Press Freedom

Students Fill Gap of Local Coverage?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Riddhi Setty & Carolina Abbot Galvao, 12/2/25

Headline:  “How Students Are Trying to Save Local News”

Subhead:  “Across the country, university programs are filling gaps in the coverage.”

At twenty-one, just after her graduation from the University of Vermont, Holly Sullivan became the editor of the Winooski News, the sole paper in Vermont’s smallest city—spanning a mile and a half, with about eight thousand residents who speak more than thirty languages. In the course of a few months, Sullivan went from being a student to editing articles and a newsletter that serve the area at large, written entirely by university students.

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/news/how-students-are-trying-to-save-local-news.php

Ugly Interviewee?

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Article in The Guardian by Narina Dunbar, 11/26/25

Headline:  “Trump calls New York Times reporter ‘ugly’ in latest insult to female journalist”

Subhead:  “In a Truth Social post, the president lashed out at journalist Katie Rogers after an article questioned whether he was slowing down”

“Donald Trump lashed out on Wednesday against a New York Times reporter, calling her ‘ugly inside and out’ in his latest personal insult against female members of the media after last week calling another ‘piggy. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/26/trump-insults-new-york-times-reporter-katie-rogers

Courts & Media Intimidation?

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Article in Axios by Sara Fisher and Kerry Flynn, 11/25/25

Headline:  “Trump’s media lawsuits keep falling flat”

“Despite two very visible settlements with ABC and CBS in the past year, President Trump’s legal pressure on media companies has still faced ample pushback in court.

“Why it matters: Lawsuits, even if eventually dismissed are extremely costly and burdensome for news organizations to fight. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.axios.com/2025/11/25/trump-media-lawsuits-dismissed

Media Frivolity Cases?

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Article in Mediaite by Sarah Rumpf, 11/24/25

Headline: “Judge Throws Out Truth Social’s Defamation Lawsuit Against The Guardian“

“A Florida judge granted motions to dismiss to The Guardian and other defendants in a defamation lawsuit filed by Truth Social’s parent company, Truth Media & Technology Group Corp. (TMTG), the latest example of President Donald Trump’s legal actions against media companies not holding up in court.

The dispute arose from two articles published by the UK-based Guardian in March 2023 ‘reporting on a federal criminal investigation related to TMTGs receipt of two payments totaling $8 million,’ . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/lawcrime/judge-throws-out-truth-socials-defamation-lawsuit-against-the-guardian/

Some Good Things?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 11/24/25

Headline:  “What we’re thankful for in media in 2025”

Subhead:  “Two dozen Poynter colleagues reflect on 2025’s bright spots, including brave local reporting, ‘Andor,’ meme Fridays, WIRED scoops and … a mug warmer?”

“Let’s face it, when it comes to the press and its place in a healthy democracy, this has been a horrible year. Aside from the continuing economic challenges facing media organizations, we have an administration that is doing all it can to muzzle the media. . .”

Read the full article at:

/www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/what-were-thankful-for-in-media-in-2025/

Arm And A Leg Coverage?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Ivan L. Nagy, 11/20/25

Headline:  “Adding Insult to Injury”

Subhead:  “As Washington braced for the release of the Epstein files, Trump’s red-carpet welcome of Mohammed bin Salman and threats directed at an ABC News reporter made his hostility to journalists chillingly clear.”

“. . .This was Mohammed bin Salman’s first visit to the White House since 2018, when Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist, was brutally assassinated at the age of fifty-nine. . .”

“. . .’US intelligence concluded that you orchestrated the brutal murder of a journalist,’ Mary Bruce, the chief White House correspondent for ABC, said, facing MBS. ‘Nine-eleven families are furious that you are here in the Oval Office. Why should Americans trust you? And the same to you, Mr. President.’. . .”

read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/adding-insult-to-injury-trump-mbs-crown-prince-mohammed-bin-salman-jamal-khashoggi-saudi-mary-bruce-abc-fake-news.php

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Article in The Hill by Tara Sutter, 11/20/25

Headline:  “Jon Stewart rips Trump, tech leaders over Saudi crown prince visit”

“. . . ‘Jon, what do you think about all of the CEOs attending the White House dinner for MBS [Mohammed bin Salman]?” Brittany Mehmedovic, Stewart’s producer, asked on his “The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart” podcast.

” ‘What did we think they were? Honestly? Like, I — are people surprised by it? Are people — ‘I cannot believe that the head of Apple, the head of Meta … all the different — would sit at a state dinner with the guy who is funneling billions and billions of dollars into their businesses,’ Stewart replied in the Thursday episode highlighted by Mediaite. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/5616043-stewart-trump-tech-ceos-saudi-ties/

Media – Going, Going, Gone

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Article in Reporters Without Borders by Staff, 11/18/25

Headline:  “USA: 8 ways Trump is shrinking the space for press freedom – literally”

“The attacks against the press carried out by President Donald Trump since the start of his second term have increasingly stretched beyond rhetoric and policy and turned into physical limitations for journalists. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is highlighting eight ways the US administration is physically restricting journalists’ access to areas where they were previously free to report. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://rsf.org/en/usa-8-ways-trump-shrinking-space-press-freedom-literally

More Media Judgements?

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Article in Mediaite by Sean James, 11/19/25

Headline:  ” ‘They Will Win!’ Dan Abrams Urges Media Orgs To Fight Trump on ‘Meritless’ Lawsuits After CNN’s Court Victory”

“Dan Abrams urged media companies on Wednesday to punch back against President Donald Trump whenever he files a “ridiculous” lawsuit against them, because, as CNN just showed in court, “they will win!”

Abrams made his plea to outlets one day after a U.S. appeals court upheld the dismissal of a Trump lawsuit against CNN. The president sued the cable channel in 2022 for $475 million after several of its reporters referred to his claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged as ‘The Big Lie.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/politics/they-will-win-dan-abrams-urges-media-orgs-to-fight-trump-on-meritless-lawsuits-after-cnns-court-victory/

Is There a Campus Right-to-Report?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Carolina Abbott Galvão and Riddhi Setty

Headline:  “One Battle After Another”

Subhead:  “On university campuses, student papers are fighting their own administrations—and sometimes the government—for the right to report.”

“. . .The Mercury [University of Texas] published several stories criticizing the university for calling in state troopers to student encampments and ran interviews with protesters who were arrested; soon after, administrators accused Olivares Gutierrez of committing “journalism malpractice” and replaced The Mercury’s adviser. . .”

“In September of 2024, the school’s administration fired Olivares Gutierrez. The Mercury’s entire staff subsequently went on strike, and members of its management team were fired as well. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/news/one-battle-after-another-student-newspapers-censorship-crisis.php

Kansas Newspaper Police-raid Update

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Article in AP by John D. Hanna and Heatber Hollingsworth, 11/11/25

Headline:  “Kansas county agrees to pay $3 million over law enforcement raid on a small-town newspaper”

“TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A rural Kansas county has agreed to pay a little more than $3 million and apologize over a law enforcement raid on a small-town weekly newspaper in August 2023 that sparked an outcry over press freedom, the paper’s editor said Tuesday.

Marion County was among multiple defendants in five federal lawsuits filed by the company that publishes the Marion County Record, its publisher, the estate of his late mother Joan Meyer, the paper’s co-owner, employees of the paper and a former Marion City Council member whose home also was raided. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://apnews.com/article/kansas-newspaper-raid-press-freedom-c18f46a215908198335ca6f608c3360b