Donald Trump has escalated his attacks on the media to an unprecedented level in the first 17 months of his second presidency. However, assessing whether he and his allies have won this war—or weakened the industry—is complex.
Multifaceted Assaults on the Press
The administration has launched numerous lawsuits against media companies, pressured networks like ABC through the FCC, curtailed press access at the White House and Pentagon, and used labor law against the New York Times. Most alarmingly, the FBI raided a Washington Post journalist's home and issued subpoenas to reporters from the Post and Wall Street Journal.
In a significant escalation, the New York Times reported that five of its reporters received subpoenas to testify before a grand jury in New York. Times lawyer David McCraw responded: "This brazen act should be seen as nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country by intimidating journalists from doing their jobs."
Dilution of the Press Corps
Chuck Todd, former anchor of Meet the Press, said the administration has "successfully infiltrated the press corps" by increasing the prominence of pro-Trump influencers. "They've diluted the press corps so that there are essentially fan journalists there... In that sense, I feel like they've done a good job of diluting the impact of accountability journalists," he told the Guardian.
Concerns also arise from ties between media executives and the administration. CBS News continues high-quality reporting, but skepticism remains due to concessions made to win FCC approval for a merger. Trump-aligned owners David Ellison and Larry Ellison received permission to take over CNN, raising fears of defanged coverage.
Resilience Amidst Pressure
Despite instability, some industry leaders say the work remains strong. Marty Baron, former executive editor of the Washington Post, noted: "The greatest evidence that the media continues to do its job in holding the government accountable is the fact that this administration is completely obsessed by leaks." He added that every day brings new stories that outrage the administration, prompting extreme efforts to stop leaks.
However, Baron acknowledged it's impossible to determine the chilling effect. ABC, in a July 6 legal filing, asserted that the FCC's actions "are already chilling speech ahead of the fast-approaching 2026 general election." A veteran television journalist said some executives are wary: "It's pretty clear that the bigger media companies just don't want to be targets... they have ratcheted back."
Pushback and Legal Battles
Some companies have stood up. ABC challenged the FCC's investigation into The View and a license renewal order. FCC Democrat Anna M Gomez said: "There's no question we've seen cowardly capitulation... But I think the tide is turning. ABC and Disney's willingness to fight rather than fold shows other broadcasters it's time to grow a spine."
The New York Times, led by publisher AG Sulzberger, has shunned appeasement, filing multiple lawsuits to restore Pentagon access and fighting off lawsuits. Other companies refrain from suing due to cost or fear of appearing adversarial. One media lawyer said: "It's a real expensive undertaking."
Baron concluded: "We have two and a half more years of this, and the pressure will only get greater. It's already immense."
