Media Supression

News Restored in Pentagon

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Article in Reuters by Jack Queesn, 2/20/26

Headline:  “Pentagon’s limits on press access unconstitutional, US judge rules”

“. . .A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s restrictive Pentagon press access policy, which threatens journalists with being branded security risks ​if they seek information not authorized for public release.

“The lawsuit by the New York Times in Washington, D.C., federal court alleged that policy changes ‌by the Defense Department last year gave it free rein to freeze out reporters and news outlets over coverage the department did not like, in violation of the Constitution’s protections for free speech and due process. The government disputed that characterization and said the policy is reasonable and necessary for national security. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-judge-blocks-restrictive-pentagon-press-access-policy-2026-03-20/

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Article in New York Times by Erik Wemple

Headline:  “Judge Rules Pentagon Restrictions on Press Are Unconstitutional”

“A federal judge tossed parts of the Pentagon’s restrictions on news outlets, saying they violated the First Amendment, in a lawsuit brought by The New York Times”

“A federal judge on Friday ruled that the Pentagon’s restrictions on news outlets violate the First Amendment and issued an order tossing parts of the department’s policy, handing a victory to The New York Times, which filed suit in December over the restrictions.

Judge Paul Friedman, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, also ordered the Pentagon to restore the press passes of seven journalists for The Times. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/business/media/pentagon-press-restrictions-new-york-times.html

Icon of Radio – Gone.

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Article in AP by David Bauder, 3/20/26

Headline:  “CBS News shutters its storied radio news service after nearly a century, ending an era”

“NEW YORK (AP) — CBS News said Friday it will shut down its storied radio news service after nearly 100 years of operation, ending an era and blaming challenging economic times as the world moves on to digital sources and podcasts. Said longtime CBS News anchor Dan Rather: ‘It’s another piece of America that is gone.’. . .”

“Today, CBS News Radio provides material to an estimated 700 stations across the country and is known best for its top-of-the-hour news roundups. The service will end on May 22, the network said Friday. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://apnews.com/article/cbs-radio-news-bari-weiss-11372c28f9557d0b10e329e6c4be339f

Control of the Screens

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Article in Washington Post by Scott Nover, 3/19/26

Headline:  “U.S. approves $6.2 billion merger set to reshape local TV”

Subhead:  “The Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission gave a thumbs-up to the Nexstar-Tegna merger.”

“Nexstar, the largest owner of TV stations in the United States, won regulatory approval to buy rival Tegna on Thursday, in a $6.2 billion deal that promises to reshape the landscape for local television and news coverage.”

“. . .FCC Chairman Brendan Carr allowed the deal to proceed by waiving a cap that has historically barred station owners from expanding to reach more than 39 percent of American households. Nexstar previously said the deal would give it 265 stations across the country, reaching 80 percent of households. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/03/19/nexstar-tegna-tv-merger-approved/0

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Article in Daily Kos by Oliver Willis, 3/19/26

Headline:  “8 states are suing to stop another MAGA media monopoly”

“A coalition of eight states, led by their Democratic attorneys general, is suing to stop Nexstar Media Group from acquiring Tegna.

“Nexstar owns more than 200 TV stations while Tegna owns 64, so a merging of the companies would reach more than 54% of households, exceeding current Federal Communications Commission limits on station ownership. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/3/19/2373898/-8-states-are-suing-to-stop-another-MAGA-media-monopoly?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_7&pm_medium=web

Media – Obey or Else!

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Article in AP by David Bauder, 3/17/26

Headline:  “Trump team applying pressure to media: Tell the war’s story the way we see it”

“Through lectures, scoldings and outright threats, President Donald Trump and his aides are ratcheting up the pressure on journalists to cover the war in the Middle East the way the administration wants.

“The Republican president has fumed on social media about stories he doesn’t like and berated a reporter on Air Force One. The government’s top media regulator has warned that broadcasters risk losing their licenses if they don’t stay away from “fake news.” Trump and his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, have questioned the patriotism of news outlets because of their reporting. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://apnews.com/article/trump-media-hegseth-carr-fcc-first-amendment-d8bba1bcfa09bd47a9e1523616be480c

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 3/16/26

Headline:  “Opinion | Trump and his FCC chair are barking at the press. Even without a bite, the threat matters.”

Subhead: “FCC chair Brendan Carr is threatening broadcasters over Iran war coverage, though experts say revoking licenses would be legally difficult”

“. . .President Donald Trump has spent the past 10 years chipping away at the media — from sowing mistrust through his constant name-calling to suing networks over coverage he doesn’t like to outright kicking the press out of press conferences for even the silliest reasons, such as what to call the Gulf of Mexico. . .”

“And the latest to do the president’s bidding? Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr, who threatened TV networks because the president is unhappy with coverage of the U.S.’s involvement in Iran.

“On Saturday, Carr put out a dark message on social media, writing, in part, “Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions – also known as the fake news – have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/brendan-carr-fcc-threaten-pull-news-licenses/

Boots on the Journalists?

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Article li FAIR, by Drew Favakeh. 3/11/26

Headline: “US News Orgs Nearly Silent on Israel’s Violent Suppression of Journalism”

“The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) recently published two meticulous reports that further expose Israel’s violent repression of journalism, in its ongoing genocide in Gaza and elsewhere.

“CPJ published a report on February 19 titled ’We Returned From Hell’: Palestinian Journalists Recount Torture in Israeli Prisons.’ CPJ collected 59 in-depth testimonies from Palestinian journalists released from Israeli custody since October 7, 2023.

