Journalism under pressure amid fear of retribution
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Executives at major media outlets are reportedly instructing their newsrooms to temper their coverage of President Trump and his administration amid growing fears of political retribution.
Why it matters: President Trump may not have the political power to pass laws that hurt the press, but his threats of regulatory scrutiny and private lawsuits have proven just as damaging in silencing his critics.
The abrupt resignations of CBS News chief Wendy McMahon and longtime "60 Minutes" executive producer Bill Owens underscore how fraught the relationship has become between CBS' news division and corporate parent Paramount, which is fighting for regulatory approval of a critical merger with Skydance Media.
- In her resignation note, McMahon said, "It's become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward." Owens told staff in his departure note, "Over the past months, it has become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it."
- Tension between management and CBS News' leadership has been boiling for months as CBS considers whether to settle a $20 billion lawsuit with President Trump. A settlement, onlookers believe, could clear the path for regulatory approval of Paramount's Skydance deal, but critics argue it risks the journalistic reputation of "60 Minutes."
- Trump in April lashed out at CBS following a "60 Minutes" episode, calling on FCC chair Brendan Carr to impose "maximum fines and punishment" on the network.
PBS member WNET cut 90 seconds from a documentary last month, in which the film's subject, author and cartoonist Art Spiegelman criticized Trump, per The Atlantic.
- WNET vice president of programming Stephen Segaller told the New York Times the station did tell the filmmakers to make the change, saying some of the imagery was a "breach of taste."
- The move came shortly after PBS CEO Paula Kerger and NPR CEO Katherine Maher were called to testify in a congressional hearing to defend their congressional budgets. After the episode aired in April, President Trump signed an executive order on May 1 to cut federal funding for NPR and PBS.
Disney CEO Bob Iger and ABC News president Almin Karamehmedovic reportedly suggested to the hosts of "The View" that they broaden the scope of their coverage to focus less on politics, per The Daily Beast.
- ABC paid $16 million in December to settle a case over comments made by anchor George Stephanopoulos.
- Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, Gannett and a slew of major media companies have all announced rollbacks of their diversity, equity and inclusion policies to mirror the administration's new mandate on DEI.
Representatives for CBS, WNET and ABC did not respond to requests for comment.
Between the lines: Regulatory scrutiny mostly applies to broadcast companies that are regulated by the FCC or bigger firms that could be considering mergers that need regulatory approval. But smaller outlets owned by individuals with business interests outside of media have also moved to temper coverage in the second Trump administration.
- The Washington Post's owner Jeff Bezos announced a new policy in February in which the opinion section prioritizes two topics, personal liberties and free markets, and does not publish dissenting views in those areas.
- The Los Angeles Times witnessed an exodus of editors after the paper nixed endorsements in the eleventh hour of last year's election. The paper's owner, billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, told Fox News that he doesn't want the outlet to "be an echo chamber" and said he aimed to bring more conservative or moderate columnists to appear in the paper. The outlet received heavy pushback from its news union after it introduced an AI-generated "bias meter" that automatically assesses the viewpoint of an article and offers an opposing perspective alongside it.
Zoom out: For outlets with little to lose from a regulatory perspective, bullying and reduced access also pose a new threat.
- The White House in April said it would remove traditional press pool access for wire services after a court ordered it to lift its restrictions on the Associated Press.
- President Trump has suggested that media outlets be investigated for election fraud for posting unfavorable polls. (Of note: The president has cited polls from outlets that he has lashed out at that reflect favorable ratings.)
- The White House has said that it will ignore requests for comment from reporters with pronouns in their email signatures.
The big picture: It's not just media, plenty of other industries are making preemptive concessions or buckling to political pressure.
- Several major law firms pledged pro bono services to Trump, while others opted to fight back.
- Big Tech and other corporations donated millions to Trump's inauguration.
- Meta and X paid millions to settle lawsuits over shutting down Trump's accounts after Jan. 6.
The bottom line: While political pandering isn't new, the Trump administration has forced media companies specifically to reconsider their editorial boundaries for the sake of survival.
