Media Supression

Media Literacy Events

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Source:  Neutrality Studies

NATIONALLY KNOWN  AUTHOR, ROBIN ANDERSEN

CONDUCTS MEDIA LITERACY EVENT AND BOOK TALK

 On August 4th  at 6:00 CST, Robin Andersen, Professor Emerita from Fordham University, New York City, and author of a dozen books and hundreds of articles on media, war, refugees, etc., will conduct a workshop on how to “Expose media lies and have fun doing it” in joint with two others in the “large meeting room” in the Plaza Branch Library, 4801 Main Street in Kansas City, Missouri.

Andersen collaborates in this workshop with Katerina Canyon, Executive Director of the Peace Economy Workshop, headquartered in St. Louis. The workshop will be moderated by Spencer Graves, President of Friends of Community Media. This workshop is designed to promote critical thinking about what appears in the media.  The public is encouraged to attend and may register with email for free at savethemedia@cs.com. The event begins with a reception at 5:30 PM.

In addition Robin Andersen will speak August 5th at 7 PM at Rainy Day Books in 2706 W 53rd Street, Fairway Kansas, on her new book, The Complicit Lens: US Media Coverage of Israel’s Genocide in Gaza (OR Books, published June 2, two months ago).

Friends of Community Media (FCM, ourfcm.org) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization based in Kansas City, whose mission includes educating citizens on the nature of the media and encouraging media to be responsive to the public. FCM also has a daily blog that examines national media from a progressive viewpoint.

Harassing Freelancers Now?

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Article in The New York Times by Devlin Barrett, 8/1/26

Headline:  “Justice Dept. Subpoenas Times Freelancer in Effort to Identify Sources”

Subhead:  “A previously undisclosed subpoena, involving reporting on a failed SEAL Team 6 mission in North Korea, reflects the government’s expanding campaign to investigate leaks of secrets.”

“A freelance reporter has been fighting a subpoena from the Trump administration seeking to force him to reveal his sources for a New York Times article about a failed top secret mission in North Korea, according to people familiar with the matter. . .”

“In the months since Mr. Cole’s subpoena, The Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post have faced similar subpoenas seeking information about their reporting. The news organizations have resisted. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/01/us/politics/times-subpoena-reporter-trump-north-korea.html

ABC Persecuted?

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Article in The New Republic by Sophie Jager, 7/30/26

Headline:  “ABC Accuses Trump’s FCC of Trying to Censor the Whole Media Industry”

Subhead:  “ABC fired back at the Federal Communications Commission, accusing the agency of “attempted censorship” and “retaliation.”

“ABC accused the Federal Communications Commission Thursday of “attempted censorship” and a clear “retaliation” effort meant to send a message to every other media company in the country.

“The Administration has openly and repeatedly called for the revocation of ABC’s licenses, because it dislikes the content and viewpoints expressed on ABC network programs,” ABC wrote in a fiery 119-page regulatory filing to the agency. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/post/213787/abc-trump-fcc-censorship-media-industry

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Article in Reuters by David Shepardson, 7/30/26

Headline: “ABC says FCC seeks to intimidate network over news coverage”

“. . .Walt Disney-owned, ​ABC said on Thursday that the Federal Communications Commission’s threat to revoke the network’s broadcast licenses is ‌part of an unprecedented campaign of intimidation over broadcast content the Trump administration dislikes.

“ABC said that the Trump administration agency’s nearly unprecedented decision to order an early license review of the eight Disney-owned ABC stations is a warning from the government to other media companies. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.reuters.com/world/abc-says-fcc-seeks-intimidate-network-over-coverage-2026-07-30/

Unhinged Journalist-Harassment?

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Article in Ars Technica by Jon Brodkin, 7/28/26

Headline:  “eBay pays $46M to journalists it targeted in bizarre harassment campaign”

Subhead:  “eBay sent bloody pig mask and other macabre deliveries to journalists’ home.”

“eBay and three former executives agreed to pay nearly $56 million in a settlement over a macabre campaign of cyberstalking and harassment that targeted two journalists in 2019.

“As we’ve previously written, the case involved deliveries of live cockroaches, a funeral wreath, a book about surviving the loss of a spouse, and a bloody pig mask to the home of a couple who run a news website. There were also harassing messages sent via email and Twitter, and an attempt to install a GPS tracking device on the victims’ car. Criminal charges resulted in guilty pleas and prison terms for former eBay employees. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/07/ebay-former-execs-pay-56m-to-settle-bloody-pig-mask-harassment-case/

McCarthy Ghost Pursues Media

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Article in Democracy Now! by Staff, 7/28/26

Headline: “A New McCarthyism? House GOP Subpoenas BreakThrough News in Escalating War on Progressive Groups”

“The Republican-led House Ways and Means Committee subpoenaed BreakThrough News last week, demanding the independent online news outlet hand over internal communications and financial records. BreakThrough News says it’s being targeted over its coverage of U.S. mass deportations, ICE abuses, Cuba and Palestine solidarity and U.S. foreign policy. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.democracynow.org/2026/7/28/rania_khalek_breakthrough_news_subpoena

Media, Drinking it all in?

