Censorship

Public & State Media Not the Same!

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Article in FAIR by Ari Paul, 5/6/25

Headline:  “Taibbi Cites Government Attacks on Media to Defend Government Attacks on Media”

Subhead: “Cuts to PBS, NPR Part of Authoritarian Playbook.”

“Going after public broadcasters is part of the neo-fascist playbook authoritarian leaders around the world are using to clamp down on dissent and keep the public in the dark.”

“. . .Taibbi asked, “How nuts do you have to be to think ‘strong state media’ doesn’t have a dark side? . . .”

“Taibbi’s main trick is to pretend that ‘state media’ and ‘public media’ are interchangeable. They’re not. State media consists of government propaganda outlets that answer directly to executive authority, rather than independent editors. Public media are independent outlets that receive taxpayer subsidies. As I wrote in my piece, NPR “only gets 1% of its funding directly from the CPB,” the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. . .”

https://fair.org/home/taibbi-cites-government-attacks-on-media-to-defend-government-attacks-on-media/

Happy World Press Freedom Day!

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Article in The Guardian by Michael Savage, 5/3/25

Headline:  ” ‘A cocktail for a misinformed world’: why China and Russia are cheering Trump’s attacks on media”

Subhead:  “Today on World Press Freedom Day, there are warnings that US attempts to withdraw from promoting independent journalism will have far-reaching effects”

“As Donald Trump’s executive order in March led to the shuttering of Voice of America (VOA) – the global broadcaster whose roots date back to the fight against Nazi propaganda – he quickly attracted support from figures not used to aligning themselves with any US administration.

“Trump had ordered the US Agency for Global Media, the federal agency that funds VOA and other groups promoting independent journalism overseas, to be ‘eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law’. The decision suddenly halted programming in 49 languages to more than 425 million people. . .”

“It used to be that the US would put pressure on other countries for undermining free expression. . .”

“In Moscow, Margarita Simonyan, the hardline editor-in-chief of the state broadcaster RT described it as an “awesome decision”. The Global Times, an English-language Chinese state media publication, crowed that the broadcasters had been discarded by the White House “like a dirty rag”, ending their “propaganda poison’ ”

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/ng-interactive/2025/may/03/a-cocktail-for-a-misinformed-world-why-china-and-russia-are-cheering-trumps-attacks-on-us-media

NPR – Warm, Fuzzy Treatment?

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Article in Fair by Julie Hollar, 5/2/25

Headline: “Hey NPR, Free Speech Isn’t Just a Vibe”

Green Card–holding students are being abducted from the streets by agents of the state for attending protests and writing op-eds. News outlets are being investigated by the FCC for reporting that displeases the president. Federal web pages are being scrubbed of a lengthy list of words, including ‘race,’ ‘transgender,’ ‘women’ and ‘climate.’

“NPR responded to this shocking government attack on free speech with a Morning Edition series on ‘The State of the First Amendment,’ whose introductory episode’s headline (4/7/25) declared freedom of speech to be ‘shifting under the Trump administration’; it promised that the show would be ‘exploring how.’

“The wishy-washy language wasn’t a promising start, and the segment only went downhill from there, taking an ‘on the one hand/on the other hand’ framing to an assault on core democratic rights. . .”

https://fair.org/home/hey-npr-free-speech-isnt-just-a-vibe/

Another Hit to the Media

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Article in The Guardian by Margaret Sullivan, 5/1/25

Headline:  “The loss of editorial freedom at 60 Minutes is a sorry milestone for US media”

Subhead:  “What has happened with 60 Minutes is a high-octane version of what’s happening everywhere in Trump 2.0″

“There have been so many red alerts for press freedom in the United States over the past few months that it can be hard to know which ones really matter.

“The one at CBS’s 60 Minutes really matters.

“It came as a one-two punch. First, Bill Owens, the highly respected executive producer of the venerable news show stepped down, writing in a letter to employees that he no longer felt he had crucial editorial independence. It had become clear, he wrote, “that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it”.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/01/60-minutes-press-freedom

Non-MAGA Media Enemy of the People?

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Article in Mediaite by Zachary Leeman, 4/29/25

Headline:  “Reporter From Far-Right Gateway Pundit Asks Trump if the Press is ‘Proving to Be the Enemy of the People’ “

“While speaking with reporters, Jordan Conradson asked Trump about the ‘leftist media’ while complimenting his ‘Gulf of America’ hat he was holding. Conradson accused the media of trying to ‘hide’ mugshots of illegal migrant criminals.

“ ‘They’re trying to hide the mugshots that are featured on the front lawn of rapists, murderers, pedophiles. What do you think of that? Aren’t they proving to be the enemy of the people?’ Conradson asked about the media.

