Media Freedom USA
@mediafreedomusa.bsky.social
News about attempts to restrict and to protect media freedom in the United States during the second Trump administration. Edited by Kim Andrew Elliott. See also kaedotcom.bsky.social .
"The White House isn’t trying to save money by canceling public media. Instead, it only hopes to draw closed the iron curtain hiding its dismantling of our democracy."
forwardky.com/media-makes-...
forwardky.com/media-makes-...
Media makes the democracy, as Putin (and Trump) well know
If/when the three branches of government fail us, the free press is our last pillar of hope. No wonder autocrats go after it.
forwardky.com
August 14, 2025 at 5:38 PM
"The White House isn’t trying to save money by canceling public media. Instead, it only hopes to draw closed the iron curtain hiding its dismantling of our democracy."
forwardky.com/media-makes-...
forwardky.com/media-makes-...
"it’s the stations that aren’t on this list that are in the most peril, the ones not lucky enough to be in a major metro area with a high population of college graduates and lots of civic capital."
www.niemanlab.org/2025/08/thes...
www.niemanlab.org/2025/08/thes...
These public radio stations have built online audiences that’ll help them survive federal cuts
They may have been born on the airwaves, but these public media stations compete on the web as well. Here's our first monthly ranking of the top 25 local public media websites in the United States.
www.niemanlab.org
August 5, 2025 at 8:45 PM
"it’s the stations that aren’t on this list that are in the most peril, the ones not lucky enough to be in a major metro area with a high population of college graduates and lots of civic capital."
www.niemanlab.org/2025/08/thes...
www.niemanlab.org/2025/08/thes...
"The concept of media capture has taken hold among scholars, press freedom advocates [etc] because it explains why media may not truly be free even in places around the world where journalists are not being hauled off to jail or gunned down in the streets. "
www.cjr.org/analysis/par...
www.cjr.org/analysis/par...
Is the US Media Captured?
The phenomenon comes in many forms. Experts believe it’s already here.
www.cjr.org
August 5, 2025 at 8:30 PM
"The concept of media capture has taken hold among scholars, press freedom advocates [etc] because it explains why media may not truly be free even in places around the world where journalists are not being hauled off to jail or gunned down in the streets. "
www.cjr.org/analysis/par...
www.cjr.org/analysis/par...
"some of the very same titles and authors the C.I.A. sent East during the Cold War — including '1984'— are now deemed objectionable by a network of conservative groups across the United States."
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/27/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/27/o...
Opinion | ‘1984’ Hasn’t Changed, but America Has
www.nytimes.com
July 27, 2025 at 7:09 PM
"some of the very same titles and authors the C.I.A. sent East during the Cold War — including '1984'— are now deemed objectionable by a network of conservative groups across the United States."
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/27/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/27/o...
"This is how media freedom dies. ... It dies with mergers and acquisitions, with regulatory pressure and financial settlements, with billionaires who see news organizations as just another business asset to be leveraged."
newrepublic.com/article/1981...
newrepublic.com/article/1981...
Stephen Colbert’s Cancellation Is Exactly What It Looks Like
Mock a Trump bribe on Monday, get canceled by Thursday. The Late Show’s death reveals how billionaires and presidents are reshaping American media.
newrepublic.com
July 22, 2025 at 7:56 AM
"This is how media freedom dies. ... It dies with mergers and acquisitions, with regulatory pressure and financial settlements, with billionaires who see news organizations as just another business asset to be leveraged."
newrepublic.com/article/1981...
newrepublic.com/article/1981...
Reposted by Media Freedom USA
#USA: Six months into his second term, President Trump’s hostility towards the press is snowballing, mimicking and inspiring other anti-press regimes around the world. RSF warns of this shared authoritarian playbook and calls on the White House to halt its war on journalism.
rsf.org/en/six-month...
rsf.org/en/six-month...
