First Amendment

Local Reporters Are Vulnerable

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Article in Poynter by Michelle Zenarosa, 11/6/25

Headline:  “When your local reporter needs the same protection as a war correspondent”

Subhead:  “Five months of covering ICE raids taught our small LA newsroom hard lessons — and we’re still figuring out how to sustain it”

“When federal immigration operations began sweeping across Los Angeles in June, our newsroom worked around the clock. I didn’t have to tell them to. No one wanted to stop.

“One reporter’s family members were being followed. Another staffer’s family went into hiding — despite having legal status. Sources we’d cultivated for years suddenly wouldn’t answer calls. At LA Public Press, a 14-person nonprofit newsroom led by and largely staffed by people of color who grew up in the neighborhoods we cover, everyone on staff was personally touched by the raids in some way. We weren’t covering some abstract story happening to other people. We were covering home. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2025/la-public-press-journalists-covering-ice-raids-safety/

Chippin’ Away at the Media

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Article in The Washington Post by Brianna Tucker, 10/31/25

 

Headline:  “N.C. GOP spokesman urges reporter to drop news story, citing Trump ties

Subhead:  “Communications director Matt Mercer later says in a social media post that Trump should ‘feed ProPublica to the USAID wood chipper.’ ”

“A spokesman for the North Carolina Republican Party appeared to threaten the news outlet ProPublica — citing ‘connections’ to the Trump administration — over a story it reported and ultimately published on a prominent conservative state Supreme Court judge. . .:

“The story examined state Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby, his starkly conservative transformation of the court and power over the state’s politics. . .”

“. . .the publication said it received a response from North Carolina GOP spokesman Matt Mercer, attempting to coerce ProPublica to kill the story.

“ ‘I’m sure you’re aware of our connections with the Trump Administration and I’m sure they would be interested in this matter,’ Mercer said in an email that ProPublica published. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/10/31/republican-north-carolina-propublica-trump/

Newspaper – Just Axing?

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Article in The Nation by Ella Curlin, 10/24/25

Headline: “Why Did Indiana University Axe Its Award-Winning Print Newspaper?”

Subhead: “If the administration can censor the Indiana Daily Student—one of the most acclaimed student publications in the nation—then student journalism everywhere is at risk.”

“On street corners across Bloomington, Indiana, newspaper boxes sit empty. Nearly two weeks ago, on October 14, Indiana University cut the award-winning print version of the Indiana Daily Student—just hours after firing the paper’s adviser—ending 158 years of print journalism two days before the next edition was set to publish. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/indiana-university-student-newspaper-censorship/#

When Students Are Censored

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Bill Grueskin, 10/24/25

Headline: “Hoosier Journalistic Paragon? . . .”

” ‘WE ________ JOURNALISTS MUST STAND TOGETHER.’

“That all-caps headline ran on the front page of a newspaper a few days ago. Can you fill in the blank?

“[Waiting…]

“If you guessed ‘WHITE HOUSE,’ just know that we find your naïveté sweetly (but sadly) endearing.

“If you guessed “PENTAGON,” you are getting much warmer.

“And if you guessed ‘STUDENT,’ come collect your winnings (which consist of our admiration for your brilliance)

“This all came about after administrators at Indiana University cracked down on the Indiana Daily Student newspaper. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/laurels-and-darts/hoosier-journalistic-paragon.php

Media Moving Day

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Ivan L. Nagy, 10/19/25

Headline:  “The Pentagon Press Corps Is Gone”

Subhead:  “As reporters for major news outlets turn in their government-issued press badges rather than accept new restrictions, some argue that the best military journalism is yet to come.”

“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s demand that members of the Pentagon press corps sign on to restrictive reporting guidelines has prompted a mass exodus. Nearly all the journalists who had desks in the Pentagon pressroom have declined to sign, and left the building in a joint protest on Wednesday afternoon. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/news/the-pentagon-press-corps-is-gone.php

Censorship Now Hits Universities

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Article in The Guardian by Ann Betts, 10/16/25

Headline:  “Indiana University orders school paper to cease print edition and fires director of student media”

Subhead:  “Editors at the Indiana Daily Student say administration’s move to control news content amounts to censorship”

“Indiana University has ordered its student-run newspaper, the Indiana Daily Student (IDS), to cease printing new editions and fired the school’s director of student media, who also served as the paper’s adviser, according to multiple reports. Students at the school are criticizing these moves as censorship. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/16/indiana-university-school-paper

Riding the Press?

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Article in The Hill by Max REgo, 10/6/25

Headline:  “Hegseth defends media restrictions: ‘The Pentagon press corps can squeal all they want’ “

“Pete Hegseth is doubling down on the Pentagon’s new restrictions for the press corps, arguing it will not change despite complaints from the press.

“ ‘I think the American people see things like that as absolute common sense,’ the Defense secretary told Fox News on Sunday. ‘The Pentagon press corps can squeal all they want, we’re taking these things seriously. They can report, they just need to make sure they’re following rules.’ . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5540286-hegseth-defends-pentagon-rules/

 

Journalism in U.S. Now Dangerous

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Article in The Hill by Michael R.Sisak, 9/30/25

Headline: “Federal agents grab and shove journalists outside NYC immigration court, sending one to hospital”

“Federal agents grabbed and shoved journalists in a hallway outside a NewYork City immigration court on Tuesday, sending one to the hospital in the latest clash between authorities enforcing President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and members of the public seeking to observe and document their actions. . . ”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/federal-agents-shove-journalists-immigration-court/

Court Defends Reporting

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Article in Free Press by Staff, 9/26/25

Headline:  “A Big Win for the First Amendment in Retaliatory Case Filed Against Journalist Timothy Burke”

“On Friday, Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida dismissed seven of the 14 charges filed in the federal criminal prosecution against reporter Timothy Burke. . .”

“Prosecutors are seeking to convict reporter Burke for publishing unaired footage from the former Fox News talk show Tucker Carlson Tonight. Prosecutors are using the Wiretap Act, which prohibits ‘intercepting’ ‘electronic communications,’ in an attempt to convict Burke for finding and publicizing footage of, among other things, an antisemitic rant by Ye — formerly known as Kanye West — during a taping of Tucker Carlson’s since-cancelled Fox News show. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/big-win-first-amendment-retaliatory-case-filed-against-journalist-timothy-burke

Some Media People Don’t Bow

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 9/25/25

Headline: “Opinion | Jimmy Kimmel came back defiant — and viewers rewarded him”

Subhead:  “The late-night host walked back onstage without apology, defended free speech and turned a suspension into record-breaking ratings”

“On Tuesday, ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel returned from his suspension with an empathetic but defiant monologue and included a joke about President Donald Trump. Kimmel said, “You almost have to feel sorry for him. He tried his best to cancel me. Instead, he forced millions of people to watch the show. That backfired bigly. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/jimmy-kimmel-monologue-disney-nexstar/