It was a story that started off completely laughable and so absurd that no one actually took it seriously. But it has quickly gone from ridiculous to alarming. Very alarming.

President Donald Trump had this goofy idea of changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Why? Because it’s Trump and he does goofy stuff like that. He signed an executive order announcing the change.

Recognizing just how ludicrous this all was, and wanting to continue calling things by their official, worldwide-recognized name, The Associated Press announced it would continue to call the body of water the Gulf of Mexico. The AP wrote, “Trump’s order only carries authority within the United States. Mexico, as well as other countries and international bodies, do not have to recognize the name change. The Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years. The Associated Press will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen. As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences.”

Now just to show you that AP simply wasn’t pushing back on Trump just because it was Trump, the AP did go along with Trump on another name change. Back in 2015, Alaska’s Mt. McKinley was changed to Denali by then-President Barack Obama. The reason was to recognize traditions of Alaska Natives, as well as go along with what many Alaskans wanted.

When Trump announced his Gulf of Mexico/America change, he also ordered the name of Denali changed back to McKinley. And the AP is recognizing that, writing, “The area lies solely in the United States and as president, Trump has the authority to change federal geographical names within the country.”

So here’s where the story turns sobering. At a media event in the Oval Office at the White House on Tuesday, a reporter from The Associated Press was banned. Why? Because of the AP’s decision on the Gulf of Mexico.

AP media writer David Bauder wrote, “The reporter, whom the AP would not identify, tried to enter the White House event as usual Tuesday afternoon and was turned away. Later, a second AP reporter was barred from a late-evening event in the White House’s Diplomatic Reception Room. The highly unusual ban, which Trump administration officials had threatened earlier Tuesday unless the AP changed the style on the Gulf, could have constitutional free-speech implications.”

Then it happened again Wednesday. An AP reporter was banned from entering the Oval Office to cover the swearing in ceremony for Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence.

It’s here that we need to stress this reminder: The Associated Press is a media organization that reaches people throughout the world, including through news outlets that don’t have a dedicated White House reporter. That’s an overwhelming majority of them. So denying access to the AP is, theoretically, denying important information to millions upon millions of American citizens, as well as the rest of the world.

The first Tuesday event, in particular, was extremely newsworthy. It was Trump and his right-hand man Elon Musk going over sweeping cuts — cuts that impact all Americans — inside the federal government.

In a statement after Tuesday’s ban, Associated Press executive editor Julie Pace said, “As a global news organization, The Associated Press informs billions of people around the world every day with factual, nonpartisan journalism. Today, we were informed by the White House that if AP did not align its editorial standards with President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, AP would be barred from accessing an event in the Oval Office. This afternoon AP’s reporter was blocked from attending an executive order signing. It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism. Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of AP’s speech not only severely impedes the public’s access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment.”

Pace also wrote a letter to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. In it, Pace wrote, “At issue here is free speech — a fundamental pillar of American democracy and a value of the utmost importance to all Americans, regardless of political persuasion, occupation or industry.”

Let me be more blunt: What Trump’s and the White House did banning the AP was outrageous and not the type of thing done in a true democracy. It’s the type of thing done under dictatorships.

Politico’s Eugene Daniels, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, said in a statement, “The White House cannot dictate how news organizations report the news, nor should it penalize working journalists because it is unhappy with their editors’ decisions. The move by the administration to bar a reporter from The Associated Press from an official event open to news coverage today is unacceptable.”

Things then got even more testy on Wednesday when CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in a press conference who banned the AP from the Oval Office event?

Leavitt went on a bit of a tangent about it being a “privilege” to cover the White House and how invitations are needed to get into the Oval Office. She then pointed out that the AP was in the briefing room at that moment.

Collins, however, said, “But isn’t it retaliatory in nature? Is the argument, because the reason that the AP was barred, which they said was because they are not using the phrase Gulf of America, they are using Gulf of Mexico in line with their standards. And so the question here is, is this setting a precedent where this White House will retaliate against reporters who don’t use the language you guys believe reporters should use, and how does that align with the First Amendment commitment that you were just talking about?”

Leavitt responded, “I was up-front on Day 1. If we feel that there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable, and it is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America, and I am not sure why news outlets don’t want to call it that, but that is what it is. The Secretary of Interior has made that the official designation, and geographical identification name server, and Apple has recognized that, Google has recognized that, pretty much every outlet in this room has recognized that body of water as the Gulf of America, and it’s very important to the said administration that we get that right, not just for people here at home but also for the rest of the world.”