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Article in The Hill by Dominick Mastrangelo. 7/27/26

Headline:  “The Atlantic calls Patel lawsuit an ‘assault’ on Constitution in dismissal bid”

“The Atlantic is asking a judge to toss a lawsuit brought by FBI Director Kash Patel against the outlet over its reporting alleging excessive drinking and questioning his performance in the job. . .”

“The Atlantic, in a statement on Monday, called Patel’s suit ‘meritless’ and said it was asking the court to permit it to begin seeking factual discovery from the FBI and the Department of Justice — including documents and depositions of key individuals, which it called ‘appropriate given the allegations in this matter’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5993569-atlantic-patel-defamation-suit/

White House Needs Plumbers Again?

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Article in The Washington Post by Michael Birnbaum, 7/24/26

Headline:  “To track down government leakers, Trump supports pursuing journalists”

Subhead:  “Hours before addressing the White House press corps, the president endorsed using subpoenas against reporters in national security leak investigations.”

“President Donald Trump took an aggressive stance toward Justice Department investigations of journalists Friday, saying that the way to pursue ‘treasonous’ leaks was to seek information from the journalists who received the leaked material.

“The comments — which came hours ahead of a rerun of the White House correspondents’ dinner, where the president was to address the reporters who cover him at a gala that honors the freedom of the press — amounted to a presidential endorsement of his administration’s legal battles against journalists. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/07/24/identify-government-leakers-trump-supports-pursuing-journalists/

Real Fake News!

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Article in Mediaite by Kathryn Wilkens

Headline: “Ex-60 Minutes Journo Says She Was Asked to Cover Nonexistent Events Under Weiss”

Subhead: “While Vega did not directly name Weiss as having personally made the requests, she pointed to changes under the network’s ‘new administration at CBS News’ “

According to an audio recording obtained by Oliver Darcy’s Status, former 60 Minutes correspondent Cecilia Vega accused CBS News chief Bari Weiss of leading a push to include claims in stories that her reporting team could not verify, alleging she was asked to report on incidents that ‘never happened.’ ”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/ousted-60-minutes-reporter-says-she-was-asked-to-report-on-things-that-didnt-happen-under-bari-weiss/

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy 7/23/26

Headline: “Vega Breaks Her Silence”

Subhead:  “The fired ’60 Minutes’ correspondent revealed stunning new details about how CBS News management tried to meddle in her reporting, according to an audio recording obtained by Status.“

Read the article at:

https://www.status.news/p/cecilia-vega-cbs-60-minutes-bari-weiss

Subpoena Against Reporters Burned

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Article in UPI by Stephen Feller, 7/23/26

Headline: “Justice Department withdraws subpoenas for New York Times reporters”

“The Department of Justice on Thursday agreed in court to withdraw subpoenas it sent to three journalists at the New York Times to force them to reveal their sources.

“The Justice Department ‘unilaterally’ withdrew the subpoenas after U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian threatened to quash them if it did not do so, ABC News and The New York Times reported. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/07/23/justice-department-withdraws-subpoenas-new-york-times/1801784850308/

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Article in The Guardian by Victoria Bekiempis, 7/23/26

Headline: “Trump’s DoJ drops effort to subpoena New York Times over Qatari jet story”

Subhead:  “Journalists had reported on security concerns about US president flying on $400m Air Force One plane from Qatar”

Read the article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jul/23/new-york-times-reporter-subpoenas-withdraw

Don’t Like Writing? – Call it Treason

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jem Bartholomew, 7/20/26

Headline:   “The Uses of ‘Treason”

Subhead:  “By repeatedly blasting the press as traitors, Trump is trying to solidify his splintering MAGA base.”

“. . .David E. Sanger—the New York Times’ White House and national security correspondent . . .asked about the war with Iran. ‘What would the use be of repeating the bombing? You did it for thirty-eight days, and you did not get the political changes in Iran—’ Trump jumped in: ‘No, I got, I had a total military victory,’ he said, . . . . Then he leaped into a tirade against the press. ‘I actually think it’s sort of treasonous what you write,’ Trump concluded. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/the-uses-of-treason-donald-trump-press-traitors-air-force-one-qatar-sanger-subpoenas-maga-base-splinter.php