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Technology
Winter storms can knock out your tech fast: Prepare now
States prepare for massive winter storm
FOX Weather meteorologist Bayne Froney joins ‘America’s Newsroom’ in Dallas, Texas as the first signs of a massive winter storm begin to show. Texas is preparing accordingly following the devastating winter storm five years ago.
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Weather forecasters are warning that a major winter storm is expected to impact large portions of the United States starting Friday. Forecasts call for snow, freezing rain and ice stretching from Texas and the Southern Plains through the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and into the Northeast. This system is concerning because it combines ice accumulation, gusty winds and plunging temperatures. In many regions, especially across the South and parts of the Mid-Atlantic, infrastructure is not designed to handle prolonged ice events.
That increases the risk of extended power outages and disrupted cell service. When the grid goes down, everyday tech becomes critical. Phones, alerts, vehicles and apps may be your only connection to updates and emergency help. Preparing now matters far more than reacting later.
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RUSSIAN WINTER STRIKE LEAVES NEARLY 800K HOMES WITHOUT POWER AND HEAT IN UKRAINE’S DNIPRO REGION
Ice storms can take down power lines fast, leaving homes without electricity and cell service for hours or even days. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Why ice storms are especially disruptive
Ice storms cause more damage than most people expect. Unlike snow, ice sticks to everything and adds significant weight. Ice builds up on trees and power lines, causing branches to snap and lines to fall. Utility crews often cannot begin repairs until conditions improve, which delays restoration. Forecasters at Fox Weather warn that freezing rain across the South and interior Southeast could be particularly damaging, while snow and wind farther north may slow emergency response.
Even if cell towers remain standing, networks often overload during severe weather. When thousands of people try to call at once, connections fail. Texts and alerts usually have a better chance of getting through. That is why you should assume you may be offline longer than expected.
Immediate tech actions to take before the storm hits
These steps are simple, but timing matters. Do them before the weather conditions worsen.
Charge devices and prepare backup power
- Charge all phones, laptops, tablets and battery packs
- Fully charge wearable devices like smartwatches
- Turn on Low Power Mode on phones now
- Lower screen brightness to extend battery life, and check out these other tips to keep your phone battery charged longer
- Make sure you have a reliable portable charger on hand, like those highlighted in our 5 best portable chargers for emergencies on Cyberguy.com
- For outages that could last days in this winter storm, a good generator can keep your home powered the longest and safest
- Reliable lighting matters during storms and blackouts. Invest in a high-output flashlight and hats with built-in lights that can be especially useful when visibility is poor
- Keep a battery-powered weather radio on hand so you can receive emergency updates even if power and cell service go out
A fully charged phone, smart power settings and a reliable portable charger can keep you connected early in an outage while longer-term home power solutions carry you through the days ahead.
A woman walks with an umbrella in the rain in the Manhattan borough of New York, Feb. 5, 2014. (REUTERS/Carlo Allegri)
Plan for offline communication and limited cell service
- Download offline maps for your area.
- Save emergency contacts locally on your device.
- Write down key phone numbers on paper.
- Plan to text instead of calling if networks are congested. Text messages use less bandwidth and often go through when calls fail.
- Cold weather can also make phones harder to use. Touchscreen-compatible winter gloves let you stay connected without exposing your hands to the cold.
Set up a family check-in plan before the storm
- Agree on specific check-in times
- Choose one out-of-area contact everyone can message
- Avoid constant calling, which can overload networks
Clear expectations reduce panic and unnecessary phone use
Make sure emergency alerts are enabled
Emergency alerts can reach your phone even when apps and social media cannot. They are designed to cut through network congestion and deliver critical warnings.
How to turn on emergency alerts on iPhone
- Open Settings
- Tap Notifications
- Scroll to Government Alerts
- Turn on Emergency Alerts
- Enable Always Play Sound
- Turn on Imminent Threat Alerts under Enhanced Safety Alerts
US POWER CRUNCH LOOMS AS OKLO CEO SAYS GRID CAN’T KEEP UP WITHOUT NEW INVESTMENT
Ice storms add heavy weight to trees and power lines, causing widespread damage and outages that can overwhelm repair crews and communication networks for longer than expected. (AP/Craig Ruttle)
How to turn on emergency alerts on Android
Settings may vary, depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer
- Open Settings
- Tap Safety and emergency or Notifications
- Select Wireless emergency alerts
- Turn on Severe threats and Extreme threats
- Enable Allow alerts and Alert sound
On some phones, you may also see options for Public safety messages or Emergency alerts, which should be turned on. These alerts may include evacuation notices, shelter updates and severe weather warnings.
