JAKE TAPPER

Donald Trump's town hall forum on CNN on Wednesday is the first major TV event of the 2024 presidential campaign, and a big test for the chosen moderator, Kaitlan Collins.

Two veteran CNN political reporters are changing roles.

Democracy issues were once an afterthought in election night coverage, with an occasional report on broken voting machines in a polling place or two.

This year’s midterm elections are playing out as a strange continuation of the last presidential race — and a potential preview of the next one.

More U.S. adults are now feeling financially vulnerable amid high inflation.

Television viewers will find nearly blanket prime-time coverage of a Congressional hearing Thursday on the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

After millions of dollars in spending and hundreds of new hires, CNN is ready to launch its CNN+ streaming service on Tuesday.

Former prime time anchor Chris Cuomo on Wednesday asked an arbitrator to award him $125 million for what he called his “unlawful” firing.

CNN announced that its CNN+ streaming service will start operating on March 29.

The abrupt ouster of CNN chief executive Jeff Zucker because of a workplace relationship has left some prominent employees feeling angry and uncertain about the direction of their network at a pivotal moment.

Details are still emerging about how Alec Baldwin accidentally shot and killed a cinematographer on a New Mexico film set.

Political figures unwilling to say they believe in the results of last year's presidential election pose a quandary for some in television news.

WHY HAS MEDIA ACCESS BEEN BLOCKED? The Associated Press, for example, has asked Homeland Security officials for access to Border Patrol facilities at least seven times, without a response. Some of them aren't coming from the professional media but from people with special access. The customs locations are considered much more crowded, and journalists have still not been allowed access to them. He says: “It is more important than ever that journalists be allowed the necessary access to report accurately and independently on the border patrol's response.”___David Bauder is the media writer for The Associated Press, based in New York.

CNN host Chris Cuomo told viewers on Monday, March 1, 2021, that he obviously could not cover the charges against his older brother, New York Gov. (AP Photo/File)NEW YORK – CNN host Chris Cuomo told viewers Monday that he “obviously” couldn't cover the stories surrounding his older brother, New York Gov. “Obviously, I'm aware of what's going on with my brother,” Chris Cuomo said on Monday. Chris Cuomo had caught COVID-19 and was doing shows from his basement, quarantined from his family. “An apology would have been a good start.”As Chris Cuomo said, CNN has covered the story elsewhere on the network.

For CNN, last spring's prime-time banter between Chris Cuomo and his older brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, looks worse in hindsight as the governor's administration is questioned about its role in failing to disclose the true number of COVID-19 nursing home deaths. The last time the governor appeared on his brother's show, in June, Chris Cuomo asked him: “Nursing homes. Both anchors said they had asked Andrew Cuomo to appear on their show and been turned down — dozens of times, in Tapper's case. “You had your brother on for the Cuomo Brothers Comedy Hour.”“Yes, I did,” Chris Cuomo replied.

Trump's lawyers fully embraced a TikTok defense on Friday, using manipulated video to complain about manipulated video and relying on rapid-fire, repetitive imagery. “The only question one might have is whether they repeated that effectiveness too much.”They also left room for a line of attack for Trump's lawyers. Trump's team found video of participants in the impeachment trial calling past elections into question, even digging back to find a 2005 speech by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In a trial without witnesses, the House managers relied heavily on media reports and interviews. Ultimately, it was a fully modern impeachment trial, with hours spent in video editing rooms likely rivaling the time spent with lawyers.

Then it became an assault, a riot, an insurrection, domestic terrorism or even a coup attempt. The language used by the American media to describe last week's Capitol siege proves one thing whatever your perspective: Words matter. Phrases like “mob,” “riot” and “insurrection” were appropriate, noted John Daniszewski, vice president and editor at large for standards. There was no riot, insurrection or storming” at the Capitol. The New York Times, Washington Post, CBS, NBC, ABC and CNN have all used riot to describe the day.

Both Fox and CNN announced schedule changes on Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Both Fox and CNN announced lineup changes Monday, as is often the case for news organizations with a new president about to take power. For years, first with Shepard Smith and then with MacCallum, Fox has stressed news instead of opinion in that hour. In fact, Newsmax issued a statement that its improved daytime and 7 p.m. ratings since the election has triggered changes at Fox. Since the election, CNN has averaged 1.92 million viewers in those daytime hours, with Fox and MSNBC both at 1.53 million.

