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** OPINION
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** And so it begins — Trump’s attacks on the media
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President Donald Trump, outside the White House last Friday. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

When Donald Trump was elected president for the second time last November, there were concerns that he would “go after” the media. In other words, he would do what he could to stifle media that he felt aggrieved him in the past or would cover him aggressively in the future. The press plays an absolutely essential role in any true democracy, but Trump wants to control the media, even if it’s through fear, intimidation or simply treating them unjustly.

Those fears are coming to fruition.

The Department of Defense announced late last week that the Pentagon was going to have an “annual media rotation program.” What does that mean? Essentially, several news organizations were being kicked out of their dedicated work spaces inside the Pentagon and others were being moved in.

To be clear, this isn’t about fairness. It’s about the current administration wanting media that is supportive of their cause in those spaces. Just take a look at who was swapped out and who was moved in.

Kicked out? NBC News, The New York Times, National Public Radio and Politico. Moved in? One America News Network, New York Post, Breitbart News Network and HuffPost.

Three of those outlets moving in — OAN, Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post and Breitbart — are conservative and in Trump’s camp. HuffPost is progressive, but giving it a spot is a very thin attempt to say, “See, we didn’t just allow conservatives to move in.” In addition, OAN and Breitbart are not only pro-Trump, but they are tiny compared to NBC News, The New York Times and NPR.

All these changes are among the first big moves made by new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News host who came under scrutiny by the media for past behavior, including his treatment of women, his drinking and questions surrounding his leadership.

In a memo, the Pentagon said the moves were made because workspace inside the complex is limited and they wanted to be fair to other news outlets. But come on. The intent appears to be purposefully vindictive, perhaps in part because of the diligent coverage of Hegseth’s confirmation.

The Washington Post’s Herb Scribner notes ([link removed]) , “Generally, all credentialed reporters can still work from the Pentagon, though they won’t have a specific desk to use.”

So, again, this appears to be a symbolic move by the Trump administration to make things a bit more difficult for some of the nation’s biggest news outlets. In other words, Trump is sending a message.

In a statement, NBC News said, “We’re disappointed by the decision to deny us access to a broadcasting booth at the Pentagon that we’ve used for many decades. Despite the significant obstacles this presents to our ability to gather and report news in the national public interest, we will continue to report with the same integrity and rigor NBC News always has.”

NPR said in a statement, “This decision interferes with the ability of millions of Americans to directly hear from Pentagon leadership, and with NPR’s public interest mission to serve Americans who turn to our network of local public media stations in all 50 states. NPR will continue to report with vigor and integrity on the transformation this Administration has promised to deliver. NPR urges the Pentagon to expand the offices available to press within the building so that all outlets covering the Pentagon receive equal access."

And the Times said, “The Department of Defense has the largest discretionary budget in the government, millions of Americans in uniform under its direction and control of a vast arsenal funded by taxpayers. The Times is committed to covering the Pentagon fully and fairly. Steps designed to impede access are clearly not in the public interest.”

In the end, the Times, NBC and NPR will still be able to cover the Pentagon effectively. This just makes their jobs a little less convenient. But it’s the message being sent by Hegseth, Trump and the current administration that should be concerning to Americans.

In a statement, the Pentagon Press Association said, “Our resident press corps has greatly expanded over the years and we have always welcomed new members and will continue to do so. We are, however, greatly troubled by this unprecedented move by DOD to single out highly professional media who have covered the Pentagon for decades, under both Republican and Democratic administrations. We have asked for a meeting and we will keep everyone informed.”

A MESSAGE FROM POYNTER
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** An unusual request
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Here’s another example of Trump using his position to go after the media. The FCC has asked CBS News to hand over all the unedited transcripts and tapes from the “60 Minutes” preelection interview with Kamala Harris. The FCC supposedly wants to review it ahead of the merger between CBS owner, Paramount Global, and Skydance Media. But let’s not forget: Trump is suing CBS News over the “60 Minutes” interview.