Six months of Trump’s war on the press: importing and exporting authoritarian tendencies
Six months into US President Donald Trump’s second term, his administration has become increasingly hostile towards the press, both mimicking and inspiring authoritarian and quasi-authoritarian regime...
rsf.org
July 18, 2025 at 3:34 PM
#USA: Six months into his second term, President Trump’s hostility towards the press is snowballing, mimicking and inspiring other anti-press regimes around the world. RSF warns of this shared authoritarian playbook and calls on the White House to halt its war on journalism.
rsf.org/en/six-month...
rsf.org/en/six-month...
Reposted by Media Freedom USA
Stations like Marfa Public Radio are absolutely vital during crises, like wildfires, as @onthemedia.bsky.social examined in this recent episode.
July 18, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Stations like Marfa Public Radio are absolutely vital during crises, like wildfires, as @onthemedia.bsky.social examined in this recent episode.
"University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias: “'his attacks on the media undermine the First Amendment by making the media and others more cautious in covering Trump, his administration and other federal and state politicians'”
www.cnn.com/2025/07/18/p...
www.cnn.com/2025/07/18/p...
Trump files libel lawsuit over Wall Street Journal report on Jeffrey Epstein’s birthday letters | CNN Politics
President Donald Trump filed a libel lawsuit against the publisher of the Wall Street Journal and reporters who wrote a story about a collection of letters gifted to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birth...
www.cnn.com
July 20, 2025 at 3:49 PM
"University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias: “'his attacks on the media undermine the First Amendment by making the media and others more cautious in covering Trump, his administration and other federal and state politicians'”
www.cnn.com/2025/07/18/p...
www.cnn.com/2025/07/18/p...
Reposted by Media Freedom USA
Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations will be eliminating its entire statewide team of reporters and editors at the end of the year after the Indiana General Assembly defunded the organization.
Indiana Public Broadcasting statewide reporting team eliminated • Indiana Capital Chronicle
Indiana Public Broadcasting is eliminating its statewide team of reporters and editors after the General Assembly defunded the organization.
indianacapitalchronicle.com
July 9, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations will be eliminating its entire statewide team of reporters and editors at the end of the year after the Indiana General Assembly defunded the organization.
"The Trump administration's assault on public broadcasting is ... a test of the First Amendment's durability in an era of executive overreach. For investors, the message is stark: media firms with editorial independence are now high-risk assets."
www.ainvest.com/news/media-f...
www.ainvest.com/news/media-f...
Media Freedom Under Siege: How Regulatory Risks Are Shaking Investor Confidence in U.S. News Outlets
Media Freedom Under Siege: How Regulatory Risks Are Shaking Investor Confidence in U.S. News Outlets
www.ainvest.com
July 2, 2025 at 12:20 PM
"The Trump administration's assault on public broadcasting is ... a test of the First Amendment's durability in an era of executive overreach. For investors, the message is stark: media firms with editorial independence are now high-risk assets."
www.ainvest.com/news/media-f...
www.ainvest.com/news/media-f...
Reposted by Media Freedom USA
A Secret Program Allowed VOA to Broadcast Television into North Korea. Now It’s Gone. By joelsimonsays.bsky.social.
www.cjr.org/news/trump-l...
www.cjr.org/news/trump-l...
A Secret Program Allowed VOA to Broadcast Television into North Korea. Now It’s Gone.
How the Trump administration undermined its own strategic position.
www.cjr.org
June 26, 2025 at 2:06 PM
A Secret Program Allowed VOA to Broadcast Television into North Korea. Now It’s Gone. By joelsimonsays.bsky.social.
www.cjr.org/news/trump-l...
www.cjr.org/news/trump-l...
"If you think this seems small and unserious, you are right. But it’s no less absurd than Trump’s legal actions against any number of media outlets he disagrees with, and far more substantive than the crackpot $20 billion suit against 60 Minutes."
www.mediaite.com/opinion/gavi...
www.mediaite.com/opinion/gavi...
