Press Freedom

Harassing Freelancers Now?

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Article in The New York Times by Devlin Barrett, 8/1/26

Headline:  “Justice Dept. Subpoenas Times Freelancer in Effort to Identify Sources”

Subhead:  “A previously undisclosed subpoena, involving reporting on a failed SEAL Team 6 mission in North Korea, reflects the government’s expanding campaign to investigate leaks of secrets.”

“A freelance reporter has been fighting a subpoena from the Trump administration seeking to force him to reveal his sources for a New York Times article about a failed top secret mission in North Korea, according to people familiar with the matter. . .”

“In the months since Mr. Cole’s subpoena, The Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post have faced similar subpoenas seeking information about their reporting. The news organizations have resisted. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/01/us/politics/times-subpoena-reporter-trump-north-korea.html

ABC Persecuted?

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Article in The New Republic by Sophie Jager, 7/30/26

Headline:  “ABC Accuses Trump’s FCC of Trying to Censor the Whole Media Industry”

Subhead:  “ABC fired back at the Federal Communications Commission, accusing the agency of “attempted censorship” and “retaliation.”

“ABC accused the Federal Communications Commission Thursday of “attempted censorship” and a clear “retaliation” effort meant to send a message to every other media company in the country.

“The Administration has openly and repeatedly called for the revocation of ABC’s licenses, because it dislikes the content and viewpoints expressed on ABC network programs,” ABC wrote in a fiery 119-page regulatory filing to the agency. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/post/213787/abc-trump-fcc-censorship-media-industry

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Article in Reuters by David Shepardson, 7/30/26

Headline: “ABC says FCC seeks to intimidate network over news coverage”

“. . .Walt Disney-owned, ​ABC said on Thursday that the Federal Communications Commission’s threat to revoke the network’s broadcast licenses is ‌part of an unprecedented campaign of intimidation over broadcast content the Trump administration dislikes.

“ABC said that the Trump administration agency’s nearly unprecedented decision to order an early license review of the eight Disney-owned ABC stations is a warning from the government to other media companies. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.reuters.com/world/abc-says-fcc-seeks-intimidate-network-over-coverage-2026-07-30/

McCarthy Ghost Pursues Media

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Article in Democracy Now! by Staff, 7/28/26

Headline: “A New McCarthyism? House GOP Subpoenas BreakThrough News in Escalating War on Progressive Groups”

“The Republican-led House Ways and Means Committee subpoenaed BreakThrough News last week, demanding the independent online news outlet hand over internal communications and financial records. BreakThrough News says it’s being targeted over its coverage of U.S. mass deportations, ICE abuses, Cuba and Palestine solidarity and U.S. foreign policy. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.democracynow.org/2026/7/28/rania_khalek_breakthrough_news_subpoena

Media, Drinking it all in?

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Article in The Hill by Dominick Mastrangelo. 7/27/26

Headline:  “The Atlantic calls Patel lawsuit an ‘assault’ on Constitution in dismissal bid”

“The Atlantic is asking a judge to toss a lawsuit brought by FBI Director Kash Patel against the outlet over its reporting alleging excessive drinking and questioning his performance in the job. . .”

“The Atlantic, in a statement on Monday, called Patel’s suit ‘meritless’ and said it was asking the court to permit it to begin seeking factual discovery from the FBI and the Department of Justice — including documents and depositions of key individuals, which it called ‘appropriate given the allegations in this matter’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5993569-atlantic-patel-defamation-suit/

In Crisis, Collaborating Important

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Irene Romulo and Nina Weingrill, 7/28/26

Headline:  “In a Fast-Moving Crisis, What Is the Role of Journalism?”

Subhead:  “Community news organizations, enmeshed in an information ecosystem on social media and messaging apps, can verify, clarify, and connect.”

“. . .A Media Impact Funders report argues that journalism needs to build infrastructure that is ‘shared, long-term, coordinated, and system-oriented,’ rather than episodic or project-bound. That includes adding coordination roles, offering community training, building trusted networks, and maintaining relationships with community organizations between crises. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/in-a-fast-moving-crisis-what-is-the-role-of-journalism-brazil-flood-venezuela-earthquake-whatsapp-signal-rapid-response-immigration-customs-enforcement-ice-information-sharing-ecosystems.php

Vendetta Against Reporter?

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Article in The Washington Post by Scott Nover, 7/27/26

Headline:  “Trump’s fresh mocking of CNN reporter renews calls to end correspondents’ dinner”

Subhead:  “The president posted a doctored image of CNN’s Kaitlan Collins as the network’s future, and that of the correspondents’ dinner, are in limbo.”

