Jon Passantino

Trump referenced a weekend conversation with Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, and he alluded to being told by Kotek that the reality in Portland is different from what’s being portrayed to him. “I spoke to the governor, she was very nice,” Trump said. “But I said, ‘Well wait a minute, am I watching things on television that are different from what’s happening? My people tell me different.’ They are literally attacking and there are fires all over the place…it looks like terrible.”

Trump told NBC on Sunday that he saw some Portland riot footage on Fox and thought it reflected current events.

It didn't. It was 5 years old, from the George Floyd aftermath.

And we learned that due to the diligence of a local TV reporter, who got the transcript.

www.cjr.org/laurels-and-...

WaPo’s Ad Chief Wavers Johanna Mayer-Jones, the executive tasked with helming The Post’s ad business, has been weighing her future at the paper—raising the prospect of another high-profile departure at a precarious moment.

Scoop: The Washington Post's ad chief has been eying an exit from the newspaper. It's an exit that, should it happen, would spell big problems for Jeff Bezos' already embattled outlet.

Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/washington...

Status Goes to Washington Senators convened a forum on Donald Trump’s assault on the media, with Status called as a witness to the threats facing the industry.

On Monday, I testified at a forum held by Senators Blumenthal and Warren on Trump's efforts to stifle free speech.

Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/free-speec...

Predicament at the Pentagon News organizations face a looming deadline from Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon, which is demanding they sign restrictive new rules, or risk being expelled from the building entirely.

The Pentagon is demanding news outlets sign a policy not to report on anything without its permission.

@status.news has learned no major outlet, including Fox, plans to sign Hegseth's pledge, setting up a showdown just as top military brass arrive for a rare meeting www.status.news/p/pentagon-p...

White House photo op for the president's granddaughter's new $130 sweatshirt line

The Trump Bibles in the classroom guy is out

After dozens of educators nationwide were fired or suspended for social media posts about Charlie Kirk, several have now filed federal lawsuits, saying these schools violated their First Amendment rights

www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

YouTube video by Jimmy Kimmel Live Jimmy Kimmel is Back!

As I was saying…

"while most news organizations devote enormous resources to covering Washington, very little is still spent by comparison toward covering the online underworld where movements are born and its adherents are radicalized"

CNN's Posobiec Problem CNN's interview with Jack Posobiec prompted internal backlash, while raising larger questions about how mainstream outlets cover far-right figures.

“Well, there’s no question we are facing asymmetric civil warfare," far-right extremist Jack Posobiec told CNN.

Instead of the correspondent pushing back, CNN put it in the chyron and headline. The interview then set off internal backlash. Details in @status.news www.status.news/p/cnn-jack-p...

CNN's Posobiec Problem CNN's interview with Jack Posobiec prompted internal backlash, while raising larger questions about how mainstream outlets cover far-right figures.

Scoop: CNN's softball interview with far-right conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec drew internal backlash from senior journalists at the network, including Jake Tapper.

Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/cnn-jack-p...

Rep. Jim Jord..& l @Jim Jord... • 4h g ... But that's not all. YouTube is making changes to its platform to prevent future censorship. YouTube is committing to the American people that it will NEVER use outside so-called "fact-checkers" to censor speech. No more telling Americans what to believe and not believe. ist to other large platforms, YouTube has not operated a fact-check. ntifies and compensates fact-checking partners to produce content ion. YouTube has not and will not empower fact-checkers to take a tent across the Company's services.

YouTube/Google has written a letter to Jim Jordan best summarized as “Yes sir thank you Mr Jordan sir”

It made Jordan so happy he wrote a very long tweet thread about it.

In it, he gloats ab getting them to agree never to do the fact-checking kind of “censorship” and to moderate how he prefers.

Mark Zuckerberg wrote the playbook for Big Tech leaders dealing with Republicans. Google paid attention. Last year Mark Zuckerberg wrote the playbook for Big Tech leaders dealing with Republicans. Google paid attention.

Last year, Mark Zuckerberg told Republicans the Biden administration had pressured him to take content down.

Now Google is doing the same thing.

It's move designed to give Jim Jordan a win, while keeping Google off the regulatory hook.

www.businessinsider.com/google-meta-...

Elon Musk’s Father Accused of Child Sexual Abuse

NEW: Elon Musk’s father, Errol Musk, has been accused by family members of sexually abusing five of his children and stepchildren. Elon has repeatedly had to intervene, a secret that’s spanned generations. Our months-long investigation www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/w...

