Media Intimidation

Venezuelan Media – Same Old

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Carolina Abbott Galvao & Ivan L. Nagy, 1/16/26

Headline:  “For Venezuelan Journalists, It’s Like Maduro Never Left”

Subhead:  ” ‘If you have contacts or sensitive information that you’re not supposed to have, you could be thrown in jail.’ “

“. . .This is less a function of recent American interference than business as usual. Under the leadership of Hugo Chávez, through Nicolás Maduro’s tenure to today, official narratives have echoed across state-controlled TV, radio, and print media; authorities have declined visas for foreign journalists to enter the country; independent news outlets are banned and accessible only via VPN. In the week following the US incursion, police, military forces, and colectivos—pro-government paramilitaries—roamed the streets, cracking down on protesters, members of the opposition, and independent journalists. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/news/for-venezuelan-journalists-its-like-maduro-never-left.php

Searching Reporter’s House Portends?

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Article in Chicago Defender by Konstantin Zhukov, 1/14/26

Headline: “Searching reporters’ homes, suing journalists and repressing citizen dissent are well-known steps toward autocracy”

“The FBI search of a Washington Post reporter’s home on Jan. 14, 2026, was a rare and intimidating move by an administration focused on repressing criticism and dissent.

“In its story about the search at Hannah Natanson’s home, at which FBI agents said they were searching for materials related to a federal government employee, Washington Post reporter Perry Stein wrote that ‘[it is highly unusual and aggressive for law enforcement to conduct a search on a reporter’s home.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://chicagodefender.com/searching-reporters-homes-suing-journalists-and-repressing-citizen-dissent-are-well-known-steps-toward-autocracy/

Journalists, Don’t be Intimidated!

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Article in The New Republic by Felipe La Hoz, 1/19/26

Headline:  “The Crisis Year for Journalism Is Here”

Subhead:  “Journalists have an inherent right and professional duty to defend their industry and its mission against those who want to derail it—even when those threats are coming from the inside.”

“. . .In-depth reporting is difficult work. It’s not easy to unearth hidden information on the one hand and parse avalanches of it on the other—much of it offered in bad faith—on deadline, especially as newsrooms have shrunk in tandem with the growth and entrenchment of PR and spin. . .”

“As increasingly emboldened interests amp up efforts to buy, sue, steal from, and use official power to coerce the news media into submission, we have to embrace a self-defense posture that won’t interfere with our news gathering but will acknowledge that we can’t continue news gathering if we’ve been knocked over by the powers we’re meant to hold accountable. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/205099/journalists-right-self-defense-cbs

US and Censorship Attempts

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Article in Techdirt and Free Press by by Mike Masnick and Nora Benavidez, 1/16/26

Headline:  “Trump’s ‘Free Speech’ Presidency Racked Up 200 Censorship Attempts In Its First Year”

“We’ve said it before, and we’ll keep saying it because apparently it needs repeating: Donald Trump is not a free speech president. He just plays one on TV while doing the exact opposite behind the scenes. And in front of the scenes. And basically everywhere. Over and over and over again. . .”

Read the full articles at:

https://www.techdirt.com/2026/01/16/trumps-free-speech-presidency-racked-up-200-censorship-attempts-in-its-first-year/

. . .and:

https://www.freepress.net/news/trumps-free-speech-presidency-racked-200-censorship-attempts-its-first-year

The Press Says, “Search Me?”

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Article in The Washington Post by Kathleen Parker, 1/16/26

Headline:  “Attacks on the press? America’s seen this before.”

Subhead:  “A history of government vs. the media, from the Pentagon Papers to Obama”

“The FBI’s early wake-up call at a Washington Post reporter’s Virginia home and subsequent seizure of her phone and two laptops has sent chills through the Fourth Estate.

“Even non-journalists should be worried by what happened to Hannah Natanson, who found FBI agents at her front door at 6 a.m. Wednesday, wielding a search warrant. . .”

“Even though we’re accustomed to President Donald Trump’s contempt for the “fake” media, this unusually aggressive act felt Gestapo-like.  . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/01/16/post-fbi-press-freedom-hannah-natanson/

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Riddhi Setty, 1/16/26

Headline: ” ‘A Trauma That You Carry’ “

Subhead:  “An unprecedented attack on press freedom at the Washington Post.“

“. . .’ “You don’t just get over the federal government banging on your door at six in the morning,’ Burke said of the Natanson case. Two years later, much of his equipment remains in the FBI’s possession. . .”

“Journalists who have been targeted by government searches or surveillance said the Natanson incident reflects an alarming escalation of the Trump White House’s hostility toward the media. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/a-trauma-that-you-carry-washington-post-wapo-hannah-natanson-press-freedom-device-search-seizure-trump.php

Media Intimidation Fails

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Article in The Daily Beast by Hugh Dougherty, 1/16/26

Headline: “Trump’s Campaign Manager Ditches Lawsuit Against Daily Beast“

Subhead: “Chris LaCivita wanted “triple damages” and got no money or apology.”

“Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign manager has ditched a lawsuit against the Daily Beast.

“Chris LaCivita, who co-managed Trump’s election victory with Susie Wiles, discontinued his lawsuit on a Friday night before a federal holiday, despite having initially posted on X: ‘F— Around Find Out,’ and boasting, ‘I’m really looking forward to making my case in front of a jury.’

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-campaign-manager-ditches-lawsuit-against-daily-beast/

Reel of Attacks on the Media

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Article in Zeteo by Kim Wehle, 1/15/26

Headline:  “So Much for Free Speech. A Year of Trump’s Attacks on the First Amendment”

Subhead:  “The ICE killing of Renee Good marks a turning point in Trump’s unprecedented assault on the right to protest, record ICE activity, and express political dissent without fear of government retaliation.”

“. . .That Good was killed for engaging in First Amendment activity protected by the Fourteenth Amendment – and that the Trump administration is backing Ross while maligning Good and her wife – shows how far America has gone down the dark tunnel of fascism. It’s dire. It’s urgent. It’s likely going to get much worse.

“To help capture the vastness of the problem, here’s a (non-exhaustive) highlight reel of last year’s blows to the First Amendment:

Read the full article at:

https://zeteo.com/p/so-much-for-free-speech-a-year-of?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=2325511&post_id=184656305&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=54vskz&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

WaPo Waking up?

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Article in The Washington Post by the Editorial Board, 1/14/26

Headline:  “The Post and the First Amendment”

Subhead:  “An FBI raid won’t stop reporters from continuing their important work.”

“The Justice Department’s decision to send FBI agents to raid a Washington Post reporter’s home Wednesday was an aggressive attack on the press freedom of all journalists. Yet anyone who believes the raid will deter reporters from doing their jobs is sorely mistaken.

Federal law enforcement searched the home of The Post’s Hannah Natanson and seized several of her electronic devices. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/01/14/fbi-raid-press-freedom-first-amendment/

Attack a Journalist? – FAFO

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Article in the Huffington Post by David Moye, 1/15/26

Headline:  “Karoline Leavitt’s Meltdown Not Winning Her Any Fans On Social Media”

Subhead:  “People on X weren’t sympathetic to the White House press secretary’s tirade against a journalist asking a legitimate question about issues facing ICE.”

“White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt probably thought attacking a journalist who asked a legitimate question about Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during Thursday’s press briefing would help her win the hearts and minds of voters.

But it doesn’t appear things worked out as she might have hoped, based on the social media reaction to her meltdown at a simple question asked by The Hill’s Niall Stanage.

During the briefing, Stanage noted an earlier comment made by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that ICE agents are ‘doing everything correctly,’ before asking Leavitt how that can be when “32 people died in ICE custody last year, 170 U.S. citizens were detained by ICE, and Renee Good was shot in the head and killed by an ICE agent.”

“Leavitt didn’t like the answer and declared, ‘Oh, OK. So you’re a biased reporter with a left-wing opinion’ before going on a tirade where she called Stanage ‘a left-wing activist” and said he was ‘posing as a journalist.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/karoline-leavitt-meltdown-ice-sparks-social-media-backlash_n_69696996e4b00edae2a41e5b?origin=home-whats-happening-unit

Can You ICE the Truth?

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Article in The New Republic by Hafiz Rashid, 1/14/26

Headline:  “DHS Picks Fight With Reporter Who Exposed ICE’s Shoddy Hiring”

Subhead:  “The Department of Homeland Security is pissed after Laura Jedeed revealed how she got a job offer from ICE in just six minutes.”

“The Department of Homeland Security attempted to discredit a journalist Wednesday and was quickly embarrassed.

“On Tuesday, Slate published a bombshell article by Laura Jedeed outlining how she had somehow slipped through ICE’s screening process to be offered a job by the agency despite failing to complete any of the required paperwork, including a background check. The next day, DHS tried to claim Jedeed’s article was ‘such a lazy lie.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/post/205300/dhs-fight-reporter-exposed-ice-job-hiring

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Article in Democracy Now by Smy Goodman, 1/14/26

Headline:   “Journalist Tests ICE Recruitment; Surprised to Find Herself Hired with No Background Check”

“ ‘They didn’t ask very many questions.’ Independent journalist and U.S. military veteran Laura Jedeed recounts how she was hired as a deportation officer by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a six-minute interview at a job fair in Texas, despite never signing any paperwork, not having completed a background check, likely failing a drug test, and publicly sharing her opposition to the Trump administration and its anti-immigrant crackdown. . .”

Listen to the full story at:

https://www.democracynow.org/2026/1/14/laura_jedeed_ice