Media

Israel Seeks To Shut Down Al Jazeera’s Local Bureau

Reuters reports: Israel’s communications minister said on Sunday he was seeking a possible closure of Al Jazeera’s local bureau, and accused the Qatari news station of pro-Hamas incitement and of exposing Israeli soldiers to potential attack from Gaza. The proposal to shut down Al Jazeera had been vetted by Israeli security officials and was being vetted by legal experts, Shlomo …

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Netflix To Open “Eat, Shop, And Play” Retail Locations

Bloomberg News reports: Netflix Inc. plans to open new destinations where fans can immerse themselves in the worlds of their favorite TV shows, shop for clothing, eat themed food and maybe even try a Squid Game obstacle course. Dubbed Netflix House, the venues will feature a mix of retail, dining and live experiences, according to Josh Simon, the company’s vice …

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NC Radio Station Refuses To Air “Non-Biblical” Opera

NPR reports: A listener-supported radio station in North Carolina, WCPE, is planning to withhold the broadcast of six contemporary operas this season from New York’s Metropolitan Opera, because of the station management’s objections to the operas’ content. It is a classical music controversy that echoes larger, nationwide culture war debates. WCPE’s protest comes at a time when the Metropolitan Opera …

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MSNBC Host Addresses Senator Father’s Indictment

The Washington Post reports: MSNBC anchor Alicia Menendez addressed the criminal charges filed against her father, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), on her show Saturday evening, telling viewers she will not be covering the case — but saying that it deserves coverage. “Last week, a grand jury indicted U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez,” Menendez told viewers at the beginning of the show, …

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Trial In Dominion’s Newsmax Lawsuit Set For Sept 2024

The Huffington Post reports: The $1.6 billion defamation case Dominion Voting Systems brought against Newsmax following the 2020 presidential election is set to go on trial in late September 2024, a judge ruled. The voting technology company sued the right-wing network in August 2021, alleging Newsmax deliberately made knowingly false statements regarding the 2020 presidential race and Dominion’s voting machines …

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Bloomberg: Disney In Discussions To Sell ABC Network

Bloomberg News reports: Walt Disney Co. has held exploratory talks about selling its ABC network and TV stations to local broadcaster Nexstar Media Group Inc., according to people familiar with the discussions. The talks are preliminary and haven’t involved a specific valuation. Disney, in a statement, said that while it’s still considering a variety of strategic options for its traditional …

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Newsmax Host: The Govt Shuts Down Every Weekend

“I actually love Washington during a government shutdown. I think it’s great. There’s less traffic and it’s a much nicer town during a government shutdown. And honestly, you know, the government shuts down every Saturday and Sunday and nobody panics. But this is all political theater. It has been for years and years. What happened to touting Bidenomics, though? Because, …

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Chuck Todd Signs Off As Moderator Of Meet The Press

“On my first day on the job at Meet The Press, I was handed an audience show survey of Sunday show viewers and the Number One reason folks said they tuned in was not who the person was behind the chair or the guest. It was simply to get educated. “So for nearly a decade, I’ve had the honor of …

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Fox Fires Top Executive Over “Business Misconduct”

The Washington Post reports: Fox News has fired veteran executive John Finley after determining that he violated the company’s conduct standards. Finley, who helped develop many of the network’s biggest shows and had once been Sean Hannity’s executive producer, was put on leave from his role as executive vice president of development in recent weeks while an investigation was conducted …

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Newsmax Host: Arrest All Drag Story Hour Supporters

“We have no border. And did you see this report? It’s an 800 percent increase of illegal Chinese migrants coming through Mexico. Gordon Chang thinks that’s the first wave of saboteurs, possibly here to wage war. It’s serious. “Two years ago, Afghanistan — it was tough, but Joe blew it entirely, entirely. Two years ago, we lost Afghanistan. The Taliban …

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Newsmax Host On Death Threats To Judge: So What?

“Panel after panel, breaking news. Oh my goodness gracious, a voicemail. Now, that’s very unfortunate, but it’s also life in the fast lane. It happens. You know, famous people tend to get threats. “It’s one of the reasons back when we had phone books, you couldn’t look up Dustin Hoffman’s phone number in the phone book because weirdos would call …

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Newsmax Told Ramaswamy To Pay For More Coverage

Semafor reports: If Vivek Ramaswamy wants to appear on Newsmax, he should pay to do it. That was the message that network chief Chris Ruddy delivered to the Republican presidential candidate during a private call earlier this summer, according to two people to whom the candidate described the conversation. Ramaswamy had complained that the right-leaning network was sticking him in …

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Newsmax To Trump: Skip Fox Debate, Hold Event Here

Media Matters reports: On July 12, Newsmax hosts Eric Bolling and Dick Morris floated the idea that former President Donald Trump should skip the upcoming Republican primary debate on Fox News and instead “schedule a town hall or some other forum on Newsmax, to compete with Fox News” in the same time slot. Both Morris and Bolling are former Fox …

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Major Newspaper Chain Deletes All Comments Sections

Axios reports: MediaNews Group, the local newspaper company owned by Alden Global Capital, has shut down all of its comment sections as of July 1st, due to difficulties in moderating them, executives told Axios. MediaNews Group, also known as Digital First Media, is home to hundreds of weekly newspapers and dozens of daily newspapers, including major regional outlets such as …

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TV Station Fires Four Over Anti-Gay Pride Month Memo

The Desk reports: Nexstar Media Group has fired one of its Michigan-based television news directors who orchestrated a memo urging reporters under his watch to lessen their coverage of Pride Month events because the stories were upsetting some viewers. On Thursday, WOOD-TV (Channel 8, NBC) News Director Stanton Tang learned of his dismissal during a one-on-one meeting with the station’s …

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REPORT: Carlson Raising Funds For New Media Venture

Mediaite reports: Tucker Carlson is reportedly raising funds for a new media venture in the wake of his Fox News ousting, and many of his former staffers at the network are reuniting with him for the project, according to a new report. Puck News’s Dylan Byers reported on Wednesday that Carlson is currently raising funds for the venture and that …

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Smartmatic Subpoenas Emails Of Newsmax Staffers

Rolling Stone reports: Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit against Fox News laid bare how the network communicated behind the scenes about broadcasting 2020 election misinformation, ultimately leading the network to fork over a massive settlement. Newsmax could be next, as voting technology company Smartmatic has subpoenaed several of the right-wing cable network’s current and former employees for work and personal …

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Michigan TV Station’s News Director Tells Reporters To Pull Back On LGBTQ Stories: They “Upset” The Cultists

The Desk reports: The news director of a Michigan NBC affiliate ordered her reporters to ease up on coverage of LGBT-focused stories during Pride Month, saying the news pieces were upsetting some of the station’s conservative viewers. The memo, penned by WOOD-TV (Channel 8) Assistant News Director Amy Fox, followed several reports that focused on a celebration hosted in the …

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Fox Sends Carlson Legal Threat Over His Twitter Show

Axios reports: Fox News has sent a “cease and desist” letter to Tucker Carlson as he ramps up a competing series on Twitter that drew a combined 169 million views for its first two episodes, Axios has learned. The contract battle between Fox and its former top host — who was taken off the air in April, after the network’s …

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Report: CNN’s CEO Out After Trump Town Hall Debacle

Puck News reports: After a year of leadership missteps, programming misfires, a disastrous Trump town hall and the near-total decimation of staff morale in the wake of a chilling all-access Atlantic story, Chris Licht will be vacating the C.E.O. position. In the next 48 hours, I’m told, Warner Bros. Discovery will announce that Licht will be stepping down as chairman …

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