Censorship

Protecting the Sources

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Meghnad Bose, 3/20/25

Headline:  “How News Publications Are Changing to Protect Immigrant Sources”

Subhead:  “Several outlets say they’ve loosened anonymity policies in recent weeks.”

“A few days before Donald Trump’s second inauguration, Heather Tirado Gilligan, the managing editor of El Tímpano (The Eardrum), a small local newsroom in California known for covering the Bay Area’s Latino and Mayan communities, launched an updated guide to protecting immigrant sources. The new policy called for identifying any individuals who were not public figures or experts by their first name and last initial—and, in certain circumstances, using a pseudonym. . .”

“El Tímpano is one of a large number of publications, especially those that write about or for immigrant communities, wrestling with what sorts of additional measures they should take to protect the people they cover. Many of these outlets are simply doubling down on extensive policies they’ve had for years; others are taking novel steps, including going out of their way to help potential subjects understand the implications of talking to the press.

“At the Miami Herald, senior editor Jay Ducassi recently sought—and received—approval to liberalize the paper’s policy on anonymous sourcing for immigrants, inspired by a request from Syra Ortiz-Blanes, the paper’s immigration reporter. Ducassi, who has been at the paper—including a brief stint with its Spanish-language sister publication El Nuevo Herald—since 1999, is characteristically skeptical about using unnamed sources, but he believes the times merit a new approach. ‘It’s not our job to make Immigration [and Customs Enforcement]’s job easier by identifying targets,’ he said. . .”

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/immigrant-sources-anonymous.php

Ready to Lock Up the Media?

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Article in Raw Story by Sarah K. Burris, 3/14/25

Headline:  ” ‘He’s talking about criminalizing it!’ Trump’s DOJ attack on media stuns CNN’s Jake Tapper”

Subhead:  “CNN host Jake Tapper was aghast Friday after listening to President Donald Trump’s speech at the Department of Justice.”

Subhead:  “Tapper called Trump’s lengthy rant a ‘norm-shattering speech,’ noting that it was ‘one of the most political speeches given there by a U.S. president.’ “

In Trump’s new era, Tapper said, ‘he apparently wants to weaponize the Justice Department against the news media and perceived political opponents.’ ”

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-justice-department-2671332356/

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Article in Mediaite by Michael Luciano, 3/14/25

Headline:  “Trump Accuses Media of Doing ‘Totally Illegal’ Reporting”

“President Donald Trump ripped the media on Friday, as is typical, but he went a step further by calling the press’s coverage of the justice system ‘totally illegal.’. . .”

“He then turned his ire toward several news outlets, including the Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal, which has been critical of his tariff policy. While doing so, he alleged their coverage has been ‘totally illegal. ‘And The New York Times will write whatever these people say. The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and MSDNC [sic], and fake news CNN, and ABC, CBS, and NBC. . . ‘ ”

” ‘. . . It’s totally illegal what they do. I just hope you can all watch for it, but it’s totally illegal. . . ‘ ”

https://www.mediaite.com/trump/trump-accuses-murdoch-owned-wall-street-journal-and-others-of-doing-totally-illegal-reporting/

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Article in Daily Beast by Josh Fiallo, 3/14/25

Headline:  “Trump Goes to DOJ for Bonkers Rant Berating his ‘Illegal’ Media Enemies”

Subhead:  “The president said he will launch a ‘far-reaching investigation’ into the ‘corruption of our system.’ “

“Donald Trump rambled and raged in an unusual visit to the Department of Justice on Friday, rattling off a laundry list of enemies and vowing to have some investigated. . . .”

“Media outlets took the brunt of Trump’s rage and threats in an hour-long speech. He called out some of the biggest players in journalism by name—ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post—and said they operate illegally at the behest of Democrats.

“ ‘I believe that CNN and MS-DNC, who literally write 97.6 percent bad about me, are political arms of the Democrat Party,’ he said. ‘And in my opinion, they’re really corrupt and they’re illegal. What they do is illegal.’ ”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-goes-to-doj-for-bonkers-rant-berating-his-illegal-media-enemies/

Leaks Are a Problem?

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Article in The Washington Post by Warren P. Strobel, 3/14/25

Headline:  “Gabbard says she is ‘aggressively pursuing’ national security leaks to media”

Subhead:  “The director of national intelligence said “politically motivated leaks” will stop, citing articles in The Washington Post and other news organizations.”

“Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Friday that the Trump administration will aggressively investigate people in U.S. spy agencies who leak information to the public, citing recent stories on national security topics in The Washington Post and other news outlets. . . ”

Gabbard, who coordinates the work of 18 U.S. intelligence agencies, said in a statement that what she termed “politically motivated leaks” undermine national security “and will not be tolerated. . .”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/03/14/gabbard-leaks-investigation-national-security-odni/

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 3/10/25

Headline:  “Opinion | Homeland Security is using lie detector tests to hunt for leaks to the press”

Subhead:  “It may be the first time a federal agency has used polygraphs to question employees specifically about leaks to the media”

“The Department of Homeland Security, led by Secretary Kristi Noem, has begun performing polygraph tests on employees to determine if they are leaking information about immigration operations to the media.

“During an interview with ‘Face the Nation’ and moderator Margaret Brennan on Sunday, Noem said plans to use the ‘broad and extensive’ authorities of her role, adding, ‘I plan to use every single one of them to make sure that we’re following the law, that we are following the procedures in place to keep people safe, and that we’re making sure we’re following through on what President Trump has promised — that he’s going to make America safe again.’

“The Associated Press’ Christine Fernando noted, ‘While these polygraph exams are typically not admissible in court proceedings, they are frequently used by federal law enforcement agencies and for national security clearances.’ ”

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/kristi-noem-polygraph-dhs-employees-media-leaks/

Control the Media Control the People

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Article in Status News by Oliver Darcy, 3/10/25

Headline:  “Press Pool Pandemonium”

Subhead:  “Frustration with the WHCA erupted during an off-the-record meeting Monday, as some members pushed the organization to respond more forcefully to Donald Trump’s assault on the press corps.”

” On Monday morning, dozens of White House Correspondents’ Association members gathered for a virtual meeting to address an urgent issue. Eugene Daniels, the WHCA president, opened with an acknowledgment of the uncomfortable truth: the White House has seized control of the press pool, sidelining the association and leaving it in a precarious position. Daniels assured members that the board was doing everything possible to navigate the crisis. But the underlying frustration was impossible to ignore.”

“. . . Since Donald Trump blocked the Associated Press from official events and took control of the press pool—banning both AP and HuffPost from their rotations—some members have criticized the WHCA for its tepid response. While Daniels has released forceful statements, many members want the organization—which is to a large degree hamstrung by a collective action problem—to respond more aggressively. That frustration boiled over in the meeting.

. . . The tone grew more combative from there. . .”

https://www.status.news/p/whca-white-house-press-trump

CNN Coverage of Cuts Not News?

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Article in The Hill by Sara Fortinsky, 3/11/25

Headline:  “GOP’s Burchett berates CNN anchor over spending cuts coverage”

“Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) on Tuesday attacked CNN’s coverage of the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) spending cuts and accused the network of trying to rally its viewers against President Trump.

“In an interview on “CNN News Central,” anchor Brianna Keilar asked the Republican lawmaker about nonpartisan estimates suggesting the GOP’s targeted spending cuts would necessitate cuts to entitlement programs, including Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5189313-tim-burchett-cnn-doge-cuts/

 

War on the Media

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Article in The Nation by Sasha Abramsky, 3/7/25

Headline:  “Trump Abandons Ukraine, and Wages a War Against the Free Press”

Subhead:  “The White House’s attacks on the media are starting to look remarkably similar to those waged in other countries that have embraced autocratic leaders in recent years.”

“The damage, of course, isn’t just overseas. At least in part, Europe—whose leaders were recently lectured by the AfD-courting Vice President Vance for alleged infringements on free speech rights—is looking at America and seeing a country founded on the principle of free speech that is now willing to use the vast intimidatory powers of the federal government to clamp down on points of view, both in the US and overseas, that it disagrees with. . .”

“. . . Trump’s team is also taking a hatchet to the First Amendment, waging a war against the media and against universities that is starting to look remarkably similar to wars in Hungary, Russia, Turkey, and other countries that have embraced autocratic leaders in recent years.

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/trump-pivots-war-against-media/

We’re Watching Your Media!

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Article in The Register by Iain Thomson, 3/6/25

Headline:  “Uncle Sam mulls policing social media of all would-be citizens”

Subhead:  “President ordered immigration officials to ramp up vetting of foreigners ‘to the maximum degree’ “

“. . . On January 20 this year, President Trump signed an executive order calling for much tougher vetting of foreign aliens, and in response, USCIS has this week proposed rules saying all of those already in the country who are going through some process with the agency – such as applying for permanent residency or citizenship – will have their social media scanned for subversion.

“That means if you came to America before foreigners’ internet presence was screened as it now is, and you’re now seeking some kind of immigration benefit, at this rate you’ll be subject to the same scanning as those entering the Land of the Free today.