This was a big day, especially for the House and Senate leadership lane, one of my specialties. Smith Goes to Washington” you've seen my work area since a press gallery scene from the movie was filmed there more than 70 years ago. (The Senate chamber, however, was a soundstage). The mob was out of the building by then and, strangely, it almost seemed boring, waiting for the Capitol to be declared safe. The Daily Press Gallery where I work had not been breached.

People shelter in the House gallery as protesters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. “Security here at the U.S. Capitol has failed.”Given Trump's speech and two months of baseless charges that the election was rigged, several journalists raised questions about why law enforcement seemed so unprepared. Even as the building was being stormed, Trump supporters in the media were calling into question who was responsible. Fox anchor Martha MacCallum, before the scope of the violence inside the Capitol was known, called the breach a “huge victory” for protestors. The nation's deep divisions played out in the media before and after protestors moved on the Capitol.

As the hour slipped past 2 a.m. on the East Coast, Democrat Raphael Warnock beat Republican Kelly Loeffler. King and MSNBC's Kornacki dominated their networks with headache-inducing number crunching. Warnock and Ossoff jumped to early leads, but as more votes came in, the Republicans swung in front. After midnight, the Times judged both Warnock and Ossoff had a better than 95% chance of winning. Fox News spent less time on raw numbers to showcase their prime-time stars, Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham.

WASHINGTON – Joe Biden said Thursday that he will ask Americans to commit to 100 days of wearing masks as one of his first acts as president, stopping just short of the nationwide mandate he's pushed before to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The move marks a notable shift from President Donald Trump, whose own skepticism of mask-wearing has contributed to a politicization of the issue. “On the first day I'm inaugurated, I'm going to ask the public for 100 days to mask. Just 100 days to mask — not forever, just 100 days. Part of the challenge the Biden administration will face in distributing the vaccine will be instilling public confidence in it.

Because votes are counted state by state, verdicts by the media outlets' decision desks serve as the unofficial finish line for the presidential race. The closeness of the race in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada and North Carolina proved another challenge. “We just have to be certain before we call a winner in the presidential election,” said Sally Buzbee, executive editor and senior vice president of the AP. Heading into Saturday, CNN, CBS, NBC and ABC — which coordinate their vote counts and exit polls — had Biden at 253 electoral votes. All know that calling a presidential election wrong is a career-wrecker.

NEW YORK – ABC, CBS and NBC all cut away from President Donald Trump on Thursday as he spoke from the White House to make an unfounded accusation that the presidential election was being stolen from him. Trump was more subdued Thursday, yet offered a litany of complaints about “suppression” polls, mail-in voting and fraud that he never specified. Cordes said there is no indication of a substantive number of illegal votes cast, and said Trump's reference to votes arriving late was “another falsehood.”MSNBC cut away from Trump to anchor Brian Williams. “There are no illegal votes that we know of, there has been no Trump victory that we know of.”After ABC ended its coverage, the network’s White House correspondent, Jonathan Karl, also said there was no evidence of illegal votes. But especially in this election.”While CNN kept Trump on the air, a chyron displayed under him said, “Without any evidence, Trump says he's being cheated.”Anchor Jake Tapper looked weary when it was over.

(Olivier Douliery/Pool vi AP)NEW YORK – The presidential debate commission says it will soon adopt changes to its format to avoid a repeat of the disjointed first meeting between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden. The next presidential debate is a town hall format scheduled for Oct. 15 in Miami. That was the most-watched presidential debate ever. He called on the debate commission to act. Wallace is the only presidential debate moderator this cycle with prior experience, after receiving praise for handling the final Clinton-Trump debate in 2016.

LOS ANGELES The Democratic and Republican conventions will lack for crowds but not television coverage. The Democratic meeting will be virtual, with Biden planning to make his acceptance speech from Wilmington, Delaware. Broadcast networks ABC, CBS and NBC plan an hour of nightly coverage of the conventions at 10 p.m. EDT. CNN's commentators for the Democratic meeting include Van Jones, Jennifer Granholm, Andrew Yang, and Scott Jennings. Commentary for the Republican convention will be handled by Rick Santorum, David Urban, Amanda Carpenter and Granholm.