From§Each

Page F115From§Eachthe morning edition — 10 October 2026

FCC repeals media ownership limits 2-1 while ABC quietly thins the report on Pentagon contracts for Trump's sons.

By The Wrecking CrewThe Remedy Desk

“Coalition Files Emergency Motion to Stop Trump FCC From Unleashing Media Consolidation Spree”, 10 October 2026 (Photo via Common Dreams — the original report)

As it ran on the front

The chief opens the job by counting the moving parts, not stacking them: a government brief, a judge's order, and a rival motion — three different documents doing three different things in three days.

Tuesday, government lawyers tell a federal court that access to the White House is a privilege, not a right — written down, signed, filed. Wednesday, a hearing. Thursday, the thing comes apart twice in one day: a Trump-appointed judge orders the administration to restore White House credentials to CNN, MS NOW and Politico, and in a different courtroom, on that same Thursday, opponents of the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger file their own emergency motion, asking to be heard before a settlement with state attorneys general locks the deal in place. One ruling, one filing, same day, same subject: who gets to stand in the room.…

…(cont) October 7th, ABC runs the analysis: companies backed by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, many of the investments routed through 1789 Capital, have landed more than $6 billion in Pentagon contracts. The tinkerer reads it twice, because the number is clean enough to double as a receipt and a target.

Three days later the story is gone, then it is back — thinner. No explanation for the deletion, no account of what changed between the first version and the one with an editor's note bolted to it admitting "errors." The muscle does not touch the story itself; the muscle notices who touched it, and that nobody will say how.

That is the week a coalition of nonprofits and labor unions picked to go after August's 2-1 vote at the FCC, pushed by Chair Brendan Carr, that repealed the rule capping any one broadcaster's reach at 39 percent of U.S. households — a cap Congress wrote and, the coalition argues, only Congress can erase. The planner likes this part best: the tool was never retired, just left on the shelf after the vote, and the coalition is reaching for the same statute the agency just tried to walk around and asking a court to put the cap back where Congress left it.

The pilot's job is the easiest: file the motion, cite the law, make the agency answer in writing why a vote of two can undo an act of Congress. Nobody has to invent a villain for this one. The row of dates does that work on its own — brief, hearing, order, motion, story, deletion, story again, thinner — and every single one of them already has somebody's name on it.

“They repeal the rule on Tuesday and bet nobody checks whether it's still sitting in the law books on Wednesday — that's the whole scam, counting on you to forget the paperwork never actually left. Same week, the network sitting right in the blast radius of that repeal found "errors" in its own six-billion-dollar story about the President's sons, no explanation, no deletion log, just thinner. Watch the cap, not the ratings — it's the only thing standing between one boardroom and every local newsroom left.”
Sal
“Look, media markets have changed, nobody's watching broadcast TV like it's 1975, the 39 percent cap is a relic, and a majority's a majority, two beats one, that's how votes work. As for ABC, newsrooms correct errors, that's called journalism — did I just call deleting a story with no explanation "journalism"? Let me circle back on that one.”
Chip

Earlier in this story

The receipts

Coalition Files Emergency Motion to Stop Trump FCC From Unleashing Media Consolidation Spree Coalition sues to stop Trump's FCC from scrapping the cap keeping one company under 39% of US TV households
Common Dreams§

A coalition of nonprofit groups and labor unions filed an emergency petition on Friday aimed at blocking the Federal Communications Commission's recent repeal of a decades-old rule that limited consolidation among television broadcasters, a move that would allow media conglomerates to seize even more control over local news stations. The…

· Companies Backed by Trump Sons Have Scored Over $6 Billion in Pentagon Contracts: Analysis from the morgue, 7 Oct 2026

· White House Claims in Court Filing That Press Coverage of Trump Is a 'Privilege,' Not a Right from the morgue, 23 Sep 2026

· 'Dangerous for Democracy': Paramount Merger Opponents File Emergency Motion to Fight Settlement Deal from the morgue, 24 Sep 2026

· Trump-Appointed Judge Orders President to Restore White House Access to CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the morgue, 24 Sep 2026

· With Elon Musk’s Return to Washington, Possible Conflicts of Interest Resurface from the morgue, 3 Oct 2026