“What’s changed is they are seeking to extend the review of social media to non-citizens inside the US, not just people arriving in the country, as has previously been the case,” explained Michelle Mittelstadt, director of communications and public affairs for the Migration Policy Institute, told The Register.”

https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/06/uscis_social_media/

Social Media Tweeting – Treason?

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Article in Raw Story by Cark Gibson, 2/29/25

Headline:  ” ‘Treasonous’: Trump investigates public media reporters for criticizing his administration”

“Several journalists employed by an outlet funded by the U.S. government have found themselves in President Donald Trump’s crosshairs, according to a new report.

“In a Friday article, the New York Times reported that one longtime journalist at Voice of America (VOA) — which is funded by Congress through the U.S. Agency for Global Media (AGM) — had been put on an extended ‘excused absence’ pending a human resources investigation following a tweet flagged by Trump advisor Richard Grenell. VOA chief national correspondent Steve Herman said the investigation was meant to determine whether his ‘social media activity has undermined VOA’s audiences’ perceptions of the objectivity and/or credibility of VOA and its news operations.”

“In the tweet, Herman quoted a nonprofit leader who criticized Trump’s cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development as making Americans ‘less safe at home and abroad.’ Grenell called Herman’s tweet ‘treasonous.’ ”

https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-2671243816/

New Muzzle for the Media?

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Article in The Guardian by Anna Betts, 2/28/25

Headline:  “Ex-Washington Post editor Marty Baron rebukes Bezos: ‘betrayal of free expression’ “

Subhead:  “Lauded former editor ‘appalled’ by billionaire newspaper owner’s overhaul of opinion section to narrow focus”

“Marty Baron, a highly regarded former editor of the Washington Post, has said that Jeff Bezos’s announcement that the newspaper’s opinion section would narrow its editorial focus was a “betrayal of the very idea of free expression” that had left him ‘appalled’.

“In an interview with The Guardian, Baron also said: .’I don’t think that [Bezos] wants an editorial page that’s regularly going after Donald Trump.’

“On Wednesday, the billionaire newspaper owner and Amazon founder sent an email to Post staffers announcing that the newspaper’s editorial section would shift its editorial focus and that only opinions that support and defend “personal liberties” and “free markets” would be welcome, and other viewpoints ‘will be left to be published by others’.

“Bezos’s announcement was met with criticism and resulted in the departure of the newspaper’s opinions editor, David Shipley. Baron, who was executive editor of the Washington Post from 2012 until 2021 and is one of the most esteemed figures in American journalism, blasted Bezos’s decision.

“There’s been a long tradition at the Post of having a variety of opinions on the opinion pages and that’s part of its heritage,” Baron said. ‘Bezos supported that since he acquired the paper, he advocated for that internally, but his most recent decision represents a real betrayal of the heritage of the Post and a betrayal of the very idea of free expression.’ ”

“Baron said that news organizations including the Post have traditionally honored the principle of free expression by allowing a wide variety of views on the opinion pages, but that Bezos’s decision on Wednesday ‘does exactly the opposite’ and ‘dishonors free expression, which is the most fundamental personal liberty of American citizens’ ”.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/28/marty-baron-jeff-bezos-washington-post

 

Get Those Reporters Out of the Pool!

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Article in The New York Times by Michael M. Grynbaym, 2/25/25

Headline:  “White House Moves to Pick the Pool Reporters Who Cover Trump”

Subhead:  “In announcing plans to handpick the reporters who can ask the president questions, the White House is breaking decades of precedent.”

“The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said on Tuesday that the Trump administration would start handpicking which media outlets were allowed to participate in the presidential pool, the small, rotating group of journalists who relay the president’s day-to-day activities to the public.

The change announced by Ms. Leavitt breaks decades of precedent. The White House Correspondents’ Association, a group representing journalists who cover the administration, has long determined on its own which reporters would participate in the daily pool.

“Because presidents often hold events in smaller settings like the Oval Office, where not every reporter who covers the president can fit, the pool format has long been used to ensure that journalists accurately record a president’s comments. The reporters who witness the events distribute a series of ‘pool reports’ to a wider group of journalists, including hundreds of news outlets that cover his daily activities and remarks.

  • The pool is most often made up of journalists from organizations like CNN, Reuters, The Associated Press, ABC News, Fox News and The New York Times.

Ms. Leavitt said that the new policy was intended to allow “new media” outlets — such as digital sites, streaming services and podcasts — “to share in this awesome responsibility.”

The White House Correspondents’ Association rebuked the move in a blistering statement.

“This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States,” Eugene Daniels, the president of the association, wrote. “It suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the president. In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps. . . .”

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5163291-white-house-press-pool-ap/