Editor’s Words Still Ring True

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Article in Poynter by Staff, 7/4/26

Headline: “A message about the importance of the free press”

Subhead:  “On America’s 250th birthday, we reprint the words of the late Poynter chairman Eugene C. Patterson”

“Eugene C. Patterson fought Nazis as a tank platoon leader in World War II. He fought for civil rights as a crusading editor at The Atlanta Constitution in the 1960s. He fought for high standards and ethical journalism in all his roles as a newspaper editor, including as CEO and chairman of the St. Petersburg Times. . .”

“He wrote these words, which in 1984 were published in a book by the Society for Professional Journalists. . .” [words are above]

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/ethics-trust/2026/eugene-patterson-free-press-message/

Rt. Wing Media Worry About Cuba

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Article in Media Matters by Janos Balazs, 7/2/26

Headline: “Right-wing Spanish-language media caution that attacking Cuba won’t be as straightforward as the Maduro raid”

Subhead: “One guest said any potential U.S. military action in Cuba ‘would have to be much larger than Venezuela’ “

“As tensions have risen between the U.S. and Cuba, some Spanish-language right-wing media voices have cautioned that regime change in Cuba won’t be as easy as President Donald Trump’s raid to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in early January. While hosts have generally expressed support for such actions, they’ve claimed that the Cuban government is ‘more closed off’ than Venezuela; that former Cuban leader Raúl Castro has ‘the whole army as personal security’; and that ‘there is no Delcy Rodríguez’ in Cuba, referring to the former vice president of Venezuela who replaced Maduro. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/spanish-language-media/right-wing-spanish-language-media-caution-attacking-cuba-wont-be

The Bowing Media, Gets Them Nothing

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Article in Daily Kos by Oliver Willis, 7/3/26

Headline:  “Mainstream media gets nothing from caving to Trump”

“But soon after Trump’s victory, the press—which already spent years normalizing Trump’s racist and corrupt behavior—seemed ready to capitulate even further, in some instances completely compromising their independence while attempting to curry favor with him and his most ardent supporters. . .”

“And even when the mainstream media carries Trump’s water, he has still relentlessly attacked them, constantly lashing out at the “fake news” and encouraging his supporters to do the same. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/7/3/800063207/media/mainstream-media-gets-nothing-from-caving-to-trump/

 

Fleeing Hungry Hyena

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 7/2/26

Headline: “Opinion | CNN’s uncertain future claims its first major on-air talent”

Subhead: “Paula Reid is leaving for MS NOW after reportedly raising concerns about Paramount Skydance’s pending takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery“

“Paramount hasn’t yet taken over Warner Bros. Discovery and CNN. Bari Weiss isn’t overseeing CNN — at least not yet.

“But CNN has already lost a major on-air talent.

“Paula Reid, the network’s chief legal affairs correspondent, is leaving to join MS NOW. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/paula-reid-exit-cnn-msnow-bari-weiss/

Rt. Wing Media has Pregnant Pause

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Article in Media Matters by Reed McMaster & Torri Lonergan 7/2/26

Headline:  “Right-wing media target pregnant and female travelers following SCOTUS birthright citizenship ruling”

Subhead:  “Pundits suggested refusing pregnant travelers visas, deporting “birthing-aged” women, and even sterilizing travelers entering the United States”

“After the Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship, right-wing media proposed draconian policies to prevent travelers potentially giving birth in the United States. The policies demanded by right-wing media — which almost exclusively target female migrants — were often proposed under the guise of combating birth tourism, which the U.S. already has enforcement tools in place to prevent. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/supreme-court/right-wing-media-target-pregnant-and-female-travelers-following-scotus-birthright

Justice With Satire

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Article in AP by Frey Collins, 7/1/26

Headline:   “The Onion’s new parody of Alex Jones’ Infowars starts with $100,000 to Sandy Hook families”

“The satirical news site The Onion isn’t waiting to take possession of Infowars to launch a parody of Alex Jones ’ conspiracy platform.

“More than a year after first trying to buy Infowars, The Onion on Thursday will debut a send-up under its own website with plans to give some of the revenue to families of the victims in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

“The families have still received no money from Jones since courts ordered him to pay more than $1 billion for falsely calling the 2012 shooting a hoax. . .’

Read the full article at:

https://apnews.com/article/infowars-alex-jones-newtown-shooting-onion-e38e5447435e6dc117e1ce996a58ac5c

Media Maintaining Illusions?

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Article in The Bulwark by Tim Miller and John Dickerson, 6/29/26

Headline:  “John Dickerson: When the Media Helps Rewrite Reality”

“The most powerful person in the world repeatedly creates his own narrative about a news event despite what we can see and hear with our own eyes and our own ears. Media organizations that don’t fight like hell in response are failing at doing their most basic job—and they’re failing the country and our democracy as well. That’s what CBS News did when it settled Donald Trump’s frivolous 60 Minutes lawsuit and when it tried to change the story of the Minneapolis protests to benefit Trump. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/john-dickerson-when-the-media-helps

Different Questions for Different Areas?

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Article in Al Jazerra by Patrick Gathera 6/30/26

Headline: “At the World Cup, the media has set up a moral checkpoint”

Subhead : “While US and European players just get to play football, Global South footballers are questioned about politics.”

” ‘Why is it that African teams and Middle Eastern teams have to answer for what their governments are doing but European teams don’t?’ South African comedian Trevor Noah asked recently during a World Cup watch party.

“He was reacting to the questions Western journalists had lobbed at Iranian players following their games. But the question goes far beyond Iran. It speaks to a familiar hierarchy in global journalism: Some players are allowed to be athletes. Others are turned into ambassadors, defendants and moral exhibits. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2026/6/30/at-the-world-cup-the-media-has-set-up-a-moral-checkpoint

O’Reilly Decides Who is a Journalist?

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Article in The Wrap by Jacob Bryant, 7/1/26

Headline: “Tucker Carlson Are Only Anti-Trump Because They’re ‘Personalities,’ Not Journalists.  ‘I’m not in it for clicks,’ he adds”

“. . .While talking with Piers Morgan on ‘Piers Morgan Uncensored,‘ O’Reilly was asked why he thought Kelly, Carlson and even people like Marjorie Taylor Greene had all started attack Trump more often. . .”

“O’Reilly thought that it all came down to one very important thing: Kelly and Tucker were personalities and not real journalists.

“ ‘Well, look, I can’t speak for them as far as their motivation is concerned. I can tell you that they’re not journalists! None of them are,’ he said. ‘They are personalities and very successful personalities. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thewrap.com/media-platforms/journalism/bill-o-reilly-slams-megyn-kelly-tucker-carlson-anti-trump/

Murdoch Media Menace?

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Article in The Guardian by Amanda Meade, 7/1/26

Headline: ” ‘This is the dark art’: new book claims pattern of personal attacks by Murdoch media empire”

Subhead: “In a book dedicated to ‘the bullied’, two former News Corp journalists outline a behavior pattern they call ‘getting Murdoched’, which they say harms individuals and public debate”

“‘Murdoched’, a term Dodd and Ricketson coin for the book, means to be ‘editorially attacked when one’s ideas or deeds do not accord with the media proprietor’s programs or publications.

“The book examines ‘murdoching’ across the US, the UK and Australia, including dozens of interviews with prominent people and ordinary citizens about the way they were treated in newspapers, such as the Sun and the New York Post, and cable television network Fox News.

Dedicated to ‘the bullied’, the book focuses squarely on Murdoch’s ‘way of doing journalism’ Dodd and Ricketson write. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jul/01/andrew-dodd-matthew-ricketson-getting-murdoch-book-bullying-factory