Both iPhone and Android let you preview alert sounds and settings in these menus, so take a moment to test them now and make sure alerts are loud enough before severe weather hits.
Know how to use Emergency SOS on your phone
If you need help during a winter storm, Emergency SOS can contact emergency services even when you cannot unlock your phone or make a normal call. Set this up now. Do not wait until you are stressed, cold or without power.
How to set up and use Emergency SOS on iPhone
- Open Settings
- Tap Emergency SOS
- Turn on Call with Hold and Release or Call with 5 Button Presses
- Scroll down and add emergency contacts
To activate Emergency SOS during an emergency, press and hold the side button and a volume button, or quickly press the side button five times, depending on your settings.
How to set up and use Emergency SOS on Android
Settings may vary, depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer
- Open Settings
- Tap Safety and emergency or Privacy and safety
- Select Emergency SOS
- Turn on Use Emergency SOS
- Choose how SOS is triggered, such as Require to swipe to call
- Add emergency contacts and medical information by clicking Emergency sharing settings
On many Android phones, pressing the power button five times will trigger Emergency SOS. Emergency SOS can call for help, share your location and alert emergency contacts when conditions are dangerous.
If cell towers go down during this storm, features like Emergency SOS can still help you reach emergency services. Our guide explains in more detail how these lifesaving settings work.
Apps you should have installed ahead of time
The right apps can deliver critical updates when power is out, cell networks are strained and social media is unreliable. Install and set these up before the storm arrives.
Weather and severe alert apps
- Fox Weather app: A trusted option for real-time forecasts, winter storm alerts, radar tracking and location-based notifications. Make sure local alerts are turned on.
- MyRadar Weather Radar: A highly rated radar app that shows storm movement in real time and sends push alerts when severe weather is approaching your area.
- Storm Shield Severe Weather App: Delivers National Weather Service alerts based on your exact location, similar to NOAA weather radio warnings, with clear push notifications for winter storms and ice events.
- NOAA Weather Radio apps (iPhone and Android): These apps stream official NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts, providing continuous updates, watches and warnings directly from the National Weather Service. Weather radio streams often remain available even during major outages.
Using more than one weather app can give you redundancy if one service is delayed or overloaded.
Utility and outage tracking apps
- Your local power utility app: Most utilities offer apps that allow you to report outages, view outage maps and track restoration progress in real time.
- FEMA App: Provides official weather alerts, disaster resources, shelter locations and safety guidance during severe weather events.
These apps can confirm outages, provide restoration updates and reduce unnecessary calls to utilities when systems are overwhelmed.
Do not overlook vehicle tech and preparedness
Your vehicle may become a critical resource during extended outages.
Prep your car before conditions worsen
- Fill your gas tank early. A full tank allows you to run the engine briefly for heat or charging if needed.
- Keep a phone charger in the car.
- Store a fully charged portable power bank in the glove box or center console. This gives you emergency phone power if your car battery dies or you cannot run the engine.
- Download weather and road condition alerts.
- Also, consider buying a Snow brush and ice scraper, jumper cables, a set of 6 LED Road Flares Emergency Lights and a First Aid Trauma Pack with QuikCloth, so you will not be caught off guard in an emergency.
- There are also portable tech solutions designed to help you stay warm and powered during outages or roadside delays, including heated gear worth purchasing in advance.
Storms also bring scams and fraud attempts
Severe weather creates ideal conditions for scams. Power outages, delayed responses and anxiety make people more likely to trust messages that appear urgent or official.
Fake utility and restoration scams
Scammers often impersonate electric, gas or water utilities.
- Texts or calls claiming your power will be restored sooner if you pay
- Messages warning service will be shut off unless you act immediately
- Spoofed phone numbers that look like your local utility
What to know: Utilities do not charge fees to restore power and do not demand payment by text, gift cards or apps.
Emergency aid and disaster relief scams
These scams spike right after storms hit.