· Hegseth puts the future of warfare in the hands of major Maga donors from the morgue, 1 Oct 2026

· Pete Hegseth appoints Elon Musk to US taskforce on future of warfare from the morgue, 30 Sep 2026

· Elon Musk boosts GOP spending advantage with return as 2026 juggernaut from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026

· An Elon Musk insider shares what he found in Washington — and it should terrify you from the morgue, 22 Sep 2026

· Trump Accord Enshrines Light-Touch Regulation of AI from the morgue, 3 Oct 2026

· Trump says tech CEOs signed ‘morally binding’ document to self-regulate artificial intelligence from the morgue, 29 Sep 2026

· READ IN FULL: Trump and tech leaders’ White House Accord on Super Intelligence from the morgue, 29 Sep 2026

· Soaring diesel prices take their toll on US farmers in midwest corn belt from the morgue, 3 Oct 2026

· Inflation Could Soon ‘Get a Lot More Painful’ as Trump’s Iran War Drives Diesel Over $6 a Gallon from the morgue, 11 Sep 2026

· 'Can't Message That Away': GOP Frets as Trump Administration Desperately Spins Record-High Diesel Prices from the morgue, 5 Sep 2026

· 'Trump Did It!': At $5.85 a Gallon, Diesel Price Hits All-Time High in US Thanks to War on Iran from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026

· States take matters into their own hands to curb record-high diesel prices from the morgue, 29 Sep 2026

· U.N. experts say U.S. may have committed war crimes with 2 Iran strikes from the morgue, 22 Sep 2026

· Trump Says 'Big Decision' Coming on Whether to 'Annihilate' Iran from the morgue, 18 Sep 2026

· Pentagon No. 3 frustrates senators in closed-door briefing on Iran war, Trump defense strategy from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026

· Senate Democrats, minus Fetterman, urge Hegseth to provide receipt for Iran war costs from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026

· Hegseth on "devastation" to Iran's capabilities from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Trump admits Iran war will not end before midterms from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026

· Iran War Trump Said Would Be Quick Has Now Lasted 6 Months With 'No End In Sight' from the morgue, 28 Aug 2026

· CBO Finds Trump's Iran War Has Already Cost Nearly $40 Billion—And That's a 'Conservative' Estimate from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026

· Tillis supports Hegseth impeachment resolution: 'He needs to go' from the morgue, 18 Sep 2026

· Massie Files Impeachment Articles Against Hegseth for Illegal Iran War, Boat Murders from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026

· Massie launches effort to impeach Hegseth from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026

· Tillis urges Trump to fire Hegseth over 'inept management' of military from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026

· Tillis renews calls for Hegseth’s firing after Driscoll’s departure: ‘I have never witnessed more inept management’ from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026

· Farmer who voted for Trump says farmers are "all just in survival mode" from the morgue, 18 Sep 2026

· Farmer who voted for Trump says "I can't stay in business" amid rising costs from the morgue, 18 Sep 2026

· Massie says he’s convinced enough Republicans to pass Epstein Files II discharge petition from the morgue, 18 Sep 2026

· Massie names Epstein 'coconspirators,' discusses new Epstein files legislation from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026

· Read Thomas Massie’s eight impeachment charges against Pete Hegseth from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026

· Fake Republican midterm convention site still redirects to Epstein files from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026

· Trump says he has a ‘big decision’ coming up on Iran: ‘Do I want to go in and annihilate them’ from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026

· Fox News Poll: 71% think Trump administration lacks plan to end Iran war from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026

· Iran recently downed at least 2 American drones, officials say from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026

· Big Oil Stocks Surged Due to Iran War—and New Filings Show How President Trump Cashed In from the morgue, 27 Aug 2026

· Live updates: Energy secretary downplays rising gas prices as US, Iran trade strikes from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026

· U.S. Strike on Iranian School May Have Been War Crime, U.N. Report Says from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026

· UN Inquiry Finds US Strike on Minab, Iran That Killed 123 Children Was War Crime from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026

· UN investigators conclude ‘reasonable grounds’ to believe certain US strikes in Iran were war crimes from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026

