Article in AlterNet by Adam Lynch, 5/21/26
Headline: “Inside Trump’s growing frustration as his revenge tour loses its grip on media”
“Even as late-night comedian and critic Stephen Colbert prepares to end his show this week, President Donald Trump is raging that his administration hasn’t managed to kill even more late-night shows. . . .”
“Suebsaeng added that sources inside the White House say Trump is furious at the lack of progress. . .”
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Article in Common Dreams by Scott Griffen, 5/21/26
Headline: “When Trump Targets the Media, the World’s Autocrats Are Taking Notes”
Subhead: “Trump’s words and actions against the news media at home are inspiring copycat behavior by authoritarians and dictators around the world, fueling a growing global crisis of press freedom.“
“. . .Trump first tweeted the now-ubiquitous phrase ‘fake news’ and infamously labelled the news media the ‘enemies of the American people,’ such insults just don’t land like they used to.
“Yet Trump’s words do in fact matter. While many of Trump’s rhetorical attacks against the press during his first term were dismissed as bluster from a president known for his flair for the dramatic, they laid the groundwork for the broad attack on the media that we’re seeing under Trump 2.0. . .”
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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 5/19/26
Headline: “Opinion | Why The New York Times is suing the Pentagon — again”
Subhead: “The news outlet says the Pentagon’s latest press-access restrictions are unconstitutional and retaliatory after an earlier court loss”
“For the second time, The New York Times is suing the Department of Defense, claiming it’s a violation of the First Amendment for journalists to be required to have an escort while working inside the Pentagon.
“This is just the latest volley in a continuing conflict between the press and President Donald Trump’s Defense Department, led by Defense Secretary and former Fox News talking head Pete Hegseth. . .”
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https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/new-york-times-pentagon-lawsuit-escort/
Article in AP by Jocelyn Noveck, 5/18/26
Headline: “The New York Times sues the Pentagon a second time over Hegseth’s media restrictions”
“The New York Times sued the Defense Department on Monday for the second time in five months, arguing that a requirement that journalists be escorted while on Pentagon grounds violates the First Amendment. . .”
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Article in The Guardian by Anna Betts, 5/18/26
Headline: “New York Times sues Pentagon again over ‘utterly unreasonable’ press restrictions”
Subhead: “Trump administration unveiled sweeping restrictions on press access at the US defense department last September”
“. . .The Trump administration unveiled sweeping restrictions on press access at the US Department of Defense, which it calls the Department of War, last September. . .”
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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/18/new-york-times-pentagon-press-restrictions-lawsuit
Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 5/13/26
Headline: “As Trump accuses news outlets of “TREASON,” Fox models MAGA Iran coverage”
“While President Donald Trump accuses news outlets of committing “virtual TREASON” by producing reporting that suggests the United States is losing his war against Iran, the president’s loyal Fox News propagandists keep telling him that he’s doing a great job, saying he’s on the verge of victory, and suggesting he can fail only by backing down. . .”
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Article in The Washington Post by Scott Nover, 5/11/26
Headline: “Trump taps embattled media czar Kari Lake as ambassador to Jamaica”
Subhead: “Lake was tasked with dismantling the U.S. Agency for Global Media and Voice of America, and became embroiled in contentious legal battles.”
Kari Lake, the embattled Trump administration official tasked with dismantling the government’s global media outlets, has been nominated as the next U.S. ambassador to Jamaica, according to a list of nominations the White House sent to the U.S. Senate on Monday. . .”
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/05/11/kari-lake-jamaica-trump/
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. . .”
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https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/the-atlantic-kash-patel-lawsuit-fbi-investigation/
Article in The Intercept by Bryce Covert, 5/6/26
Headline: “Lawyer on EEOC’s New York Times Lawsuit Has History Battling Discrimination Against Men”
Subhead: “A former EEOC commissioner said, “They’re putting out their best facts in this complaint, and the facts are pathetic.”
“The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a key achievement of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the federal agency tasked with protecting American workers from employment discrimination, sued the New York Times on behalf of a white man claiming the company discriminated against him based on his race and sex. . .”
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https://theintercept.com/2026/05/06/eeoc-nyt-lawsuit-discrimination-men/
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. . .”
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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. . .”
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https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/05/kash-patel-fitzpatrick-fbi-investigation/687077/
Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 5/5/26
Headline: “US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sues NYT over bias claim”
Subhead: “White male editor at newspaper claims he was unfairly passed over for promoted role despite qualifications”
“In what appears to be a new front in the Trump administration’s pressure campaign against the media, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the New York Times, charging that the news organization improperly passed over a white, male employee for promotion because of his race or sex. . .”
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https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/may/05/new-york-times-lawsuit-equal-opportunity