Media Intimidation

Stomping the Networks

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Article in Common Dreams by Brad Reed, 8/25/25

Headline:  “As Trump Threatens News Outlets, Experts More Concerned About Capitulation of Corporate Owners”

Subhead:  “The commercial news media, which helped elevate Trump to power, have proven repeatedly that they are ill-equipped to withstand such pressures,” warned one scholar.”

“As US President Donald Trump late on Sunday lashed out against the American media and threatened to pull broadcasting licenses from networks for their alleged “biased” coverage of him, media experts said the danger to the news media lies partially in corporate outlets’ potential capitulation to the Trump administration. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-nbc-abc-licenses

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Article in Reuters by David Shepardson, 8/25/25

Headline: “Trump again pushes US agency to revoke NBC, ABC station licenses”

“. . .President Donald Trump reiterated a long-running push for the Federal Communications Commission to revoke station licenses of two major U.S. broadcasters and charge them for using the public airwaves, as he criticized their news programming. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.reuters.com/business/trump-again-pushes-us-agency-revoke-nbc-abc-station-licenses-2025-08-25/

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Article in Newsweek by Robert Birsel, 8/25/25

Headline:  “Trump Calls For ‘Fake News’ Networks To Have Licenses Revoked by FCC”

“U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday called the ABC and NBC networks two of the “most biased” broadcasters ever and said the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should revoke their licenses. . .”

“Media outlets promote a healthy democracy by providing the public with fact-checked information, particularly on those in power, and offering essential context. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-media-nbc-abc-fcc-license-revoked-fees-2118632

 

Media Plan: Better Vote Right

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Article in Media Matters by John Knefel, 8/21/25

Headline:  “Steve Bannon just laid out the MAGA media playbook to subvert the midterms”

Subhead:  “The right-wing media plan for undermining the 2026 elections includes pushing for ICE to stalk polling sites and sending a band of election deniers on tour”

“War Room host and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon this week spelled out a vision of how MAGA media could attempt to subvert the 2026 midterm elections, including by advocating for the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at polling places, extreme Congressional redistricting, and a mail-in voting ban. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/steve-bannon/steve-bannon-just-laid-out-maga-media-playbook-subvert-midterms

No Speaking to the Media!

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Article in AlterNet by Carl Gibson, 8/20/25

Headline:  ” ‘They say it’s a felony’; Police yank Dem lawmeker out of bathroom for speaking to media”

“One Democratic state representative in Texas speaking out against the Republican effort to redraw congressional district boundaries was just threatened with a felony charge for speaking to journalists. . .”

“That’s according to a Wednesday article in the Houston Chronicle, which reported that Rep. Nicole Collier (D) had to abruptly end a press conference she joined from a bathroom at the Texas State Capitol. A video of the moment posted to X shows Collier being interrupted mid-speech while on a Democratic National Committee video stream with California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) while speaking to police.

” ‘Sorry, I have to leave. They said it’s a felony for me to do this,’ Collier said. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.alternet.org/police-democratic-lawmaker-bathroom/

Alaska Was Great Success!

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Article in AlterNet by David Badash, 8/19/25

Headline:  ” ‘Pure cult spin’: Leavitt uses press conference to rage against media after Trump’s failed summit”

“In a series of sharp criticisms, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted the media for its coverage of President Donald Trump’s Alaska Summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, claiming despite the goalposts that Trump himself had set but did not meet, it was ‘highly productive’ and ‘successful. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.alternet.org/media/leavitt-press-conference/

Does the Shoe Fit?

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Article in The New Republic by Greg Sargent, 8/18/25

Headline:  “Trump’s Angry New ‘Dictator’ Rant to Media Alarms Experts: ‘Wake Up!’ “

Subhead:  “As Trump’s ugly ramblings about his militarization of cities get worse, prominent legal observer Joyce Vance explains how and why this is all heading to a very dark place—and what we must do to stop it.”

“With President Trump’s crackdown intensifying in Washington, D.C., he lashed out angrily at the media for describing him as a ‘dictator.’ In this same rant, he did not reassure D.C. residents and exaggerated wildly about crime there, suggesting people should thank him for his efforts. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/199192/trump-angry-new-dictator-rant-media-alarms-experts-wake-up

First Amendment Wins!

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Article in Media Matters by Staff, 8/15/25

Headline:  “Media Matters wins preliminary injunction against retaliatory FTC investigation”

Subhead:  “Judge writes that the ‘case presents a straightforward First Amendment violation’ “

“. . .Angelo Carusone, Chairman and President of Media Matters, issued the following statement:

“ ‘The court’s ruling demonstrates the importance of fighting over folding, which far too many are doing when confronted with intimidation from the Trump administration. This case is not just about the campaign to punish and silence Media Matters, however. It is a critical test for whether the courts will allow any administration – from any political party – to bully media and non-profit organizations through illegal abuses of power. We will continue to stand up and fight for the First Amendment rights that protect every American.”. . .”

