Media Intimidation

Newspaper Breaking Out of the Cage?

by

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?

by

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?

by

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

– – – – –

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

– – – – –

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?

by

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

– – – – –

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/

Journalists Enable Madmen?

by

Article in Daily Beast by Jack Revell, 11/28/25

Headline:  “Rosie O’Donnell Rages at Reporters Enabling ‘Madman’ Trump”

Subhead:  “Trump’s long-time rival says journalists let him ‘verbally rape a woman’ with his ‘stupid person’ outburst.”

“. . .Reacting to a viral clip of the president berating a female reporter as ‘stupid’ on Thursday, O’Donnell said that White House journalists need to push back on Trump’s personal attacks.

“ ‘A decent person would stand up in spite of their job and say ‘I will not sit here and watch you verbally assault and attack and rape a woman,’ O’Donnell said.. .”

Read the full article at:

https://archive.ph/O1p1F#selection-1381.1-1391.160

Looking at Media You Don’t Like?

by

Article in Poynter by Tom Jones

Headline:  “The White House’s ‘media offender’ list will fizzle. The reporting won’t.”

Subhead:  “The Trump administration’s latest attack on reporters won’t stop newsrooms from holding it accountable”

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/white-house-media-offender-list-trump-press-attacks/

– – – – –

Article in Committee to Protect Journalists by Staff

Headline:  “Trump administration’s ‘media bias’ list raises alarm, CPJ says”

https://cpj.org/2025/12/trump-administrations-media-bias-list-raises-alarm-cpj-says/

– – – – –

Article in The Guardian by Marina Dunbar, 11/29/25

Headline:  “White House launches website to excoriate media for ‘biased’ stories”

Subhead:  “Trump administration lists reporting it objects to in latest escalation of attacks on US journalism”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/29/white-house-media-website-trump

Ugly Interviewee?

by

Article in The Guardian by Narina Dunbar, 11/26/25

Headline:  “Trump calls New York Times reporter ‘ugly’ in latest insult to female journalist”

Subhead:  “In a Truth Social post, the president lashed out at journalist Katie Rogers after an article questioned whether he was slowing down”

“Donald Trump lashed out on Wednesday against a New York Times reporter, calling her ‘ugly inside and out’ in his latest personal insult against female members of the media after last week calling another ‘piggy. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/26/trump-insults-new-york-times-reporter-katie-rogers

Courts & Media Intimidation?

by

Article in Axios by Sara Fisher and Kerry Flynn, 11/25/25

Headline:  “Trump’s media lawsuits keep falling flat”

“Despite two very visible settlements with ABC and CBS in the past year, President Trump’s legal pressure on media companies has still faced ample pushback in court.

“Why it matters: Lawsuits, even if eventually dismissed are extremely costly and burdensome for news organizations to fight. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.axios.com/2025/11/25/trump-media-lawsuits-dismissed

Media Frivolity Cases?

by

Article in Mediaite by Sarah Rumpf, 11/24/25

Headline: “Judge Throws Out Truth Social’s Defamation Lawsuit Against The Guardian“

“A Florida judge granted motions to dismiss to The Guardian and other defendants in a defamation lawsuit filed by Truth Social’s parent company, Truth Media & Technology Group Corp. (TMTG), the latest example of President Donald Trump’s legal actions against media companies not holding up in court.

The dispute arose from two articles published by the UK-based Guardian in March 2023 ‘reporting on a federal criminal investigation related to TMTGs receipt of two payments totaling $8 million,’ . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/lawcrime/judge-throws-out-truth-socials-defamation-lawsuit-against-the-guardian/

Media – Going, Going, Gone

by

Article in Reporters Without Borders by Staff, 11/18/25

Headline:  “USA: 8 ways Trump is shrinking the space for press freedom – literally”

“The attacks against the press carried out by President Donald Trump since the start of his second term have increasingly stretched beyond rhetoric and policy and turned into physical limitations for journalists. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is highlighting eight ways the US administration is physically restricting journalists’ access to areas where they were previously free to report. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://rsf.org/en/usa-8-ways-trump-shrinking-space-press-freedom-literally