“President Donald Trump escalated his attacks on the news media over the weekend, following a blistering address at the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner by posting an edited image mocking CNN’s Kaitlan Collins — a personal jab later amplified by an official White House social media account. . .’

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/07/27/trumps-fresh-mocking-cnn-reporter-renews-calls-end-correspondents-dinner/

Invite Person Who Suppresses Press?

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Article in Status by Jon Passantino, 7/25/26

Headline: “The White House Correspondents’ Disgrace”

Subhead:  “The WHCA sought to reconvene its annual dinner in celebration of press freedom. Instead. it handed Donald Trump a platform to attack the very journalists the organization exists to represent.”

“On Friday night, hundreds of journalists, dignitaries, and members of the Trump administration gathered in Washington for a do-over of the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. . .”

Read the article at:

https://www.status.news/p/the-white-house-correspondents-disgrace

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Article by Jem Bartholomew in Columbia Journalism Review, 7/27/26

Headline:   “A Tale of Two Speeches”

Subhead: “The press’s responsible handling of Trump’s incoherent speech about US election integrity contrasted starkly with Friday’s farcical WHCA dinner.”

“Ever since Donald Trump thudded onto the national political stage, the press has had a difficult time handling the frequency, magnitude, and outlandishness of his lies. . .”

“The thoughtfulness with which the press handled the July 16 speech was worlds apart from the farcical spectacle of the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/a-tale-of-two-speeches-trump-election-integrity-lack-evidence-fact-check-whca-dinner-white-house-correspondents-redo-awkward-wall-street-journal-new-york-times-subpoenas-cnn.php

Applauding Epstein Revelations?

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Article in Meidas Touch News by Brett Meiselasm 7/24/26

Headline:  “Awkward Moment at WHCD as Trump Applauds Reporters Who Exposed His Epstein Ties”

Subhead: “The White House Correspondents’ Dinner produced one of the night’s most surreal moments as Trump congratulated reporters honored for exposing his Epstein ties.”

“President Donald Trump sat on stage smiling as CNN’s Wolf Blitzer presented The Wall Street Journal with the Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability—an honor recognizing the newspaper’s reporting on Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and the fallout that followed. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://meidasnews.com/news/awkward-moment-at-whcd-as-trump-applauds-reporters-who-exposed-his-epstein-ties

White House Needs Plumbers Again?

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Article in The Washington Post by Michael Birnbaum, 7/24/26

Headline:  “To track down government leakers, Trump supports pursuing journalists”

Subhead:  “Hours before addressing the White House press corps, the president endorsed using subpoenas against reporters in national security leak investigations.”

“President Donald Trump took an aggressive stance toward Justice Department investigations of journalists Friday, saying that the way to pursue ‘treasonous’ leaks was to seek information from the journalists who received the leaked material.

“The comments — which came hours ahead of a rerun of the White House correspondents’ dinner, where the president was to address the reporters who cover him at a gala that honors the freedom of the press — amounted to a presidential endorsement of his administration’s legal battles against journalists. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/07/24/identify-government-leakers-trump-supports-pursuing-journalists/

Will Press Event Be Like Scotland “Black Dinner”?

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 7/22/26

Headline:  “The White House Correspondents’ Association takes another futile crack at celebrating the First Amendment with Donald Trump”

“What would it take for the White House Correspondents’ Association to withdraw its invitation to President Donald Trump to attend and speak at its annual dinner on Friday?

“The event theoretically functions as ‘a celebration of a free press and the vital role of journalism in our democracy’ — two things it is comical to propose the president values. Trump’s treatment of the media in his second term has been characterized not only by vitriolic attacks on journalists and lawsuits aimed at a slew of news outlets but also by the use of the law enforcement and regulatory apparatus to punish reporters and steer news outlets into the hands of his cronies. . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/white-house-correspondents-association-takes-another-futile-crack-celebrating-first

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 7/23/26

Headline: “Opinion | Is the White House Correspondents’ dinner headed for another mess?”

Subhead:  “The association says the dinner celebrates a free press. Trump will likely use it to attack the press.”

“Friday’s rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner has all the makings of a complete clown show.

“I was going to say it has all the makings of a complete disaster, but that is how you would describe the first attempt back in April. That dinner, you recall, had to be shut down after a gunman trying to enter the event shot a Secret Service agent. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/white-house-correspondents-dinner-rescheduled-trump/