Latest Media Threats

by

Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 8/25/26

Headline:  “Checking in on Trump’s war on the press since his White House Correspondents’ dinner speech”

“Journalists assembled in Washington, D.C., sat impotently as the president delivered remarks that mixed empty platitudes about his “respect for your profession” with withering insults directed at individual reporters. The evening “was a public humiliation for the White House Correspondents’ Association”

“Since then – . . .”

“None of this seems likely to convince the WHCA to change course, and it’s unclear what if anything Trump could do to the press that would result in the rescission of his invitation for next year’s dinner. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/index%2Ephp/donald-trump/checking-trumps-war-press-his-white-house-correspondents-dinner-speech

Journalist Sources in Jeopardy

by


Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 8/25/26

Headline:  “‘The day I disclose, my career is over’: the journalist facing an $800 daily fine to keep her sources secret”

Subhead: “If Catherine Herridge’s petition to the US supreme court fails, she’ll be on the hook for a daily fine until she discloses her sources – a case unsettling press freedom organizations”

“For 18 days this summer, veteran journalist Catherine Herridge walked to her Washington DC mailbox and dropped off a check for $800. The money was required by law to cover a judge-imposed sanction after she was found in contempt of court in 2024 for refusing to disclose her sources. It. . .”

The check drop is now on hold. The judge who issued that order, Christopher R Cooper, has since clarified that Herridge doesn’t need to pay the fine until she has a chance to plead her case to the supreme court, which she petitioned late last week. . .”

“‘Reporter-source confidentiality is the lifeblood of investigative journalism,’ said Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation. ‘Whistleblowers in a position to expose abuses won’t trust journalists to protect them, and won’t come forward, if they believe reporters will be threatened with financial ruin for not outing them in court.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/ng-interactive/2026/aug/25/catherine-herridge-journalist-supreme-court

FCM Event Interview on 8/26/26

by

Friends of Community Media conducted a workshop in August called, “How to expose media lies and have fun doing it.”

You can hear an interview about the event conducted by Spencer Graves on  of Terresa Wilke and Ann Suellentrop exploring the workshop.

You can hear the interview on KHOI community radio in Ames, Iowa at  http://khoifm.org  by scrolling down to Wednesday August 26th – 5 am.

Media Blacklist?

by


Article in The Intercept by Nick Turse, 8/24/26

Headline:  “Pentagon Spokesperson Admits There’s a Secret Blacklist of Journalists”

Subhead:  “When pressed about the Iran war, a CENTCOM press official threatened to put an Intercept reporter on a ‘list of people to disregard.'”

“U.S. Central Command maintains a secret directory of journalists who have been blacklisted by the press office, according to an official with CENTCOM public affairs. The disclosure comes amid a failed war in Iran, a ‘cover-up’ of U.S. casualties from that conflict, and repeated refusals by CENTCOM to address questions about civilian deaths in Iran, including the killing of a family recently disclosed by The Intercept.

“The CENTCOM official who revealed the existence of the list threatened that this reporter could be added to it for calling the command too often. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://theintercept.com/2026/08/24/pentagon-military-journalist-blacklist-press-media/

Journalists Have Right to Opinions

by


Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 7/24/26

Headline:  “Washington Post ordered to reinstate opinion writer fired over Charlie Kirk posts”

Subhead: “Arbitrator determined the Post improperly fired Karen Attiah, a union-protected employee, over social media posts”

“An independent arbitrator has ordered the Washington Post to rehire the high-profile opinion columnist Karen Attiah, abruptly fired by the news organization last September over comments she made on social media about Charlie Kirk, the then recently killed conservative activist.

“On Monday, an arbitrator ruled that the Post had violated her rights as a union-protected employee and ordered the newspaper to reinstate her and compensate her for lost wages.

“ ‘This decision confirms what we’ve said from the start: I was doing my job as an opinion journalist, and doing that job is not misconduct,’ Attiah said in a statement. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/aug/24/washington-post-reinstate-karen-attiah

Censoring News to Troops?

by


Article in Daily Beast by Sarah-Jane Collins, 8/22/26

Headline:  “Hegseth Launches Twisted Attack on Free Press Over Carrier Scandal”

Subhead:  “The publisher and editor of Stars and Stripes were given the boot after an interview cautioning against censorship.”

