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** OPINION
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** Bad Bunny is headlining the Super Bowl halftime show. The reaction says as much as the pick.
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Bad Bunny, shown here in New York last month. (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Latin superstar and multi-Grammy winner Bad Bunny has been selected to headline the Super Bowl halftime show in February.

And the political overtones in a country currently divided and obsessed by politics cannot be ignored.

Some argue that by selecting the Puerto Rican-born Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, the NFL is sending a strong message about its support for diversity. And, it should be noted, Bad Bunny has been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, and he endorsed Kamala Harris for president in 2024.

But to suggest all that is the reason Bad Bunny was selected is to be completely ignorant of the fact that Bad Bunny is a humongous international superstar. Besides all of the Grammy nominations (12) and wins (3) and Latin Grammys (11), he is the most-streamed artist in the world. Let me repeat that: the most-streamed artist in the world.

And, by the way, he will be the host on the season premiere of “Saturday Night Live” this weekend. So, yeah, he’s a very big deal.

Bottom line: This is a smart pick by the NFL, a pick that should be celebrated.

On talent and popularity alone, Bad Bunny is an obvious choice to perform the marquee event that typically draws well more than 100 million viewers.

But, of course, MAGA types are fuming at the selection of the first Latin male artist to headline the Super Bowl halftime show.

Conservative podcaster Benny Johnson tweeted ([link removed]) , “This is Bad Bunny. He was just announced as the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show. Massive Trump hater. Anti-ICE activist. No songs in English … The NFL is self-destructing year after year.”

Right-wing influencer Robby Starbuck from the conservative Heritage Foundation tweeted ([link removed]) , in part, “most of his songs aren’t even in English. This is not a pick designed to unite football fans or let people just enjoy the show. It was a pick designed to divide fans and no doubt Bad Bunny will find some way to push a woke message.”

He added, “Does this guy really scream American football to anyone? Be for real with me. No one thinks he does. This isn’t about music, it’s about putting a guy on stage who hates Trump and MAGA.”

On and on it went with many of the same complaints about the songs not being in English and him speaking out against Trump's policies. Then again, anyone other than Kid Rock might have been a disappointing selection for the far right.

Still, as soon as Bad Bunny was announced, you could almost see the outrage coming.

And while the NFL chose Bad Bunny for his massive popularity, it probably didn’t mind celebrating the diversity that the Super Bowl halftime show often lacked until the past decade or so.

USA Today’s Mike Freeman wrote ([link removed]) , “The NFL knows that Bad Bunny's emphasis on Puerto Rican pride would likely upset certain people, people who like football, but may not like a message of diversity. In fact, they may hate a message of diversity. The league knew this and didn't care.”

In a statement, Jon Barker, senior vice president of global event production for the NFL, said, “Bad Bunny represents the global energy and cultural vibrancy that define today's music scene. As one of the most influential and streamed artists in the world, his unique ability to bridge genres, languages, and audiences makes him an exciting and natural choice to take the Super Bowl halftime stage.”

Freeman wrote, “Global energy. Cultural vibrancy. Bridging languages. Cultural moment. This is the opposite energy of what we're seeing in this country now with ICE raids and draconian immigration policies.”

Beyond the bigoted and short-sighted views, the NFL is making a smart and forward-thinking business approach. The league is determined to make the NFL a global game. Each season, the NFL adds more and more international games. This season features seven games played outside of the United States: three in London, and one each in Dublin, Berlin, São Paulo and Madrid.

So it makes perfect sense that it would choose a musical artist who has a big global reach.

And along the way, it can throw its weight around a bit.

Freeman wrote, “The NFL knows it will catch major hell from some powerful people who will be opposed to Bad Bunny and the league still made this decision. Good for the NFL. So, yes, you need to understand what the NFL has done by selecting Bad Bunny as its Super Bowl halftime show. I mean, really understand. The league is using its immense power to push for a more diverse universe, in a country that is, for now, retreating from it.”

