Press Freedom

Reporters Unwelcome

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Article in Poynter by Angela Fu, 10/15/26

Headline: “A shrinking local press is making it easier for public officials to restrict access”

Subhead: “Reporters across the country say they’re being denied credentials, shut out of government spaces and stonewalled by public officials”

“As CNN, Politico and MS NOW challenge their White House ban in court, a similar press access battle is playing out in Utah — one that dates back to the beginning of last year. . .”

“Across the country, journalists at the state and local levels are experiencing many of the same access issues as their national counterparts. They are being turned away from press conferences, stonewalled by politicians and excluded from government spaces they previously had access to. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2026/local-news-press-access-public-officials/

Judge Rules Against WH Media Ban

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Article in The Wrap by Alyssa Ray, 10/13/26

Headline:  “Judge Rules Against White House Resuming Ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico as Legal Battle Continues”

Subhead: “'[The outlets] are likely to succeed not only on their due process claim, but also on their two First Amendment claims,’ Judge Timothy Kelly writes”

“Federal Judge Timothy Kelly barred the Trump administration from reinstating its ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters accessing the White House grounds.

In a new ruling, which granted the outlets’ motion for a preliminary injunction, the U.S. District judge declared that CNN, MS NOW and Politico “are likely to succeed not only on their due process claim, but also on their two First Amendment claims,” extending their journalists’ access to the White House. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thewrap.com/media-platforms/journalism/judge-extends-cnn-ms-now-politico-white-house-access/

Journalism, War, and Lies

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Article in The Nation by Marwan Bishara, 10/112/26

Headline:  “Writing About War as Bombs Fall”

Subhead:  “While the Israeli government launched a well-orchestrated offensive of disinformation and hyperbole that would make the illegal permissible in the war on Gaza.

“When the Gaza war started three years ago, I took to the keyboard. In those dark times, writing was my only sanctuary amid the mayhem. I had written extensively about war in my career as a scholar and a journalist, but nothing prepared me for this war. The words that came to mind felt jaded, even inadequate for what was unfolding in front of our eyes. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thenation.com/article/world/gaza-war-three-years-global-opinion-israel/

“60 Minutes” Still Rolls Downhill?

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 10/12/26

Headline:  “Bari’s Stahl Showdown”

Subhead:  “Two recent clashes over Israel coverage have roiled Bari Weiss’ CBS News, Status has learned, with one confrontation even pushing legendary ’60 Minutes’ correspondent Lesley Stahl to the brink of quitting.”

“On Sunday night, ’60 Minutes’ aired a riveting piece examining the violence that extremist Israeli settlers have unleashed against Palestinians in the West Bank. . .”

“. . .Behind the scenes, Status has learned that the screenings for Stahl’s piece grew extraordinarily contentious, with the legendary correspondent becoming so frustrated that she privately discussed the possibility of quitting the show.. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/bari-weiss-lesley-stahl-60-minutes-israel-gaza

Kangaroo Courts and the Media

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Article in The Hill by Dominick Mastrangelo, 10/12/26

Headline:  “CBS, ABC, CNN and Fox News: What to know”

“The Department of Justice (DOJ) took many by surprise when it said over the weekend it would investigate the country’s top television networks on antitrust grounds over a boycott the TV networks carried out last month in response to President Trump’s ban of three news outlets from the White House. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/6144038-doj-investigates-tv-networks-boycott/

Stopping WH Media Ban

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Article in AP by Michael Kunzelman, Jocelyn Noveck, and Rebecca Boone

Headline: “Media attorneys ask court for help in preventing White House ban until legal case is resolved”

“. . .An attorney for three news organizations told a federal judge Thursday that the Trump administration must be prevented from barring their reporters from the White House, saying the ban is a classic example of “viewpoint discrimination” that is punishing people for what they say — and violating the media outlets’ First Amendment rights. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://apnews.com/article/trump-networks-media-ban-cnn-6459d3612a0a845a0cf1a093acafbe6f

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 10/8/26

Headline:  “Trump made ‘clear’ that media ban was due to critical coverage, court told”

Subhead: “Lawyer for CNN, MS Now and Politico says Trump admitted he banned networks from White House over their coverage”

“Donald Trump continues to be the strongest witness for the media companies arguing that they were unfairly barred from the White House at his direction, a lawyer representing CNN, MS Now and Politico told a federal judge on Thursday afternoon. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/oct/08/trump-media-ban-hearing

Media in the Lifeboats!

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Article in Mediaite by Alex Griffing, 10/7/26

Headline: “Pete Hegseth Welcomes USS Lincoln Crew Home With a Rant Against the Media: They Tried to Say it Was a ‘Failed Mission!’”

“. . .Hegseth slammed the media for its reporting on the conditions aboard the vessel during his remarks. ‘And there were a few folks in the media who tried to turn the USS Abraham Lincoln into some sort of symbol: a symbol of dysfunction, or a symbol of low morale, or a symbol of a failed mission,’ Hegseth fumed, adding:

“‘And what I look out at right here, and what I talked to your leadership about – and I have had a chance to talk to a number of you – I know it’s the exact opposite, which is actually what the media does so often.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/pete-hegseth-welcomes-uss-lincoln-crew-home-with-a-rant-against-the-media-they-tried-to-say-it-was-a-failed-mission/

Empty House, Arrest Reporter

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Article in The Hill by Max Rego, 10/5/26

Headline:  “Trump calls for media outlets to be ‘arrested’ over rally coverage”

“President Trump said Monday that reporters from The New York Times and other media outlets should be ‘arrested’ over their coverage of his Saturday rally in Ohio.

‘The Ohio Arena was already full to the brim — And yet these people were still trying to get in,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social, sharing a video of people in line for the rally.

“New York Times correspondent Katie Rogers wrote Sunday that ‘several areas of an upper deck were empty’ by the time the president finished speaking at Butler High School in Vandalia. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6130397-trump-media-arrests-ohio-rally/

Near Monopoly Threat to Press?

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Article in Free Press by Staff, 10/1/26

Headline:  “Free Press: Judge’s Approval of the Paramount Mega-Merger Is a Call to Action Against Billionaire Control of the Media”

“On Wednesday, Federal Court Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín approved the proposed consent decree that Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery struck with 12 state attorneys general to settle their case against the companies’ $111 billion mega-merger.

“Last week, Free Press and other core partners in the coalition had filed an amicus brief calling for the federal court to reject the consent decree and prevent the merger from going forward, citing its failure to remedy harms to competition and to the very people that state attorneys general are supposed to represent. . .

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/free-press-judges-approval-paramount-mega-merger-call-action-against-billionaire-control-media

Independent News Needs Support

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Article in Poynter by Kristen Hare, 10/1/26

Headline:  “What does it take to make an independent local newsroom work? More than good journalism.”

Subhead:  “A new study of 112 independent publishers shows just how much local news entrepreneurs have to juggle”

“. . .A new study from Syracuse University’s Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship digs into the hard realities facing the local news entrepreneurs working to fill the huge and growing gaps left by shrinking local newspapers.

“A Hard Reality: Independent Local Journalism in the United States,” by Merrill Brown and Jacob Spudich, looks at survey responses from 112 publishers in 37 states and Washington, D.C . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2026/independent-local-newsrooms-sustainability-business-models/