The Ellisons are taking their “poor billionaires” charm offensive to the op-ed pages. Meanwhile, the news pages aren’t cooperating — every week we learn more about the scope of editorial interference at CBS under their watch.

Senator Ron Wyden@wyden.senate.gov · yesterday

Yep. Earlier this year I was interviewed by Sharyn Alfonsi of 60 Minutes about my Epstein investigation. Subsequently, CBS pulled the segment and fired the reporter. The MAGA buyout of media is aiding the Trump administration’s Epstein cover up.

What a great platform to publicly deny promising Trump a CNN overhaul or $20 million in free advertising in exchange for merger approvals. Or to speak out against his bullying of journalists you employ or want to employ. Weird that you didn’t do any of that.

Opinion | David Ellison: In Defense of the Paramount-Warner Deal

The issue is whether I can be trusted as a steward of CNN

nytimes.com

🔔 Join us for a live webinar on the latest proposals to strengthen FOIA, and how these changes could help journalists investigating the truth, featuring David Cuillier, Ryan Mulvey, and Margaret Kwoka. 🗓️ Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT RSVP: freedom.press/fixing-foia

David Ellison once again 💩 on the 5625 career film makers that have clearly opposed this merger based on the loss of competition, consolidation of power&decision making, loss of jobs and the ridiculous idea that he is going to make more movies with less money because he is starting $83 bil in hole.

Freedom of the Press Foundation@freedom.press · yesterday

David, if you want this charm offensive to work, your dad should sit for an interview. Maybe with an unemployed ex-60 Minutes reporter. He can make the case for giving CBS, CNN and TikTok to a guy building an AI surveillance dystopia. What could go wrong?

David, if you want this charm offensive to work, your dad should sit for an interview. Maybe with an unemployed ex-60 Minutes reporter. He can make the case for giving CBS, CNN and TikTok to a guy building an AI surveillance dystopia. What could go wrong?

Opinion | What to know about David Ellison’s embattled bid to acquire Warner Bros.

David Ellison’s embattled bid to acquire Warner Bros. doesn’t make much financial sense. It might still be a win for the Ellison empire and its bigger global plans.

ms.now

Freedom of the Press Foundation@freedom.press · yesterday

What a great platform to publicly deny promising Trump a CNN overhaul or $20 million in free advertising in exchange for merger approvals. Or to speak out against his bullying of journalists you employ or want to employ. Weird that you didn’t do any of that.

Questionable ties between US Virgin Islands officials & Epstein have come to light, but that was because of lawsuits & federal investigations, not a functional public records system. Please join me, the VI Source, and @freedom.press in our quest for more transparency. freedom.press/issues/us-vi...

US Virgin Islands need transparency to weed out corruption

Use our action center to tell officials there to fix the territory’s archaic public records laws

freedom.press

We've been pushing for a federal reporter's privilege law for years, but the Trump administration is making the case better than we ever could. The next Congress needs to pass the PRESS Act so FBI agents stop showing up at freelance journalists' doors with subpoenas.

Justice Dept. Subpoenas Times Freelancer in Effort to Identify Sources (Gift Article)

A previously undisclosed subpoena, involving reporting on a failed SEAL Team 6 mission in North Korea, reflects the government’s expanding campaign to investigate leaks of secrets.

nytimes.com

Use our action center to tell officials in the USVI that it's time to finally modernize local public records laws.

📣 Take Action: Modernize US Virgin Islands open records law

Make an impact with guided actions from Freedom of The Press Foundation.

freedom.press

Freedom of the Press Foundation@freedom.press · 5d ago

Journalist @shirleysmithvi.bsky.social, a native of St. Thomas, wrote that transparency failures in the Jeffrey Epstein case show why officials in the US Virgin Islands need to take open government seriously. They can start with a much needed update to the territory's archaic public records laws.

The Pentagon's scheme to cut off public access to unclassified documents would let the federal government avoid public accountability. "While its latest move has drawn relatively little attention, it may pose the greatest systemic threat to accountability," writes @freedom.press’ @LaurenHarper.

