TV News LIES

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) launched a probe into ABC’s “The View” after the program held an interview with Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, according to multiple outlets.

Reuters reported Saturday that, per a source, the FCC began an investigation on whether “The View” broke rules for equal time when it comes to interviewing political candidates.

Fox News, which was the first to report on the probe, reported that the investigation was prompted by Talarico’s “The View” appearance, according to an FCC source.

In January, the agency shook up its rules, which exempted some late-night and daytime talk shows from having to give equal airtime to opposing political candidates.

“Importantly, the FCC has not been presented with any evidence that the interview portion of any late night or daytime television talk show program on air presently would qualify for the bona fide news exemption,” the FCC said in a public notice last month.

More...

Washington Post CEO and publisher Will Lewis has tendered his resignation, according to reports.

Matt Viser, the Post's White House bureau chief, shared a screenshot of the email that newsroom staffed received in a Saturday, Feb. 7 X post.

"All - After two years of transformation at The Washinton Post, now is the right time for me to step aside," Lewis said. "I want to thank Jeff Bezos for his support and leadership throughout my tenure as CEO and Publisher. The institution could not have a better owner."

The announcement comes days after sweeping layoffs hit the Washington, D.C. based newsroom, causing hundreds of job cuts and the shuttering of multiple desks.

Jeff D'Onofrio, chief financial officer of the newspaper owned by Jeff Bezos, will serve as acting publisher and CEO, the Post said, according to Reuters.

More...

The Washington Post’s international desks and reporters who covered Silicon Valley — including the one assigned to Jeff Bezos’ sprawling e-commerce empire — were among the hardest hit when the capital’s most storied newspaper announced sweeping layoffs on Wednesday.

The bloodbath left the Post’s newsroom questioning the paper’s future, with one anonymous laid-off reporter telling HuffPost: “Are we a global news organization or do we just want to be Politico now?”

Matt Murray, the Post’s executive editor, said in an all-staff Zoom call that the publication would undergo “a broad strategic reset” leading to “a significant staff reduction.”

In practice, this means big hits to local coverage, closing the sports section “in its current form,” eliminating the books section, shrinking the international team, restructuring the metro section, flattening the photography team and suspending its “Post Reports” podcast ― effectively gutting a legendary newsroom famed for breaking the Watergate scandal as it looks to respond to shifts in news consumption.

More...

The extraordinary arrests of the journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort last week are a dangerous escalation in the Trump administration’s attacks on the press and pose a clear threat to first amendment freedoms.

Mere weeks after federal law enforcement executed a search warrant targeting a Washington Post reporter, the justice department is now pursuing criminal charges against two independent journalists for reporting from the scene of a protest in Minnesota citing – ironically – federal laws intended to protect the exercise of constitutional rights. These indictments are an affront to the first amendment of the US constitution.

On 18 January, protesters entered the Cities church in St Paul, where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official is a pastor, and interrupted a service with chants of “ICE out.” By all indications, Lemon, a former CNN host, and Fort, a local journalist, entered the church to cover the demonstration against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities.

Being at the scene of a breaking news event to report as it unfolds is the job of journalists, and is activity protected by the first amendment, which expressly protects “freedom ... of the press”. But according to the federal indictment unsealed on Friday, the justice department is accusing Lemon and Fort of conspiring to deprive others of their constitutional rights – a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a fine, or both – and with allegedly obstructing the free exercise of religion in a place of worship. These charges are an attempt to criminalize journalism.

It is unprecedented for the justice department to invoke these laws to punish journalistic activity, and there is no basis for doing so that would be consistent with the first amendment. Indeed, before the indictment, a federal magistrate judge in Minnesota had refused to sign an arrest warrant for Lemon. In a letter to a federal appeals court regarding the magistrate judge’s decision, chief judge Patrick Schiltz of the federal district court in Minneapolis, a George W Bush-appointee, noted that Lemon was a journalist and that “[t]here was no evidence” that he “engaged in any criminal behavior or conspired to do so”.

More...

Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing this weekend after she didn’t show up to church Sunday morning near her home in the Tucson, Ariz., area.

Here is everything we know about her disappearance:

What’s the latest on the investigation?

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said during a news conference on Monday that Nancy Guthrie was last seen Saturday evening around 9 p.m. Her family reported her missing around noon Sunday after she did not show up to church. 

“We believe now, after we processed that crime scene, that we do in fact have a crime scene, and we‘re asking the community‘s help,” Nanos said. 

Nancy Guthrie did not suffer from dementia and had full cognitive function, though she had physical limitations and was not able to walk more than 50 yards on her own, the sheriff said.

Police were combing through hours of surveillance video at the home and imploring neighbors in Guthrie’s area to do the same on Monday.

The FBI is aware of the case, NBC News reported, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, along with homicide detectives, were assisting with the search, according to the sheriff. 

Nanos expressed urgency as he said Nancy Guthrie needs medication that if not taken within 24 hours of her disappearance could be “fatal.”

More...

Gaza's Rafah border crossing with Egypt was busy with activity Sunday as Israel said that limited travel to and from the territory is set to resume after years of near-complete isolation. Reopening the border crossing is a key step as the Israel-Hamas ceasefire moves ahead.

Israel announced Sunday that the crossing has opened in a test. COGAT, the Israeli military agency that controls aid to Gaza, said in a statement that the crossing was actively being prepared for fuller operation, adding that residents of Gaza would begin to pass through the crossing once preparations were complete.

Palestinian security officers passed through the crossing's Egyptian gate and headed toward the Palestinian gate to join an EU mission that will be supervising exit and entry, said an Egyptian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk to the media. Ambulances also crossed through the Egyptian gate, the official added.

The head of the new Palestinian administrative committee governing Gaza's daily affairs has said travel in both directions would start Monday.

More...