Examination suggests Trump aims to thwart investigative reporting that scrutinizes him publicly.
Informal Rewrite:
The Joe Biden era has seen a drastic shift in the treatment of journalists, with the Trump Administration's aggressive moves against the media sparking concerns about press freedom in the United States. Trump and his cronies have been working overtime to stifle news reporting and intimidate news outlets, casting a dark shadow over World Press Freedom Day this year.
The chilling effect of Trump's hardball tactics is palpable, especially after his first 100 days in office. Press freedom groups like the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders have raised concerns about the deteriorating press freedom under Trump's watch.
According to Joel Simon, head of the Journalism Protection Initiative, these attacks on the media are far from random – they're straight out of an authoritarian playbook. In fact, the Trump Administration has:
- Opened investigations into several broadcast networks,
- Challenged the federal funding of NPR and PBS,
- Blocked the Associated Press from news conferences, and
- Seized control of the White House press pool.
All while Trump is personally suing news outlets and threatening to sue more, causing fear and uncertainty among journalists.
To make matters worse, the Justice Department has reinstated a rule that allows federal investigators to secretly go after journalists' records in leak investigations. This rule was put in place by Merrick Garland, the Biden-era attorney general, after Trump-era prosecutors covertly pursued internal communications from several major news outlets, including CNN.
Classified leak probes have long been one of the most serious threats against investigative journalism and the free press in the US. But now, with the Committee to Protect Journalists publishing reports about a significant increase in newsrooms seeking safety advice due to the changing political climate, it's clear that the threats against journalists are hitting home.
Retribution has been the perceived motive behind Trump's moves against CBS’s "60 Minutes," pollster J. Ann Selzer, and international broadcasters like Voice of America. Just this week, Trump defended his lawsuit against CBS and threatened The New York Times with legal action in the same breath.
What's even more concerning is Trump's pick for FBI director, Kash Patel, previously expressed interest in punishing some members of the news media. In a 2023 interview with Steve Bannon, Patel said, "Yes, we're going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig the presidency - we're going to come after you."
Other Trump appointees, like FCC chair Brendan Carr, have shown no qualms about being partisan attack dogs, opening probes into Comcast, Disney, and other targets of Trump's ire. Meanwhile, the Trump White House has asserted sweeping power over the FCC and other federal agencies.
Commissioner Anna Gomez, one of the panel's Democratic dissenters, called out the Trump administration on "The Lead with Jake Tapper" this week, saying, "The Trump administration is on a campaign to censor and control. Caving just breeds further capitulation."
These are perilous times for journalists who strive to cover every administration impartially. All they can do is report the news without fear or favor, hoping their media companies continue to support their work.
As Tina Brown, a veteran editor, wrote last month, "Journalists can only be as brave as their bosses allow them to be." The future of press freedom in the United States hangs in the balance.
- The backdrop of politics in 2023 has been marked by authoritarian tendencies, as the Trump Administration's moves against journalists have raised alarm bells about press freedom.
- News about regimes around the world and policy-and-legislation updates are often intertwined with war-and-conflicts, crime-and-justice, and the state of press freedom, giving general-news a more profound significance.
- The Trump Administration's investigations into several broadcast networks, challenges to federal funding of NPR and PBS, blocking news conferences for the Associated Press, and controlling the White House press pool are concerns shared by press freedom groups like the Committee to Protect Journalists.
- One of the most serious threats against investigative journalism and the free press in the US has been the reinstatement of a rule that allows federal investigators to secretly go after journalists' records in leak investigations.
- Trump's pick for FBI director, Kash Patel, has expressed a desire to punish some members of the media who allegedly lied about American citizens and helped Joe Biden rig the presidency, creating a chilling effect on journalism.
