Media Intimidation

Are They Coming for You?

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Article in Daily Kos by Lisa Needham, 7/1/25

Headline:  “Now Trump’s weaponizing the DOJ in his war on the media”

“President Donald Trump is simply not going to stand for the media reporting anything he doesn’t like, and he’s going to use every tool in his toolbox to make that happen. If that means prosecuting media outlets, he’s down. If it means suing them, he’s all in. And if it means gutting nonpartisan government media, he’ll do it. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/7/1/2331160/-Now-Trump-s-weaponizing-the-DOJ-in-his-war-on-the-media?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_1&pm_medium=web

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Article in The Guardian by Edward Helmore, 7/1/25

Headline: “Trump team threatens to prosecute CNN over reporting on Ice-tracking app”

Subhead:  “Kristi Noem says ‘we’re working with [DoJ] to see if we can prosecute them’ while president fumes over Iran reporting”

“Donald Trump and administration officials have threatened CNN over what they said was its promotion of a new app that allows users to track and try to avoid Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents.

“Speaking to reporters in Florida on a trip . . . the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, said her department and the Department of Justice were looking at prosecuting CNN over its reporting on the app, called IceBlock.

“ ‘We’re working with Department of Justice to see if we can prosecute them,’ Noem said  . . . We’re going to actually go after them and prosecute them. What they’re doing is illegal.’ . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/01/trump-kristi-noem-cnn-threat

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Article in Alternet by Carl Gibson, 6/30/35

Headline:  ” ‘Why not the press?’ Trump may use this century-old law to prosecute and jail journalists”

Subhead:  “A new report suggests that President Donald Trump may soon be setting his sights on the Fourth Estate, and his administration is already allegedly looking for a ‘test case’ to see how much it can get away with in the courts.”

“That’s according to a Monday article in Rolling Stone, which reported that unnamed sources close to the White House say Trump is considering the Espionage Act to prosecute journalists who report on leaks obtained from inside the administration. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.alternet.org/trump-prosecute-journalists/

Musk Fans Heckle Journalists

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Article in The Verge by Mack DeGeurin, 6/29/25

Headline: ” ‘We are the media now’: why Tesla’s robotaxis were dominated by Elon Musk superfans”

Subhead:  “Journalists from the newsroom weren’t allowed inside the robotaxis and were mocked for asking riders basic questions”

“Over the years, Tesla has built part of its reputation on hosting big, bold events to generate authentic hype for upcoming releases. The robotaxi launch in Austin, Texas, last week wasn’t one of them.

“Coverage of the rollout was dominated by a close-knit cohort of Tesla influencers and Elon Musk superfans, many of whom are openly supportive of the CEO’s vision. Journalists and tech bloggers who might have been more critical of the technology were not only excluded but also actively ridiculed and mocked by Tesla fans and some of their followers for attempting to ask basic questions about the service. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theverge.com/tesla/694333/tesla-robotaxi-media-influencers-musk-fans

 

Attack on Media Sources?

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“Ve haf vays to make you talk!”

Article in Rolling Stone by Peter Wade, 6/29/25

Headline:  “Trump Threatens to Force Journalists to Reveal Sources Who Leaked Iran Intel Report”

Subhead:  ” ‘We can find out. You go up and tell the reporter, “National security, who gave it [to you]?” You have to do that, and I suspect we’ll be doing things like that,’ the president said”

“Donald Trump threatened to force journalists to reveal sources who leaked a Pentagon intelligence assessment that concluded the U.S. air strikes on Iran only set the nation’s nuclear program back ‘months,’ contradicting administration claims that the facilities were ‘obliterated.’

“ ‘You tweeted the Democrats leaked an intelligence [report],’ Sunday Morning Futures host Maria Bartiromo said to Trump in an interview.

“ ‘They should be prosecuted,’ the president responded.

