Inquiring Inquiries: Exploring the Realm of Inquisition
In the world of news this week, several significant stories unfolded across various fronts.
Politics and International Relations
- Alistair Kitchen, an Australian writer and recent Columbia student, was denied entry to the US, detained, and subsequently deported last week. Kitchen had been covering pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations.
- Vice President JD Vance faced questions from Jonathan Karl about President Trump's "obliterated" claim, while hawkish Republican Senator Tom Cotton was asked about his past support for regime change in Iran on This Week.
- On Face the Nation, Margaret Brennan pressed Marco Rubio about whether the US intelligence community had seen any evidence that Iran's rulers had ordered nuclear weaponization.
- On Meet the Press, Kristen Welker confronted Lindsey Graham with his past support for the Iraq war based on faulty intelligence.
- Trump ordered a strike on three sites linked to Iran's nuclear program. The strikes, designed to dominate the Sunday shows, drew support from some unusual sources, including anti-war voices on the left.
Media and Journalism
- Tucker Carlson interviewed Senator Ted Cruz in a lengthy podcast discussion focused on Cruz’s stance regarding Iran and its nuclear program. However, the interview was not without controversy. Cruz appeared to insinuate that Tucker Carlson is an anti-Semite for "obsessing" over the influence of Israel on US foreign policy. In response, Carlson accused Senator Cruz of "sleazy, feline" behavior and pressed repeatedly for detailed evidence that Iran is actively trying to assassinate Trump.
- The interview between Tucker Carlson and Senator Ted Cruz ran for just under two hours in total, and a special series of podcasts recorded at the ZEG Storytelling Festival will be run this week.
- Josh Hersh, a CJR editor and podcast host, attended the ZEG Storytelling Festival in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Human Rights
- Mahmoud Khalil, a recent graduate student at Columbia University and activist for Palestinian rights, was freed following more than a hundred days in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention in Louisiana.
- Rod Nordland, a war reporter who covered major global conflicts over four decades for the New York Times and other publications, died on Wednesday from brain cancer.
Industry Developments
- The broadcasters Sky, ITV, and Channel 4 last week announced plans to pool advertising resources in an effort to break Big Tech's stranglehold on digital ads.
- The BBC is threatening legal action against Perplexity, an AI search engine, for allegedly scraping its content.
Contact
- Jem Bartholomew will be writing the "Other Notable Stories" feature for CJR's newsletter, appearing on Mondays. You can contact Jem at jem.bartholomew@our website.
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