Meanwhile, the last word should go to Bad Bunny himself. He said in a statement:

“What I’m feeling goes beyond myself. It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown … this is for my people, my culture and our history. Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL.” (“Go and tell your grandma, we’re going to be the Super Bowl halftime show.”)

A MESSAGE FROM POYNTER
[link removed]


** Boulder, CO Event: Poynter’s 50th Anniversary Exhibit
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Step into the evolving story of journalism — and where it’s headed next. Poynter’s "Moments of Truth: An Exploration of Journalism’s Past, Present, and Future" exhibit runs until October 9 at The University of Colorado Boulder. The program also features a trivia night at the Denver Press Club and a community conversation on the power and complexities of intergenerational stories at the Boulder Public Library.

See the event lineup ([link removed])


** Let’s talk
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On Monday, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., wrote to Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, the Republican senator from Texas, urging him to bring Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr before the committee to testify about his remarks that many believe led to ABC suspending ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.

Before ABC, as well as TV affiliate owners Nexstar and Sinclair, suspended Kimmel’s show, Carr went on a conservative podcast and appeared to threaten Kimmel by saying, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action on Kimmel, or there's going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

Immediately after Kimmel’s show was suspended, Markey and other Commerce Committee Democrats wrote a letter to Carr asking about his alleged threats. Carr did not respond to Markey's questions, but did try to downplay his role in Kimmel’s show being suspended.

In the letter to Cruz, Markey wrote, “Carr ignored all these questions. Instead, his letter reframed the matter as nothing more than independent decisions by ABC, Disney, and their affiliates, ignoring the reality that it was his own threats that appeared to trigger those decisions. Carr did not provide a single substantive response to our questions about the FCC’s public interest standard, communications with Disney, ABC, and their affiliates, or the meaning of his ‘easy way or hard way’ threat. This evasion is unacceptable. Carr cannot pretend to be a neutral bystander when his own public remarks — which you rightfully criticized — sparked censorship of protected speech. Nor can he defy Congress’s oversight role by refusing to answer direct questions about his conduct.”

Markey added, “For these reasons, I urge you, as Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, to bring Carr before the Committee without delay. No FCC Chairman should be permitted to weaponize the Commission against disfavored speech while stonewalling legitimate congressional inquiries.”

Cruz said he was “thrilled” that Kimmel’s show was taken off the air, but also was critical of Carr. Cruz compared Carr’s comments to something the mafioso would say when threatening someone. Kimmel even thanked Cruz in the monologue when he returned to the air.

Still, it would be surprising if Cruz called upon Carr to testify before the committee.


** YouTube settles with Trump
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YouTube has agreed to pay President Donald Trump $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit that Trump filed against the company in 2021 after it suspended his account following the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The Wall Street Journal’s Rebecca Ballhaus and Annie Linskey reported ([link removed]) , “The settlement makes YouTube, which is owned by Alphabet’s Google, the final Big Tech company to settle a trio of lawsuits Trump brought against social-media platforms in the months after he left the White House. Meta Platforms agreed in January to pay $25 million, most of it to a fund for Trump’s presidential library, and X agreed to pay $10 million, much of it going directly to Trump, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.”

The Journal added, “Google executives were eager to keep their settlement smaller than the one paid by rival Meta, according to people familiar with the matter. Trump’s share of the settlement — $22 million — will go to the nonprofit Trust for the National Mall, earmarked for the construction of a Mar-a-Lago-style ballroom Trump is building at the White House, according to the court documents. The White House has said the ballroom, expected to cost $200 million, would be funded by donations from Trump and ‘other patriot donors.’ A further $2.5 million will go to the other plaintiffs on the case, a group that includes the American Conservative Union and writer Naomi Wolf. The settlement doesn’t mention attorney fees.”


** Talking about his new Post
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(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

In his first interview since taking over The Washington Post's opinion section, Adam O’Neal said, “I just feel a tremendous responsibility to get this right.”