“ ‘Well, I guess they are. I guess they are, right? Thank you. Who are you with?’ Trump said’. . .  Conradson complimented Trump’s hate and identified himself as Gateway Pundit’s White House correspondent, earning an approving nod from Trump. . .”

https://www.mediaite.com/media/reporter-from-far-right-gateway-pundit-asks-trump-if-the-press-is-proving-to-be-the-enemy-of-the-people/

Policy Will Check Media Sources?

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Article in Daily Beast by Kenneal Paterson, 4/26/25

Headline:   “AG Pam Bondi Smashes Press Safeguards in Leak Investigations”

“The Trump administration revoked Biden-era protections for journalists in leak investigations Friday, allowing authorities to compel reporters to testify against their sources once again.

“ ‘Federal government employees intentionally leaking sensitive information to the media undermines the ability of the Department of Justice to uphold the rule of law, protect civil rights, and keep America safe,’ said Attorney General Pam Bondi in a memo obtained by NPR. ‘This conduct is illegal and wrong, and it must stop.’

“Attorney General Pam Bondi’s new policy will revoke critical protections for journalists in leak investigations.

“The new policy permits authorities to extract an unprecedented level of information from journalists. It authorizes the Department of Justice (DOJ) to use subpoenas, court orders, and search warrants to obtain sensitive details.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ag-pam-bondi-smashes-press-210215640.html?guccounter=1

Media – Acid or Base?

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Article in Mediaite by Alex Griffing, 4/17/25

Headline:  “The Abrego Garcia Saga Is a Litmus Test For Media Figures”

“As President Donald Trump flirts with defying a Supreme Court order to help return a migrant that his administration admitted it deported and indefinitely imprisoned in El Salvador by ‘error,’ the media is faced with one of its easiest litmus tests in years: does due process and the rule of law matter in America?

“Many are failing. . .”

https://www.mediaite.com/opinion/the-abrego-garcia-saga-is-a-litmus-test-for-media-figures/

 

 

No Reporting on Pres Allowed!

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Article in Huffpost by Marco Margaritoff, 4/15/25

Headlline:  “Bernie Sanders Slams Trump For Targeting Media: ‘If You Can’t Take Criticism, Get Out’ “

Subhead:  ” ‘Trump had a meltdown Sunday on social media over a ’60 Minutes’ report on his plan to take over Greenland and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.”

“Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is calling out President Donald Trump for his thin-skinned reaction to Sunday’s “60 Minutes” broadcast on CBS — and for once again demanding the network lose its license over last year’s interview with Kamala Harris. . .”

““And right now, he’s going after the media,” the Vermont senator said. “I don’t know if any of you saw it. He is now wanting to take away CBS’s license because they did a story that criticized him.”

“Oh, my word, CBS criticized him! Oh, let’s drive them out of business! How terrible is that!” Sanders continued in a mocking tone to boos from the crowd directed at Trump. . .”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-donald-trump-cbs-60-minutes_n_67fe2dc8e4b0e3decc4bf552

Media No-Go Zone

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Article in AP by David Bauder,4/15/25

Headline:  “The White House is starting a new media policy that restricts wire services’ access to the president”

“Fresh from a courtroom loss over The Associated Press’ access to the presidency, the White House on Tuesday put forward a new media policy that sharply curtails access to Donald Trump by news agencies that serve media outlets around the world. It was the latest attempt by the new administration to control coverage of its activities.

“The move would block the AP and other wire services that serve billions of readers through thousands of news outlets. It comes after a judge ruled the White House had violated the organization’s free speech by banning it because it disagreed with the outlet’s decision not to rename the Gulf of Mexico. . .”

https://apnews.com/article/ap-trump-press-speech-white-house-access-97a6f5532edd5eec09bd292ba5c9dbdb

First Amendment and Media?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Sarah Grecy Gotfredsen, 4/10/25

Headline:  “Entry: Denied”

Subhead:  “The “intolerable risk to press freedom” posed by device searches at the border.”

“. . .In 2019, The Intercept documented how journalists covering the so-called migrant caravan faced ‘coordinated harassment’ from US and Mexican authorities. Through a series of interviews, the journalist Ryan Devereaux tells how members of the press were forced to turn over their notes, cameras, and phones while border officers interrogated them for information about activists working with members of the caravan. . .”

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/entry-denied-us-border-customs-device-unlock-search-journalists-detain.php

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Article in Fair by Janine Jackson, 4/10/25

Headline:  ” ‘This Is an All-Out War on the First Amendment’ “

Subhead:  “CounterSpin interview with Jessica González on Trump’s FCC”

“Janine Jackson:  ‘There are reasons that the FCC, the Federal Communications Commission, is an opaque entity for many people. The fact that there is a federal agency setting the terms for media companies’ operations conflicts with many Americans’ understanding of the press corps as a group of brave, independent individuals looking to tell the truth, and let the chips fall where they may.’

“There are, in fact, many community-supported, differently structured news outlets doing just that. . .”

https://fair.org/home/this-is-an-all-out-war-on-the-first-amendment/