Journalism

Journalists from CNN, the Associated Press and E&E News, a publication that covers energy and environment issues, were barred by the Environmental Protection Agency from entering an event, which was focused on harmful chemicals in water. A handful of other reporters from other news organizations, however, were allowed inside the event for Director Pruitt's opening remarks after having been previously invited by the agency the day before. Jahan Wilcox, an EPA spokesman, said the agency barred reporters from attending due to space limitations inside the venue.

Major news organizations raised objections to Facebook's plans to treat ads promoting political news coverage the same as political advocacy ads. Under changes Facebook will roll out May 22 aimed at combating the spread of political misinformation, all Facebook ads featuring political content will get a “Paid for by” label and would carry a disclaimer. Publishers say these new rules are too broad. These political messaging labels would also appear on "sponsored" posts that news organizations buy to amplify the reach of an article or video on the political news of the day.

Debate over the so-called Fairness Doctrine was renewed at a Senate Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee hearing May 17 when Sen Joe Manchin (D-WV) quizzed Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai on the issue. The hearing was wrapping up when Sen Manchin interrupted the closing comments of subcommittee chairman Sen James Lankford (R-OK) to ask if he could say something more. That something was suggesting that the current "toxicity" in the political arena could be traced to the doctrine's demise.

On April 16, 2018, Sen Dick Durbin (D-IL) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai regarding the merger between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media Company. "In making its determination whether the proposed merger to allow a single company to reach 72 percent of U.S. television households serves the public interest, I urge the FCC to carefully consider Sinclair's conduct and the significant harm it poses," Sen Durbin wrote.

Pro-Trump media is spreading across the US, disseminating Trumpian rhetoric about fake news and mainstream media bias through every medium. The big picture, from Rodney Benson, chair of NYU's Department of Media, Culture, and Communication: "Many of the media moving toward subscriptions have disproportionately left-liberal audiences. ... While liberal media draw their circles ever tighter around themselves (via paywalls, high-level content, etc.), conservatives are fighting to extend their mass reach."

The TV news has a familiar feel to it in west-central Pennsylvania. News stories broadcast on WJAC, the NBC affiliate in town, have appeared on nearby station WATM, the ABC affiliate. And many of those stories are broadcast on WWCP, the Fox station here, as well.

White House leaks come in all shapes and sizes: small leaks, real-time leaks, weaponized leaks, historical leaks. Sensitive Oval Office conversations have leaked, and so have talks in cabinet meetings and the Situation Room. You name it, they leak it. Why does this White House leak like it’s going out of style?

"Why doesn’t the Fake News Media state that the Trump Administration’s Anti-Trust Division has been, and is, opposed to the AT&T purchase of Time Warner in a currently ongoing Trial. Such a disgrace in reporting!" President Trump tweeted on May 11.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the Trump administration is “committed to a free press” after the president threatened to strip reporters of their credentials. Sanders said during her daily press briefing that “this is one of the most accessible White Houses,” a sentiment she insisted reporters share. “We are committed to a free press. We demonstrate that every single day,” she said. But Sanders chastised news organizations for what she said were false reports. “At the same time, the press has the responsibility to put out accurate information.”

The Media Research Center says that 91 percent of network news coverage of President Donald Trump from January through April 2018 was negative. [The Media Research Center, please note, is part of the conglomerate of conservative enterprises funded by Robert Mercer and his family, the folks that also funded Cambridge Analytica, Breitbart and former White House adviser Stephen K. Bannon.] To which President Trump replied: "The Fake News is working overtime.