“Everyone from U.S. senators to CBS employees to a dissenting FCC commissioner has said the settlement appears to have been a bribe to grease the wheels for Carr’s FCC to approve the merger,” we said in our ethics complaint against FCC chair Brendan Carr. https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5425320-press-freedom-fcc-ethics-complaint/
We, represented by American Oversight, filed a FOIA suit against the DOJ for withholding a memo about the Trump admin’s acceptance of $400 million Qatari jet. “It shouldn’t take 620 days to release a single, time-sensitive document,” Lauren Harper said.
Freedom of the Press
FPF sues DOJ for Trump memo on Qatari jet
Freedom of the Press Foundation, represented by American Oversight, seeks memo reportedly used to justify foreign “gift” to Trump’s private f...
Read in our weekly newsletter (and subscribe): - Paramount makes its capitulation official - Journalists starve in Gaza - ICE must stop harassing journalists - KY prosecutors must drop charges against journalists - Plus, get to know what we’re reading...
Freedom of the Press
They’re not even trying to hide it
Plus: Journalists starving in Gaza
“People can’t trust a news outlet that is bribing the same officials it’s supposed to hold accountable,” Seth Stern told CJR about Paramount's capitulation to Trump.
Columbia Journalism Review
The fight for free speech goes corporate.
As Paramount prepares for a merger, the Freedom of the Press Foundation stands to challenge the company for capitulating to Trump. Will it work?
"The idea that the federal government even talked to social media platforms about their moderation was a major scandal … A bipartisan bill, however, would make it mandatory for social media companies to work with the federal government."
Reason.com
This bill would fine social media companies $5 million every day for not fighting 'terrorism'
The STOP HATE Act wants social media platforms to report their moderation policies and outcomes to the government.
Looks like Paramount’s $16 million settlement with Trump is only the second highest sum it’s paid this month to get publicly ridiculed. Good for South Park for taking Paramount’s $1.5 billion and still skewering them for their cowardice. They deserve it.
🚨 PSA: If you are an ICE or DHS employee and have firsthand knowledge of unreported immigration enforcement activities that you think the public should know, find a news outlet that uses @npub1vvya...4kzm and send it as an anonymous, encrypted tip. Audio, video, documents all accepted. image
"Journalists in Gaza have risked bombs, bullets, and now starvation to tell the stories those in power don’t want told. Their courage is remarkable," Seth Stern told Meghnad Bose in CJR. "And no matter what else they do while in power, governments and presidents that supported these horrors, and tolerated the killing of journalists who reported on them, will be remembered first and foremost for their complicity."
Columbia Journalism Review
Journalists are starving in Gaza.
“I used to chase the truth. Now I chase calories.”
Journalists covering recent demonstrations in California have been assaulted, detained, and shot with crowd-control munitions — simply for doing their jobs. “We see these agencies acting lawlessly,” Tina-Desiree Berg said. Read the recap from our webinar:
Freedom of the Press
Pressing on: LA journalists face violence and push for accountability
Reporters spoke with Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) about their experiences covering protests and immigration raids in LA
It's disturbing that Trump "has so little respect for the First Amendment that he’s willing to punish news outlets that don’t toe the line," Seth Stern told The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/07/22/white-house-wall-street-journal-trump-epstein/