Emily Rooney – Media Nation

Jim Boyd, 1942-2026

Jim Boyd harked back to the golden age of local television news, when it seemed like everyone gathered around the TV at 6 or (sometimes and) 11 p.m. to catch up on the day’s events. The leader was WCVB-TV (Channel 5), and Boyd, who died Tuesday at 84, was one of the most visible journalists at that station.

I was shocked to learn that he was in his 80s. We didn’t really know each other, but we were Facebook friends, and I had followed his long, active retirement. I’d also worked with his wife, Linda Polach, at GBH News.

My friend Emily Rooney, host of “Beat the Press,” who was the assistant news director and news director at WCVB during the glory days, tells Bryan Marquard of The Boston Globe that Boyd was someone “every manager would like to clone — loyal, dedicated, didn’t call in sick, and never complained about an assignment,” as well as “movie-star handsome [with] that elusive journalistic credibility.”

Best wishes to Linda and her family.

Anonymous unto death? Bob Woodward names names, raising questions about his ethics.

*Bob Woodward. Photo (cc) 2016 by Hillel Steinberg.*

Does a reporter’s promise of anonymity follow a source to the grave? That’s what a lot of people are wondering given that investigative journalist Bob Woodward is naming names in his new memoir, “Secrets,” which will be published on Nov. 24.

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In an excerpt in The New Yorker, the legendary Washington Post reporter goes into great detail about his friendship with one source, Richard Darman, a powerful official in several Republican administrations. But there are more, including several Supreme Court justices, top aides to Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon’s lawyers. And, of course, there’s Mark Felt, who identified himself years ago as “Deep Throat,” Woodward’s celebrated source during the Watergate scandal.

Continue reading “Anonymous unto death? Bob Woodward names names, raising questions about his ethics.”

New on ‘Beat the Press’: Katie, we hardly knew you; plus, covering executions, and AI news sites

*Click here or on image to watch on Contrarian Boston (scroll down).*

On the all-new “Beat the Press with Emily Rooney,” we analyze the microscopically brief tenure of White House press secretary Katie Zacharia, who lasted just 0.45 Scaramuccis before she was unceremoniously tossed overboard.

In other topics, we look at the debate over whether television should be allowed to cover executions following Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s on-again, off-again plan to livestream the death of the Fort Hood shooter by firing squad; and we check in on two very different AI projects — Mass Daily News, a right-wing propaganda site whose anonymous author recently revealed himself (sub. req.) in a Boston Globe story, and South Shore News, which covers local government in nearly 20 communities. Plus our panel’s Rants and Raves.

Emily was joined by Scott Van Voorhis, the publisher of Contrarian Boston as well as our host; Cosmo Macero, a partner at Seven Letter and a former columnist and editor at the Boston Herald; and me. Our producer extraordinaire is Tonia Magras of Hull Bay Productions.

On the new ‘Beat the Press,’ we dissect Trump’s media ban and marvel over the Globe’s lesbian-bar story

Click here or on image to watch on Contrarian Boston.

We’re back with another edition of “Beat the Press with Emily Rooney,” hosted by Contrarian Boston. Our lead topic this week is Donald Trump’s illegal ban on three news organizations, which seems to keep popping up even though it’s been knocked down in court.

Our other topics: the debut of Trump TV, which at one point was drawing an unimaginably minuscule audience of about 500 viewers; and why The Boston Globe’s story about a lesbian bar (sub. req.) that’s struggling with its longtime masking requirement went viral — and brought several thousand new subscribers to the Globe. Our guess is that it’s all about the revolutionary praxis.

We round out the show with our panel’s Rants and Raves. Mine is for California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Gov. Gavin Newsom, who folded on the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery lawsuit when Paramount major domo David Ellison threatened to move his operations out of the state. Their cowardice delivers CNN into the same MAGA-friendly hands that are wreaking havoc with CBS News.

Our host, as always, is Emily, joined by Contrarian Boston‘s Scott Van Voorhis and Jon Keller of WBZ-TV and me. Our producer extraordinaire is Tonia Magras of Hull Bay Productions.

‘60 Minutes’ is back — and so is ‘Beat the Press.’ We were watching, and here’s what we thought.

*Click here or on image to watch “Beat the Press” on Contrarian Boston.*

“60 Minutes” made its fall debut on Sunday, and so did “Beat the Press with Emily Rooney.” We watched to see what clues we could discern over how executive producer Nick Bilton and CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss would remake the venerable newsmagazine program, which first slipped into view 58 years ago.

