Times are changing, and freedom of the press- the one thing that separates factual journalism from biased propaganda- is being erased. This is made evident by the constant backlash the press is facing at the hands of our current president. In the past year, President Donald Trump has sued some of the biggest news associations in the United States under the claim that they were wrongly portraying him as a fraud and a fascist. In September of 2025, Donald Trump sued the New York Times for $15 billion dollars, claiming that the articles they published were defaming his reputation and painting him in a wrong light. Trump claims that the New York Times is a “mouthpiece for the radical left democrat party”, and that they have been allowed to “lie, smear, and defame” him for far too long. This is a common pattern with many other news associations, as in the past year, President Donald Trump has sued the Wall Street Journal, CNN, and BBC– all under the claim that they are spreading lies and propaganda.
This truly just goes to show how, in a changing world, the press is pressured to side with one political party. This goes against the values of journalists, who have always prided themselves on reporting unbiased and unfiltered facts, regardless of how they are received. President John Adams once stated that, “the liberty of the press is essential to the security of the state”. This has held true for many years, as the media is meant to be an unbiased source of the facts, and only the facts. This allows for the public to stay informed and hold the government accountable for their actions, which prevents the existence of authoritarian states. But what happens when freedom of the press is restricted?
A few weeks ago, the San Diego High School journalists attended the Spring JEA conference, which is the largest journalism convention in the United States. Every April, thousands of journalists, advisers, and professionals gather to participate in events, learn from professional speakers, and attend educational panels. This event brings together some of the most educated journalists in the world- all of whose publishings are being restricted by the current state of affairs.
“The most chilling effect [of the restriction of free speech] is reporters self-censoring themselves- not approaching topics that they think are important, because they’re afraid of potential consequences,” says Andrea Negri, the JEA Scholastic Press Rights Director. “One major one is the idea of potentially covering ICE protests and other immigration actions in the last year.”
Andrea goes on to describe her personal experience at her school in Texas regarding an article covering a student with family in Gaza. “We made national news, because [the student] was a Palestinian, and not everybody appreciated that. A few parents made my life hell. In newsrooms, we’ve had questions of, ‘I’m an immigrant, can I safely cover this story or am I risking my family and safety?’ and all of this is a threat to the ability to report.” Self-censorship has the ability to be even more detrimental to the press than government censorship. Journalists are too afraid to speak out on important issues, due to fear of consequences that could endanger themselves or the people around them, and so they refuse to publish stories. This endangers the entire population, because if the unbiased and protected reporters are too afraid to publish the facts, what does that mean for the general public?
Some journalists are facing consequences that border on being unethical and devastating. Back in March, a woman named Estefany Rodriguez was detained by ICE agents in Nashville, who had no warrant for her arrest. Estefany is a journalist for the Nashville Noticias, and she has covered immigration and political issues before. Since Estefany came to the U.S legally and has no reason to be arrested, it is clear that ICE arrested her because of her publications covering current political issues. All of this just goes to show how much journalism is being censored and restricted by the current state of the nation. And now, journalism is needed more than ever. We are facing constant changes in our government- tax reforms, budget cuts of environmental agencies, and mass deportation efforts are all major issues that need to be presented to the public, by presenting the facts, and nothing but the facts. For hundreds of years, journalists have been an essential key in the stability of our government. A quote from President George W. Bush states that “Power can be very addictive- and it’s important for the media to call to account people who abuse their power.”
In summary, due to the current state of our nation, journalists have been censored and restricted from reporting the facts, which is something that the media has always stood for. As the world is changing, it is more important now than ever to stay informed on public issues. Without the press presenting the facts and holding people in power accountable, the government can go from a balanced organization to a corrupt and absolutist one in the blink of an eye. Journalism as a whole is something that can not- and should not- be silenced in the face of absolutist power.
