It was always a political apointment. What else could it be? Bari Weiss did not qualify for the job of running CBS, except ideologically. But that's not a newsroom virtue, it's normally treated as a vice. Thus the job she was appointed to requires conflict with the newsroom, via accusations of bias.
In my view, he is not thinking about that problem at all. There are no ideas there.
The very few things he has said about it are kindergarden-level, except that he is high on owning CNN and CBS, he wants them to remain independent, he wants them to be trusted, and he's aiming for the middle.
Very heavy. The debt story is the most underplayed in the coverage that I see every day.
The New York Times today:
"Presidents have long sidestepped Congress to launch limited military strikes. But Trump’s unilateral decision to start a war against Iran sets a new precedent for presidential power, Charlie Savage writes."
Simple way to avoid "both sides" — or "all presidents" — do it.
Most observers would say that "political" in this context primarily means pleasing an audience of one.
There is no evidence that the appointment of Bari Weiss is winning elections, although you could say that the dismantling of CBS News helps the GOP.
Oliver Darcy comments on new mogul man David Ellison.
"His well-rehearsed talking points are, really, meaningless platitudes. Every news organization wants to be in the 'trust business.' Every news organization wants to be in the 'truth business.'"
There are reasons why the trust is gone.
Understood. 😎
Agreed.
Oliver Darcy comments on new mogul man David Ellison.
"His well-rehearsed talking points are, really, meaningless platitudes. Every news organization wants to be in the 'trust business.' Every news organization wants to be in the 'truth business.'"
There are reasons why the trust is gone.
Thanks, Cate.
Can't answer that. I am not there any more.
😎
Even the obvious needs a name.
"She doesn't give a shit about the objectivity debate, nor do the Ellisons."
That's media reporter Dylan Byers at his newsletter.
The takeaway is this: It was always a political apointment. It had to be. Bari Weiss did not qualify for the job of running CBS, except ideologically.
From my essay, "The plan is to have no plan." May 2020. pressthink.org/2020/05/the-...
Thanks, Tim.
It is, but there is a little more to it. When it collaborates with a local newsroom. ProPublica not only adds to the reporting power, it shares "reporting recipes" — how to do what we did — so that local newsrooms can benefit from earlier discoveries.
www.niemanlab.org/2014/08/how-...
Right.
This is why we need big newsrooms with lots of reporters who can dig into things. www.niemanlab.org/2026/03/with...
Yes. They're not "speaking journalism," but it's not clear that they know that.
Yeah. This is one direction of my thinking.
Thank you. 😎
CNN, CBS and the ideological creep of both newsrooms is something I am following closely, in the belief that their Orbanization may already be underway.
If my language is more cautious than yours, I can live with the criticism that follows.
view.newsletters.cnn.com/messages/177...
This morning @status.news produces a long list of his attacks on press freedom before asking:
"Should the WHCA treat Trump as just another president participating in a century-old Washington tradition—or as someone who blatantly attacks First Amendment freedoms at every turn?"
Read to remember...
Thanks, Alex. I will try to listen to that.
"Look," they are saying, "there was a time when we could keep Jennings out. But we no longer live in that time."
"There's a politics to everything, including the fight for a free press. We may have lost the space where Jennings now thrives, but there's a lot left of the old CNN." /3
A bit more about CNN's behavior with Jennings: What are the bosses telling us by letting it be?
If we frame it as an Orbanization move — and we should — they are saying: "We have to concede some territory to forces injurious to our cause. One name for the space we have lost is Scott Jennings." /2
Meanwhile, CNN rages at a journalism problem it created. Goes by the name of Jennings.,@status.news reports.
www.status.news/p/scott-jenn...
White House Correspondents: "We're happy the president has accepted our invitation and look foward to hosting him."
Trump: "In honor of our nation's 250th Birthday, and the fact that these "correspondents" now admit that I am truly one of the Greatest Presidents in the History of Our country..."
"Not asking you to click on any link, just subscribe to a real news organization with real journalists doing firsthand, fact-based reporting."
A.G. Sulzberger, publisher of The New York Times, urging people to support "original reporting" wherever they find it.
www.niemanlab.org/2026/03/new-...
