- What Authoritarianism Gets Wrong
by
Gord Hotchkiss
(Media Insider on
01/27/2026)
I have no idea why this is in Media Insider, but it's interesting how often MP staff will post a commentary without waiting for additional information.
These are not "protection patrols" and they are not peaceful protestors. They are agitators who put the public at large in danger when they block the roads and impede their fellow citizens from going about their business.
CBS News has confirmed that Alex Pretti was caught on camera, with his pistol in his waistband, one week earlier spitting on federal agents and damaging federal vehicles as they attempt to drive away. He wasn't there to document. He was there to provoke and impede. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/video-alex-pretti-scuffle-federal-agents-minneapolis-11-days-before-his-death/
Renee Good was parked parallel in the middle of the street for almost four minutes on an icy day forcing fellow citizens to navigate around her vehicle.
Neither she nor Alex deserved to die, and when people claim the agents are not trained, they are correct. The agents were trained to deal with illegal criminals. The agents were never trained to deal with their fellow citizens physically trying to obstruct them and assault them.
The reason the country is split on this is because legacy media only shows what they want to show to push a narrative. Social media affords everyone to see with their own eyes and judge.
These deportation arrests are happening all over America without incident. But let's just ignore that Minneapolis' governor and the city's mayor is actively encouraging their consitutents to "fight" and to "resist" and that rhetoric like ghestapo and Nazis doesn't play a role in this irresponsible behavior.
You have a right to peacefully protest. You do not have the right to block traffic or put your hands on a federal agent and it seems like only the consitituents in Minneapolis don't understand this. The government doesn't send 10 agents to arrest your gardener.
The tactics of deporting people hasn't changed under Trump. The politics of a lunatic fringe and an irresponsible legacy media and local politicans have changed and are being allowed to promote falsehoods and hate. Fortunately or unfortunately, as time passes, more video and facts present themselves to allow all of us to see the lies or incomplete reporting legacy news outlets disribute.
- No View Vs. AI Overviews: Google Announces An Opt-Out Policy
by
Ray Schultz
(Publishing Insider on
01/28/2026)
It would be great if consumers/viewers/subscribers could opt out of seeing AI generated content too.
- Shy Of DEI: Media Firms Follow Trump's Dictums On Hiring, Report Alleges
by
Ray Schultz
(Publishing Insider on
01/21/2026)
The implementation of diversity and inclusion is still very much in practice. The overt promotion of "DEI" and practice of equity are two totally different things.
I've looked at government job openings and I've looked at job openings across a multitude of industries - including the media industry.
The promotion may be focused on merit and achievement, but the guidlines for hiring is anti-discriminatory.
5 USC § 2301 (Merit System Principles) U.S. Government:"All employees and applicants for employment should receive fair and equitable treatment in all aspects of personnel management without regard to political affiliation, race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or handicapping condition ." 5 USC § 2302 (Prohibited Personnel Practices):This law explicitly makes it illegal for any federal official to discriminate for or against any employee or applicant on the basis of protected classes (race, color, religion, sex, etc.)
Just because companies are not promoting DEI does not mean they are not practiciing DEI. Many companies still promote "a work environment that embraces diversity and inclusion" in job applications.
You can't be upset at one administration for not promoting it and forcing it on corporate America, but never seemed to be upset when the previous administration was strong arming corporate America to promote it. This was/is very much a political effort. The general public wasn't screaing at corporate America to include equity in its hiring practices.
- The Boy Who Prompted Wolf
by
Joe Mandese
(Red, White & Blog on
01/16/2026)
These "altered images" you refer to was typically standard stuff for print - make sure the lighting is good or alter the exposure or contrast to show more of what was actually there. The closest I'd argue would be airbrushing. I worked at an agency at the beginning of my career and once the shots were chosen by the art director, out went the negatives so they could air brush wrinkles and imperfections so models would look 10 years younger with perfect skin and no blemishes. Personally, I'd consider airbrushing a bit closer to altering images for affect than anything.
AI is a completely fabricated image or video. They're not comparable. It's fabricating something out of thin air which, in too many cases, is being presented as real.
Finally, congrats on meeting the Big Guy - I'm sure it will be a memory that will not soon fade.
