Latest news with #U.S.PressFreedomTracker
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Journalist group downgrades US press freedom ranking, cites Trump spending cuts to public media
Reporters Without Borders released a report Friday accusing the Trump administration of negatively impacting press freedom in the U.S. and lowered the country's ranking on the issue. "In the United States (57), Donald Trump's second term as president has led to an alarming deterioration in press freedom, indicative of an authoritarian shift in government," the report begins, opening a sweeping critique of President Donald Trump's actions against reporters and media organizations. Trump has made opposition to mainstream media outlets a central point of his political strategy. The president has likewise faced intense opposition from members of the press, with a report from the right-leaning Media Research Center finding that the Trump administration has faced 92% negative coverage from ABC, CBS and NBC. Trump Signs Executive Order To Slash Taxpayer Funds To Pbs, Npr: 'Radical, Woke Propaganda' Reporters Without Borders gave the U.S. an overall press freedom score of 65.49, giving the country a ranking similar to nations like Uruguay and Ghana. The organization accused Trump of having "weaponized institutions, cut support for independent media, and sidelined reporters." Read On The Fox News App "With trust in the media plummeting, reporters face increasing hostility. At the same time, local news outlets are disappearing, turning vast swaths of the country into 'news deserts,'" the report added. "Trump also terminated federal funding for the US Agency for Global Media, which distributes resources to vital international media organizations, affecting audiences and outlets worldwide," it continued. Trump Roasted Dem Critics, Media With New Nicknames In First 100 Days Online: 'Watermelon-head' Reporters Without Borders accused Trump of encouraging "open disdain for the media," which it claims has caused journalists to face increased risks of "harassment, intimidation and assault while working." "According to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, there were 49 journalist arrests in 2024 compared to only 15 in 2023," the report continued. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News article source: Journalist group downgrades US press freedom ranking, cites Trump spending cuts to public media
Fox News
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Journalist group downgrades US press freedom ranking, cites Trump spending cuts to public media
Reporters Without Borders released a report Friday accusing the Trump administration of negatively impacting press freedom in the U.S. and lowered the country's ranking on the issue. "In the United States (57), Donald Trump's second term as president has led to an alarming deterioration in press freedom, indicative of an authoritarian shift in government," the report begins, opening a sweeping critique of President Donald Trump's actions against reporters and media organizations. Trump has made opposition to mainstream media outlets a central point of his political strategy. The president has likewise faced intense opposition from members of the press, with a report from the right-leaning Media Research Center finding that the Trump administration has faced 92% negative coverage from ABC, CBS and NBC. Reporters Without Borders gave the U.S. an overall press freedom score of 65.49, giving the country a ranking similar to nations like Uruguay and Ghana. The organization accused Trump of having "weaponized institutions, cut support for independent media, and sidelined reporters." "With trust in the media plummeting, reporters face increasing hostility. At the same time, local news outlets are disappearing, turning vast swaths of the country into 'news deserts,'" the report added. "Trump also terminated federal funding for the US Agency for Global Media, which distributes resources to vital international media organizations, affecting audiences and outlets worldwide," it continued. Reporters Without Borders accused Trump of encouraging "open disdain for the media," which it claims has caused journalists to face increased risks of "harassment, intimidation and assault while working." "According to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, there were 49 journalist arrests in 2024 compared to only 15 in 2023," the report continued. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Markwayne Mullin draws backlash over reporter violence ‘joke'
Katrina CrumbacherGaylord News Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin received pushback Wednesday after 'joking' that violence could solve 'fake news' in a video posted on X late last week. Freedom of Information Oklahoma's Executive Director Kurt Gwartney called the whole matter 'disheartening.' 'When political leaders joke about violence against those they disagree with or dislike, they demean their elected roles in American public life and the people they represent,' Gwartney said in a statement. Founded in 1990, FOI Oklahoma is a statewide organization dedicated to supporting individuals and organizations trying to obtain access to open records or open meetings that have been 'illegally closed,' according to its website. The video, which made national headlines this week, opened with Mullin telling a story about a reporter who shot and killed a congressman-turned-lobbyist in 1890. However, as the story came to an end, it took a dark turn. 'Now, there's a lot we could say about reporters and the stories they write,' Mullin said, 'but I bet they would write a lot less false stories — as President Trump says, 'fake news' — if we could still handle our differences that way.' Across the United States in 2024, journalists were assaulted 80 times, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. Of the 1,100 incidents of assault that have been reported since the organization started keeping track in 2017, three happened in Oklahoma. 'Each assault can be viewed as an attack on First Amendment freedoms,' Gwartney wrote. 'Using violence against journalists is an established chapter in the anti-democratic playbook used by politicians across the globe and here at home.' FOI Oklahoma was not the first to air grievances about Mullins's comments. On Sunday, The Oklahoman published a news article about Mullin's remarks, and a couple of hours later, Mullin responded on X, calling the newspaper 'out of touch with Oklahoma.' The Oklahoman followed with an editorial on Monday, saying Mullin is 'out of touch with the dignity of his office and the volatile environment our country currently finds itself in.' 