Opinion | Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon secrecy push threatens access to unclassified records

Lauren Harper: The Pentagon’s proposal to Congress would bypass FOIA’s transparency requirements and give the military sweeping powers to withhold nearly all unclassified information.

ms.now

Like documentaries? Then you probably don’t want the two largest privately held news archives — the lifeblood of documentary film — under the same ownership. Especially when that ownership kisses up to politicians by censoring their critics.

Film producers warn Paramount-Warner merger could restrict access to news archives

By Dawn Chmielewski and Paul Sandle LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, July 30 (Reuters) - A group of film producers has urged the British culture minister to intervene in the proposed merger of Paramount Skyda...

whbl.com

House Investigation of @btnewsroom.bsky.social Is an Attack on All Journalism We spoke to @seth-stern.bsky.social for @theintercept.com about the House subpoenas of activist and media groups and the threat they pose to the freedom of the press Full story here: theintercept.com/2026/07/27/b...

FCC censorship czar Brendan Carr is threatening the broadcast licenses of eight local ABC stations because Trump doesn’t like the network. Use our action center to file a public comment with the FCC telling him to follow the First Amendment and back off.

📣 Take Action: Tell the FCC to leave ABC’s licenses alone

Make an impact with guided actions from Freedom of The Press Foundation.

freedom.press

It's past time for everyone to get over their fear of fighting back against Trump administration censorship. Take these bozos to court. They lose regularly.

Government withdraws subpoenas of 3 reporters for The New York Times after admitting legal errors

The government has withdrawn subpoenas that would have compelled three New York Times reporters to testify about their sources for articles about President Donald Trump’s Qatari-gifted Air Force One j...

apnews.com

MSG’s new lawsuit against @wired.com isn’t just about defamation. It’s an attack on the newsgathering process itself. If journalists can be sued for talking to sources with NDAs, powerful institutions have another way to keep their secrets.

MSG revives legal theory that once haunted ‘60 Minutes’

Journalists don’t lose First Amendment protections just because a source signed an NDA

freedom.press

Now that the subpoenas are out of the way, let's talk about how Trump and his hangers-on knowingly put journalists (and others) accompanying Trump on an unsafe plane because the president couldn’t bear to fly on an aircraft without golden light fixtures or whatever.

Freedom of the Press Foundation@freedom.press · 2w ago

It's past time for everyone to get over their fear of fighting back against Trump administration censorship. Take these bozos to court. They lose regularly.

Are you a journalist who uses the Freedom of Information Act in your reporting? Well, you can now win $25,000. FPF is proud to announce the launch of the Penlight Prize for excellence in paywall-free public records reporting. Watch @trevortimm.bsky.social to learn more, and apply today.

“When you have the president of the United States standing inside the White House delivering an important speech, I think that’s something that broadcasters should be carrying,” Carr said. Here’s the thing, Brendan. Under the First Amendment, what you think is totally irrelevant.

FCC Chair Says ABC’s Decision to Not Broadcast Trump Speech Live Will Be Part of Agency’s Review of Station Licenses

Brendan Carr, the Trump-appointed chairman of the FCC, said the agency will consider ABC's decision to not carry a live broadcast President Donald Trump's July 16 speech about U.S. election security a...

variety.com

The Trump administration issued subpoenas seeking phone records of not just journalists but also their relatives. It’s disgraceful. Even the Mafia considers family members off limits. The court should quash the subpoenas and consider sanctions on the DOJ. @trevortimm.bsky.social explains.

🔔 Tomorrow: Join our webinar to learn how Trump's "domestic terrorism" memo silences free speech and could be used to target outlets, journalists, and confidential sources. W/ @drboguslaw.bsky.social, @chipgibbons.bsky.social, @faizapatel.bsky.social 🗓️ July 22, 2 pm ET RSVP: freedom.press/NSPM-7

"Our intelligence reveals that Will Smith openly discussed obtaining ciga-cigars right from Cuban Cuba, but, tellingly, not lighting them. Our analysts therefore conclude that Smith's efforts to procure said ciga-cigars was a pretext for his actions in furtherance of Cuban Cuba's communist plot..."