- Messages promising emergency funds, fuel vouchers or hotel assistance
- Fake charity links claiming to help storm victims
- Social media posts asking for donations using stolen images
What to know: Legitimate aid is announced through official government or well-known nonprofit channels, not unsolicited messages.
Fake delivery, fuel and repair service scams
Storms disrupt normal services, which scammers exploit.
- Links claiming fuel delivery is available in your area
- Messages about delayed packages that require confirmation
- Ads for emergency home repairs that ask for upfront payment
What to know: Do not click links or pay deposits without verifying the company independently.
Charging your devices and lining up backup power now can make the difference between staying informed during an outage and being cut off once the storm hits. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Account takeover and identity theft attempts
Storm chaos makes it easier for attackers to slip through unnoticed.
- Password reset emails pretending to be from banks or retailers
- Login alerts asking you to “secure” your account immediately
- Calls claiming suspicious activity that push you to share codes
What to know: Never share one-time codes or login details, even if the message looks legitimate.
How to protect yourself before and during the storm
Taking a few precautions now can help you avoid costly mistakes when outages, delays and scam messages start piling up.
1) Slow down and verify every urgent message
Scammers rely on panic. If a message pressures you to act fast, stop and verify it through a trusted source.
2) Avoid clicking links in unsolicited messages and use strong antivirus software
Go directly to official websites or apps instead of tapping links in texts or emails. Keep your operating system up to date, and use strong antivirus software to block malicious links and fake websites.
The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe.
Get my picks for the best 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices at Cyberguy.com.
3) Lock down accounts before outages hit
Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on email, banking, and utility accounts so stolen passwords cannot be used alone.
4) Reduce your exposure with a data removal service
Many storm scams work because criminals already have your phone number, address or email. Using a data removal service to opt out of data broker sites can reduce how easily scammers target you during emergencies.
While no service can guarantee the complete removal of your data from the internet, a data removal service is really a smart choice. They aren’t cheap, and neither is your privacy. These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites. It’s what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the most effective way to erase your personal data from the internet. By limiting the information available, you reduce the risk of scammers cross-referencing data from breaches with information they might find on the dark web, making it harder for them to target you.
Check out my top picks for data removal services, and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com.
Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web: Cyberguy.com.
5) Never pay to restore power or receive aid
Utilities and government agencies do not charge fees to restore service or release emergency assistance.
When power and internet access are limited, it is harder to verify messages quickly. That makes preparation just as important as awareness. A little skepticism now can prevent financial loss and identity theft when help is hardest to reach.
Take my quiz: How safe is your online security?
Think your devices and data are truly protected? Take this quick quiz to see where your digital habits stand. From passwords to Wi-Fi settings, you’ll get a personalized breakdown of what you’re doing right and what needs improvement. Take my Quiz here: Cyberguy.com.
Kurt’s key takeaways
Winter storms can turn small tech decisions into critical ones. Ice, power outages and overloaded cell networks can leave people cut off faster than expected, especially in regions not built for prolonged winter weather. Preparing your devices, alerts, vehicles and accounts ahead of time gives you more control when conditions worsen. It also reduces panic and limits your exposure to scams that thrive during emergencies. A little planning now can make a big difference when help is harder to reach.
Have you taken steps to prepare your tech for this winter storm, or did this checklist highlight something you still need to do? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.
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Copyright 2026 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
Technology
Blue Origin successfully reused its New Glenn rocket
Today’s launch of AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 satellite aboard Blue Origin’s reusable New Glenn rocket was a partial success. The New Glenn touched down on its landing pad without incident, making it the second launch and landing for the first stage booster, and officially giving Jeff Bezos a reusable launch vehicle. Unfortunately for AST SpaceMobile, the mission was less successful. Its cell-tower-in-space was delivered to a lower orbit than expected by the second stage of the launch vehicle, rendering it functionally useless.
While the satellite separated from the launch vehicle and powered on, the altitude is too low to sustain operations with its on-board thruster technology and will de-orbited.
Bezos, for his part, posted a video of the landing on X without comment.
Technology
iPhone and Samsung flashlight tricks you should know
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Most people treat their phone flashlight like a basic on and off switch. You tap it when you drop something under the couch or walk through a dark parking lot. That’s it.
