WASHINGTON (AN) — The Trump administration is intensifying efforts to police critical media coverage, triggering unified legal resistance within the U.S. and forceful condemnation globally from press freedom groups.
Critics warn that the actions risk undermining the U.S.'s global reputation and emboldening authoritarian nations. The latest escalation came on Tuesday with the Committee to Protect Journalists publicly calling on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr to stop using the agency’s regulatory authority to target broadcasters.
FCC's regulatory powers "should not be used as a cudgel to punish voices that contradict the Trump administration’s narrative," said CPJ's Katherine Jacobsen, a program coordinator for the U.S., Canada and Caribbean region. The administration, including Carr, "should seek to protect, not undermine" free speech protections in the First Amendment, she said.
The confrontation with the FCC involves a series of government actions seen by media analysts as attempts to intimidate and control news organizations. Under Carr, the FCC took the unusual step of reopening investigations into major networks, including NBC, ABC, and CBS, and public broadcasters NPR and PBS.
The agency also threatened to revoke local station licenses over specific news coverage decisions, and to block telecommunication mergers if the companies involved air content deemed critical of the administration.
New rules from the Trump administration require journalists covering the Pentagon to sign a letter to maintain credentials, with a provision mandating that all defense information, even if unclassified, be approved for release, a policy that critics argue aims to control the defense narrative.
The political pressure on broadcasters was demonstrated last week when the ABC late-night talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" was briefly taken off air after Carr publicly suggested the network’s license should be revoked.
Separately, CBS parent company Paramount Global reached a $16 million settlement with U.S. President Trump in July over an election interference accusation, which came during a merger review that was later approved.
International media independence
The administration suffered a major legal setback on Monday in its attempts to dismantle the Voice of America, which is mandated to provide independent news to nations with restricted press.
U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth ordered the administration to reverse layoff notices for hundreds of journalists and staff, immediately reinstating 532 full-time VOA employees targeted for firing. The judge accused administration officials of "obfuscation" and "disrespect" for the court's earlier orders, warning they risked contempt proceedings.
International press groups, including CPJ and Reporters Without Borders, have repeatedly described the attempts to gut VOA as a "reward to dictators," arguing it surrenders the airwaves to state propaganda from countries like China and Iran.
Global visa outcry
The administration also faces a unified international front against a proposed change to the I visa for foreign journalists. The Department of Homeland Security plan would cap initial stays for most foreign reporters at 240 days, and for Chinese nationals at 90 days.
Over 100 international media organizations — including major global news agencies and public broadcasters from the U.K., Canada, and Germany — have joined a coalition urging DHS to withdraw the plan.
"Since no problems of compliance with the terms and condition of I visa has been identified, our concern is that the changes to the I visa are being made for political reasons," said Ian Williams, president of the Foreign Press Association.
Reporters Without Borders and civil society organizations formally protested, arguing continuous renewal requirements subject journalists' work to political scrutiny and risk politically motivated visa denials.
The coalition collectively warned that the measure would degrade the quality of international reporting on the U.S. and risks retaliation against American reporters abroad by other nations, thereby "damaging, not enhancing, America's global standing."
