First Amendment

Media Precedent Still Valid?

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Article in The New York Times by Adam Liptak, 7/16/26

Headline:  “Could a 50-Year-Old Case Thwart Trump’s Attacks on the News Media?”

Subhead:  “The precedent said that ‘official harassment of the press’ is forbidden by the First Amendment.”

“It has been more than half a century since the Supreme Court issued its only decision on whether the First Amendment allows prosecutors to force reporters to testify about their confidential sources.

“The meaning of that precedent, Branzburg v. Hayes, is contested, and how the courts apply it may determine the fate of the Trump administration’s aggressive efforts to compel journalists to reveal their sources. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/us/politics/the-docket-supreme-court-press.html

Coercing Reporter to Reveal Sources

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Riddhi Setty, 7/15/26

Headline:  “Private Matters”

Subhead:  “Catherine Herridge, a former Fox News reporter, is being compelled to pay $800 a day until she reveals confidential sources.”

In 2003, Toni Locy, a former reporter for USA Today, published a series of articles about the FBI’s investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks . . . Along the way, she reported on Steven Hatfill, a former Army scientist who was the initial focus of the FBI’s probe. In 2003, Hatfill filed a civil lawsuit under the Privacy Act. . . As part of his legal efforts, in 2004 he pressed Locy and other journalists to testify and reveal their sources.

In February of 2008, a federal judge held Locy in contempt of court for refusing to do so.

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/private-matters-catherine-herridge-fox-news-confidential-sources-reveal-privacy-act-lawsuit.php

Next Step – Subpoena Reporters

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Article by Jeremy Barr in The Guardian, 7/13/26

Headline:  “Is Donald Trump winning his war against the media?”

Subhead:  “President and allies have sued, cut access and issued subpoenas, but experts say media still producing strong work”

“Donald Trump has ramped up his attacks on the media to a level without precedent in American history in the first 17 months of his second presidency.

“But have Trump and his allies won their war against the media – or at least put the industry on a weaker footing than in the past? The answer isn’t so straightforward.

“The list of assaults is dizzying. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jul/13/trump-war-on-media

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Article in Daily Kos by Staff, 7/13/26

Headline:  “Trump’s ugly war on journalists goes airborne”

“News broke over the weekend that the administration had subpoenaed multiple New York Times journalists over the crime of reporting unfavorably on the antics of Dear Leader.

“The administration is very unhappy that the Times reported on the big switcheroo where President Donald Trump, after soaking the taxpayers for untold millions for his fancy new bribe plane, was forced to use his old, sad, shabby existing Air Force One when flying out of Turkey. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/7/13/800069346/media/trumps-ugly-war-on-journalists-goes-airborne/

Court Protects Journalists

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Article in USA Today by Maureen Groppe, 6/29/26

Headline:  “Supreme Court lets landmark journalist protection stand”

“. . .The Supreme Court on June 29 declined to revisit a landmark decision about press freedom that limited when a public figure can sue for libel or defamation. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/06/29/supreme-court-press-freedom-dershowitz-cnn/90298532007/

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Article in CBS News by Melissa Quin, 6/29/26

Headline:  “Supreme Court turns away Alan Dershowitz’s defamation case against CNN”

“The Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up former Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz’s case alleging CNN defamed him with its coverage of remarks made during President Trump’s 2020 impeachment trial.

“The dispute presented the high court with the chance to revisit its landmark 1964 decision in New York Times v. Sullivan, which set a high bar for public figures to win defamation lawsuits against media companies. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-alan-dershowitz-cnn-defamation-case/

Media Lessons from Civil Rights Era

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Article in The New Republic by Perry Bacon, 6/10/26

Headline:  “What Today’s Media Can Learn From the Civil Rights–Era Black Press”

Subhead:  “Journalism professor Kathy Roberts Forde argues that journalists should lean into values such as promoting democracy instead of hiding between claims of neutrality.”

“Kathy Roberts Forde, a journalism professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, says that it’s critical that journalists and media organizations stop pretending that there is a neutral way to cover the news that expresses no underlying values. A “view from nowhere,” the term that journalism expert Jay Rosen uses, is misleading (journalism requires making decisions on what to cover and how) and empowers people who use this neutrality standard to attack all journalism as biased. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/211588/today-media-can-learn-civil-rights-era-black-press

Mickey Media Standing Up!

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Article in Slate byLizzie O’Leary 6/2/26

Headline:  “Disney Finds Its Spine”

“In normal times, in a normal Federal Communications Commission, Anna M. Gomez’s job might be described as wonky. But now is not that time.

“A large part of my role is to call out this administration’s abuses of the First Amendment, particularly when it chooses to weaponize the FCC in trying to shut down any voices that it doesn’t like,” said Gomez. “And we see this constantly, there is a constant infringement on the free press and on the First Amendment and on the rights of viewers and listeners to see and hear what they want to see. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://slate.com/business/2026/06/fcc-disney-abc-renewal-lawsuit-brendan-carr.html

Understand Freedom of the Press

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Article in The Atlantic by Adrienne Lafrance, 6/1/26

Headline:  “Use It or Lose It”

Subhead:  “Freedom of speech, and of the press, can be guaranteed only if Americans exercise their rights.”

“. . .Far too many people behave as though freedom of the press refers only to freedom for professional journalists. But journalists are not in some special category. The right to free press is, like free speech, a basic freedom that applies to all Americans who choose to exercise it. The First Amendment tells the government that it cannot encroach on any American’s right to speak and publish. Freedom of the press is not about the press; it’s about the freedom.. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/07/free-press-first-amendment-rights/687317/

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/

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/

Journalist Awards

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Article in Poynter by Jennifer Orsi, 4/27/26

Headline: “Here are the winners of the 2026 Poynter Journalism Prizes”

Subhead: “Poynter contest honors journalism excellence across 12 categories, from local accountability to climate change to First Amendment issues”

“The Poynter Institute announced the winners and finalists for the 2026 Poynter Journalism Prizes Monday, honoring journalists and news organizations across platforms for exceptional work in 12 categories for writing, reporting, innovation and leadership. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2026/here-are-the-winners-of-the-2026-poynter-journalism-prizes/