Nexstar, which is attempting to buy TEGNA requiring FCC boss Brendan Carr’s approval, says it will continue to preempt Kimmel’s show, meaning Kimmel will not be in ~30% of ABC affiliate markets when he returns to the air tonight

Iger, Eisner, and Why Disney Finally Stood Up to Trump Amid the backlash to the Jimmy Kimmel debacle, Disney’s former chairman and C.E.O. Michael Eisner broke his long silence on X with a scathing rebuke of Bob Iger. Did the drive-by contribute to today’s...

“It takes big balls to stand up to any of this shit, but it’s hard to understand why, rich as he is, Bob can’t have big balls. If he can’t stand up, who can?” puck.news/iger-eisner-...

Nexstar, the nation's largest local TV operator, is not commenting tonight on whether it will resume airing Kimmel's show on Tuesday. That leaves the open possibilty Kimmel will return to ABC, but will not be seen in roughly 30% of the country

The right-wing Sinclair Broadcast Group announces it wont air Jimmy Kimmel Live on its dozens of ABC affiliates across the country after calling for Kimmel donate to Kirk's family and TP USA

More than an hour after Disney announced Kimmel will be back on the air, affiliate owners Nexstar and Sinclair, which publicly grandstanded about his comments last week, remain silent on if they will broadcast the show

Breaking: Jimmy Kimmel to return Tuesday.

Status | Media News & Analysis Status is the definitive nightly briefing that informs readers about what is really happening in the halls of media power.

Some personal news: Thrilled to be joining former CNN colleagues Oliver Darcy and Jon Passantino at Status.news, writing about Hollywood, media and everything surrounding them. Will start in a few weeks, but you can check out the site here: www.status.news
www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/dig...

Oliver Darcy Staffing Up Status: Hires Brian Lowry and Natalie Korach in Expansion Push (Exclusive) The writers join from Vanity Fair and The Wrap, with Darcy also working with Stacey Farish on advertising and sponsorship opportunities.

“I think accountability journalism is more important than ever, particularly as we’re seeing Donald Trump assault free speech in America and intimidate media companies and technology companies into, frankly, some degree of silence” - @oliverdarcy.bsky.social www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/dig...

So excited to join the @status.news team and contribute to their unflinching coverage of the industry

Oliver Darcy Staffing Up Status: Hires Brian Lowry and Natalie Korach in Expansion Push (Exclusive) The writers join from Vanity Fair and The Wrap, with Darcy also working with Stacey Farish on advertising and sponsorship opportunities.

Absolutely thrilled to have @nataliekorach.bsky.social and @brianlowry.bsky.social joining us at @status.news as we expand our coverage of the media and entertainment industry, holding those in power to account www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/dig...

Iger’s Integrity Once praised for his moral clarity, Bob Iger now faces questions of integrity after bowing to political pressure and suspending Jimmy Kimmel.

Bob Iger once stood up to political pressure and publicly called out his successor. Now he’s facing the same backlash after pulling Jimmy Kimmel off the air, emboldening Trump and his administration’s attacks on the media. My latest for @status.news www.status.news/p/bob-iger-j...

Iger’s Integrity Once praised for his moral clarity, Bob Iger now faces questions of integrity after bowing to political pressure and suspending Jimmy Kimmel.

"By suspending Kimmel under political pressure, Iger hasn’t just abandoned its biggest star. He’s signaled that under his leadership, Disney will play ball with the government, even if it means... putting the very principle of free speech at risk." www.status.news/p/bob-iger-j...

“.. Iger hasn’t just abandoned its biggest star. He’s signaled that .. Disney will play ball with the government, even if it means jeopardizing its credibility, alienating its audience, and putting the very principle of free speech at risk.”

@passantino.bsky.social
www.status.news/p/bob-iger-j...

Pentagon demands journalists pledge to not obtain unauthorized material Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is imposing strict new rules that would severely limit the ability of journalists to report on the Pentagon.

NEW: The Pentagon told journalists it will require them to pledge they won’t gather any information — even unclassified — that hasn’t been expressly authorized for release, and will revoke the press credentials of those who do not obey. @washingtonpost.com

ABC10 news station struck by gunfire, Sacramento police say Gunshots were fired on Friday at the ABC10 television station in Sacramento, according to police.

Someone opened fire on the ABC affiliate in Sacramento www.kcra.com/article/abc1...

Michael Eisner @Michael_Eisner Where has all the leadership gone? If not for university presidents, law firm managing partners, and corporate chief executives standing up against bullies, who then will step up for the first amendment? The "suspending indefinitely" of Jimmy Kimmel immediately after the Chairman of the FCC's aggressive yet hollow threatening of the Disney Company is yet another example of out-of-control intimidation. Maybe the Constitution should have said, "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, except in one's political or financial self-interest." By-the-way, for the record, this ex-CEO finds Jimmy Kimmel very talented and funny. 10:17 AM • Sep 19, 2025

Michael Eisner, welcome to the Resistance.