Press Freedom

Cutting the Real News?

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Article in Daily Kos by Oliver Willis, 4/6/26

Headline:  “Veteran journalist ‘concerned’ CNN will be next MAGA victim”

“Veteran journalist and CNN mainstay Christiane Amanpour is concerned that, if Republican donor David Ellison is successful in his attempt to take over CNN parent company Warner Discovery, the network could face a devastating pro-MAGA makeover. . .”

“During a panel of the Sir Harry Evans Investigative Journalism Summit in London on Monday, Amanpour expressed her outrage. . .”

“Clearly I’m concerned,” she said after being asked about recent comments from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that he’s looking forward to an Ellison makeover. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/5/6/800034348/media/journalist-concerned-cnn-next-maga-victim/

Amy, Media, and Truth

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Article in Democracy Now by Staff, 5/7/26

Headline:  “This Week with Jon Stewart: Media For Truth, Not Profit with Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman”

“Amy Goodman, host and executive producer of ‘Democracy Now!’ and subject of the new documentary ‘STEAL THIS STORY, PLEASE!’ joins Jon Stewart on This Week with Jon Stewart to examine which stories get told and why, discuss the bargain the media makes in trading truth for access, and explore the power ordinary people still possess to organize and fight back. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.democracynow.org/2026/5/7/this_week_with_jon_stewart_media

Another Empty Suit in Court?

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Article in The Intercept by Bryce Covert, 5/6/26

Headline:  “Lawyer on EEOC’s New York Times Lawsuit Has History Battling Discrimination Against Men”

Subhead:  “A former EEOC commissioner said, “They’re putting out their best facts in this complaint, and the facts are pathetic.”

“The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a key achievement of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the federal agency tasked with protecting American workers from employment discrimination, sued the New York Times on behalf of a white man claiming the company discriminated against him based on his race and sex. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://theintercept.com/2026/05/06/eeoc-nyt-lawsuit-discrimination-men/

No Alcohol-Reporting Allowed?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jem Bartholomew, 5/7/26

Headline:  “With Malice”

Subhead:  “Kash Patel’s FBI is going after reporters and news organizations for routine newsgathering practices.”

“. . .’Maria [Fox News], I’m happy to announce on your show that we’re not gonna take this laying down,’ Patel told Bartiromo. ‘You wanna attack my character? Come at me? Bring it on, I’ll see you in court.’ The next day, Patel’s lawyers filed a defamation lawsuit, in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking damages from The Atlantic, as well as naming Fitzpatrick in the suit. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/with-malice-kash-patel-fbi-routine-newsgathering-target-practice-atlantic.php

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Article in The Atlantic by David Graham, 5/6/26

Headline: “A Dangerous New Attack on Press Freedom”

Subhead:  “According to MS NOW, the FBI has launched an investigation into an Atlantic reporter.”

“The Trump administration’s war against freedom of the press has reached a startling new low.

According to a report this morning from MS NOW, the FBI has opened a criminal investigation focusing on my Atlantic colleague Sarah Fitzpatrick, related to an article she published last month about Director Kash Patel. Drawing on some two dozen sources, Fitzpatrick reported that people inside the administration and the bureau are deeply concerned about what they described as Patel’s unexplained absences and excessive drinking. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/05/kash-patel-fitzpatrick-fbi-investigation/687077/

Let Corporate Media Decide

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jem Bartholomew, 5/4/26

Headline:   “Corporate Meddling and Editorial Fear”

Subhead:  “The Ellisons are closing in on CNN.“

“. . .On Thursday, Alfonsi, of 60 Minutes, spoke publicly for the first time about the delay in airing her CECOT story. It was the result of ‘an aggressive contagion: the spread of corporate meddling and editorial fear,’ she said, while receiving an award from the National Press Club in Washington. ‘Right now, our industry is afraid of the wrong things. We’re afraid of offending power. We’re afraid of losing access. We’re afraid of another baseless lawsuit.’ ”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/corporate-meddling-editorial-fear-ellison-warner-bros-discovery-paramount-skydance-takeover-fcc-trump-carr.php

Media Court Failure Again

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Article in Media Matters by Staff, 5/4/26

Headline: “Media Matters secures complete and total victory against Federal Trade Commission”

Subhead: “FTC agrees to forgo future investigations of MMFA to secure withdrawal ahead of judgment”

“Media Matters has secured a complete and total victory in its case against the Federal Trade Commission (Media Matters v. FTC).

“In an effort to avoid another damaging decision from a federal court of appeals, the FTC sought to withdraw its appeal of the preliminary injunction awarded to Media Matters to halt the FTC’s retaliatory actions. Media Matters made clear that it would oppose that gamesmanship. Facing the prospect of a loss from what’s often considered the nation’s second highest court, the FTC ultimately submitted to a legally binding settlement agreement with Media Matters

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/angelo-carusone/media-matters-secures-complete-and-total-victory-against-federal-trade-commission

Press Confidence Low

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Article in Poynter by Angela Fu, 5/1/26

Headline:  “Opinion | U.S. falls to its lowest ever World Press Freedom Index ranking”

Subhead:  “The declines in press freedom in the U.S. are part of a broader global trend, Reporters Without Borders found.”

“Last weekend, the White House Correspondents Association dinner — already a topic of awkward conversations because of various ethical concerns — was scrapped because a gunman tried to enter the event.

“Then on Monday, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania both called for ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to be fired because they didn’t like a joke he told. And now the Federal Communications Commission, seemingly spurred on by the Trumps’ social media complaints, is reviewing ABC’s licenses.

“Thursday produced even more depressing news about press freedoms in the U.S. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/us-lowest-press-freedome-ranking-ever/

Journalists vs. AI

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Riddhi Setty

Headline:  “Fighting the Machine”

Subhead:  “Journalists across the United States are fighting for contracts that address AI use: ‘We don’t want it to be done in our name, literally.’ “

“On a chilly day in early April, outside the ProPublica offices in Lower Manhattan, dozens of union members staged a daylong strike—the first of its kind authorized at a major news organization to address, among other concerns, how AI would be used with its work. . .”

” ‘Now is the time to fight this fight,’ Hilke Schellmann, an AI expert and journalism professor at New York University, told me. ‘Because once it becomes standard in a union bargaining agreement across the journalism industry that journalists or employees have no say over AI tools, that quickly becomes a standard.’ ”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/fighting-the-machine-contracts-artificial-intelligence-ai-use-bylines.php

“60 Minutes” Censorship?

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 4/30/26

“The veteran 60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi expressed concern about “the spread of corporate meddling and editorial fear” at CBS News and her uncertainty about whether she will keep her job after she pushed back on a directive to change her December segment on Venezuelans who were sent to the Cecot prison in El Salvador.

Alfonsi spoke about the incident for the first time on Thursday evening after receiving the Ridenhour prize for courage at the National Press Club in Washington. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/apr/30/60-minutes-sharyn-alfonsi-cbs-news

No Access, No News

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Article in AP by Deepti Hajela, 4/30/26|

Headline:  “Media organizations call on Israel to allow foreign reporters independent access to Gaza”

The leaders of major media companies around the world, including The Associated Press, are calling on Israel’s government to lift a ban keeping foreign journalists from being able to independently enter and report from Gaza, a barrier that’s been in place since the war’s start in 2023 and continues even as a ceasefire has been in place for more than six months. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://apnews.com/article/gaza-israel-journalists-coverage-access-war-zone-0b3e72a7d73e211944fb5ff1c9d5d645