Pace put out another statement following Wednesday’s events, saying that the AP is “deeply concerned” about the reporters being banned. She later added, “A fundamental role of a free press is to serve as the public’s eyes and ears. When journalists are blocked from covering elected officials, it is the American public who suffers. This sets an alarming precedent that has the potential to affect every news outlet and, in turn, severely limit the public’s right to know what is happening inside their government. We continue to urge the White House to end this practice of barring AP reporters.”

We all should find this especially concerning.

MSNBC’s new president

New MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler, center in green. (MSNBC)

MSNBC’s new president really isn’t all that new. Rebecca Kutler, who was named interim president when Rashida Jones announced she was stepping down in January, has had the “interim” removed from her title. Kutler was named as Jones’ permanent replacement by SpinCo CEO Mark Lazarus on Wednesday.

In a note to staff, Lazarus said, “In the short time that Rebecca was the interim president, it became clear to me that she has the big-picture strategic view and the right leadership skills to ensure MSNBC delivers on its brand promise and is positioned for growth during a time of industry change. Since joining the network, Rebecca has played a pivotal role in the development of many of the network’s recent program launches, has been a driving force behind MSNBC’s nonlinear growth and strategic investments, and has introduced new and innovative audience-focused products. By constructing a first-rate newsgathering operation and assessing what’s required to be competitive in the marketplace, Rebecca and the team will ensure that MSNBC continues to be indispensable to our audiences and our partners.”

Kutler joined MSNBC in 2022 after 12 years at CNN, where she was executive producer and was programming chief for the network’s brief streaming service, CNN+

In a note to staff, Kutler wrote, “Over the past two years, I have had the privilege of learning how all of you do what you do so well, and you’ve been doing it for 28 years, and you’ve built something truly incredible. MSNBC is now one of the most engaged brands in all of television. We ended 2024 as number one in cable news on both YouTube and TikTok. That is a credit to everyone on this call and everyone who has built this brand into what it has become over the last 28 years. My goal over the years ahead is to build on that success. Especially over the next year, this is going to be a really exciting time but also a challenging time. I think it’s important that we as leaders are honest about that and about the challenges ahead. Our jobs are hard on a normal day, and these are not normal times.”

MSNBC’s future, however, remains uncertain. It is moving from being a part of NBCUniversal (and the NBC News division) to its own standalone company.

Tagline media feud

We have a bit of a media feud.

If you watched Sunday’s Super Bowl on Fox, you might have noticed a 20-second Fox News ad that showed quick-edit clips of Donald Trump at the rally where he was shot, anchor Bret Baier interviewing Kamala Harris, international correspondent Trey Yingst covering war, and various breaking news coverage, including footage from a hurricane and a wildfire. The commercial ended with the slogan: “For All America.”

But the Nexstar-owned NewsNation is quick to point out that it has used the slogan, “News for all America,” as far back as 2021. Last November, Variety’s Brian Steinberg wrote that NewsNation was changing its slogan from “News for All America” to “News for All Americans.”

Then on Tuesday, NewsNation started running its own commercial. It starts with anchor Chris Cuomo saying, “News for all America.” Then Cuomo talkstalked about the Fox News Super Bowl ad that ended with “For All America.”

“Sound familiar?” Cuomo asks. “Of course it does. They took it from NewsNation.”

Cuomo then asks, “Why are none of the main players at Fox in the ad?”

One can only assume he is talking about primetime stars such as Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham. Then an onscreen caption touts NewsNation by saying, “Because only one walks the walk.” The viewer then sees photos of anchors Elizabeth Vargas, Cuomo, Leland Vittert and Ashleigh Banfield.

OK, yes, the Fox News ad, “For all America” does sound a lot like NewsNation’s “News for all America.” And it’s smart of NewsNation to poke Fox News, although it’s unlikely Fox News will want to get into a rock fight over this.

However, a Fox News spokesperson said in a statement, “Just like the rest of the country, we weren’t aware NewsNation even had a tagline, perhaps because we’re not among the 54,000 viewers and 8,000 25-54 year olds who bother watching.”

In his Status media newsletter, Oliver Darcy wrote, “With Donald Trump in office, media organizations can’t seem to get enough of the phrase ‘For All America.’ Fox News debuted it in its Super Bowl advertisements on Sunday. But Fox is only the latest to adopt a version of the phrase as a slogan. NewsNation last year unveiled a new slogan, ‘News for All America.’ And The WaPo tested out the phrase ‘Riveting Storytelling For All of America’ as its mission.”

Super Bowl numbers

Last Sunday’s Super Bowl, despite the lopsided result, drew monster viewership numbers. In fact, it was the most-watched Super Bowl ever.

