Media Supression

Justice Coming for Prosecutor?

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Article in Common Dreams by Staff, 2/9/26

Headline: “FPF complaint targets prosecutor over Washington Post reporter raid”

“WASHINGTON – On Friday, Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) filed an attorney disciplinary complaint against Gordon Kromberg, the federal prosecutor who reviewed and signed the search warrant application targeting Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson.

“. . . Recently unsealed court records disclose what many suspected: The government failed to alert the court that authorized the warrant to the Privacy Protection Act of 1980, a federal law that, in most cases, forbids the use of search warrants for journalistic work product and documentary materials.

Read the full article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/fpf-complaint-targets-prosecutor-over-washington-post-reporter-raid

Media Smiling Time!

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Article in Huffpost by Ed Mazza, 2/5/26

Headline:  ” ‘Truly Unhinged’: Critics Rip Trump After Uncomfortably ‘Weird Exchange’ With Reporter”

Subhead:  “Trump is facing heavy criticism over comments he made to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.”

“Collins had asked the president about justice for victims of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who was once his close friend. . .”

” ‘You are the worst reporter,’ Trump fired back. ‘CNN has no ratings because of people like you. You know, she’s a young woman ― I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile. I’ve known you for 10 years, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile on your face.’

“Collins tried to interject that she was asking about Epstein survivors, but Trump kept going. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-kaitlan-collins-smile-reaction_n_6982cdece4b074c50785b319?origin=top-ad-recirc

Media Threats – Democracy Menace?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 2/2/26

Headline:  “Opinion | This is what it looks like when a government tries to intimidate reporters”

Subhead: “The arrest of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort signals a dangerous escalation in the Trump administration’s campaign against the press”

“President Donald Trump and his administration, over the past 10 years, have stooped to many low and distressing levels in their all-out assault on the media: lawsuits, threats of lawsuits, bans, funding cuts and insults.

But last week, the administration did what was previously thought of as unthinkable. It reached for an even more ominous attack. It arrested two journalists. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/trump-arrest-don-lemon-georgia-fort/

Legal Journalist Protections Ignored?

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Article in the New York Times by Charlie Savage, 2/2/26

Headline:  “U.S. Failed to Alert Judge to Press Law in Application to Search Reporter’s Home”

Subhead:  “The Justice Department did not address a 1980 law that generally bars warrants for reporting material when it sought to seize a Washington Post reporter’s devices, an unsealed filing shows”

“The Justice Department failed to tell a magistrate judge about a 1980 law protecting journalists in its application materials for a warrant to search a Washington Post reporter’s home last month as part of a leak investigation, an unsealed court filing shows. . .”

“The 1980 law, the Privacy Protection Act, says ‘it shall be unlawful’ for investigators to search for or seize journalistic work product and documentary materials unless the reporters themselves are suspected of committing certain crimes related to those materials. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/us/politics/doj-press-law-warrant-application-washington-post-journalist.html

Is Bezos Breaking WaPo?

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Article in The Guardian by Margaret Sullivan 2/2/26

Headline:  “Is Jeff Bezos going to destroy the Washington Post? It sure looks like it”

Subhead:  “He has the chance to be the steward of a national treasure, but he’s blowing it”

“. . .I worked on staff at the Post for six years, until 2022, as its media columnist, after admiring the paper for decades; it was an inspiring place to work, and I got to know its readership and its staff from the inside.

“It breaks my heart to see what’s happening now, and has been happening for more than a year.

As a major round of newsroom layoffs is threatened – losses that would further weaken an already decimated staff – Bezos is doing what should be unthinkable. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/02/jeff-bezos-destroy-washington-post

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

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

Media discuss “help” or havoc?

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Article in FAIR by Ben Fernandezm 1/29/26

Headline:  “US Media Keen on Iranian Unrest—Less So on US and Israel’s Role in It”

“. . .On January 10, Donald Trump—fresh off his abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro—took to his preferred social media platform to showcase his signature manic reliance on random capitalization and exclamation points: ‘Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!’. . .”

“The protests have since dissipated, without any successful ‘help’ thus far in the form of regime change or US/Israeli military attack, although Trump has dispatched a ‘massive fleet’ to the Middle East ‘just in case.’ . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/us-media-keen-on-iranian-unrest-less-so-on-us-and-israels-role-in-it/

Journalist Exposes Secret Lists

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Article in Common Dreams by Brett Wilkins, 1/28/26

Headline: ” ‘She’s Lying’: Journalist Exposes Secret Watch Lists That Trump Official Says Don’t Exist”

Subhead:  ” ‘If we don’t explore more why all of these secret lists exist,’ one US intelligence officer said, there could be ‘even more of an environment of paranoia on the ground and more tragic killings.’ “

“Despite denials from a senior Trump administration official, secret watchlists of Americans are being used by federal agencies to track and categorize US citizens—especially protesters, activists, and critics of law enforcement—as ‘domestic terrorists,’ investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein reported Wednesday.

Read the full article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/secret-watchlists-of-americans

Media – Gaza Short Attention Span?

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Chart from FAIR

Article in FAIR by Julie Hollar, 1/28/28

Headline:  “After Trump Declared Gaza War ‘Over,’ Media Lost Interest”

“Since President Donald Trump declared that ‘the war in Gaza is over’ on October 3, 2025, US news outlets’ interest in the occupied territory has plummeted. In a FAIR search of US-related news sites using Media Cloud, a news media database, coverage of Gaza post-ceasefire agreement averaged just 1.5% of the news hole—significantly less than the level of coverage before the agreement. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/after-trump-declared-gaza-war-over-media-lost-interest/