But with the latest software updates, both iPhone and Samsung phones have quietly turned the flashlight into something much more useful. You can control how bright it is. On some devices, you can even change how wide the beam spreads.
Once you know where to look, it feels like you just upgraded your phone without spending a dollar.
10 IOS 26 TRICKS THAT HELP YOU GET MORE OUT OF YOUR IPHONE
Both iPhone and Samsung phones have quietly turned the flashlight into something much more useful. (Silas Stein/picture alliance)
iPhone flashlight features you’re probably missing
Your iPhone flashlight does more than turn on and off, and a few hidden controls can completely change how you use it.
How to adjust iPhone flashlight brightness
On almost all iPhones:
- Swipe down from the top right to open Control Center
- Press and hold the flashlight icon
- Drag the vertical slider up to increase brightness or down to lower it
This has been around for years, but many people still tap instead of holding. That’s where the real control lives.
How to change iPhone flashlight beam width (Pro models)
This is the feature most people have never seen. On newer Pro iPhones running the latest software:
- Swipe down to open Control Center
- Press and hold the flashlight icon
- When the flashlight control appears at the top of the screen, swipe left or right to adjust the beam width
You can go from a narrow, focused beam to a wide flood of light.
That means:
- Narrow beam = better for seeing farther ahead
- Wide beam = better for lighting up a full area
This feature was introduced in iOS 18 and is still available in iOS 26.4, but it only works on iPhone 14 Pro and newer Pro models, including iPhone 15 Pro and later versions. You won’t see it on standard models.
How to turn on iPhone flashlight from the Lock Screen
You don’t even need to unlock your phone:
- Press and hold the flashlight icon on the Lock Screen
It turns on instantly, which is faster than digging through menus.
How to use Siri to control your iPhone flashlight
You can say:
- “Hey Siri, turn on the flashlight.”
- “Set flashlight to 50 percent.”
- “Hey Siri, turn off the flashlight.”
It’s one of the fastest hands-free options when your hands are full.
The flashlight is one of the most used features on your phone, yet most people never go beyond the basics. (Anna Barclay/Getty Images)
Bonus: Use iPhone flashlight for alerts and notifications
Your iPhone can use the flashlight as a visual alert:
- Go to Settings
- Tap Accessibility
- Tap Audio/Visual
- Scroll down and turn on Flash for Alerts
Your flashlight will blink for calls and notifications, which helps if your phone is on silent or in a noisy place.
Samsung flashlight features you should know
Samsung takes a different approach and, in some ways, gives you more flexibility right out of the box.
Note: Settings may vary depending on your Samsung device model and One UI version.
How to adjust Samsung flashlight brightness
On most Samsung Galaxy phones:
- Swipe down to open Quick Settings
- Press and hold the flashlight icon
- Use the brightness slider (labeled “Brightness”) to adjust the light level
Many people miss this because a quick tap only turns the flashlight on or off. The brightness controls appear after you press and hold, giving you more control depending on your situation.
How to turn on the Samsung flashlight with your voice
If you use Google Assistant:
- “Hey Google, turn on the flashlight.”
- “Hey Google, turn off the flashlight.”
It works well when your hands are full or when you need quick access.
10 INCREDIBLY USEFUL IPHONE AND ANDROID TRICKS THAT MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER
How to customize Samsung flashlight access
Samsung gives you a few ways to keep the flashlight within easy reach. To keep it in your main Quick Settings panel:
- Swipe down from the top of the screen to open Quick Settings
- If you do not see the flashlight icon in the main panel, tap the pencil icon to edit
- Tap Edit
- Find Flashlight in the available buttons
- Hold and drag the flashlight icon into the main Quick Settings area
- Tap Done or Save if prompted
Bonus: Use the Samsung flashlight for alerts and notifications
Samsung phones can also use the flashlight for visual alerts:
- Go to Settings
- Tap Accessibility
- Tap Advanced settings
- Tap Flash notifications
- Turn on Camera flash notification
You can also turn on Screen flash notification if you want your display to light up instead.
When iPhone and Samsung flashlight features actually matter
This is where it becomes practical:
- Walking at night: a narrow beam helps you see farther ahead
- Power outage: a wide beam lights up more of the room
- Looking for something nearby: lower brightness avoids harsh glare
- Emergency situations: faster access can save time
Once you start adjusting the light instead of just turning it on, it becomes far more useful.