The Wall Street Journal’s Jessica Toonkel and Joe Flint reported ([link removed]) , “FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has made it clear to Paramount executives that the agency’s review of its merger with Skydance will be tough and has said that bias accusations against Paramount’s CBS News are fair game for the agency.”

Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ed Markey tweeted ([link removed]) , “This is yet another example of Chairman Carr rapidly turning the FCC into the Federal Censorship Commission. It’s wrong and dangerous.”

Toonkel and Flint also wrote, “Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez called the commission’s request for the ‘60 Minutes’ materials ‘a retaliatory move by the government against broadcasters whose content or coverage is perceived to be unfavorable. It is designed to instill fear in broadcast stations and influence a network’s editorial decisions.’”

CBS News said it will comply with the FCC’s request.

The Washington Post’s Annabelle Timsit has more with “CBS to hand over Harris interview after Trump, FCC pressure. What to know.” ([link removed])


** Tom Brady’s Super Bowl
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Fox Sports broadcaster Tom Brady, at a game in Tampa on Jan. 5. (AP Photo/Peter Joneleit)

OK, we need a quick break from the grim media attacks. I’ll get back to Trump and politics in just a few moments, but let’s take a timeout to talk about something a bit more fun: The Super Bowl is coming up Sunday.

Yes, technically, the game is between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. But those of us who follow the media see this as Tom Brady’s Super Bowl. He will call the game for Fox Sports.

Brady was the main topic in my conversation with The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch in the latest episode of “The Poynter Report Podcast,” ([link removed]) which debuts today.

Brady is in the first year of a massive 10-year, $375 million contract. His season has been a mixed bag. Some good, some bad. He seems to be getting better each week.

If you read this newsletter regularly, you know I’m constantly linking to the work of Deitsch, who covers sports media for The Athletic and has a must-listen-to podcast called “Sports Media with Richard Deitsch,” ([link removed]) And, even if you have a passing interesting in sports media, you’ll enjoy this episode.

About Brady and Sunday’s Super Bowl, which will be watched by more than 100 million people, Deitsch told me, “Having covered this a long time, the reality for Tom Brady is that Tom Brady's year in broadcasting will be judged on the Super Bowl. No one's going to remember week four or week 10. You're going to remember Eagles-Chiefs — how he was in that game, and probably even more, on a micro level, how he was in the most important moment or moments of that game. And how did he reflect that to the audience? That ultimately — that's how Tom Brady will be judged for his first year in the booth.”

Aside from lots of talk about Brady, we discuss how desirable this matchup is for Fox Sports — and we get into some other topics, such as whether the Super Bowl will ever be shown on a streaming network, how Netflix is getting into live sports coverage and the popularity of the WNBA.

And yes, we also talk a little about political coverage. It’s especially notable at this moment as Deitsch, an American who now lives in Canada for work, talks about Canada’s reaction to Trump being back in the White House.


** X marks the spot
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Well, this is just silly. The National Transportation Safety Board will no longer update the press via email, and will instead exclusively alert the media about the plane crashes in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia on X. That’s right, the platform owned by Elon Musk. As media reporter Oliver Darcy wrote in his Status newsletter, “Put another way: Musk just gained another exclusive government contract.”


** The Journal’s continued pushback
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As I’ve noted in recent weeks, the usually conservative editorial board of The Wall Street Journal hasn’t hesitated to be critical of Trump since he has taken office. It criticized his pardon of Jan. 6 insurrectionists ([link removed]) and called Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s choice to lead Health and Human Services, “dangerous to public health.” ([link removed])

On Sunday, it wrote about the sweeping tariffs on Mexico and Canada in an editorial with the headline “The Dumbest Trade War in History.” ([link removed])

The board wrote, “Mr. Trump sometimes sounds as if the U.S. shouldn’t import anything at all, that America can be a perfectly closed economy making everything at home. This is called autarky, and it isn’t the world we live in, or one that we should want to live in, as Mr. Trump may soon find out.”

