Democracy • Journalism • Legal • Press Freedom
Why the Fight for Local Journalism Matters
Joel Simon
Columbia Journalism Review
To sustain this new system, Thornton told me, nonprofit news organizations need diversified funding from membership, sponsorship, events, and philanthropy, which will need to support local media in perpetuity, the way they do the arts.
Published On: 04/16/2025
Journalism • Press Freedom
AP wins reinstatement to White House events after judge rules government can’t bar its journalists
DAVID BAUDER
Associated Press
A federal judge ordered the White House on Tuesday to restore The Associated Press’ full access to cover presidential events, affirming on First Amendment grounds that the government cannot punish the news organization for the content of its speech.
Published On: 04/09/2025
Journalism • Press Freedom
Local news publishers share how they survived attacks on press freedom
MAX ABRAMS
Freedom of the Press Foundation
In a country that routinely distrusts and villainizes local news, these attacks did not occur in a vacuum; if they can happen in Clarksdale or Marion, they can happen anywhere.
Published On: 03/28/2025
Journalism • Press Freedom
Robert McChesney, the Great Champion of Journalism and Democracy, Has Died
John Nichols
The Nation
Bob, with his remarkable intellect and even more remarkable capacity for communicating his vision of a media that served citizens rather than corporations, was always the driving force. His research and his insatiable curiosity helped him to see the future more clearly than any scholar of his generation...
Published On: 03/27/2025
Journalism • Press Freedom
Trump’s Attacks on Press Freedom Are Paving the Way for Authoritarianism
JOEL SIMON
Vanity Fair
In 2024, the Democrats ran on the catchphrase “We are not going back.” Even after the party’s resounding defeat, the refrain may have been more prophetic than they imagined. New research shows that once a country begins a descent into authoritarianism it’s extremely difficult to reverse. And the first vector of attack is often the free press.
Published On: 03/27/2025
Journalism • Press Freedom
The Trump administration axed Voice of America, and China’s state media are delighted
Peter Guo and Mithil Aggarwal
NBC News
Chinese state media are celebrating President Donald Trump’s move to gut Voice of America and other U.S. government-funded news outlets that push back against authoritarian regimes.
Published On: 03/17/2025
Democracy • Press Freedom • Threat Management
What to Expect When You’re Expecting Catastrophe
Laurie Winer
Thinking About
Magical thinking is far from new. Adolf Hitler came to power amid similar lies and conspiracy theories. We should know where that leads. And, while MAGA may ignore the mountains of books written on fascism, the rest of us are not in the dark about what comes next.
Published On: 03/13/2025
Journalism • Press Freedom
The Campaign to Silence Journalists & Undermine Free Speech
Tonya Mosely
Fresh Air
In his book Murder the Truth, author David Enrich explores how Justice Thomas' words coincide with a surge in legal threats and litigation against journalists and media outlets.
Published On: 03/11/2025