Press Freedom

No Pulitzer for President?

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Article in Daily Beast by Leigh Kimmins 12/16/25

Headline:  “Trump, 79, Told to Hand Over His Medical Records”

Subhead:  “The president’s revenge tour against the “fake news media” is coming back to bite him. “

“. . .The demand was made in legal papers filed by the board of journalism’s most prestigious prize, the Pulitzer, as part of a defamation lawsuit Trump filed in 2022 over reporting on an investigation into his Russia ties. Now, however, the Pulitzer board’s attorneys have hit back in the most personal way possible for the ailing, 79-year-old president. They have given him 30 days to hand over all tax documents and all documents concerning his medical or psychological health. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-79-may-be-forced-to-hand-over-his-medical-records/

Fire in the FCC?

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 12/16/25

Headline:  “Carr’s Collision Course”

Subhead: “FCC Chair Brendan Carr will be on Capitol Hill for rare Congressional testimony on Wednesday—a hearing in which fellow commissioner Anna Gomez will sharply criticize the agency under his watch, Status has learned.”

“On Wednesday morning at 10 a.m ET, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr will take a seat before the Senate Commerce Committee for a rare appearance before Congress. Carr won’t be alone. Commissioners Olivia Trusty and Anna Gomez will join him, marking the first Senate Commerce oversight hearing with all FCC commissioners present in more than five years—a notable moment for an agency that has largely not been subjected to tough congressional scrutiny. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/brendan-carr-fcc-senate-hearing-testimony

Report on Journalist Attacks

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jem Barthomew, 12/15/25

Headline:  “Reporting with One Hand Tied”

Subhead:  “A new report documents a hostile environment for US journalists this year, with 32 arrests and 170 assaults.”

“. . .The report, shared exclusively with CJR, also records one hundred and seventy assaults against journalists this year—nearly as many as across the previous three years combined. Reporters have been bludgeoned and shot at and pepper-sprayed and shoved by officers of the law this year. Multiple instances saw equipment seized, or damaged to the cost of thousands of dollars. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/reporting-with-one-hand-tied.php

Criticizing – Part of Journalism

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Emily Bell and Heather Chaplin, 12/11/25

Headline:  “The Future of Journalism After Gaza”

Subhead:  “Examining an ongoing crisis for press freedom—and how to manage security risks going forward.”

“. . .According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, it took only ten weeks at the end of 2022 for Israel to kill more journalists in Gaza than had previously been killed in any one country over an entire year. The attacks have not relented in the three years since: while barring international journalists from entry, the Israeli military has treated journalists inside Gaza as acceptable collateral damage and even, at times, explicit targets. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/kicker/future-journalism-gaza-committee-to-protect-journalists-idf-israeli-military-deadliest-year.php

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Article in Common Dreams by James Zogby, 12/10/25

Headline:  “The Media Is Behind the Times: Criticizing Israel Is No Longer a Political Liability”

Subhead:  “Israel’s war on Palestinians has taken a toll, both on that state’s favorable ratings with US voters and on the policies these voters want their government to take to rein in Israeli behaviors.”

“US voters’ attitudes towards the Israeli Palestinian conflict have changed, but media commentators and political consultants haven’t figured that out. They are stuck in the past with outdated assumptions about the electorate and as a result continue to operate from an old playbook. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/criticize-israel-us-politics

Media Silence for Public

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Article in Poynter by Kelly McBride, 12/9/25

Headline:  “When powerful people bully the press, they’re really trying to silence the public”

Subhead:  “What looks like a personal attack is often an intimidation tactic aimed at the entire press and the people it serves”

“. . .In addition to recently calling a reporter “piggy,” President Donald Trump has mocked a journalist’s physical disabilities and belittled one of his interviewers at the 2024 NABJ conference for her tough opening question. But he’s not the only one. Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told a reporter to go back to her country. . .”

Read the full article at:
https://www.poynter.org/ethics-trust/2025/what-to-do-when-powerful-people-bully-journalists/

Free Speech Disappearing?

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Article in Free Press by Staff 12/8/25

Headline:  “Comprehensive New Report Uncovers a Pervasive Pattern Driving the Trump Administration’s Year of Attacks Against Free Speech”

Subhead:  “In an analysis of hundreds of assaults on the First Amendment, Free Press reveals a systemic speech-chilling campaign.”

“WASHINGTON — On Monday, Free Press published an authoritative report analyzing the hundreds of incidents involving possible First Amendment violations over the first year of the Trump White House. The report — CHOKEHOLD: Donald Trump’s War on Free Speech & the Need for Systemic Resistance — sheds new light on a pattern driving an administration-wide campaign to silence dissent. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/report-uncovers-pervasive-pattern-driving-trump-administrations-year-attacks-free-speech

We Still Need Local News

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Photo from Lithub

Article in Poynter by Eric Rynston-Lobel, 12-8-25

Headline:  “As local news disappears, new networks are stepping in to fill the void”

Subhead:  “TAPinto, The Salt Lake Tribune and The Texas Tribune are expanding into underserved areas — testing new models for restoring local journalism”

“TAPinto provides its franchisees with the backend systems and training necessary to run a successful operation. It’s an efficient way to address the loss of local news, and it’s a variation of a model that other organizations have turned to recently as well. . .”

“There are now 853 local news sites across 52 networks providing original reporting, according to the report. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2025/tapinto-texas-tribune-salt-lake-tribune-local-news-expansion/

Predicting Future of the Media

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Articles in Columbia Journalism Review by various staff 12/8/25

Headline:  “Forecasting”

Subhead:  “Introducing the Journalism 2050 Issue.”

“We don’t know what exactly the future holds, much as we may want to believe we do. Looking at the transformations of the media industry, and at shifting habits of news consumption, maybe we can do something like meteorology, and put together a forecast. In this issue and an accompanying podcast series, we are watching where the wind blows . . .”

Read the articles at:

https://www.cjr.org/the-journalism-2050-issue

Newspaper Breaking Out of the Cage?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 12/5/25

Headline:  “The New York Times draws a line on Pentagon press limits”

Headline:  “The Times sues the Pentagon, highlighting a pivotal moment for press freedom”

“The New York Times did something Thursday we haven’t seen enough of as President Donald Trump and his administration continue to strip away press freedoms.

“They took the fight to the administration.

“In a sign that they are sick and tired and aren’t going to take it anymore, the Times filed a lawsuit against the Pentagon, claiming that their First Amendment rights are being violated by the Pentagon’s new press restrictions. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/new-york-times-sues-pentagon-npr-underage-women/