Media Intimidation

Journalists Now, Who’s Next?

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Article in The Guardian by Theodore J. Boutrous Jr & Katie Townsend, 2/2/26

Headline:  “We are witnessing a dangerous escalation in the Trump administration’s attacks on the press and a clear threat to first amendment freedoms”

“. . .It is unprecedented for the justice department to invoke these laws to punish journalistic activity, and there is no basis for doing so that would be consistent with the first amendment. Indeed, before the indictment, a federal magistrate judge in Minnesota had refused to sign an arrest warrant for Lemon. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/02/don-lemon-georgia-fort-arrest-first-amendment

Broadcast Rule only Affects Some

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Article in Daily Kos by Alix Breeden, 1/30/26

Headline:  “FCC pushes to punish talk shows as Trump-friendly media gets a pass”

“After FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced an update to a longstanding rule excluding late-night and daytime talk shows from having to interview both opponents of a political party, late-night clapped back. . .”

“Kimmel went on to explain how more conservative outlets aren’t being forced by the White House to abide by the revised rules, but the ABC host is because his show uses public airwaves. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/1/30/2366248/-FCC-pushes-to-punish-talk-shows-as-Trump-friendly-media-gets-a-pass?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_recent_news&pm_medium=web

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/

Burning-Down the Media Now?

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Article in Slate by Jill Filipovic, 1/30/26

Headline:  “Don Lemon’s Arrest Is a Five-Alarm Fire Moment”

“Late Thursday night, former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested by federal agents at the direction of Attorney General Pam Bondi. Independent journalist Georgia Fort was arrested as well, along with activists Trahern Jeen Crews and Jamael Lydell Lundy. The arrests stem from a protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, where the pastor is also an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. . .”

“Even for an administration that has spent a year violating the First Amendment in all kinds of novel ways, the arrest of a prominent journalist is a shock—a five-alarm fire moment.

“It also shows just how far this administration is willing to go to solidify its control. And it raises the question of just how far Donald Trump’s most loyal followers will follow him. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/01/trump-bondi-news-don-lemon-arrest-first-amendment-disaster.html?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_content=jill_don_lemon&utm_campaign=&tpcc=reddit-social–jill_don_lemon

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Article in The Guardian by Richard Luscombe, 1/30/26

Headline: “Press freedom groups denounce arrests of two journalists including Don Lemon after Minnesota anti-ICE protest”

Subhead:  “Groups say arrests of ex-CNN anchor and Georgia Fort are ‘extremely alarming’ and an ‘attack on the first amendment’ “

“Press freedom groups are warning that the arrests of two independent journalists, including the veteran former CNN anchor Don Lemon, signal a chilling new crackdown on US media by the Trump administration. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2026/jan/30/press-freedom-journalist-arrests-ice-don-lemon

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/

Armed Forces Newspaper in Danger?

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Article in NPR On the Media by Staff, 1/28/26

Headline:  “Stars and Stripes in Peril”

Stars and Stripes, the venerated, independent award-winning newspaper that has served the armed services for roughly a century, may be getting an uninvited makeover, courtesy of Pete Hegseth’s Defense Department. In a statement posted on X earlier this month, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said that Stars and Stripes would no longer be carrying wire reports from the Associated Press, and that it would steer away from all that is woke or might sap morale. Parnell said the defense department would be bringing the newspaper “into the 21st century.”

Read the full article at:

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

NYT Sued Redux?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 1/23/26

Headline:  “Opinion | Stop us if you heard this one before: Trump threatens The New York Times“

Subhead:  “The president is not happy about the outlet’s recent poll results”

“With Donald Trump finishing up his first year as president for the second time, there’s a new New York Times/Siena poll about his job performance.

“Two things about it are not surprising.

“One, his approval rating is not good. And, two, Trump is mad as hell about it.. .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/trump-sues-new-york-times-tiktok-deal-reached/

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/

Greeniceland, No Problem

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 1/22/26

Headline:  “Opinion | Trump misspoke at Davos. Karoline Leavitt told reporters not to believe their ears.”

Subhead:  “During a speech, Trump repeatedly referred to Iceland while talking about Greenland. Then the press secretary denied what the video plainly shows.”

“Greenland? Iceland? What is President Donald Trump talking about? . . .”

“Meanwhile — and this is the larger concern — Leavitt losing her cool and trying to gaslight a reporter by saying the reporter didn’t hear what the world clearly heard only makes Leavitt and the administration look more deceitful and, quite frankly, shady. Somehow, Leavitt’s remarks made the matter even worse. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/did-trump-call-greenland-iceland-davos-speech/

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Article in The New Republic by Greg Sargent, 1/22/26

Headline:  “Trump Press Sec. Goes Full Cult as Reviews of Davos Fiasco Turn Brutal”

Subhead:  “As Karoline Leavitt and others struggle to spin Trump’s speech as a world-historical triumph, a critic of Trump’s unfitness explains why it was a disaster for our whole country and its future.”

“. . .White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt unleashed an extraordinary stream of obsequious praise, absurdly declaring that “America is back” and that Trump played “leader of the free world.” When reporters savagely noted the Greenland-Iceland confusion, she offered a true knee-slapper of buffoonish damage control. We think it all exposed the scam at the core of MAGA in a fresh way. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/205528/trump-press-sec-goes-full-cult-reviews-davos-fiasco-turn-brutal

“60 Minutes” Disappearing Staff?

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Article in Daily Beast by William Vaillancourt, 1/22/26

Headline:  “Trump-Kissing CBS Boss Is Plotting ‘60 Minutes’ Bloodbath”

“CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss may fire two 60 Minutes correspondents amid their criticism of her leadership.

“Sharyn Alfonsi and Scott Pelley, each winners of multiple Emmys, could soon become casualties of Weiss’s overhaul of the show, sources told the New York Post on Thursday.. . .”

“Alfonsi, 53, and Weiss, 41, butted heads over the program’s delayed segment on El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-kissing-cbs-boss-bari-weiss-is-plotting-60-minutes-bloodbath/