Seth Cotlar@sethcotlar.bsky.social · 2w ago

Rubio’s State Department just published a 100-page report identifying Cuba as the locus of Communist infiltration in the US since the 1960s. Absolutely bonkers shit. www.state.gov/wp-content/u...

🔔 Join our webinar to learn how Trump's "domestic terrorism" memo silences free speech and could be used to target outlets, journalists, and confidential sources. W/ @drboguslaw.bsky.social, @chipgibbons.bsky.social @faizapatel.bsky.social 🗓️ Wednesday, July 22, 2 pm ET RSVP: freedom.press/NSPM-7

Hegseth’s Pentagon secrecy push threatens access to unclassified records: Exempting controlled unclassified information from the Freedom of Information Act could effectively put millions of files beyond the reach of open-records laws — potentially forever. By FPF's @laurenleharper.bsky.social

Opinion | Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon secrecy push threatens access to unclassified records

Lauren Harper: The Pentagon’s proposal to Congress would bypass FOIA’s transparency requirements and give the military sweeping powers to withhold nearly all unclassified information.

ms.now

“Even the Mafia says families are off limits.” Freedom of the Press Foundation’s Seth Stern pulls no punches on reports that Trump DOJ subpoenaed NYT reporters’ relatives.

"Even the Mafia says families are off limits," we said about the admin's snooping on reporters' relatives. “Trump’s hangers-on should be sending the Times thank-you cards, not subpoenas” for keeping Trump’s unsafe bribe plane grounded with its reporting.

Trump admin escalates attacks on journalists, probing family communications

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:New York, July 20, 2026 — The New York Times reported today that the Trump administration issued third-party subpoenas seeking communications not only of journalists’ phone and t...

freedom.press

Snarkily thinks to self without reading text: world's worst self-tanning advertisement (before, during, after photos)

Freedom of the Press Foundation@freedom.press · 3w ago

“If Paramount’s news networks are watered down to appease the administration, they’ll stop tuning in, and the public will be less informed," FPF's Seth Stern said. Read about the lawsuit we filed with @publicintegritylaw.bsky.social to stop Ellison-Trump corruption from tanking news outlets.

Tell senators to reject Jay Clayton for director of national intelligence. Clayton just subpoenaed four @nytimes.com journalists over their reporting on the Air Force One plane Qatar gifted to President Trump. Someone who targets reporters shouldn’t be DNI.

📣 Take Action: Write a letter opposing Jay Clayton’s confirmation as director of national intelligence

Make an impact with guided actions from Freedom of The Press Foundation.

freedom.press

Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. might have once gotten away with severing a raccoon from its manhood, but he should not get away with severing journalists from reliable sources.

Censorship of medical journals infects journalism too

Why are government quacks like RFK Jr. grading doctors’ homework?

freedom.press

Appeasing Trump is the Ellisons’ short term goal for Paramount-Warner. But once Trump’s gone, their control over culture can benefit their own business interests, like surveillance, "while leaving Paramount shareholders holding the bag," FPF's @seth-stern.bsky.social wrote in MS NOW.

Opinion | What to know about David Ellison’s embattled bid to acquire Warner Bros.

David Ellison’s embattled bid to acquire Warner Bros. doesn’t make much financial sense. It might still be a win for the Ellison empire and its bigger global plans.

ms.now

Interrogating journalists at the border and seizing their electronic devices has no place in a county that claims to protect freedom of the press. If this reporter was targeted because of his reporting or viewpoint, it’s an outrageous assault on the First Amendment.

Journalist’s Devices Seized at U.S. Border Following Iran Reporting

On July 13, 2026, The Grayzone reported that their editor-in-chief Max Blumenthal was detained at Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C. upon return from  a reporting trip to Iran to cover…

rightsanddissent.org

Journalists often cite medical journal articles in news coverage of everything from outbreaks to drug recalls to promising new treatments. When they’re censored, so is the news that reaches newspaper pages and the public.

Censorship of medical journals infects journalism too

Why are government quacks like RFK Jr. grading doctors’ homework?

freedom.press