“The report goes into excruciating and painstaking detail about the experiences of 56 journalists, who told CPJ they were ‘repeatedly beaten inside prisons by authorities, as well as during arrest and transfer to the facilities.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/us-news-orgs-nearly-silent-on-israels-violent-suppression-of-journalism/

Journalist Arrest Update

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Article in Free Press by Staff, 2/10/26

Headline:  “Coalition of 41 Press-Freedom Groups Calls for Immediate Release of Nashville-Based Journalist Arrested by ICE”

Subhead:  “Rodriguez’s attorneys have filed an emergency petition, seeking an immediate review of whether her detention is legal “

“. . .On Tuesday, a coalition of 41 press-freed     om groups demanded that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) immediately release journalist Estefany Rodriguez.

“ICE failed to produce a warrant when Rodriguez, a Colombian-born reporter, was arrested on March 4, 2026. She has been in ICE custody since, moving between detention facilities with her current whereabouts likely in Alabama but unclear. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/coalition-41-press-freedom-groups-calls-immediate-release-nashville-based-journalist-arrested

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Carolina Abbott Galvão , 3/10/26

Headline: “Estefany Rodríguez in Limbo”

Subhead:  “Last week, a reporter in Nashville was detained by ICE. Officials claimed to have paperwork for her arrest, but her lawyers say it was warrantless—and retaliation for her reporting.”

“. . . On Friday afternoon, the Department of Homeland Security submitted to the US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville Division, a photo of a warrant—what’s known as an administrative, or immigration, warrant, signed by an immigration officer, rather than an arrest warrant signed by a judge. That document, dated March 2, appeared crumpled and contained no A-number (a unique seven- to nine-digit code assigned to noncitizens), and its certificate of service section—which outlines when and where the warrant was served—was left blank. , ,”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/estefany-rodriguez-ice-immigration-detention-limbo-nashville-warrant-status.php

Crackdown on Media

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Article in Common Dreams by Julia Conley, 3/6/26

Headline:  “Retaliation? Nashville Journalist Detained by ICE After Reporting on Trump Crackdown

Subhead:  “ICE abductions of noncitizen journalists take the reporters best equipped to cover immigration Subhead: enforcement”

“Press freedom groups on Friday were calling for the immediate release of Estefany Rodríguez, a journalist with Nashville Noticias and Univision 42 Nashville, after she was detained by federal immigration agents while traveling in her marked press vehicle. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/nashville-ice-arrests

Ice & Media Databases

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Article in Poynter by Angela Fu, 3/5/26

Headline:  “Journalists push back against parent companies’ contracts with ICE”

Subhead:  “Some reporters at Law360 and Reuters are raising concerns about ICE’s use of their companies’ databases in immigration raids”

“More than 200 journalists at Law360, a legal news outlet, and its sister publications have signed a letter demanding that their parent company RELX drop its contract with the Department of Homeland Security.

“The letter, which was signed by more than 80% of the union representing editorial staff at Law360 and regulation news site MLex, states that the $22.1 million contract “raises imminent human rights concerns” given recent actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an agency within DHS. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2026/law360-reuters-newsrooms-letter-against-ice-dhs/

No Bad News Allowed!

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Article in Daily Kos by Oliver Willis, 3/4/26

Headline:  “Hegseth cares more about ‘fake’ media coverage than dead troops”

“On Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth railed against accurate reporting on the deaths of American soldiers that have occurred thanks to President Donald Trump’s decision to attack Iran.

“Speaking to reporters at a press conference, Hegseth parroted Trump’s use of the phrase “fake news” to describe fact-based reporting on news reflecting negatively on the administration. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/3/4/2371618/-Hegseth-cares-more-about-fake-media-coverage-than-dead-troops

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Article in Mediaite by Willa Pope Robbins, 4/4/26

Headline: ” ‘WTF?’ Dan Abrams Slams Trump Administration’s Attacks on Media for Reporting Soldiers’ Deaths”

“Mediaite founder Dan Abrams called out Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s attacks on the media’s coverage of Iran on Wednesday, slamming the secretary for “insulting” the fallen U.S. service members in his attempts to blame news outlets for negative reporting on the conflict. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/wtf-dan-abrams-slams-trump-administrations-attacks-on-media-for-reporting-soldiers-deaths/

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Article in Huffpost by Graeme Demianyk, 3/4/26

Headline: “Pete Hegseth Complains Reporting On Dead Troops Is Trying To ‘Make The President Look Bad’ “

Subhead:  “The defense secretary bemoaned the ‘tragic things’ that make ‘front page news.’ “

“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday suggested the media’s reporting of American troops killed after the U.S. went to war with Iran is only to make President Donald Trump “look bad.”

“In an astonishing attack on journalists during a news briefing at the Pentagon, the former Fox News host and Army veteran was touting the early achievements of Trump’s conflict in the Middle East when he complained about ‘tragic things’ making ‘front page news.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/hegseth-troops-killed-media-trump_n_69a87b30e4b0865be0c6d334?origin=home-whats-happening-unit

Some Media Justify Bombing?

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Article in FAIR by Belén Fernández, 3/2/26

Headline:  “US Media Mostly Care for Iranians When They Can Be Used to Justify Bombing”

“. . .In the aftermath of the strikes, certain US corporate media outlets unleashed ostensible critiques of the war—having apparently spontaneously forgotten their own fundamental role in paving the warpath by devoting the past several decades to demonizing the Iranian government (or ‘regime,’ as we are required to refer to imperial foes). . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/us-media-mostly-care-for-iranians-when-they-can-be-used-to-justify-bombing/