Request for Reconsideration of Publisher Inclusion in Apple News – www.smobserved.com

Dear Apple News Team,

I am writing as the representative/owner/editor of the Santa Monica Observer (www.smobserved.com) (www.smobserved.com), a local news publication covering Santa Monica, California, and surrounding areas with a focus on community issues, local government, events, and conservative-leaning perspectives.

Our website has been excluded from Apple News for some time, and we have been unable to have our content featured or distributed through the platform. We believe this exclusion may warrant reconsideration, especially in light of the recent warning letter from FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson to Apple CEO Tim Cook, dated February 12, 2026.

In that letter (publicly available on the FTC website), Chairman Ferguson expressed concerns that Apple News may be systematically promoting articles from left-leaning outlets while suppressing or excluding content from conservative-leaning publications, potentially inconsistent with Apple's terms of service, representations to consumers, and reasonable user expectations under Section 5 of the FTC Act (prohibiting unfair or deceptive practices).

The Santa Monica Observer provides original, fact-based local reporting on topics relevant to our community, including politics, public safety, development, and more. We strive for accuracy and transparency in our journalism. While past articles may have drawn criticism from some media watchdogs (e.g., for certain stories in prior years), we have taken steps to strengthen editorial standards, fact-checking processes, and sourcing to ensure high-quality, reliable content.

We respectfully request that Apple review our publication for potential inclusion in Apple News. We are happy to:

Submit sample articles or an RSS feed for evaluation.

Provide any additional information about our operations, audience, or compliance with Apple's publisher guidelines.

Make further improvements if specific concerns (e.g., content quality or reliability) were the basis for the prior exclusion.

This would align with the spirit of the FTC's call for a comprehensive review of curation practices to ensure fairness and transparency for the millions of Apple News users who expect a diverse range of viewpoints, including local and conservative-leaning sources.

Thank you for your time and consideration. We value Apple News as a platform and would greatly appreciate the opportunity to contribute reliable local news to it. Please let us know if there is a formal reapplication process through the News Publisher portal or any other steps we should take.

Best regards,

David Ganezer, Publisher

Santa Monica Observer

http://www.smobserved.com