Take my quiz: How safe is your online security?
Think your devices and data are truly protected? Take this quick quiz to see where your digital habits stand. From passwords to Wi-Fi settings, you’ll get a personalized breakdown of what you’re doing right and what needs improvement. Take my Quiz here: Cyberguy.com
Apple improved control with hardware and software, while Samsung focused on flexibility and customization. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Kurt’s key takeaways
The flashlight is one of the most used features on your phone, yet most people never go beyond the basics. Apple improved control with hardware and software, while Samsung focused on flexibility and customization. Both approaches make a simple tool far more capable.
Have you ever discovered a hidden feature on your phone that made you wonder what else you’ve been missing? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com
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Copyright 2026 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
Technology
The future of local TV news has taken a Trumpian turn
A long time ago, in 2004, the Federal Communications Commission laid down a rule designed to prevent a monopoly: No one company could broadcast to more than 39 percent of all the TV households in the United States. But then Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025. Brendan Carr became FCC chairman and immediately kicked off a deregulatory initiative called “Delete, Delete, Delete,” in which Carr vowed to get rid of “every rule, regulation, or guidance document” that placed “unnecessary regulatory burdens” on companies. And within months, Nexstar, which already owned over 200 stations nationwide and had hit its ownership cap, announced that it had entered an agreement to purchase its rival, Tegna, for an estimated $6.2 billion — something that could only happen, however, if Carr agreed to change the FCC’s rules.
If you ask Nexstar why it’s pursuing a merger that would give it control of over 80 percent of the market, it’d point to Big Tech as the culprit. As advertisers take their money to Netflix, YouTube, and other digital streamers, linear television — the local television news, the broadcast affiliates, the basic cable networks — has suffered, forcing them to consolidate and shut down newsrooms. In that sense, Nexstar argued, the merger would help it compete for ad revenue with the streaming services, thereby building more robust local journalism. However, the merger’s opponents believe that this is a basic violation of antitrust laws and principles — not to mention the danger of letting one company have editorial control over the vast majority of America’s local television newsrooms.
But the second Trump administration handles regulatory hurdles a little differently than others, and companies have found that it’s faster to get what they want if they bypass the agencies and talk (read: suck up) to Trump directly. And when Nexstar did so publicly, it confirmed its opponents’ fears about political influence. Last September, in the fraught weeks after the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, Nexstar announced it would no longer broadcast Jimmy Kimmel Live! — a response to Carr’s claim that the FCC could revoke the broadcast licenses of TV stations that aired the comedian’s comments related to Kirk. It briefly led to ABC suspending Kimmel’s show, though ABC and Nexstar soon reversed their decision after a massive nationwide backlash and an ABC boycott.
However, Nexstar’s loyalty to Trump himself was not enough to win over his most powerful MAGA supporters. Newsmax, a cable news network with a deeply pro-Trump bent, and its CEO, longtime Trump donor and outside adviser Chris Ruddy, filed a lawsuit objecting to the merger, claiming that Nexstar’s anticompetitive behavior would force channels like his off the air with steeper carriage fees. He specifically accused Nexstar of jacking up the fees for stations to carry Newsmax, while offering its similar network, NewsNation, for much cheaper.
The Nexstar-Tegna MAGA makeover then took a more subtle turn. NewsNation hired the pro-Trump Fox News commentator Katie Pavlich and gave her her own primetime show. (The network had already hired a slew of former Fox journalists as well.) Around this time, a political group called Keep News Local began airing ads in DC that seemed to directly address Trump, praising him for having “defeated the fake news monopolies before through independent voices and local news” and claiming that the Nexstar-Tegna merger was “crucial for MAGA to survive.” (A little self-contradictory and mildly illogical, but it’s the kind of stuff that Trump likes to hear.) When I last spoke to Ruddy in February, I asked if he’d worried that the dark money going into Keep News Local would sway Trump, and he chose his words carefully: “I think at the end of the day, Trump makes up his own mind. I’m not sure he’s going to be influenced by an ad campaign.”