Philadelphia’s 40-22 blowout victory against Kansas City drew an average 127.7 million viewers across all platforms, which includes Fox, Fox Deportes, Tubi, Telemundo and NFL digital properties. That broke the record set just a year ago when 123.4 million watched Kansas City’s overtime victory against San Francisco.

Sunday’s viewership number peaked during the second quarter between 8 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. Eastern when 137.7 million people tuned into the game. Imagine what that number would be like had the game been even a little competitive. The Eagles led 24-0 at halftime, and at one point in the third quarter, led 34-0.

Speaking of halftime, Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance averaged 133.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched halftime in Super Bowl history.

As far as the Fox Sports broadcast …

Fox Sports NFL announcing team of Kevin Burkhart, left in glasses, and Tom Brady, arrive for last Sunday’s Super Bowl in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

All eyes (and ears) were on Fox Sports lead NFL game analyst Tom Brady, who has had a mixed-bag debut season in the booth. He seemed to get better and more confident as the season progressed, and I thought he had a solid game on Sunday. Was he sensational? No, but the uncompetitive game didn’t really lend itself to a special broadcast.

Actually, the fact that the game was never really close might have kept Brady safe from fumbling his analysis of a critical play or big moment late in the game. Personally, I think he would’ve been fine, but in the end, Fox Sports likely breathed a sigh of relief that Brady and the broadcast avoided being an abject failure.

If you were grading Brady for the season, he probably deserves a C+. That might be a bit worrisome for Fox, considering they gave him a 10-year deal worth $375 million. Then again, I thought he was much better than a C+ during the playoffs, and would expect him to be even better next season. He does seem to be getting the hang of it, he’s working hard and, by all accounts, remains committed to being good at it. I don’t know that he’ll stick around for the entire 10 years of his contract, but I don’t think he’s walking away anytime soon.

Many reviews of Brady’s Super Bowl performance were not as kind as my assessment.

The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand wrote, “His presence might have made the Super Bowl LIX broadcast feel bigger, but it wasn’t by anything he said. Ending his rookie broadcast season in the Super Bowl, Brady, the analyst, wasn’t that much better than the Kansas City Chiefs, who were shellacked by the Philadelphia Eagles 40-22. Brady told us a lot of what was happening, but we wanted to know from his 4-D mind — why? Overall, he was pedestrian.”

The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch wrote, “He has unquestionably improved during the season but he is not a transformative broadcaster right now. On Sunday he provided, in football vernacular, a game manager performance. Nothing spectacular; he covered what he needed to cover.”

Fox Sports also unveiled a new scoreboard bug — you know, the box at the bottom of the screen that gives viewers all the scoreboard particulars, such as score, time, what down it is and so forth. Why do networks always seem to break out their newest toys for the biggest games? That always feels like an ill-advised idea considering sports viewers are creatures of habit and generally react negatively to any new wrinkles.

Having said that, I really liked the new bug. Then again, I might be alone.

A friend of mine — a longtime sports editor in the business — texted me to say, “1975 called and it wants its score graphic back.”

Deitsch wrote, “I generally like minimalism, but this gave me some serious 1980s MTV flashbacks.”

USA Today’s Nick Brinkerhoff wrote, “NFL on Fox’s new scorebug debuts with much criticism from fans during Super Bowl.”

Media tidbits

• Speaking of NFL media, good stuff here from Awful Announcing’s Ben Axelrod: “The 2025 NFL offseason’s top sports media storylines.”
• The New York Times’ Shawn McCreesh with “In Trump’s Washington, Words Become Weaponized.”
• The Associated Press’ David Bauder with “With public broadcasters pressured by the Trump administration, PBS shuts down its diversity office.”
• The Los Angeles Times’ Wendy Lee with “Hollywood writers say AI is ripping off their work. They want studios to sue.”

Hot type

• Cool list and well-done design and display from The Washington Post: “50 People Shaping Our Society in 2025.”
• Elizabeth Holmes, the former Theranos CEO convicted of fraud, gives an exclusive interview to People’s Danielle Bacher in “Elizabeth Holmes Breaks Her Silence in First Interview from Prison: ‘It’s Been Hell and Torture.’”

More resources for journalists

• The 2025 Poynter Journalism Prizes contest is open for entries. The deadline to submit your entry is Feb. 14 at 6 p.m. Eastern.
• Gain a deeper understanding of Polarization in America and Christian Nationalism. Enroll now.
• Learn how to cover critical issues surrounding child protection and the foster care system. Apply by Feb. 14.

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at tjones@poynter.org.

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