Media Intimidation

Pressure on Broadcast News

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Article in Poynter, by Tom Jones, 12/12/25

Headline:  “Donald Trump’s mission to get CNN sold”

Subhead: “It’s one thing for the president of the United States to dislike a network. It’s quite another to get personally involved in the network’s sale.”

“There’s no doubt about it at this point. President Donald Trump has great interest in what happens to CNN.

“CNN is a part of Warner Bros. Discovery. And, at the moment, WBD is in a tug-of-war between being sold to Netflix or being taken over in a hostile bid by Paramount.

“That sets up this interesting equation. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/donald-trumps-mission-to-get-cnn-sold/

Loony Media Influencers?

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Article in NPR On the Media by WYNC Staff, 12/9/25

Headline:  “Covering the Pentagon, from Sy Hersh to Laura Loomer”

“The New York Times has sued the Pentagon for restricting access to journalists. On this week’s On the Media, meet the new cast of right wing influencers and conspiracy theorists replacing the press corps in the Pentagon. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.npr.org/podcasts/452538775/on-the-media

Not Only Media . . .

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From Political Dictionary

Article in FAIR by Jim Naureckas, 12/10/25

Headline:  “FBI Is Making an Enemies List—and Most Corporate Media Didn’t Even Check It Once”

“The Trump FBI is drawing up an enemies list that could encompass well over half the US public. . .”

“Congratulations—you may be headed for Attorney General Pam Bondi’s “list of groups or entities engaging in acts that may constitute domestic terrorism. ‘Terrorism,’ of course, is the magic word that strips you of all sorts of legal protections, especially in the post-9/11 era. . .”

“. . .virtually no corporate media outlets covered this. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/fbi-is-making-an-enemies-list-and-most-corporate-media-didnt-even-check-it-once/

MAGA Media and Women

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Article in Media Matters by John Knefel, 12/10/25

Headline:  “Right-wing media are poised to escalate attacks on women as MAGA cracks emerge”

Subhead:  “As MAGA begins to fracture, elements of the coalition may seek to rally behind anti-feminism”

“The right-wing media and policy ecosystem appears poised to escalate its attacks on the basic rights of women as a weakened President Donald Trump lurches toward the end of the first year of his second term. The campaign to roll back decades of material gains for women is coming from both the gutter sexists and the would-be high-brow elements of the conservative media world, and it could serve as a rallying point for an increasingly fractured MAGA movement. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/diversity-discrimination/right-wing-media-are-poised-escalate-attacks-women-maga-cracks-emerge

Media Silence for Public

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Article in Poynter by Kelly McBride, 12/9/25

Headline:  “When powerful people bully the press, they’re really trying to silence the public”

Subhead:  “What looks like a personal attack is often an intimidation tactic aimed at the entire press and the people it serves”

“. . .In addition to recently calling a reporter “piggy,” President Donald Trump has mocked a journalist’s physical disabilities and belittled one of his interviewers at the 2024 NABJ conference for her tough opening question. But he’s not the only one. Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told a reporter to go back to her country. . .”

Read the full article at:
https://www.poynter.org/ethics-trust/2025/what-to-do-when-powerful-people-bully-journalists/

Free Speech Disappearing?

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Article in Free Press by Staff 12/8/25

Headline:  “Comprehensive New Report Uncovers a Pervasive Pattern Driving the Trump Administration’s Year of Attacks Against Free Speech”

Subhead:  “In an analysis of hundreds of assaults on the First Amendment, Free Press reveals a systemic speech-chilling campaign.”

“WASHINGTON — On Monday, Free Press published an authoritative report analyzing the hundreds of incidents involving possible First Amendment violations over the first year of the Trump White House. The report — CHOKEHOLD: Donald Trump’s War on Free Speech & the Need for Systemic Resistance — sheds new light on a pattern driving an administration-wide campaign to silence dissent. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/report-uncovers-pervasive-pattern-driving-trump-administrations-year-attacks-free-speech

Newspaper Breaking Out of the Cage?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 12/5/25

Headline:  “The New York Times draws a line on Pentagon press limits”

Headline:  “The Times sues the Pentagon, highlighting a pivotal moment for press freedom”

“The New York Times did something Thursday we haven’t seen enough of as President Donald Trump and his administration continue to strip away press freedoms.

