Journalism

Televised political combat existed in earlier times, like Shana Alexander and James Kilpatrick’s “point-counterpoint” segment on “60 Minutes” in the 1970s. Politics and journalism had its share of cross-fertilization with figures such as George Stephanopoulos and the late Tim Russert. Yet the idea of building rosters of paid political contributors took off with cable news. MSNBC, CNN and Fox News Channel are, in large part, political talk channels and seek experts to help fill the time. News streaming has similar needs. Being on call to opine can be lucrative work; several reports had NBC agreeing to pay McDaniel $300,000 a year.

How a station handles weather — and the caliber and connectedness of weathercasters in a local market — are critical to a successful news reinvention.

Only a few short steps stand between MSNBC’s on-air protests and ESPN outrage and Howard Beale screaming “I’m mad as hell…”

Karen Gadbois has kept The Lens alive as other newsrooms have crumbled. Her next move is important not just for her outlet, but a whole industry.

Ibrahim Samra says he was fired from WWJ-TV has filed suit against the station, alleging he was discriminated and retaliated against after complaining about what he saw as its anti-Arab bias.

Local reporters, anchors and news helicopters played an invaluable role in telling the story of Tuesday morning’s shocking disaster in Baltimore, proving once more their value as a signal amid the noise.

On Tuesday, NBC News fired former Republican National Committee chief Ronna McDaniel, less than a week after hiring her as an on-air political contributor, a decision that followed a furious protest by some of its journalists and commentators. In announcing the decision in a memo, NBC Universal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde apologized to staff members who felt let down by the hire, acknowledging he had signed off on it.

“No one needs to see a possibility of their family member being severely injured or otherwise over and over again,” Mayor Brandon Scott tells CNN.

Before and after the investment, senior newsroom leaders urged Newsmax staff to soften coverage of Qatar, current and former employees say.

Former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel has appeared only once on NBC News programming in her new capacity as a political news contributor, and already, senior executives are gathering to conduct a review. Top executives from NBC News were expected to meet Tuesday to hash out the growing controversy around her recent hire, according to two people familiar with the matter, in a bid to stop a growing insurrection by the NBCUniversal unit’s editorial staff.

The Cox Media Group veteran will succeed the retiring Ray Carter at the group’s Atlanta ABC affiliate.

You can’t understand November’s election — or America itself — without reckoning with how our media attention has shattered into a bunch of misshapen pieces. Think of it as the shards of glass phenomenon. Not long ago, we all saw news and information through a few common windows — TV, newspapers, cable. Now we find it in scattered chunks that match our age, habits, politics and passions.