Will Court Stop Media Ban?


Article in The Washington Post by Victoria Craw, 9/29/26

Headline: “CNN, MS NOW and Politico ask judge to extend block on Trump’s media ban”

Subhead:  “The current 14-day order is due to expire Oct. 8, and the media outlets say the White House is preventing CNN from fulfilling its television pool duties.”

“CNN, MS NOW and Politico have asked a federal court to block President Donald Trump’s media ban beyond the current 14-day order while legal proceedings play out.

The outlets called for the ‘same access’ to the White House and president they had before Trump announced the ban on Sept. 18, accusing them of ‘FAKE NEWS.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/09/30/cnn-ms-now-politico-ask-judge-extend-block-trumps-media-ban/

Whose News is Fake News?

Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 9/28/26

Headline: “Opinion | Rachel Maddow on why Trump keeps attacking the media: ‘You play the hits’”

Subhead:  “Maddow kicks off season seven of ‘The Poynter Report Podcast’ to talk Trump, the press, polling and the future of news”

“Donald Trump, in perhaps his most brazen act as president, banned prominent news outlets from covering his administration. That battle rages on.

“In addition, he put out a TV commercial attacking ‘fake news’ — a common phrase he has used over the past decade whenever he is bothered by coverage he doesn’t like. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/poynter-report-podcast-rachel-maddow-msnow/

Media Havoc Likely to Continue

Article in AP by Jocelyn Noveck, 9/28/26

Headline: “After a chaotic weekend in the Trump-media standoff, it’s now a wait-and-see game for networks”

“Is the standoff over between the White House and the nation’s main broadcast networks? Not exactly.

“Are we back to Square One? Also not exactly.

“One week after three news outlets filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and his abrupt ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico journalists from White House grounds, the extraordinary First Amendment showdown has morphed into a wait-and-see game. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://apnews.com/article/trump-media-networks-pool-ea7fbf9c0a0506dde6f95738922640d4

Will Reporter’s Barricade Last?


Article in The Wrap by A.J. Katz, 9/25/26

Headline:   “Trump’s War With the Press Keeps Escalating. How Long Can the Guardrails Hold? | Analysis”

Subhead:  “A court victory and an unusual show of media solidarity ended the latest White House standoff — for now”

“The Trump administration’s latest confrontation with the press ended, for now, with the institutional guardrails holding. But not for lack of the president trying to barrel his way through them.

“A federal judge on Thursday ordered the White House to restore access to CNN, MS NOW and Politico. The major television networks stood together rather than replace CNN in the White House TV pool. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thewrap.com/media-platforms/journalism/trump-press-war-white-house-guardrails-analysis/

Press Cohesion Against Censorship

Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Susie Banikarim, 9/25/26

Headline: “Solidarity, Finally”

Subhead:  “The press stands up for itself, together. Plus: A surrender to—not a settlement with—Paramount. . .”

“. . .This week, that collective power has finally been on display in a striking and heartening show of solidarity from the White House press corps. After President Trump banned CNN, MS Now, and Politico from the White House in a fit of pique, the WHCA was quick to issue a statement. ‘The Constitution protects the freedom of the press from government interference,’ Jacqui Heinrich, a Fox News correspondent serving as the group’s president, wrote. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/laurels-and-darts/trump-ban-press-solidarity-whca-white-house-correspondents-association-paramount-attorney-general-lawsuit-killer-story-sexton.php

New Media No-Fly List?

Article in AP by Billie Golden, 9/25/26

Headline:  “CNN left off Air Force One for Trump’s upcoming trip, White House signals in new media restriction”

“The White House signaled Friday night that CNN would be left off Air Force One for President Donald Trump’s Saturday trip, the latest media restriction from the administration in an ongoing dispute with First Amendment implications.

“The news organization was replaced by Real America’s Voice News, a conservative network, for the president’s trip to Knoxville, Tennessee, according to White House guidance. . .”

Read the full story at:

https://apnews.com/article/white-house-media-ban-cnn-network-pool-c32504981ee2f5b3c137e57d9d36f33e

Not Allowed in WH Tonight to Cover Xi, but. . .

Article in The HIll by Dominick Mastrangelo, 9/24/26

Headline: “Trump complains CNN, MS NOW didn’t cover ‘made for Television’ Xi visit”

“President Trump blasted CNN and MS NOW on Thursday over their coverage of his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which did not include live video coverage and came as a federal judge reinstated the outlets’ White House access.

“CNN and MSDNC [sic], to show you how fake they are, today refused to cover one of the Biggest and Most Beautiful Events to take place in many years, the arrival at the White House of the Highly Respected President of China’. . . ”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/6110466-trump-blasts-cnn-msnow-xi-visit/

Tonight, WH Defies Judge?

Article in the New York Times by Peter Baker, 9/24/26

Headline:  “In Trump’s White House, China’s Dictator Is Welcome. American Media, Less So.”

Subhead:  “The showdown over President Trump’s partial media ban played out as he welcomed President Xi Jinping, whose government is ranked among the most repressive in the world.”

“At the White House gate, a throng of Chinese journalists was being admitted onto the grounds of the Executive Mansion to cover the visit of President Xi Jinping. Out on the street, several American journalists were blocked from entering the White House on the orders of President Trump. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/us/politics/trump-xi-press-pool-boycott-media.html

Coming Storm in the Media

Article in Columbia Journalism Review By Carolina Abbott Galvão, Ivan L. Nagy and Riddhi Setty, 9/23/26

Headline: “How Should We Cover the Climate Story?”

Subhead:  “Speaking with climate reporters about staying on the beat—because, as Bill McKibben put it, ‘for better or for worse, by this time next year, there’s no doubt in my mind that climate coverage will be at the forefront.’”

“. . .Climate journalism can feel like a series of devastating yet foreseeable tragedies, all happening against a drumbeat of bad news—like the United Nations report this month that global temperatures will rise past a dangerous threshold. Meanwhile, climate desks at legacy organizations have shrunk or disbanded, including at NPR. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/feature/how-should-we-cover-the-climate-story.php

Here Comes the Media Judge

Article in Reuters by Jan Wolfe and Jack Queen, 9/23/26

Headline: “Judge skeptical of Trump’s White House media ban at hearing”

“US judge appeared skeptical on Wednesday about the legality of Donald Trump’s decision to bar CNN, ​MS NOW and Politico journalists from the White House, indicating he may grant their request to lift the ban they describe as unlawful retaliation for news coverage ‌the president dislikes.
US District Judge Timothy Kelly said at a hearing in Washington that Trump’s ban did not appear to comply with past legal precedents by failing to give the news outlets an opportunity to respond. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/news-outlets-will-ask-judge-end-trumps-white-house-ban-hearing-2026-09-23/

– – – – –

Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr

Headline:  “Judge seems inclined to side with media outlets who were banned from White House in lawsuit”

Subhead:  “Due process was not followed, said judge, when CNN, MS Now and Politico were banned from White House”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/sep/23/white-house-media-ban-lawsuit