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There seems to be a lot of news — both good and bad — about news. Sinclair is eliminating local news in five U.S. markets. Tucker Carlson’s departure translates to fewer viewer for Fox News’ 8 p.m. ET time slot. Paramount staffing cuts mean the end of MTV’s 36-year-old MTV News. BuzzFeed is dropping its Pulitzer Prize-winning digital news website. Gawker is closing just 18 months after its reboot. Vice is headed into bankruptcy; it closed Vice World News at the of April.
On the plus side and as first announced in TVNewsCheck, Emily Barr, former CEO-president of Graham Media, is part of the Maine Journalism Foundation Board working to purchase a newspaper group in that state. Also on the local front, Axios is now producing daily newsletters for 29 U.S. communities with the 30th planned for San Diego.
However, most of the activity is in national news. The Washington Post launched its FAST (free ad-supported television) channel, Washington Post Television, with coverage of King Charles III’s coronation. Then there’s The Messenger, a digital news startup from Jimmy Finkelstein, formerly an owner of The Hill and of The Hollywood Reporter, which is set for a “May 15 launch in beta with 200 employees.”
News Needs Help
All of this activity masks a fundamental problem. Most Americans don’t trust U.S. media and a majority blame it for our divided nation. Just over a month ago, The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public
