Article in UPI by By Jill Keppeler, 9/29/26
Headline: “Percentage who say U.S. media have ‘a lot’ of freedom hits new low”
“. . .Slightly more than two in three Americans now say that U.S. news media have “a lot” of freedom, a new low, a Gallup poll released Tuesday said.
“The percentage shows a marked political divide. . . .”
Read the full article at:
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/09/29/perception-of-press-freedom-hits-new-low/5151790716634/
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.’. . .”
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Article in The New Republic by Greg Sargeant, 9/28/26
Headline: “Trump’s Rage Over Failing Press Ban Goes Off Rails in Epic Self-Own”
Subhead: “As Trump’s fury at news organizations grows after he loses in court, the writer of a piece on Trump’s shrinking stature explains how the media can collectively resist his abuses of power.”
“A few days ago, Donald Trump exploded in an extended tirade at news organizations. Why? Because they had suspended TV pool coverage of him to show solidarity with three news outlets he’d banned from the White House. This resulted in no TV footage of his reception of Xi Jinping at the White House. Trump absurdly raged that news orgs were trying to deny him coverage of a major success. But in saying this, he actually revealed that he badly needs the attention of news outlets. . .”
Read the full article at:
https://newrepublic.com/article/215898/trump-rage-failing-press-ban-goes-off-rails-epic-self-own
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Article in Status by Natalie Korvach, 9/27/26
Headline: “The Press Pool Whiplash”
Subhead: “Just as major networks thought their standoff with the White House was cooling, CNN was blocked from pool duty again, forcing the group into a day-by-day battle over coverage.”
Read the article at:
https://www.status.news/p/trump-cnn-msnow-white-house-press-pool-fight
Article in Mediaite by Zachary Leeman, 9/25/26
Headline: “New York Times Hits Back at Critics Slamming Their Reporter for Attending Briefing With Iranian President”
“. . .The backlash got loud enough that New York Times spokesperson Nicole Taylor dropped a statement pushing back:
” ‘Our reporter Farnaz Fassihi is being unfairly criticized for attending a briefing with Iran’s president and foreign minister, a meeting she attended along with editors and reporters from major American and British new outlets. This is what newsgathering looks like; reporting conversations conducted with Iranian government officials is standard, legally protected journalistic work. Never before has a head of government attended the U.N. General Assembly while at war with the United States; our reporting on Tehran’s proposals provides the public with insight into Iran’s negotiating strategy and prospects for peace.’ . . .”
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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
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/
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
Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Amos Barshad, 9/22/26
Headline: “Done and Dusted”
Subhead: “With the collapse of the California-led challenge to Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros., the future of an independent CNN hangs in the balance.”
“William Tong is the attorney general of Connecticut, a member of a coalition of states that, up until this weekend, was suing to stop Paramount’s 111-billion-dollar merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. . . Deep into Sunday night, Tong told me, ‘I was fighting. I wasn’t willing to concede until late into the evening.’ That fight is now officially over: a consent decree has laid out Paramount’s legally obligated concessions, allowing the merger to go forward. A string of major entertainment and news entities—including CNN and CBS—will be under the control of one corporate behemoth controlled by the Ellison family. . .”
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Article in The Guardian by Lucy Hough with Paul Owen , 9/22/26
Headline: “Donald Trump v the media: US networks unite in boycott – The Latest”
In what is probably one of the biggest battles yet between the press and Donald Trump, major TV networks have united in a boycott of pooled coverage of his administration. It comes after three news organisations – CNN, MS Now and Politico – were denied access to the White House because of Trump’s concerns about their coverage. Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s international news editor Paul Owen. . .
Watch he full episode at:
Article in Alternet America by Ryan Rose, 9/19/26
Headline: “First Trump Sold the Land, Then He Sold the News”
Subhead: “The FCC Is More Worried About The View Than Foreign Governments Owning Paramount“
“Finally, CBS will have owners who hate journalists even more than Bari Weiss does.
“FCC Chairman Brendan Carr approved a petition from Paramount that would allow foreign investors to own at least 49.5 percent of its equity as part of its bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. Three sovereign wealth funds linked to the governments of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates are backing the deal. . .”
Read the full article at:
https://www.alternetamerica.com/p/trumps-fcc-just-handed-paramount