The Briefing: 8.20.26

The Briefing ☀️ Happy Thursday! The Briefing is your guide to the world of news and information. Sign up here! In today’s email: - Featured story: ABC sues FCC, citing First Amendment concerns - In other news: Stars and Stripes publisher to retire, but may be fired first - Looking ahead: MS NOW to launch digital membership program - Chart of the week: Trust in news from podcasts 🔥 Featured story ABC and its parent company, Disney, are suing the Federal Communications Commission, alleging that an early review of the network’s broadcast licenses is retaliation for its programming and that it violates the First Amendment. The lawsuit is the latest move in a lengthy dispute between the broadcaster and federal regulators. ABC News is one of the most widely used news sources among Americans: 36% of U.S. adults say they regularly get news there, according to a 2025 Pew Research Center study. While Democrats are far more likely to trust (61%) than distrust (7%) ABC News as a news source, a larger share of Republicans distrust it (43%) than trust it (26%). 📌 In other news - Stars and Stripes publisher to retire, but may be fired first - Australia passes law to tax tech companies if they don’t strike deals with local news organizations - CNN leader floats idea of editorial board amid possible merger - Azerbaijan sues CNN, claiming false reporting on the country’s role in the Iran war - An Iranian YouTube show has stayed on the air despite asking hard questions - Network of more than 200 AI-generated local news sites shut down - How Axios plans to use AI to save local news - Journalist Ross Barkan apologizes amid allegations of plagiarism - The Athletic joins forces with sports creators to grow audience - Reporters invited to California Space Force base held at gunpoint 📅 Looking ahead MS NOW (formerly MSNBC) is reportedly planning to launch a digital membership program that will offer a variety of benefits for subscribers, including members-only content, a 24/7 network feed and direct interactions with the network’s journalists. The vast majority of Americans (83%) say they haven’t paid for news by subscribing, donating or becoming a member in the last year, according to a 2025 Pew Research Center survey. Among those who don’t pay, the top reason is that there’s plenty of news available for free. Americans are much more likely to say that news organizations should mainly make money by selling ads or sponsorships (45%) than through subscriptions or memberships (11%). 📊 Chart of the week The share of U.S. adults who say they get news from podcasts at least sometimes has been growing, but do people trust what they hear on this platform? Among Americans who get news from podcasts, about half (53%) say they trust the news they get there about as much as the news they get from other sources. Roughly three-in-ten Republicans (31%) say they trust news from podcasts more than news from other sources, double the share of Democrats who say this (15%). 👋 That’s all for this week. The Briefing is compiled by Pew Research Center staff, including Kirsten Eddy, Naomi Forman-Katz, Christopher St. Aubin, Emily Tomasik, Joanne Haner and Sawyer Reed. It is edited by Michael Lipka and copy edited by David Kent. Do you like this newsletter? Email us at journalism@pewresearch.org or fill out this two-question survey to tell us what you think.