# Trump’s War With Press Escalates, Another Major CBS Journalist Quits Network, and Senators Sound Alarm on Ellison

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/power-lines-with-oliver-darcy-and-jon-passantino-7401219/trump-s-war-with-press-escalates-another-major-cbs-journalist-quits-network-and-senators-sound-alarm-on-ellison
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/power-lines-with-oliver-darcy-and-jon-passantino-7401219/trump-s-war-with-press-escalates-another-major-cbs-journalist-quits-network-and-senators-sound-alarm-on-ellison.md
Podcast: [Power Lines with Oliver Darcy and Jon Passantino](https://stenobird.com/podcast/power-lines-with-oliver-darcy-and-jon-passantino-7401219)
Published: 2026-03-13T10:01:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/claritaspod.com/measure/prfx.byspotify.com/e/mgln.ai/e/796/traffic.megaphone.fm/GEMINIMEDIA2420191559.mp3?updated=1773364891
Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/claritaspod.com/measure/prfx.byspotify.com/e/mgln.ai/e/796/traffic.megaphone.fm/GEMINIMEDIA2420191559.mp3?updated=1773364891
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/power-lines-with-oliver-darcy-and-jon-passantino-7401219/episodes/trump-s-war-with-press-escalates-another-major-cbs-journalist-quits-network-and-senators-sound-alarm-on-ellison
Duration seconds: 2385

## Resource

On this week’s Power Lines… With the war in Iran as the backdrop, the Trump administration is waging another full scale battle against the press. From restricting photographer access at the Pentagon to accusing The New York Times of harassment, the administration is lashing out at journalists as it struggles to explain its actions overseas and losing support in the process. Next, Scott MacFarlane is the latest major talent to depart CBS rather than work under Bari Weiss. While the network managed to retain Gayle King for now, larger problems are brewing as top journalists continue to leave and staff grow increasingly concerned that the tone of CBS News is beginning to mirror that of Weiss’s outlet, The Free Press. Finally, Status obtained a statement from Senator Elizabeth Warren expressing concern over China’s potential stake in David Ellison’s Paramount deal. What would normally be treated as a major national security issue and possible deal breaker now appears to be little more than a footnote the Trump administration is willing to overlook. Thanks to our sponsor, beehiiv, the platform that powers the Status newsletter! If you have a newsletter with over 100k subscribers, schedule your free growth consultation today. Or, use code STATUS30 for 30% off: https://www.beehiiv.com/status Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [STATUS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod #ad 0:00 Intro 0:59 Trump and Hegseth Escalate War With the Press 5:43 Joe Rogan Speaks Out Against Iran War 13:33 Scott MacFarlane Leaves CBS 18:09 CBS News Staffers Criticize Mamdani Coverage 20:04 Gayle King's New Contract & CBS Mornings Changes 22:11 Senators Raise Concerns over Saudi-Backed Paramount Deal 30:21 Oliver and Jon Respond to Comments Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/power-lines-with-oliver-darcy-and-jon-passantino-7401219/episodes/trump-s-war-with-press-escalates-another-major-cbs-journalist-quits-network-and-senators-sound-alarm-on-ellison/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/power-lines-with-oliver-darcy-and-jon-passantino-7401219/trump-s-war-with-press-escalates-another-major-cbs-journalist-quits-network-and-senators-sound-alarm-on-ellison.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.