For months, no one could accurately predict if Trump would override Carr’s wishes and bless the deal, as he’s often done for other companies facing regulatory scrutiny. Trump’s Truth Social posts about the merger have been a good indicator of how precarious the merger has been and who’s been able to influence him at any given moment: Last November, he blasted the deal as an “EXPANSION OF THE FAKE NEWS NETWORKS,” but by February, he posted that the deal would “help knock out the Fake News because there will be more competition.”
Several current and former NewsNation employees told Status at the time that they feared that the parent company was steering NewsNation away from the centrist, “unbiased” reputation they’d long cultivated. “A lot of people within the network believe that the network has gone hard right to appeal to Trump and Brendan Carr,” one former employee told Status. Coincidentally, days before the deal was finalized, NewsNation began ramping up its explicitly pro-Trump content, tweeting a clip of CNN’s Kaitlan Collins being berated by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, along with the comment “Just going to leave this here.”
When Trump greenlit the merger in mid-March, but before the FCC’s three commissioners could vote on whether to waive the ownership cap, Nexstar and Tegna immediately announced a new complication: Tegna and Nexstar had already started merging. Tegna was no more and CEO Mike Steib had already sold $22.6 million of his company stock.
In response, eight state attorneys general and satellite TV operator DirectTV, which had already been planning to file separate federal antitrust suits against the merger, asked US District Judge Troy Nunley in Sacramento for an emergency restraining order that would prevent Nexstar from taking over Tegna’s assets. The order was granted on March 27th and on April 17, Nunley issued a formal injunction, ruling that Tegna must be operated as an independent financial entity, and Nexstar must take steps to ensure it remains separate from Tegna before further legal proceedings.
For now, Nunley has allowed the states and DirecTV to combine their cases, in which both argue that the merger was a clear violation of antitrust laws and would crush news competition.
Meanwhile, Republicans and Democrats in Congress are furious at Carr. On March 30th, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) sent the chairman a joint letter admonishing him for allowing his staff to waive the regulations to let the merger pass, instead of having the full commission of political appointees — one from the Biden administration — vote on it. “Under these circumstances,” they wrote, “any subsequent vote risks being largely procedural rather than a genuine exercise of commission responsibility.” They also pointed out that their hasty approval without the commission’s approval would now complicate the merger financially: “In a transaction of this scale, where integration proceeds quickly and unwinding becomes impractical, delay in judicial review can insulate the decision from meaningful challenge.” Notably, though they share similar ideological views on the media and deregulation, Cruz and Carr have frequently clashed over how to achieve their objectives. Cruz previously slammed Carr as a “mafioso,” for instance, for the way he’d used the FCC to silence Kimmel.
But even if it’s legally paused, the journalistic merger’s fallout has started to hit local news. NPR’s David Folkenfirk reported on Tuesday that Tegna journalists had already started receiving orders to stop broadcasting content from major broadcasters like ABC, CBS, and NBC — media outlets being targeted by Carr — and instead begin airing content from Nexstar’s NewsNation.
- Brendan Carr’s views on using the FCC to punish major broadcasters was outlined pretty extensively in the chapter he authored in Project 2025, an initiative led by the conservative Heritage Foundation on how to reform the federal bureaucracy to be more favorable to the American right.
- Exactly how much is local television losing to digital? According to industry publication NewscastStudio, in an investor call defending the purchase, Nexstar chairman Perry Sook cited a market research study from Borrell Associates, which found that “digital advertising in local markets exceeds $100 billion, compared to just $25 billion for local linear television advertising, with nearly two-thirds of digital ad dollars flowing to five major technology companies.”
- If you want to see exactly how much Keep Local News was trying to suck up to Trump, the ads are archived here.
- The Vergecast has a long-running segment called “Brendan Carr is a dummy.”
- The LA Times reported on last week’s preliminary hearings in front of Nunley, and how lawyers for Nexstar, the states, and DirecTV plan to argue their case.
- The Desk has insights from Kirk Varner, a former TV newsroom director, on how the case could go.
- Andrew Liptak covered Nexstar’s previous acquisition sprees for The Verge in 2018.
- Adi Robertson walks through exactly how the Kimmel suspension was an attack on free speech.
- Brendan Carr keeps trying to convince people that he’s not threatening to suspend broadcast licenses for reporting on unfavorable things like the Iran war, reports Lauren Feiner.
- The Vergecast has a long-running segment called “Brendan Carr is a dummy.”
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