There’s always more to the story. That’s why we created ‘Off Script’

Welcome to Off Script

A letter from the editor:

If you watch Unbiased Updates each morning, you know we’re big believers in getting you the facts fast so you can get on with your day. But there’s almost always more to the story than we can fit into those few minutes.

That’s why we created Off Script — an extension of Unbiased Updates inspired by one of your biggest requests: more UU.

Each week, we’ll go behind the headlines with the Straight Arrow journalists who reported them. We’ll talk about how those stories came together, any angles that didn’t make the final cut and answer some of the questions you’ve been sending our way.

Some stories just need a little more room than Unbiased Updates allows. We’ll give them that time.

Our hope is you’ll come away understanding not just what happened, but why it matters. And along the way, you’ll get to know the journalists behind the reporting you read and watch here every day.

Thanks for joining us.

Now … let’s go Off Script.

Jason Morrell, Managing Editor and Executive Producer

In This Episode

• As the midterms draw closer, some candidates are quietly rewriting their online story. But the internet has a long memory. Our senior politics reporter reveals how campaign websites are changing, and what those digital breadcrumbs may say about the race for November.
• Plus, media mergers are usually decided in boardrooms. But this one may be decided in a courtroom. The biggest deal in Hollywood history has run into a growing wave of lawsuits, raising bigger questions about who controls the stories we watch, the news we consume and whether this deal ever gets across the finish line. Our media reporter has followed every twist.
• And later, proof that good news still finds its way into the headlines. The remarkable rescue of a missing dog, a drone and the firefighters who refused to give up.

What Matters

First up today, what matters — not just the headlines, but what we’re digging into behind the scenes.

Midterm campaigns shift as control of Congress hangs in the balance

The midterm elections are fast approaching. With control of both the House and the Senate on the line, campaigns are already entering the stretch run.

This week alone, voters in Arizona chose their nominees, and this weekend, Democrats in Maine will pick their nominee to take on Sen. Susan Collins.

The field is starting to take shape.

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Candidates rewrite campaign websites, but archived pages preserve what voters once saw

Voters in competitive House districts can no longer rely on candidate campaign websites to reflect the positions those candidates have previously stated publicly.

Why?

Well, Straight Arrow senior politics reporter Azi Paybarah discovered that at least a dozen candidates in competitive races have quietly updated their campaign websites over the past year, pushing hot-button issues such as abortion and LGBTQ+ rights further into the background.

But while campaigns can rewrite their websites, they cannot erase their record.

Paybarah explained that websites like archive.org preserve earlier versions of campaign and professional sites, making it possible to see exactly what candidates said before they changed course.

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The conversation

CRAIG NIGRELLI: Azi, in your political reporting over the years, would you say this is almost like candidates running away from the issue, or just trying to divert voters’ eyes from it, even though their positions might not have changed all that much?

AZI PAYBARAH: It’s a little bit of both. You and I are probably old enough to have a few bell-bottoms in our closet, shirts that may not seem as fashionable today as they were when we first wore them. It’s not that different from a candidate updating the issues they want to talk about. Stump speeches sound familiar, but some of the details change over time if you hear the candidate enough. Removing or deleting certain aspects of a website may call into question the decision to change focus. The candidates may have the same values, but they may not find as much payoff in bringing people’s attention to them. And when I ask candidates why these changes are happening, were they just subtle changes to make a website easier to read, or are these things that a candidate has changed their position on? A lot of the campaigns that we reached out to did not respond, so we were left with more questions than answers.

NIGRELLI: Let’s dig just a little deeper into your analysis. President Donald Trump is not on the ballot in 2026, but he’s a huge presence, right?

PAYBARAH: Correct.

NIGRELLI: You’ve got a race in Florida, or an example in Florida, where the secretary of state has gone from many mentions of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to suddenly, according to your reporting, as well as mentions on the website and in campaign literature, featuring Trump much more often than DeSantis. What’s the point?

PAYBARAH: If we remember a couple of years ago, DeSantis was not only a rising star in the Republican Party, but also the New York Post once referred to him as “DeFuture” rather than DeSantis, which helped give him the confidence to announce a presidential run that ultimately did not succeed. DeSantis’ popularity was rising in Florida, but once he entered the presidential race and challenged Trump, that star began to decline, and people within the Republican Party had to choose sides between a sitting governor and the former and now current president.

What Rep. Laurel Lee did was focus heavily on DeSantis, mentioning him at least five times in her campaign biography. He’s the one who appointed her Florida secretary of state. She owed a big part of her career to the governor, and she wanted to tie herself to him. Over time, as DeSantis’ star power faded, she pivoted and attached herself much more closely to Trump. He gave her a full and enthusiastic endorsement, and now it’s Trump’s picture that you see on her website. It’s Trump who gets mentioned prominently in the candidate’s biography.

Now, if you look hard enough, you can find a picture of DeSantis somewhere buried on the campaign website, but it is not as prominent as it used to be. She is not highlighting it as much to voters as she once did. And that really speaks to Trump’s popularity within the Republican Party and DeSantis’ fallen stature among certain Republican voters.

Now to You

Do you ever feel like leaving a comment on a news story is just yelling into the internet? Not here. Here we take questions, comments and hot takes from the Unbiased Updates community and actually talk them through.

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Inside the Story

Ok, let’s go inside the story. You can read the stories on Straight Arrow, but on “Off Script,” we get to pull back the curtain on how those stories came together and hear directly from the reporters who did the digging.

The legal battle over a media giant

A federal court temporarily blocked a merger Monday that would combine Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery amid multiple lawsuits alleging the deal would raise costs and reduce consumer choice.

Paramount Skydance, owned by media mogul and President Donald Trump ally David Ellison, set out to close on the $111 billion deal by the end of the month. But the order, issued by U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of the Northern District of California, will delay the merger until at least August. 

Straight Arrow media, bias and algorithms reporter Mark Keierleber has been following what could become the biggest media merger in Hollywood history. He reported earlier this week that the merger’s fate hangs in the balance, with the potential for a winding-up before the Supreme Court. Each lawsuit represents different constituencies, including the screenwriters’ union, which alleges the deal would reduce the number of outlets for the next blockbuster to hit theaters, and a First Amendment group that warns the deal could stifle press freedom.

If approved, the deal would consolidate Paramount, Warner Bros., Paramount+, HBO Max, CBS News and CNN under Ellison. From Hollywood blockbusters to cable news to professional sports to video games, virtually every segment of the entertainment industry faces the prospect of a major shakeup. 

So, we asked Keierleber the question most of us are probably wondering: Why should any of us care?

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The conversation

CRAIG NIGRELLI: As an average Joe, this story makes headlines and stands out from typical business news. What should be the biggest takeaway from the latest developments, and how might it affect us?

MARK KEIERLEBER: It depends a little bit on what the average Joe likes to watch on TV. If they’re really into sports, for example, this deal, if it goes through, would give the combined company the rights to 370 football, basketball, baseball and hockey games. That’s a really large control over the sports industry. Sports packages already cost an arm and a leg, right? And the result could be even higher sports costs.

If you’re really into watching streamed TV, you’re into binge-watching TV, right? Streaming services have already increased by nearly 20% in the last six years since 2020. So there’s a possibility that your streaming service bill could also increase. Across the board, you’re looking at higher costs and a potential for less choice.

Also Worth Your Time

Want more to read? Here’s what didn’t make the cut on “Unbiased Updates,” but we think is also worth your time.