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Sara Fischer: Trump’s historic war on traditional media
President Trump, in small and unprecedented ways, is punishing media companies more than any leader since America’s founding.
Why it matters: Once considered a bastion for free expression, America’s record on press freedoms has fallen to a historic low, according to Reporters Without Borders. Under Trump’s second presidency, the press is “under siege,” the group argues.
The big picture: Trump is targeting traditional media sources at a moment of tremendous vulnerability for the industry.
- American trust in media has hit an all-time low. Most U.S. counties have little to no local news sources anymore.
In his first four weeks, Trump’s administration has:
- Banned the Associated Press: The White House last week said it would bar the AP from future events in the Oval Office and Air Force One over its decision not to directly follow Trump’s executive order renaming “Gulf of Mexico” as “Gulf of America” in its style guidance.
- Ended federal news subscriptions: The State Department on Wednesday ordered the cancellation of news subscriptions around the world. The directive came shortly after the executive branch said it will stop spending money on Politico subscriptions after paying the outlet millions last year.
- Reshuffled Pentagon press: The Defense Department informed several outlets, including NPR, NBC News, Politico and CNN that they had to move out of their workspaces at the Correspondents’ Corridor in the Pentagon, although their press credentials will remain intact. They will be replaced by mostly conservative outlets such as Washington Examiner, Daily Caller, and Newsmax, and others under a new rotation system.
Zoom in: These moves, while punitive, are temporary and a new president can easily reverse them. Broader efforts to target media companies by Trump, his administration and a Republican-led Congress recently could be harder to unwind.
- Congressional PBS, NPR probe: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has called on the CEOs of NPR and PBS to testify at a DOGE subcommittee hearing about what she says is “systemically biased content.” It’s the first hearing to be announced for the subcommittee. Both broadcasters rely on congressionally appropriated funding to survive.
- FCC PBS, NPR probe: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is also investigating the two public broadcasters over whether their member stations violated FCC rules around airing commercial ads. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr implied that the investigation could help influence Congress’ funding decision.
- FCC Comcast/NBC investigation: Carr informed Comcast he is opening an investigation into the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices. It marked the first public effort by the new administration to target a private company for its DEI initiatives.
- FCC CBS inquiry: Carr opened an inquiry into CBS News to evaluate whether it violated the FCC’s news distortion rules when it edited a “60 Minutes” interview with 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris during the campaign. The inquiry adds pressure to CBS, as it considers whether to settle a separate lawsuit filed against it last year by Trump before he took office.
Reality check: A strong U.S. legal and regulatory framework makes it difficult for Trump and his regulators to go after media companies without likely having to defend at least some of their actions in court.
- Efforts by Trump to block reporters during his first administration didn’t pass muster in court, and First Amendment experts believe the principles established by those decisions should apply to the AP’s situation if it’s litigated.
Zoom out: Bullying and harassment campaigns, which include everything from lawsuits to name-calling, are often easier and more effective than leveraging presidential powers.
- Lawsuits drain media companies of precious time and resources. Public bashing undermines the public’s trust in the media, which can have a material impact on business.
- Trump and Elon Musk have both attacked journalists by name on their respective social media platforms in recent weeks.
- Trump unleashed a slew of lawsuits against the media industry last year before he took office. He recently increased his lawsuit claim against CBS from $10 billion when it was initially filed to $20 billion.
- He sued and eventually settled a lawsuit with ABC, even though some legal experts said ABC could’ve won the case. In December, he filed a lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and its top pollster, while vowing to continue suing news outlets and influencers.
What to watch: Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order that gives him greater power over independent regulatory agencies, including agencies like the FCC that govern media companies.
The bottom line: Trump and his allies have vowed to go after the media if he won reelection. They weren’t bluffing.
This article was written by WWSG exclusive thought leader, Sara Fischer.
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