First Amendment

Media in Court – or Not?

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Article in Huffpost by Hannah Schoenbaum, 3/13/26

Headline:  “Utah Judge In Charlie Kirk Killing Case Weighs Media Access”

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The man accused of killing Charlie Kirk on a Utah college campus is due back in court Friday as a state judge weighs whether certain documents and proceedings should be open to the public.

The outcome will set the stage for an April hearing in which attorneys for Tyler Robinson will make their case to exclude TV cameras, microphones and photographers from the courtroom.

Judge Tony Graf has been weighing the public’s right to know details about the case against concerns by defense attorneys that the media attention could undermine Robinson’s right to a fair trial.

Read the full article at:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/utah-judge-charlie-kirk-killing-case-weighs-media-access_n_69b415afe4b0676e64bf175a?origin=home-zone-c-unit

 

 

Untrustworthy Media Search?

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Article in ArsTechnica by Jon Brodkin, 2/25/26

Headline:  “Judge doesn’t trust DOJ with search of devices seized from Wash. Post reporter”

Subhead:  “Court to search devices itself instead of letting government have full access.”

“A federal court will conduct a search of devices seized from a Washington Post reporter after a magistrate judge decided yesterday that the Department of Justice cannot be trusted to perform the search on its own.

“US Magistrate Judge William Porter criticized government prosecutors for not including key information in a search warrant application. The court wasn’t aware of a 1980 law that limits searches and seizures of journalists’ work materials when it approved the warrant, Porter acknowledged. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/02/judge-doesnt-trust-doj-with-search-of-devices-seized-from-wash-post-reporter/

Reporters Defend Reporting

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Image from Poynter

Article in Poynter by Staff, 1/30/26

Headline: “Journalists should prepare to defend their right to report the news”

Subhead:  “The arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort on Friday signal an increasing willingness for the federal government to criminalize newsgathering activities.

“While the legal merits of those arrests have yet to be tested, they are a red flag for journalists and newsroom leaders everywhere. Given the speed and unpredictability of recent federal actions — including the seizure of a Washington Post reporter’s equipment earlier this month — every newsroom must prepare now to defend its right to report the news. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2026/journalists-should-prepare-to-defend-their-right-to-report-the-news/

Broadcasting “Fairness Doctrine” Redux?

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Article in Daily Beast by Owen Mason-Hill, 1/29/26

Headline:  “Trump’s Media Goon Lashes Back at ‘Fake News’ Late-Night Host”

“FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s crackdown on late-night TV shows no signs of slowing down.

“In the Federal Communications Commission’s January press conference, Carr, 48, whom late-night host Jimmy Kimmel referred to as Trump’s ‘little ferret in the FCC,’ addressed the equal opportunity measure that the Commission rereleased earlier this month.

“ ‘If you’re fake news, you’re not going to qualify as the bona fide news exception,’ Carr declared.

“With the ‘bona fide news’ exception, Carr is referencing an FCC-issued public notice reiterating broadcasters’ obligation to provide political candidates with equal opportunities to appear on their shows. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/trumps-media-goon-lashes-back-at-fake-news-jimmy-kimmel/

Journalist Exposes Secret Lists

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Article in Common Dreams by Brett Wilkins, 1/28/26

Headline: ” ‘She’s Lying’: Journalist Exposes Secret Watch Lists That Trump Official Says Don’t Exist”

Subhead:  ” ‘If we don’t explore more why all of these secret lists exist,’ one US intelligence officer said, there could be ‘even more of an environment of paranoia on the ground and more tragic killings.’ “

“Despite denials from a senior Trump administration official, secret watchlists of Americans are being used by federal agencies to track and categorize US citizens—especially protesters, activists, and critics of law enforcement—as ‘domestic terrorists,’ investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein reported Wednesday.

Read the full article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/secret-watchlists-of-americans

Passes & Dossiers on Journalists?

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Article in Mediaite by Colby Hall, 1/23/26

Headline:  “Don Lemon, WaPo, Ozturk: Trump’s War on the First Amendment Now Alarmingly Clear”

“In a functioning democracy, the federal government does not compile dossiers on students for their political views, threaten journalists with prison for covering protests, or seize reporters’ devices as a warning to sources. Yet all three have now come into focus in the United States, supported by newly unsealed court records and recent actions by the Trump administration. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/opinion/don-lemon-wapo-ozturk-trumps-war-on-the-first-amendment-now-alarmingly-clear/

Washington Post Raid on Hold

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 1/21/26

Headline:  “Prosecutors barred from reviewing material seized from Washington Post reporter”

Subhead:  “Judge issues temporary order after paper had sought return of Hannah Natanson’s devices taken in ‘outrageous seizure’ “

“A US judge temporarily blocked federal prosecutors on Wednesday from reviewing material seized when the FBI raided a Washington Post reporter’s home.

“Hours earlier, the Post asked a federal court in Virginia to force the US government to return electronics belonging to Hannah Natanson.

“US magistrate judge William Porter directed prosecutors not to examine any information seized at . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jan/21/washington-post-reporter-fbi-search

Reel of Attacks on the Media

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Article in Zeteo by Kim Wehle, 1/15/26

Headline:  “So Much for Free Speech. A Year of Trump’s Attacks on the First Amendment”

Subhead:  “The ICE killing of Renee Good marks a turning point in Trump’s unprecedented assault on the right to protest, record ICE activity, and express political dissent without fear of government retaliation.”

“. . .That Good was killed for engaging in First Amendment activity protected by the Fourteenth Amendment – and that the Trump administration is backing Ross while maligning Good and her wife – shows how far America has gone down the dark tunnel of fascism. It’s dire. It’s urgent. It’s likely going to get much worse.

“To help capture the vastness of the problem, here’s a (non-exhaustive) highlight reel of last year’s blows to the First Amendment:

Read the full article at:

https://zeteo.com/p/so-much-for-free-speech-a-year-of?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=2325511&post_id=184656305&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=54vskz&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Document the Truth Before it’s Suppressed

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Article in Poynter by Kelly McBride, 1/15/26

Headline:  “This moment will be defined by what we choose to record”

Subhead:  “Local press and local residents must document history as federal force grows routine”

“When unmarked, masked federal agents grabbed an international student and forced her into an SUV on a public street in the spring of 2025, the United States entered into a new era of federal policing.

“At first, it was alarming — a move more commonly associated with authoritarian dictatorships than a democratically elected government with checks and balances. Now that this tactic, and others like it, have become routine, it is no longer enough to react in alarm. It is time to extensively document everything that is happening. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/documenting-history-as-federal-force-expands/

WaPo Waking up?

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Article in The Washington Post by the Editorial Board, 1/14/26

Headline:  “The Post and the First Amendment”

Subhead:  “An FBI raid won’t stop reporters from continuing their important work.”

“The Justice Department’s decision to send FBI agents to raid a Washington Post reporter’s home Wednesday was an aggressive attack on the press freedom of all journalists. Yet anyone who believes the raid will deter reporters from doing their jobs is sorely mistaken.

Federal law enforcement searched the home of The Post’s Hannah Natanson and seized several of her electronic devices. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/01/14/fbi-raid-press-freedom-first-amendment/