plaintiffs or this Court. Further, the FCC acted in bad faith by concealing the fact that the Chairman Carr has a Signal account on a phone he uses to conduct government business.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/06/fcc-accused-of-hiding-chairman-carrs-messages-with-doge-and-musk/

CBS in the Crystal Ball

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 6/29/26

Headline:  “Opinion | What’s next for CBS News, CNN and ‘60 Minutes?’ “

Subhead: “Wall Street Journal reporter Isabella Simonetti breaks down the upheaval at CBS News and what the Paramount merger could mean for CNN”

“Has there been a bigger media story in 2026 than the upheaval at CBS News?

“CBS has a new owner who has a cozy relationship with President Donald Trump. The news division is being run by someone who had no meaningful TV news experience before she was hired. The evening news has a new anchor whose tenure is off to an uneven start. And even the network’s most dependable and respected product — the venerable ’60 Minutes’ — has been besieged by controversy, massive changes and unpopular firings. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/whats-next-cbs-news-cnn-60-minutes-paramount-bari-weiss/

Not Bari Happy!

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Article updated in Daily Beast by Julia Ornedo, 6/28/26

Headline: “CNN Star Issues Bombshell Warning to MAGA-Curious Boss”

“Anderson Cooper has made it clear how he feels about working with Bari Weiss.

“The star anchor, 59, has told colleagues at CNN that he does not want to work for the beleaguered CBS News chief, two sources told The New York Times. His comments came amid reports that Weiss is being considered for a top role at the network, which is slated to soon come under the control of Trump-friendly CEO David Ellison. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://archive.ph/XEmxZ#selection-1641.0-1649.178

No Climate for News Change

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Article in FAIR by Olivia Riggio, 6/26/26

Headline:  “Covering the Impact of Climate Change—Without Mentioning Climate Change”

“. . .With extreme weather events worsening each year, and the world on track to surpass by 2030 the Paris Agreement’s attempt to limit global heating to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, connecting these disruptive and deadly events to climate change is a key part of the story.

“Yet on the evening of Tuesday, June 23, despite leading their shows with severe weather headlines, nightly news shows on NBC, ABC and CBS failed to mention climate even in passing. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/covering-the-impact-of-climate-change-without-mentioning-climate-change/

Mickey and Brendan

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 6/25/26

Headline:  “US media regulator Brendan Carr accuses Disney of ‘misinformation’ on investigations”

Subhead:  “Disney-owned ABC launched awareness campaign about two FCC investigations it faces, urging viewers to write in”

“Brendan Carr, the Trump-aligned chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has accused Disney of running a “campaign of misinformation” as the media group defends itself against investigations the regulator has initiated.

“Disney-owned ABC launched a public awareness campaign earlier this week to encourage viewers to back the network as it faces two separate investigations before the US media regulator.

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jun/25/disney-brendan-carr-fcc-investigation

Sometimes, Media Admit Error

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Article in Daily Kos by Staff, 6/23/26

Headline:  “Conservative writer learns the hard truth about Trump”

” ‘CNN was right about the war, and I was wrong,’ reads The Hill headline of a column by Becket Adams.

“When it comes to President [Donald] Trump’s disastrous attempt this year at playing war chief, a whole lot of conservatives got it wrong, this author included,” Adams writes. . .”

“In fact, Adams deserves more credit than most conservatives simply for acknowledging the mistake instead of pretending it never happened or screaming, ‘Fake news!’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/6/23/800059611/media-and-culture/conservative-writer-learns-hard-truth-about-trump/

ABC Fighting Back

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Article in Reuters by David Shepardson, 6/22/26

Headline: “ABC launches on-air campaign urging viewers to back network in Trump agency fights”

“. . .Disney-owned . . .ABC said ​on Monday it was launching an on-air campaign encouraging viewers to show support for the ‌network in its two ongoing battles with the U.S. government.

“The Republican-led Federal Communications Commission ordered ABC in April to file early license reviews for its eight company-owned television stations after President Donald Trump pressured the regulatory agency to take action. The FCC is also ​investigating ABC daytime talk show “The View” after declaring it is subject to federal equal time rules for ​political candida”

Read the full article at:

https://www.reuters.com/business/abc-launches-on-air-campaign-urging-views-back-network-trump-fights-2026-06-22/

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 6.22.26

Headline:  “ABC encourages viewers to back network amid FCC investigations”

Subhead:  “Network launches ad on The View, which is target of one of two FCC investigations currently seeking public comment”

Read the article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jun/22/abc-fcc-investigations

Will Foreign Investors Control US Media?

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Article in The Wrap by Lucas Manfredi, 6/19/265

Headline:  “Senators Urge FCC to Prevent Paramount-WB Merger From Closing During Pending Foreign Ownership Review”

Subhead:  “Foreign investors would control 49.5% of the combined company’s equit”

“Three Democratic Senators are urging FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to prevent the $110 billion Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger from closing until its pending foreign ownership review can be completed.

Paramount has maintained that the “indirect foreign ownership of equity interests” in the combined company will be 49.5% and will not result in a transfer of control. However, it has asked the FCC to allow foreign investors “in the aggregate to indirectly hold up to 100 percent of its equity and/or voting interests in light of routine fluctuations in publicly held equity interests and to account for potential future investments.”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/deals-ma/paramount-warner-bros-merger-fcc-foreign-ownership-review-letter/

Radio Active Magazine 6/23/26

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Tune in to Radio Active Magazine on Tuesday, 6/23/26 at 6:30 PM on KKFI Community Radio 90.1 FM – streaming at kkfi.org.

FCM’s Spencer Graves will Speak with Dimi Zagorski who describes Wikimedia concerns with European copyright rules including AI and scientific research and the impact of the 2019 European ‘Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market’ “.

More from Wikiversity at:

When Media Giants Collide

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Article in Free Press by Staff 6/17/26

Headline:  “The Fight to Stop a Hollywood Mega-Merger Is Far from Over”

“The Justice Department approved the tie-up between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, but states can still sue to block it.”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/fight-stop-hollywood-mega-merger-far-over

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Article in Democracy Now! by Staff, 6/15/26

Headline:  “DOJ Approves Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger Amid Fears Trump Allies Will Tighten Grip on Media”

“The Trump administration has approved media conglomerate Paramount’s $111 billion bid to acquire Warner Bros., one year after Paramount and Skydance Media signed a similar merger that placed Paramount’s movie studio, streaming service and broadcast network CBS under the control of the multibillionaire Ellison family, founders of Skydance and close allies of Donald Trump. The Warner Bros. merger, if completed, would bring an even larger slice of the industry’s market share into Ellison control. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.democracynow.org/2026/6/15/paramount_warner_bros_merger_david_ellison