“When Bartiromo asked ‘who, specifically’ should be prosecuted, Trump did not name any names but said his administration would demand reporters reveal the sources of their reporting. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-journalists-reveal-sources-iran-intel-report-1235375074/

Ask a Question – Get Yelled-At

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“The List” photo

Update:

Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 6/27/25

Headline:  “Opinion | Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth targeted a Fox reporter. The journalism community had her back”

Subhead:  “In defending Jennifer Griffin, journalists signal that truth-telling still matters — no matter the network.”

“The Trump administration continues its signature bashing of the media. This time, it was Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insulting Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin. . .”

“What was noticeable, however, was just how many journalists came to Griffin’s defense, including those from rival news outlets.

Say what you will about Fox News and how many of the network’s hosts fawn over Trump and conservatives. Griffin is a top-notch, plugged-in and unbiased reporter.

During a press conference with Hegseth on Thursday, Griffin posed a completely legitimate question. . .”

“She suggested that satellite imagery showed there might have been movement from the facility leading up the attack.

“Hegseth snapped, ‘Of course we’re watching it. Jennifer, you’ve been about the worst, the one who misrepresents the most intentionally what the president says.’

“Griffin wasn’t having it. She pushed back . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/pete-hegseth-attacks-fox-reporter-journalists-respond/

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Article in The Hill by Dominick Mastrangelo, 6/26/25

Headline:  “Hegseth slams Fox reporter at press conference: ‘You’ve been about the worst’ ”

Subhead:  “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attacked Jennifer Griffin, his former colleague at Fox News and a longtime member of the Pentagon press corps, amid a broader push to discredit media outlets reporting on intelligence laying out the extent of damages done by U.S. strikes to Iranian nuclear sites.”

“ ‘Do you have certainty that all the highly enriched uranium was inside the Fordow mountain?’ Griffin asked Hegseth during a contentious press conference early Thursday morning. . .”

“ ‘Of course we’re watching it,’ Hegseth said before attacking the reporter. ‘Jennifer, you’ve been about the worst. The one who misrepresents the most intentionally.’  ”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5370774-hegseth-briefing-jennifer-griffin-fox/

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Article in Huffpost by Ron Dicker, 6/26/25

Headline:  “Pete Hegseth Calls Former Fox News Colleague ‘The Worst’ In Tense Iran Presser”

Subhead:  “The defense secretary zeroed in on Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin as he continued to rail against the lack of media fawning over the Iran strikes”

“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called former Fox News colleague Jennifer Griffin ‘the worst’ as he faced more questions about the U.S. bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites on Thursday.

“The Pentagon press conference turned downright hostile as Hegseth, who once occupied the curvy couch of ‘Fox & Friends’ before he got his Cabinet gig, slammed Griffin, the network’s chief national security correspondent. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pete-hegseth-jennifer-griffin-the-worst_n_685d4e2ae4b0f78c57383fb2

 

NYT Not Caving?

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Article in Mediaite by Alex Griffing, 6/26/25

Headline: “Trump Threatens to Sue The NY Times and CNN Over ‘Unpatriotic’ Reporting”

Subhead:  “No retraction is needed. No apology will be forthcoming. We told the truth to the best of our ability. We will continue to do so.”

“The New York Times struck a defiant tone in a Thursday letter in response to a personal lawyer for President Donald Trump demanding the paper ‘retract and apologize’ or be sued over a report on the state of Iranian nuclear sites following Trump’s bombings.

“The Times reported on the letter sent by Alejandro Brito, which threatened to sue the paper and CNN for publishing reports on a leaked Pentagon assessment that said Trump’s bombings only set Iran’s nuclear program back a few months. . .”

Read the full story at:

https://www.mediaite.com/politics/trump-threatens-to-sue-the-ny-times-and-cnn-over-unpatriotic-reporting-on-u-s-military-intel/

Meltdown on the Media

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Article in Daily Beast by Sarah Ewall-Wice, 6/25/25

Headline:  “Trump, 79, Melts Down in Incoherent Rant About ‘Hero Pilots’ “

Subhead:  “The president attacked the media for reporting on the initial intelligence assessment on Iran.”