Read the the full article at”

https://www.mediamatters.org/justice-civil-liberties/media-matters-wins-preliminary-injunction-against-retaliatory-ftc

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Article in Raw Story by Matthew Chapman, 8/15/25

Headline:  ” ‘It should alarm all Americans’: Judge blasts Trump’s FTC for retaliating against watchdog”

“A federal judge issued a scathing takedown on Friday of President Donald Trump’s Federal Trade Commission, shutting down their investigation of the liberal watchdog Media Matters for America. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-ftc-media-matters/

Cuts Hurt Public Media

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Article in The Verge by Charles Pulliam-Moore, 8/15/25

Headline:  “PBS is slashing its budget in response to Trump’s attack on public media”

Subhead:  “The broadcaster also plans to reduce its member station dues by $35 million.”

“Now that Congress has passed a bill that will defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS is taking drastic measures to stay alive. . .”

“The Trump administration has made clear that it sees public media outfits like the CPB, NPR, and PBS as bastions for an liberal bias. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theverge.com/news/760026/pbs-is-slashing-its-budget-in-response-to-trumps-attack-on-public-media

Targeting Journalists?

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Update

Article in The Guardian by Lorenzo Tondo, 8/17/25

Headline:  “Israeli media ‘completely ignored’ Gaza starvation – is that finally changing?”

Subhead:  “A growing focus on hunger in Gaza in the global media has led some Israeli outlets to report on it for the first time”

“. . .more than three-quarters of Jewish Israelis – 79% – said they were either ‘not very troubled’ or ‘not troubled at all’ by reports of famine and suffering among Gaza’s Palestinian population.

“According to Anat Saragusti, an expert on the media, the reason is simple: most people in Israel are unaware of those reports because for months they have never seen them.

“ ‘Until a couple of weeks ago, you could count only a handful of reports from Gaza not filtered by the IDF,’ said Saragusti, the head of freedom of the press at the Union of Journalists in Israel. . .”

Read the full story at:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/17/israeli-media-completely-ignored-gaza-starvation-is-that-finally-changing

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Article in The Guardian by Mohamad Bazzi, 8/16/25

Headline:  “Western journalists are failing to stand up for their colleagues in Gaza”

Subhead:  “This hypocrisy of western media has been laid bare by Israel’s targeting of journalists since the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack”

“For nearly two years, Israel has been systemically targeting and killing Palestinian journalists in Gaza. On Sunday night, the Israeli military brazenly killed another six journalists, who had been sheltering in a tent housing media workers in Gaza City. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/aug/16/israel-gaza-war-journalists

D.C. & Media

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Article in FAIR by Pete Tucker, 8/14/25

Headline:  “Trump Occupying DC: WaPo Used to Be Disgusted”

“. . .With DC’s self-governance under threat, the city’s paper of record is positioned to play a critical role. Right off the bat, Washington Post columnist Marc Fisher sounded the alarm about Trump’s actions, telling the New Yorker (8/11/25), ‘This is troops-in-the-streets, shades-of-authoritarian-rule bad.’

“The next day, however, Fisher sounded like a different person in Post column (8/12/25). Trump was transformed from authoritarian to ‘astute-but-flawed leader’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/trump-occupying-dc-wapo-used-to-be-disgusted/

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Article in Media Matters by Gideon Taaffee & Chloe Simon, 8/14/25

Headline:  “Right-wing media cheer for Trump to deploy National Guard to other American cities after DC”

Subhead:  “TPUSA’s Charlie Kirk: ‘We got a big military. We should be willing to use it.’ “

“After President Donald Trump announced on August 11 that he is deploying the National Guard to Washington, D.C., and suggested he would do it in other major U.S. cities too, many in right-wing media celebrated the announcement, claiming D.C. should be a ‘test case’ and arguing that ‘we need full military occupation’ of other ‘problematic cities’ like New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles. . .”

Red the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-media-cheer-trump-deploy-national-guard-other-american-cities-after-dc

Journalist Jailed by ICE

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Mario Guevara Facebook page

Article in Free Press by Staff, 8/14/25

Headline:  “Press-Freedom Groups Call on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to Immediately Release Journalist Mario Guevara from Prolonged ICE Detention”

Subhead:  “In a powerful letter to Noem, groups including the Committee to Protect Journalists, Free Press, PEN America and Reporters Without Borders mark two months since Guevara’s unjust arrest. ”

“. . .The letter — signed by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Free Press, the Atlanta Press Club, Common Cause Georgia, First Amendment Coalition, Freedom of the Press Foundation, Georgia First Amendment Foundation, Georgia Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, PEN America, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Society of Professional Journalists — expresses the groups’ alarm that Guevara has remained in detention for two months despite the fact that he is not facing any charges and was legally in the United States at the time of his arrest. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/press-freedom-groups-call-kristi-noem-immediately-release-mario-guevara