I don’t want to speak for my fellow panelists, but I thought it was solid if unspectacular. The first segment, on the secretive rescue of an American pilot from Iran, couldn’t have happened without the active cooperation of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. But since when have the networks not engaged in access journalism? The story, hosted by Norah O’Donnell, was harrowing, even if my friend Danny Schechter would have derided it as “militainment” if he were still with us.

Continue reading “‘60 Minutes’ is back — and so is ‘Beat the Press.’ We were watching, and here’s what we thought.”

On the new ‘Beat the Press,’ we take on Trump’s subpoenas of New York Times journalists

On the latest edition of “Beat the Press with Emily Rooney,” we take a look at the Trump regime’s decision to subpoena New York Times journalists in an attempt to find out who told the paper about security problems on the new Air Force One, a corrupt gift from the Qatari government.

As we note, the Constitution does not protect journalists from having to identify their confidential sources if they are ordered to do so by a court. But the White House is running roughshod over long-established standards regarding how such demands ought to be handled.

We also examine how news organizations decided whether or not to carry Trump’s lie-infested speech about election security, and his threat to challenge the broadcast licenses of outlets that took a pass; and how the World Cup turned out to be a huge success in Greater Boston despite predictions by many in the media that we were headed for a disastrous confluence of chaos and gridlock. Plus, our panel’s Rants & Raves.

Emily is in the moderator’s seat, joined by our host, Scott Van Voorhis of Contrarian Boston; Lylah Alphonse of The Boston Globe, and me. Our producer extraordinaire is Tonia Magras of Hull Bay Productions.

On the brand-new ‘Beat the Press,’ we try to make sense of the implosion of ‘60 Minutes’

On the latest episode of “Beat the Press with Emily Rooney,” we take a long look at the implosion of “60 Minutes,” the 58-year-old CBS News staple that has been torn apart by Bari Weiss and her choice to run the program, Nick Bilton.

Why did CBS executives fire Scott Pelley? What are we to make of Pelley’s claim in a New York Times interview that Weiss tried to inject bias and at least one falsehood into his report on the killings of Minneapolis protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents? What’s next for “60 Minutes,” which not only continues to be a ratings leader but actually grew over the past year? Does the new Trump-friendly owner, David Ellison, care about any of this?

Also: World Cup watch parties and our panel’s Rants and Raves. With Emily in the moderator’s chair; our host, Scott Van Voorhis of Contrarian Boston; Lylah Alphonse of The Boston Globe, and me. Our producer extraordinaire is Tonia Magras of Hull Bay Productions.

Extra! Extra! What would Andy think? Check out this special edition of “Beat the Press” in which Emily and her brother, Brian Rooney, talk about how their legendary father would be reacting to the meltdown of “60 Minutes.”

On the latest ‘Beat the Press,’ we look at war coverage, a Trump-friendly media monopoly, AI and more

On the brand-new edition of “Beat the Press with Emily Rooney,” we analyze media coverage of the war against Iran.

In other topics, we examine the implications of Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, which will put CNN in the hands of Trump-friendly executives Larry and David Ellison, and the failure of Bari Weiss — who may soon be running CNN in addition to CBS News — to hang on to a Jeffrey Epstein associate. We also give the hairy eyeball to AI’s ongoing encroachment into journalism and weigh in with our Rants and Raves.

“Beat the Press” is hosted by Scott Van Voorhis’ newsletter, Contrarian Boston. With Emily, Scott, Lylah Alphonse of The Boston Globe and me, expertly produced by Tonia Magras of Hull Bay Productions.

Catching up with ‘Beat the Press’: CBS News, media trust and Brian McGrory’s return to The Boston Globe

Apologies for the delay, but the full episode of “Beat the Press with Emily Rooney” is now up. Our host, Scott Van Voorhis of Contrarian Boston, has posted it in four pieces at his YouTube Channel.

Our topics: Tony Dokoupil’s less than inspiring debut as anchor of the “CBS Evening News”; a crisis in media trust; and the return of Brian McGrory as editor of The Boston Globe following Nancy Barnes’ abrupt departure.

‘Beat the Press’ takes on ‘CBS Evening News’ anchor Tony Dokoupil’s embarrassing debut

The newly revived “Beat the Press with Emily Rooney” is back with its second story.

This time around, Emily, Scott Van Voorhis and I take on Tony Dokoupil’s embarrassing debut as anchor of the “CBS Evening News.” Dokoupil has, among other things, both-sides-ed the unprovoked killing of Renee Good at the hands of ICE agent Jonathan Ross, sucked up to Marco Rubio, and interviewed White House border czar Tom Homan while failing to ask him about the brown paper bag with $50,000 cash inside.

Bari Weiss must be so proud. You can watch at Contrarian Boston, the newsletter that Scott hosts at Substack.