Gavin Newsom’s Lawsuit Against Fox News Is Petty, Petulant — and Pretty Damn Perfect
Gavin Newsom’s lawsuit against Fox News won’t win in court—but it brilliantly flips the MAGA playbook and puts Fox on defense over its own smear tactic.
www.mediaite.com
June 27, 2025 at 5:09 PM
"If you think this seems small and unserious, you are right. But it’s no less absurd than Trump’s legal actions against any number of media outlets he disagrees with, and far more substantive than the crackpot $20 billion suit against 60 Minutes."
www.mediaite.com/opinion/gavi...
www.mediaite.com/opinion/gavi...
"programs focus on internet censorship, media literacy, human rights and atrocity prevention programs, election assistance programs, and efforts to combat transnational repression by countries such as China."
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
US state department told to end nearly all its overseas pro-democracy programs
Exclusive: All but two of the programs awarded under the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor would be cut, affecting nearly $1.3bn in grants
www.theguardian.com
June 27, 2025 at 10:14 AM
"Executives believe the perceived polarisation of the US media, especially during Donald Trump’s second term, may have created an opportunity for the BBC’s brand of impartial coverage."
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/j...
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/j...
BBC examining plans that could lead to US consumers paying for its journalism
Corporation has been targeting audiences across the Atlantic as it tries to shore up revenue streams
www.theguardian.com
June 16, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Reposted by Media Freedom USA
The June 9 VOA Editorial (currently VOA's only English output) quotes President Trump, with a swipe at President Biden, and has an interesting illustration ...
“''thanks to Biden's open door policies, today there are millions and millions of these illegals'"
editorials.voa.gov/a/combatting...
“''thanks to Biden's open door policies, today there are millions and millions of these illegals'"
editorials.voa.gov/a/combatting...
Combatting Terrorism Through Common Sense Security
“The recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, has underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted, as well as those who come here a...
editorials.voa.gov
June 10, 2025 at 2:14 PM
The June 9 VOA Editorial (currently VOA's only English output) quotes President Trump, with a swipe at President Biden, and has an interesting illustration ...
“''thanks to Biden's open door policies, today there are millions and millions of these illegals'"
editorials.voa.gov/a/combatting...
“''thanks to Biden's open door policies, today there are millions and millions of these illegals'"
editorials.voa.gov/a/combatting...
Reposted by Media Freedom USA
Appeals court rules that the president can punish a news outlet based on the content of its coverage by denying it access that it has had for generations. If the decision stands, it represents a major blow to press freedom @zjmontague.bsky.social @minhokim.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/06/06/u...
Trump Can Restrict A.P. Journalists’ Access, Appeals Court Rules
www.nytimes.com
June 7, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Appeals court rules that the president can punish a news outlet based on the content of its coverage by denying it access that it has had for generations. If the decision stands, it represents a major blow to press freedom @zjmontague.bsky.social @minhokim.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/06/06/u...
Reposted by Media Freedom USA
#USA: RSF is outraged by the Trump administration's illegal attempt to slash the US Agency for Global Media to just 81 employees. There are still several legal cases against the agency’s dismantling — including one brought by RSF.
rsf.org/en/usa-rsf-d...
rsf.org/en/usa-rsf-d...
USA: RSF decries Trump administration’s illegal USAGM firings
On June 3, 2025, US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) Senior Advisor Kari Lake sent a letter informing Congress of plans to dramatically slash the USAGM workforce from 1,033 to just 81 employees. The mo...
rsf.org
June 4, 2025 at 8:17 PM
#USA: RSF is outraged by the Trump administration's illegal attempt to slash the US Agency for Global Media to just 81 employees. There are still several legal cases against the agency’s dismantling — including one brought by RSF.
rsf.org/en/usa-rsf-d...
rsf.org/en/usa-rsf-d...
Reposted by Media Freedom USA
Q&A: Tamara Bralo on Fighting to Protect Radio Free Asia’s Journalists, with Liam Scott. www.cjr.org/the_media_to...
Q&A: Tamara Bralo on Fighting to Protect Radio Free Asia’s Journalists
“It’s difficult to remain calm when you’re dealing with this much trauma.”
www.cjr.org
June 4, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Q&A: Tamara Bralo on Fighting to Protect Radio Free Asia’s Journalists, with Liam Scott. www.cjr.org/the_media_to...