“President Donald Trump accused the media of demeaning the military after the initial U.S. intelligence report on Iran leaked.

“The president did not deny the existence of the preliminary assessment or its content, which suggested the strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities resulted in limited damage, but he insisted it was wrong.

“He also claimed to have spoken to one of the pilots, who told him it was a ‘perfect’ bomb drop.
Trump first harangued reporters with claims that they attacked the brave men and women who carried out what was an operationally successful mission on Saturday night to drop the bombs and exit Iran without being fired on.

“ ‘They were maligned and treated very bad, demeaned by fake news CNN,‘ Trump claimed on Wednesday.  The media did report on the U.S. intel assessment, but it did not demean pilots who carried out the mission. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-79-melts-down-in-incoherent-rant-about-hero-pilots/

Opposing Defunding Public Media

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Public media is not state-controlled media

Article in Free Press by Staff, 6/25/25

Headline: “Republican and Democratic Senators Denounce Trump’s Move to Silence Public-Broadcasting Stations Essential to Many Rural States”

Subhead:  “A Senate Appropriations Committee hearing reveals growing concerns over a Trump scheme to end federal funding for popular NPR and PBS programming.”

“WASHINGTON — During a Wednesday hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee, both Republican and Democratic senators expressed deep reservations about President Donald Trump’s plans to claw back more than a billion dollars in already-approved federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Many GOP lawmakers, including Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), Sen. Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), said the cuts would harm programming that is important to them and their constituents . . . McConnell said the president’s entire rescission process was ‘unnecessarily chaotic’ and ‘counter-productive.’ . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/republican-and-democratic-senators-denounce-trumps-move-rescind-public-media-funding

“Media Matters” Sues FTC

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Article in Media Matters by Staff, 6/23/25

Headline:  “Media Matters files suit in federal court to block retaliatory FTC investigation and protect its First Amendment rights”

Subhead:  “Investigation into Media Matters is the latest example of Trump administration abusing power to target perceived political opponents”

“Media Matters for America filed suit today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block an investigation launched by the Federal Trade Commission. The investigation is the latest effort by Elon Musk and his allies in the Trump administration to retaliate against Media Matters for its reporting on X, the social media site Musk controls, and it’s another example of the Trump administration weaponizing government authorities to target political opponents. The suit alleges that the FTC has violated Media Matters’ First Amendment rights by retaliating against the organization for its reporting on Elon Musk and X. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/justice-civil-liberties/media-matters-files-suit-federal-court-block-retaliatory-ftc-investigation

MAGA Hates Fox News?

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Article in Daily Beast by Jack Revell, 6/20/25

Headline:  “Trump Has a Fiery New Excuse for Why MAGA ‘Hates’ Fox News”

Subhead:  “It’s all the fault of a single host who won’t toe the line.”

“President Donald Trump has taken a fresh swipe at Fox News, claiming his MAGA base ‘hates’ the network, following the stinging rejection of recent polling. Trump has appeared to pin the blame for falling ratings—which he describes as the ‘highest ever’—on a single Fox News critic who is ‘soiling’ his otherwise ‘record-breaking’ performance.

“ ‘Why does Fox News allow failed TV personality Jessica Tarlov to ‘soil The Five?’ Trump raged on Truth Social. ‘Her voice, her manner, and above all else, what she says, are a disgrace to television broadcasting’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-has-a-fiery-new-excuse-for-why-maga-hates-fox-news/

Settle or no Media Deal

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Article in UPI by Mark Moran, 6/19/25

Headline:  “Paramount stalls $35 million ’60 Minutes’ settlement, slowing merger”

“Paramount has pulled back on a $35 million settlement with President Donald Trump after he sued the media company over a segment on CBS’ News’ “60 Minutes.”

“The lawsuit alleges that the program edited an interview with Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 election to change how she would appear to viewers.

“The stalled settlement is holding up a potential $8 billion takeover of Paramount by Skydance, a deal that the two companies negotiated over a year ago. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/06/19/paramount-stalles-35m-trump-settlement/7591750371277/