Media News Daily: Top Stories for 10/11/2026

CBS Gives JD Vance Prime-Time Town Hall Before Midterms

CBS News will air a prime-time town hall with Vice President JD Vance on October 17, roughly two and a half weeks before the midterm elections. Moderated by “CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil in Michigan, the program is expected to cover congressional races, affordability, tariffs, immigration, healthcare, artificial intelligence, the war with Iran, and democracy. Poynter notes that Vance will be the fourth solo guest in CBS’s “Things That Matter” town hall series and that only one of the previous guests has been a Democrat. (Read More) (Poynter Rating)

CNN Leadership Promises Editorial Independence Under Skydance

CNN Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Mark Thompson is remaining in charge as CNN becomes part of the newly formed Skydance Corp. following the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Thompson told employees that the company’s new leadership understands and supports CNN’s editorial independence, while Skydance co-CEO David Ellison has pledged not to interfere with the network. MediaPost columnist Adam Buckman questions how durable those promises will prove, pointing to the significant management and editorial changes that followed Skydance’s earlier takeover of CBS News. (Read More) (MediaPost Rating)

Grok Faces Illinois Biometric Privacy Lawsuit

An Illinois resident has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging that Grok collected and retained facial biometric data from user-uploaded photographs without obtaining the written consent required under the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act. Plaintiff Cesar Padilla says Grok analyzed selfies he provided for image-generation requests and extracted facial geometry without adequately informing him. The lawsuit seeks damages, an injunction against the alleged practices, and destruction of biometric information already collected. The claims are allegations, and the court has not determined that Grok violated the law. (Read More) (MediaPost Rating)