It has been a tumultuous time within the Post, particularly the opinion section. It was nearly a year ago when the Post controversially announced that for the first time in 36 years it would not endorse anyone for president. That announcement came after the Post’s editorial board reportedly was going to endorse Kamala Harris instead of Donald Trump. The decision to not make a recommendation led to criticism from both inside and outside of the paper.

Robert Kagan, a longtime Post columnist and editor-at-large in the opinion department, resigned in protest. Current and former post staffers, including Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, criticized the nonendorsement. Thousands of readers canceled their subscriptions.

Then came the announcement from owner Jeff Bezos in February. Bezos set forth major changes to the opinion section and wrote, “We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.”

Immediately, respected opinion page editor David Shipley resigned in protest. Others followed.

Eventually, O’Neal, formerly of The Wall Street Journal and The Economist, was brought in to replace Shipley. He was named to the job in June.

It’s interesting that O’Neal’s first interview was with the conservative Fox News Digital ([link removed]) , although to be fair, maybe they were the first ones to reach out requesting an interview.

O’Neal told Fox that the Post editorial page is still a “work in progress.”

I found this quote especially interesting:

“Our readers are overwhelmingly liberal, right? And they're all overwhelmingly located in blue states. And just a few blue states. And they're over-represented on the coasts. And so, one way to look at it would be to say, 'Well, if you're non-partisan, and you have a highly partisan readership, they may be offended by that.' And maybe that's true. But looking forward as I rebuild, I really just see it as an opportunity to expand our reach."

He added, “And frankly, a lot of people don't trust The Post. And they don't trust the mainstream media more broadly. And so my mission is to hire the kinds of people from throughout the U.S. with different kinds of backgrounds, intellectual diversity, who can appeal and rebuild that trust. And I think that a lot of folks have a poor view of The Post because they don't feel that they've been well served by it.”

He continued by saying, “So is it possible that highly partisan readers will no longer like it when we're not just aligning on one side on every issue? I don't think that was exactly always the case, but if there are people who had a perception that subscribing to The Post was like a form of activism and that they had to do it to oppose a particular politician or party now that we're opening up our lands and writing more widely in a nonpartisan way, I don't know, maybe you'll lose people that way, but I think the upside of where the growth is by appealing to many more Americans in rebuilding that trust, to me, that's a pretty clear decision.”

Check out the Fox Digital story ([link removed]) by Joseph A. Wulfsohn and Brian Flood for more.


** Five questions
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I mentioned this in a previous newsletter. I recently attended a journalism event in Washington, D.C., as Poynter honored Axios’ Mike Allen and News Not Noise founder Jessica Yellin with the Poynter 50 Make a Mark Leadership Award. Allen is the co-founder and editor of Axios and, previously, the co-founder of Politico. Yellin is the former chief White House correspondent for CNN.

The evening featured a conversation between Allen, Yellin and Poynter president Neil Brown. Last week, Poynter published a Q&A that Brown had with Allen ([link removed]) .

And on Monday, Poynter published Brown’s Q&A with Yellin ([link removed]) .

Brown asked Yellin, “I believe you describe yourself as an independent, fact-based creator. You even called yourself an ‘info-encer.’ How would you define that? How would you describe the difference between what you do today and what your journalistic colleagues like Kaitlan Collins at CNN does?”

Yellin said, “The term I’ve come to like is ‘evidence-based creator.’ It doesn’t roll off your tongue, but it does describe what I do: sourced, accurate, clearly explained news with a social-first sensibility. The biggest difference is approach. I convey information in an informal and conversational way without compromising on clarity or accuracy. I explain the ‘so what,’ and I deliver it like a friend. When new people join the team I tell them: No news speak. You wouldn’t use the word ‘amid’ in a conversation with a friend, so don’t put it in a news story. (Though sometimes we break our own rules.) Unlike TV journalists, I also share a bit about my life and perspective along with the news. For example, my audience knows my dog Bruno, how much I love fortune cookies, and why I left mainstream news for social.”

Be sure to check out the entire interesting Q&A.