BTW, did you ask him to guest-pen a future RW&B blog? I'm sure it would be good for clicks :)
- Can MTV Make A Comeback... With 'Digitally Curated' Music?
by
Wayne Friedman
(TV Watch on
01/13/2026)
I wonder if Freston spent an hour with YouTube Music, Spotify, or Pandora.
What about presenting the music contextually -- in terms of "focus," "workout," "dinner" and "sleep" specific areas? Perhaps we can think of MTV as an AI-helped digital streamer curating and personalizing music.
These already exist on those platforms, and I'm a big fan of YT Music recommendations based on context or genre or activity. Celebrity playlists and community playlists have existed on these platforms for...ever!
Seems like MTV is still a victim of it's past mistakes and woefully behind in its approach.
- With Colbert In Final Months On CBS, 'TV Blog' Asks: What Happened?
by
Adam Buckman
(TVBlog on
01/09/2026)
"Like all of the late-night talk shows of the last 10 years or so, "The Late Show" is aimed at the left, not the right, thereby alienating half the country."
The first incorrect assumption is that "all the late-night talk shows in the last 10 years" are aiming towards a policial leaning audience.
The incorrect statement is that Colbert is "alienating half the country" because Gallup and Pew consistently show that at least 1/3 of Americans identify as moderate or independent.
When you open a show and spew the same, repetetive hard left leaning diatribe hating the republican party and/or the president, you just alienated 66% of your potential audience who doesn't care if you have intellectuals or movie stars or musicians as guests - they just want to be entertained.
A ten minute monologue telling you why you should be mad every night before you go to bed is not something the audience wants.
And it makes no business sense at all to have 200 staff to run a show driven by an ideological jester. Take out the band, camera people, and lighting folks, what is everyone else doing? Do you need 10 writers for a 10 minute monologue every night? What are the other 150 people doing?
People want to be entertained and chill and relax and laugh before they go to sleep - not be yelled at and lectured about the same political issue(s) night after night. And why an advertiser would want to be associated with such "comedic" vitrol every night is head scratching.
- MrBeast To Feature Starbucks In Upcoming Reality Show Season
by
Colin Kirkland
(MediaDailyNews on
12/29/2025)
It's unlikely Beast's massive YouTube audience is going to fork over $$$ to watch Netflix when he has so much content on his own channel. Starbucks must have paid him a sick amount of money because even he knows that any long term benefits to Starbucks are unlikely and he gets a boatload of money and doesn't offend his YT audience with such a blatantly unecessary plug for the chain.
- '60 Minutes' And 'Integrity': Where Do Viewers And Brands Figure In?
by
Wayne Friedman
(TV Watch on
12/29/2025)
Weiss' internal memo which was made public was very clear about "what was missing" and why she felt the story was biased and where it needed to be stretched before it could be aired. Where are you getting your (mis)informatiion?
- The Most Red - Er, I Mean Read - White & Blogs
by
Joe Mandese
(Red, White & Blog on
12/29/2025)
Referring to yourself as a "political media trade reporter" is pretty rich. I don't see reporting. I see lots of biased commentary, but I don't see any actual journalism.
Would love to see the numbers behind your most read posts which are commentaries vs. actual MP news.
Transparency and all that.
- Misinformer Of The Year: Nick Fuentes
by
Joe Mandese
(Red, White & Blog on
12/19/2025)
Nice to see Mandese closing out the year with his bias, double-standards, and own misinformation.
Why does the right need to condemn Fuentes instead of just ignoring him? Progressive poiticians ignore Maxine Waters, the hosts of the View, and HasanAbi because they are extremists and nut jobs. So why are conservatives held to a different standard needing to condemn right wing wackos?
And get your facts straight - JD Vance called Fuentes a loser and condemned him well over a year ago and also said he can "eat sh-t" this past weekend because he doesn't think the guy deserves any airtime. Ben Shapiro also called Tucker Carlson irresponsible for platforming Fuentes and others that he and other "right wing" entertainers consider vile and harmful in their rhetoric.
This is a typical Madese piece filled iwth accusation that ignores facts and gives his own politcal party a pass while holding his opposition to a standard he refuses to hold to the left.
For a guy who claims to be independent, you always find a way to condemn conservatives but never find fault with progressives.