“They took the fight to the administration.

“In a sign that they are sick and tired and aren’t going to take it anymore, the Times filed a lawsuit against the Pentagon, claiming that their First Amendment rights are being violated by the Pentagon’s new press restrictions. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/new-york-times-sues-pentagon-npr-underage-women/

Documenting Frivolous Press Lawsuits

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Liam Scott, 12/4/25

Headline:  “The SLAPP Problem Is Worse Than We Thought”

Subhead:  “As Donald Trump tests the limits of anti-press litigation, a new initiative aims to document the wave of nuisance suits.”

Press freedom advocates and media lawyers in the United States have long warned about the rise of frivolous lawsuits intended to intimidate and silence journalists through expensive legal battles. But despite anecdotal evidence, the problem has remained amorphous. No one has been able to say just how bad it is because no one has closely tracked the filings, known as strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPPs.

“A free speech group at New York University is trying to change that. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/slapp-lawsuit-problem-worse-trump-test-nuisance-limits-litigation.php

Media in Special Court?

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Article in Reporters Without Borders by Staff, 1/3/25

Headline: “USA: New White House “Hall of Shame” webpage expands Trump’s war on the press, disparaging the media”

Subhead: “Misleading. Biased. Exposed.” Far from encouraging trustworthy journalism, the new media bias page on the White House website is the Trump administration’s latest effort to pillory the media. Journalists and outlets critical of Trump’s measures are labelled as “offenders” with no factual breakdown of why their reporting is incorrect. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges the White House to take the page down immediately.”

Read the full article at:

https://rsf.org/en/usa-new-white-house-hall-shame-webpage-expands-trump-s-war-press-disparaging-media

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Article in Daily Kos by News Corpse, 12/3/25

Headline:  “A CALL TO ACTION: The Trump White House Launches a ‘Media Bias Offender Tipline’ – Let’s Use It!”

“The battle against biased media is a continuing and exhausting ordeal during the administration of Donald Trump, who frequently refers to the press in Stalinist terms as “the enemy of the people.” No American president has been more hostile toward the media, or more hospitable toward sycophantic toadies than, Donald Trump. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/12/3/2356718/-A-CALL-TO-ACTION-The-Trump-White-House-Launches-a-Media-Bias-Offender-Tipline-Let-s-Use-It?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

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Article in The Nation by Chris Lehman, 12/2/25

Headline:  “The White House Press Tracker Is a Parody of Media Criticism”

Subhead: “With his approval number plummeting, Trump turns to a familiar strategy: launch a culture war against journalists.”

“As President Donald Trump’s approval numbers continue to plummet—he’s now clocked his first-ever majority of male poll respondents giving a thumbs-down—he’s reached for the pet crusade of all right-wing demagogues losing public favor: a culture war against the press. Over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the Trump White House debuted its media bias tracker—a laundry list of alleged press outrages committed against the righteous, truth-telling MAGAfied executive branch. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/white-house-press-tracker-media-trump/

Clowning Around in the Pentagon?

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 12/2/25

Headline:  “The Pentagon’s Propagandists”

Subhead:  “The Pentagon held its first media briefing in months, hand-selecting a group lf MAGA influences to lob softballs – a charade that disgusted the actual journalists Pete Hegseth exiled earlier this year”

Read the article at:

https://www.status.news/p/pentagon-media-briefing-propagandists

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Article in The Washington Post by Scott Nover & Drew Harwell, 12/2/25

Headline:  “Pentagon upbraids mainstream media in briefing with pro-Trump press corps”

Subhead:  “Defense Department press secretary lays into “legacy media,” especially The Washington Post, at a news conference for the Pentagon’s now largely right-wing outlets.”

“The Pentagon’s press secretary excoriated the mainstream press, and particularly The Washington Post, at a news briefing Tuesday for the Pentagon’s newly credentialed media representatives, the first such event since Defense Department press restrictions spurred a mass exodus of established news organizations in October. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/12/02/pentagon-media/