"If the press is the immune system of democracy, we’re in a fever dream."
www.poynter.org/commentary/2...
www.poynter.org/commentary/2...
We’re tracking the rising threats to press freedom - Poynter
Because the warning signs are no longer subtle
www.poynter.org
June 4, 2025 at 10:25 AM
"If the press is the immune system of democracy, we’re in a fever dream."
www.poynter.org/commentary/2...
www.poynter.org/commentary/2...
"in the country that truly pioneered the free press as the Fourth Estate, the independent press is looking less like an estate and more like a small ragtag crew of intrepid reporters"
prospect.org/culture/book...
prospect.org/culture/book...
Beating the Press
In a time of eroding journalistic freedoms, a new book chronicles the deliberate effort to use libel law to bankrupt the independent media we have left.
prospect.org
June 3, 2025 at 10:08 PM
"in the country that truly pioneered the free press as the Fourth Estate, the independent press is looking less like an estate and more like a small ragtag crew of intrepid reporters"
prospect.org/culture/book...
prospect.org/culture/book...
"The Anti-Press Playbook, in Charts: Let us count the ways the news media is under attack."
katiecouric.com/news/opinion...
katiecouric.com/news/opinion...
June 3, 2025 at 9:50 PM
"The Anti-Press Playbook, in Charts: Let us count the ways the news media is under attack."
katiecouric.com/news/opinion...
katiecouric.com/news/opinion...
"FPF ... plans to file a shareholder’s derivative lawsuit should Paramount settle with Trump, and to demand that Paramount preserve all records that may be relevant to its claims. FPF is a Paramount Global shareholder."
freedom.press/issues/we-pl...
freedom.press/issues/we-pl...
We plan to sue if Paramount settles with Trump over CBS lawsuit
Freedom of the Press Foundation notifies Paramount executives of liability and demands preservation of records
freedom.press
May 24, 2025 at 2:41 PM
"FPF ... plans to file a shareholder’s derivative lawsuit should Paramount settle with Trump, and to demand that Paramount preserve all records that may be relevant to its claims. FPF is a Paramount Global shareholder."
freedom.press/issues/we-pl...
freedom.press/issues/we-pl...
"We are already seeing open threats to journalists, media ownership changes, and deepening alignment between power and profit. But the most dangerous moment is the one in which everyone still tells themselves, 'It can’t happen here.'"
www.justsecurity.org/113471/us-pr...
www.justsecurity.org/113471/us-pr...
When the Free Press Falters: What America Can Learn from Russia’s Descent
The unraveling of press freedom in the United States mirrors Putin's capture of the Russian media, write two experts who know both terrains.
www.justsecurity.org
May 24, 2025 at 12:20 PM
"We are already seeing open threats to journalists, media ownership changes, and deepening alignment between power and profit. But the most dangerous moment is the one in which everyone still tells themselves, 'It can’t happen here.'"
www.justsecurity.org/113471/us-pr...
www.justsecurity.org/113471/us-pr...
So, in English, for now at least, VOA is news and commentary, but without the news.
The latest Editorial, on May 20, explains US actions against the Houthis in Yemen.
editorials.voa.gov/a/us-support...
The latest Editorial, on May 20, explains US actions against the Houthis in Yemen.
editorials.voa.gov/a/us-support...
May 22, 2025 at 12:00 PM
"Tempting as it may be, the media can’t ignore what a president says. It’s unprofessional to abet the public’s ignorance. It’s also dangerous to democracy."
www.thenation.com/article/cult...
www.thenation.com/article/cult...
We Can’t Afford to Let the Fourth Estate Topple
For all the deserved criticism of the American media, it remains one of the strongest pillars propping up what’s left of democracy in a time that’s been anything but good for the First Amendment.
www.thenation.com
May 21, 2025 at 5:31 PM
"Tempting as it may be, the media can’t ignore what a president says. It’s unprofessional to abet the public’s ignorance. It’s also dangerous to democracy."
www.thenation.com/article/cult...
www.thenation.com/article/cult...