· UN Suspects US War Crimes in Iran from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026

· US Condemned for 'War Crimes' After Bombing of Wedding Party in Iran from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026

· US investigating if missile hit Iranian wedding ceremony, killing 4 from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026

· Trump says he has a ‘big decision coming up’ on Iran from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026

· White House issues explosive response to UN-backed report claiming US committed war crimes against world’s No.1 sponsor of terror, Iran from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026

· Human rights experts: 'Reasonable grounds' to believe US committed war crimes with Iran strikes from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026

· US Energy Consumers Have Spent $121 Billion Extra Since Trump Launched Iran War: Moody's from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026

· Iran downed at least 2 American drones in recent days, U.S. officials say from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026

· Iran: Account of US Air Force colonel's rescue 'fictional' from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026

· Consumer Burden of Trump Iran War Exceeds $100 Billion as Oil Prices Pass $100 a Barrel from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026

· 'A Serious and Alarming Threat': US Bombing, Blockade Deepen Iran Medical Crisis from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026

· Consumer Confidence Hits Lowest Level in Months as US Faces 'Trump's Reckless Tariffs and War With Iran' from the morgue, 25 Aug 2026

· U.S. Air Force officer rescued from Iran speaks for the first time to 60 Minutes from the morgue, 8 Sep 2026

· Rep. Thomas Massie forcing vote on Pete Hegseth's impeachment from the morgue, 16 Sep 2026

· Did Johnson Just Adjourn Congress for 7 Weeks to Avoid Massie's Impeachment Articles Against Hegseth? from the morgue, 16 Sep 2026

· The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Massie saying Johnson is sending the House home early to prevent Hegseth impeachment from the morgue, 16 Sep 2026

· ‘You’re Elected to Fight and Kill the Other Side’: How Congress Lost Its Way from the morgue, 16 Sep 2026

· Army combat veteran challenging Mike Lawler calls Hegseth national security 'hazard,' backs impeachment from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026

· Former Air Force secretary says he 'couldn't serve' in Trump administration from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026

· Former Air Force secretary: Hegseth's Pentagon 'dysfunctional' from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026

· House Republicans split over leaving Washington early for campaign trail from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026

· Since 2025, Trump Made More Stock Trades Than All 535 Congress Members Combined from the morgue, 16 Sep 2026

· Fossil Fuel Advertising Contracts Hit Record High as Big Oil Pockets Billions From Iran War from the morgue, 16 Sep 2026

· 'How are we gonna get through this?' Many Americans are struggling as prices rise from the morgue, 16 Sep 2026

· Trump's Top Oil Stocks Have Made Him Up to $4.4 Million Richer During Iran War: Analysis from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026

· Gas prices reach Labor Day high amid Iran war from the morgue, 8 Sep 2026

· Trump Hammered Over Iran War That Drove Gas Prices Above $4 Per Gallon Every Day in August for First Time Ever from the morgue, 31 Aug 2026

· Warsh under pressure as Fed weighs rate hike from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026

· Inflation held at 3.4% in August in consumer price index, creating tough choice for Warsh Fed from the morgue, 11 Sep 2026

· Warsh indicates Fed could raise rates to cool inflation from the morgue, 28 Aug 2026

· Key U.S. Bond Rate Near 20-Year High as Oil Prices Keep Climbing from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026

· 10-year Treasury yield hits highest level since 2007, oil surges above $105 as Fed expected to hike interest rates from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026

· Benchmark mortgage rate hits 14-month high as bond yields keep rising from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Benchmark mortgage rate hits highest mark in over a year from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026

· Goldman Sachs warns oil prices could hit $120 as U.S. fuel costs surge from the morgue, 8 Sep 2026

· Massie Moves to Force Impeachment Vote Against Hegseth, Citing Civilian Deaths from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026

· GOP Rep Thomas Massie introduces 8 articles of impeachment against War Secretary Pete Hegseth from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026

· Republican Rep. Massie moves to impeach Defense Secretary Hegseth over Iran war from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026

· Thomas Massie Forces Vote To Impeach Pete Hegseth from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026

· Pete Hegseth Faces Growing Criticism as War With Iran Rolls On from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026

This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.