'In a time when Mullin could have gone before the cameras to help alleviate all the fears that consume Oklahomans in these uncertain times — worry about their Social Security benefits, whether their Medicaid insurance will be cut, among others — he chose to talk about the potential benefits of harming journalists,' The Oklahoman editorial board wrote. The editorial contrasted Mullin's remarks with the Oklahoma Standard and the upcoming 30-year anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19. 'Markwayne Mullin's response to an argument is violence,' The Oklahoman wrote. 'But thousands of Oklahomans, including survivors, families, friends and others affected by the bombing responded to an unspeakable horror 30 years ago with dignity, grace and kindness.' On Tuesday in another post on X, Mullin again responded to 'the few reporters pretending to be upset about this video.' 'If you watched…it was a *reporter* who shot a congressman in 1890. You don't see me crying,' Mullin wrote. 'Take a joke and quit trying to find a reason to be offended. Focus on your low readership and declining relevance.' According to Gwarteny, violence isn't something public officials should joke about. 'Expressions of violence in our political system are something you don't joke about or expect from a member of the U.S. Senate unless you're willfully ignorant of civics and history,' Gwartney wrote. Gaylord News is a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. For more stories by Gaylord News go to
Chicago Tribune
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Guest column: Lake County prosecutors must drop charges against photojournalist
The Trump administration's assault on press freedom is multifaceted, targeting everything from interview editing to wire services that local papers depend on. But prosecutors in Lake County are inadvertently helping President Donald Trump advance two of his leading anti-press priorities — cracking down on media coverage both of protests and of his mass deportation agenda. On January 18, two days before Trump took office, Gary Police Department officers arrested freelance photojournalist Matthew Kaplan for doing his job — reporting on a protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Gary/Chicago International Airport, a regular site for deportation flights. Kaplan was not participating in the protest but merely exercising his constitutional right to document it. According to eyewitness accounts cited in the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, Kaplan was photographing the arrest of a protester when he was himself arrested. Officers knew full well he was a journalist. Before he was taken into custody, he told the Tracker he handed off his camera and equipment to another journalist (who was also threatened with arrest). That was a smart move — police departments that arrest reporters often illegally seize and search their equipment. But it also removed any doubt about who he was and what he was doing at the protest. To state the obvious, protests in general, and particularly those resisting the Trump administration's controversial immigration policies (in anticipation of which the protest was organized) are important news. The press's presence is arguably even more vital at these demonstrations than at the White House spin sessions from which Trump has expelled reporters he doesn't like. Our First Amendment recognizes a right of assembly and a right to report on it, and that right applies to freelance journalists like Kaplan every bit as much as journalists from a newspaper. The right of the Fourth Estate to cover protests does not terminate when police break up the demonstrations, even if protesters break the law. How police respond to protests is just as newsworthy (at least) as the protests themselves. We are, in all likelihood, entering a period of widespread civil unrest — how law enforcement responds will be major news. We've repeatedly seen officers cross the line in responding to protests ranging from Black Lives Matter demonstrations in 2020 to pro-Palestine activism last spring. This isn't just one press freedom advocate's read of the Constitution — even the Department of Justice agrees. In its report on its investigation of the Minneapolis Police Department's response to unrest over George Floyd's murder, the DOJ explained that 'Blanket enforcement of dispersal orders and curfews against press violates (First Amendment) principle(s) because they foreclose the press from reporting about what happens after the dispersal or curfew is issued, including how police enforce those orders.' The DOJ has since reiterated that guidance. Appellate courts have reached the same conclusion — alleged lawbreaking by protesters, even when it warrants breaking up a demonstration, cannot justify arrests of law-abiding journalists. Nonetheless, it's unfortunately not uncommon for police to arrest journalists covering protests. Of the 360 total arrests and detainments of journalists the Tracker has documented since 2017, 296 occurred during protests. But in most cases, authorities quickly realize prosecuting journalists for doing their job is not a wise use of prosecutorial discretion — or of public funds. Chicago, for example, quickly (although not quickly enough) dropped its cases against journalists arrested during last year's Democratic National Convention. But Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter's office has not done that — 1.5 months after Kaplan's arrest, charges are still pending, and the case is currently scheduled for trial in April. Whether this is a deliberate decision or an oversight by busy prosecutors, it's a big mistake. Cities that arrest and prosecute journalists certainly risk judgment in the court of public opinion from residents who expect officials to respect First Amendment freedoms. But if that's not enough of a deterrent, they also risk liability in courts of law. Police departments from Minneapolis to Portland to New York City have settled legal actions by the DOJ or by journalists themselves challenging arrests of journalists at protests. Those settlements required the departments to commit to no longer arresting reporters just for continuing to cover protests after a dispersal order. They're just a few of the many settlements entered into by police departments that mistreat journalists. Kaplan should be commended, not prosecuted, for exercising his constitutional right to document important news up close rather than relying on the often self-serving spin authorities put out after the fact. Carter should drop the charges against him without delay. Not only would it save taxpayers money, it would send a message that, no matter what's going on at the national level, Lake County still values press freedom and transparency, and will safeguard the public's right to know during these troubled times.
