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A Lonely Fight at FCC

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Article in AP by Steven Sloan, 5/25/26

Headline:  “Q&A: Anna Gomez is the sole Democrat on the FCC. She has a warning for big media companies”

“. . .Anna Gomez wakes up every morning and checks her phone to see if President Donald Trump has fired her yet.

“For now, she remains the sole Democrat on the Federal Communications Commission, where she’s on an increasingly urgent mission to press media companies to more forcefully combat an administration she says is cracking down on free speech. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://apnews.com/article/fcc-disney-censorship-trump-threats-commissoner-democrat-386b210604373bb19ec6a485b89222b1

News Access or Not?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 5/19/26

Headline: “Opinion | Why The New York Times is suing the Pentagon — again”

Subhead: “The news outlet says the Pentagon’s latest press-access restrictions are unconstitutional and retaliatory after an earlier court loss”

“For the second time, The New York Times is suing the Department of Defense, claiming it’s a violation of the First Amendment for journalists to be required to have an escort while working inside the Pentagon.

“This is just the latest volley in a continuing conflict between the press and President Donald Trump’s Defense Department, led by Defense Secretary and former Fox News talking head Pete Hegseth. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/new-york-times-pentagon-lawsuit-escort/

Atlantic Won’t Cave

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 5/8/26

Headline:  “Opinion | The Atlantic isn’t backing down”

Subhead:  “The publication’s editor-in-chief says a lawsuit and potential FBI probe will not deter its journalists from publishing the truth.”

“If the FBI and its director Kash Patel thought they could intimidate The Atlantic and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick with lawsuits and federal investigations, they have been given a resounding wake-up call.

The Atlantic is making itself clear. They are standing behind their reporter. They are standing behind their journalism. They won’t be backing down.

Last month, Fitzpatrick wrote a bombshell story based on conversations with dozens of sources. Those sources described Patel as erratic, suspicious of others and prone to jumping to conclusions before he had the necessary evidence. The story included allegations of “excessive drinking” as well as “conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences” while Patel has been in charge of the FBI. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/the-atlantic-kash-patel-lawsuit-fbi-investigation/

Another Empty Suit in Court?

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Article in The Intercept by Bryce Covert, 5/6/26

Headline:  “Lawyer on EEOC’s New York Times Lawsuit Has History Battling Discrimination Against Men”

Subhead:  “A former EEOC commissioner said, “They’re putting out their best facts in this complaint, and the facts are pathetic.”

“The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a key achievement of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the federal agency tasked with protecting American workers from employment discrimination, sued the New York Times on behalf of a white man claiming the company discriminated against him based on his race and sex. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://theintercept.com/2026/05/06/eeoc-nyt-lawsuit-discrimination-men/

No Alcohol-Reporting Allowed?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jem Bartholomew, 5/7/26

Headline:  “With Malice”

Subhead:  “Kash Patel’s FBI is going after reporters and news organizations for routine newsgathering practices.”

“. . .’Maria [Fox News], I’m happy to announce on your show that we’re not gonna take this laying down,’ Patel told Bartiromo. ‘You wanna attack my character? Come at me? Bring it on, I’ll see you in court.’ The next day, Patel’s lawyers filed a defamation lawsuit, in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking damages from The Atlantic, as well as naming Fitzpatrick in the suit. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/with-malice-kash-patel-fbi-routine-newsgathering-target-practice-atlantic.php

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Article in The Atlantic by David Graham, 5/6/26

Headline: “A Dangerous New Attack on Press Freedom”

Subhead:  “According to MS NOW, the FBI has launched an investigation into an Atlantic reporter.”

“The Trump administration’s war against freedom of the press has reached a startling new low.

According to a report this morning from MS NOW, the FBI has opened a criminal investigation focusing on my Atlantic colleague Sarah Fitzpatrick, related to an article she published last month about Director Kash Patel. Drawing on some two dozen sources, Fitzpatrick reported that people inside the administration and the bureau are deeply concerned about what they described as Patel’s unexplained absences and excessive drinking. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/05/kash-patel-fitzpatrick-fbi-investigation/687077/

More Ragged Suits?

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 5/5/26

Headline:  “US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sues NYT over bias claim”

Subhead:  “White male editor at newspaper claims he was unfairly passed over for promoted role despite qualifications”

“In what appears to be a new front in the Trump administration’s pressure campaign against the media, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the New York Times, charging that the news organization improperly passed over a white, male employee for promotion because of his race or sex. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/may/05/new-york-times-lawsuit-equal-opportunity

Media Court Failure Again

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Article in Media Matters by Staff, 5/4/26

Headline: “Media Matters secures complete and total victory against Federal Trade Commission”

Subhead: “FTC agrees to forgo future investigations of MMFA to secure withdrawal ahead of judgment”

“Media Matters has secured a complete and total victory in its case against the Federal Trade Commission (Media Matters v. FTC).

“In an effort to avoid another damaging decision from a federal court of appeals, the FTC sought to withdraw its appeal of the preliminary injunction awarded to Media Matters to halt the FTC’s retaliatory actions. Media Matters made clear that it would oppose that gamesmanship. Facing the prospect of a loss from what’s often considered the nation’s second highest court, the FTC ultimately submitted to a legally binding settlement agreement with Media Matters

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/angelo-carusone/media-matters-secures-complete-and-total-victory-against-federal-trade-commission

Slowly Sinking . . .

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Article in Daily Kos by Oliver Willis, 4/24/26

Headline:  “Alex Jones lost Infowars—and now he’s losing his sh-t”

“Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is losing the empire of lies, deception, and dubious brain pills that he’s spent decades pushing—and he’s not happy about it.

“Jones has spent the last few days directing his signature rants toward The Onion, which is in the process of acquiring Jones’ Infowars brand that he lost as a result of bankruptcy proceedings. Specifically, Jones has directed his ire toward comedian and satirist Tim Heidecker, the new creative director of Infowars. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/4/24/800027311/media-and-culture/alex-jones-lost-infowars/

Mega Media Money Melting?

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Headline:  “Trump Library Saga Takes Dark Turn: Where Did Millions in Funding Go?”

Subhead:  “Four huge media conglomerates forked over $63 million in ‘settlements’ earmarked for Trump’s presidential library. Democrats are trying to track that money—and the latest developments don’t inspire confidence.”

“Last year, four huge companies pledged tens of millions of dollars to help fund the creation of Donald Trump’s presidential library, a planned monstrosity in Miami that—in a perfect Trumpian twist—may also double as a hotel. The companies—ABC; Paramount; Meta; and X, formerly Twitter—entered into the agreements with Trump to settle legal cases he’d brought against them which experts had dismissed as dubious.

“After the companies agreed to these shakedowns—sorry, settlements—the fund created to receive donations was dissolved last September. Since then, Senate Democrats have been asking: What happened to the money?. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/209254/trump-library-funding-millions-media-companies

Critical Reporting Survives

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jem Bartholomew, 4/20/26

Headline:  “Lawfare”

Subhead:  “A string of court decisions have gone against Donald Trump and his administration, blocking efforts to shut down critical reporting.”

“. . .here is what we do know: In a string of court cases, judges have ruled against Trump and his administration’s efforts to shut down critical journalism. These decisions have revealed that many of Trump’s executive actions and legal threats against the press are hollow—and exposed the capitulation by some prominent outlets as needless, cowardly, and self-defeating.

Trump has sought to use defamation suits to intimidate the press, only to see a number of them shatter on impact with the court system. . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/lawfare-trump-court-decisions-first-amendment-new-york-times-wall-street-journal-whca-correspondents-dinner.php