“Long-time publisher Max Lederer and Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin were given “separation notices” that allow five days to appeal the decision. . .”

“Korte and Slavin traced the decision back to interviews they did that aired on CBS Sunday Morning in July.”

“ ‘According to the notice, I am being fired for stating in a CBS interview that censorship of news for service members would constitute a red line. The Pentagon’s public affairs office has charged me with insubordination,’ Slavin told CBS. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/hegseths-twisted-attack-on-free-press-over-carrier-scandal/

Media Harping on Trump Aide

by

Article in The Atlantic by Jonathan Lemire 8/20/26

Headline: “The White House Freak-Out Over Natalie Harp”

Subhead:  “The West Wing’s explosive response to a fleeting jab didn’t kill the story. It enabled days of coverage.”

“. . .This past Sunday, Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia—who has become quite good at delivering viral campaign sound bites, slickly filmed by multiple cameras—unleashed a blistering indictment of President Trump’s leadership. . .”

“But then the West Wing lost its mind. And Trump did too. Their pushback was so overwhelming, so obviously coordinated, so ugly and personal that it became a story. The White House inadvertently created news, as well as a permission structure for even the most cautious, fact-based media organizations to take on the topic. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/08/ossoff-trump-natalie-harp/688365/

Picture worth 1,000 Pres Secretaries

by

Article in The Babylon Bee, by Staff, 8/22/26

Headline:  “New Press Secretary To Just Be Picture Of Scott Jennings Doing That Face”

“. . . The White House has announced that the new Press Secretary will just be a poster-sized photo of Scott Jennings doing that face he does.

“After a week of searching for a replacement for Karoline Leavitt, the White House settled on a 27 inch by 40 inch inkjet poster of the face Jennings makes to the camera when liberal CNN panelists make foolish statements.

“‘We love what Scott’s face brings to the table,” said President Trump. . .You can feel the disdain for the losers and haters. That’s what the journalists here are, losers and haters, so it’s a great fit’. . .”

“The White House Press Corps was outraged by the decision, stating that the lack of an actual human Press Secretary would grossly inhibit their ability as independent media to hold the government accountable for its actions.

” ‘How can an independent media function when the government will not allow us to even ask questions of a real Press Secretary?’ cried a CNN reporter. The photo of Scott Jennings, however, only smirked in response. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://babylonbee.com/news/new-press-secretary-to-just-be-picture-of-scott-jennings-doing-that-face

Went Past Media Hook

by


Article in Common Dreams by Julia Conley, 8/21/26

Headline:  “In Post-Primary Media Tour, Angie Nixon Refuses to Take Corporate Media’s Bait on Hasan Piker, DSA”

Subhead: “I am actually focused on Florida and making sure that I’m talking to voters here, to uplift their needs and their concerns,’ said the progressive Democrat. ‘And so that’s what my focus is going to be over the next 76 days.”

“The corporate media has spent months helping to push the narrative that progressive Democratic candidates are anti-American and have radical foreign policy views . . .”

“But Nixon (D-13) suggested Thursday night she prefers to discuss her desire to represent working Florida residents’ interests in the Senate over the topics that news anchors are eager to talk about. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/angie-nixon-senate

 

Media Run Toward Fake Poles?

by


Article in Status by Brett LoGiurato, 8/21/26

Headline: “The Media’s Fake Poll Flub”

Subhead: “A fake polling firm fooled Rupert Murdoch’s California Post and local outlets, exposing how quickly bogus numbers can become news and raising fresh questions about reporting standards.”

“Earlier this week, the California Post, the fledgling Los Angeles-based tabloid of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, reported a shocking story about a bogus poll from a fake firm called ‘Median Strategies’ that fooled everyone up to the city’s mayor, Karen Bass.

“The story featured a comment from Bass, whose office demanded that those behind it face the ‘full force of the law.’ It ended with a comment from a veteran political consultant who said that ‘whoever is responsible for this ought to be exposed.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/california-post-fake-poll-mistake