** The Poynter 50
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Poynter has published the latest story in The Poynter 50 ([link removed]) — a series reflecting on 50 moments and people that shaped journalism over the past half-century. It’s from Lou Jacobson from Poynter’s PolitiFact: “From shoe-leather reporting to handicapping to election modeling: How revolutions by Charlie Cook and Nate Silver transformed political journalism.” ([link removed])

As the subhead reads: “Reporters still trek through competitive neighborhoods to interview voters. But quantitative political journalism has become more predominant.”

Jacobson talks to several smart folks for the piece, including recently retired Washington Post legendary reporter Dan Balz, John Harwood (CNN, New York Times, Wall Street Journal), Ron Brownstein (Los Angeles Times) and Adam Nagourney (The New York Times).


** Media tidbits
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* Media reporter Oliver Darcy testified in Washington on Monday in what was called a “spotlight forum” to examine how the Trump administration is weaponizing government power to stifle free speech. Here’s what Darcy wrote ([link removed]) in his Status newsletter.
* The New York Times is introducing a new newsletter called “The World.” In an announcement ([link removed]) , the Times said, “​​The World will serve as a flagship for international Times journalism every weekday, for millions of people around the globe. It will deliver an engaging digest of top international stories and trusted analysis. The newsletter will also feature video conversations with on-the-ground journalists, personal recommendations and observations from correspondents to understand evolving global trends.” Katrin Bennhold, a correspondent and veteran of the International desk, will be the host and lead writer. Alicia Wittmeyer, who has been in the Times’ opinion department, will be the editor. And here’s more ([link removed]) from Nieman Lab’s Sarah Scire.
* NBC News has promoted Stephanie Gosk to senior national correspondent. Gosk has been with the network since 2006. In a note to staff, NBC News leaders wrote, “While she will cover major breaking news from our New York bureau, this expanded role will allow her to take on more in-depth investigative pieces, report on big national news dominating headlines, and continue to round out the mix with feature reporting.”
* The Atlantic’s Nancy A. Youssef with “Why Is the Pentagon Afraid of the Press?” ([link removed])
* The New York Times’ Sabrina Tavernise with “She Was Fired for a Comment on Her Private Facebook Account.” ([link removed])
* NPR’s David Folkenflik with “NPR and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting clash as federal funding declines.” ([link removed])
* New York Times’ TV critic Mike Hale with “Why Did Apple Get Cold Feet About ‘Savant’?” ([link removed])
* Variety’s Brian Steinberg with “Lester Holt Finds New ‘Appeal’ in ‘Dateline’ Podcast, Tackling Much-Scrutinized Texas Death Sentence Case.” ([link removed])
* Deadline’s Matthew Carey with “MSNBC Acquires Rachel Maddow Documentary ‘Andrew Young: The Dirty Work’; Watch Trailer For Project On Living Civil Rights Legend.” ([link removed])
* Salt Lake Tribune executive editor Lauren Gustus with “We’re launching The Southern Utah Tribune.” ([link removed]) ’
* The New York Times’ Amanda Hess with “A Baby. A Double Mastectomy. Many Opinions From Fox News Viewers.” ([link removed])
* Awful Announcing’s Sam Neumann with “Paul Finebaum considering leaving ESPN to run for U.S. Senate as a Republican.” ([link removed])


** Hot type
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* The Washington Post’s Geoffrey A. Fowler with “I discovered ChatGPT’s best new feature: Quitting things for you.” ([link removed])


** More resources for journalists
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* Deepen your coverage of incarcerated women and women with incarcerated family members and get the chance to apply for one of five $10,000 reporting grants. Enroll now ([link removed]) .
* Get training to track federal climate policy rollbacks and their local impacts. Enroll now ([link removed]) .

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

The Poynter Report is your daily dive into the world of media, packed with the latest news and insights. Get it delivered to your inbox Monday through Friday by signing up here ([link removed]) . And don’t forget to tune into our biweekly podcast ([link removed]) for even more.
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