Of course, this set off Trump, who started a long rant on Truth Social by writing ([link removed]) , “The ‘Tariff Lobby,’ headed by the Globalist, and always wrong, Wall Street Journal, is working hard to justify Countries like Canada, Mexico, China, and too many others to name, continue the decades long RIPOFF OF AMERICA, both with regard to TRADE, CRIME, AND POISONOUS DRUGS that are allowed to so freely flow into AMERICA. THOSE DAYS ARE OVER!”

The Journal followed up with another editorial, clapping back at Trump: “The Dumbest Trade War Fallout Begins.” ([link removed])

The board wrote, “We appreciate Mr. Trump’s attention, though we’re anti-tariff and not lobbyists. But bad policy has damaging consequences, whether or not Mr. Trump chooses to admit it. Mr. Trump can’t repeal the laws of economics any more than Joe Biden could on inflation.”

Of course, Trump couldn’t let that just sit there. He fired back on Truth Social, writing ([link removed]) , “Anybody that’s against Tariffs, including the Fake News Wall Street Journal, and Hedge Funds, is only against them because these people or entities are controlled by China, or other foreign or domestic companies. Anybody that loves and believes in the United States of America is in favor of Tariffs. They should have never ended, in favor of the Income Tax System, in 1913. The response to Tariffs has been FANTASTIC!”

Fake News Wall Street Journal? Trump must be really fired up to use a nickname that is usually reserved for other outlets that he particularly dislikes.


** Chuck Todd leaves NBC News
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There’s a phrase that I like: shocking but not surprising. It’s when something happens that we kind of expected, but at the same time, when it finally does happen, it comes as a shock.

Chuck Todd leaving NBC News late last week falls into that category.

When Todd left as moderator of the Sunday morning legendary show “Meet the Press” back in 2023, you had to ask what his long-term future was at NBC News/MSNBC. Then, in recent months, there had been more and more whispers that Todd’s time at NBC News was coming to an end. It was only a matter of time.

But when it happened on Friday, it was still the end of an era. Todd had been at the network for 18 years and had become one of the biggest names in Washington politics and media.

He told colleagues in a memo, “There’s never a perfect time to leave a place that’s been a professional home for so long, but I’m pretty excited about a few new projects that are on the cusp of going from ‘pie in the sky’ to ‘near reality.’ So I’m grateful for the chance to get a jump start on my next chapter during this important moment.”

Todd hinted that his next step could be a newsletter, writing, “The media has a lot of work to do to win back the trust of viewers/listeners/readers and I’m convinced the best place to start is from the bottom up. At my core, I'm an entrepreneur — I spent my first 15 years professionally working for the company that started the political newsletter craze that dominates today. And this is a ripe moment.”

Todd also talked about the media in his memo, writing, “National media can't win trust back without having a robust partner locally and trying to game algorithms is no way to inform and report. People are craving community and that's something national media or the major social media companies can't do as well as local media.”

He added, “Being a real political journalist isn't about building a brand, it's about reporting what's happening and explaining why it's happening and letting the public absorb the facts without judging them for coming to a different conclusion. If you do this job seeking popularity, or to simply be an activist, you are doing this job incorrectly.”

I’m a fan of Todd. I wrote about this extensively ([link removed]) in June 2023. I’ve always thought his commentary has been fair, smart and pertinent, and I thought he did a superb job as moderator at “Meet the Press.”

I’m disappointed that his role and impact were diminished at NBC News, and I hope he finds something that will allow him to again make a noticeable contribution to the media. He’s only 52, and has plenty more to contribute.

In a statement, NBC News said, “We’re grateful for Chuck’s many contributions to our political coverage during his nearly two-decade career at NBC News and for his deep commitment to ‘Meet the Press’ and its enduring legacy. We wish him all the best in his next endeavors.”


** Media tidbits
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* This lead sentence from Associated Press media writer David Bauder: “First word of the Trump administration’s since-rescinded order to freeze spending on federal loans and grants came not from a major news organization, but from a woman working alone in her Brooklyn apartment.” You can read it all in “The power of independent journalism: From her Brooklyn apartment, she ‘scooped’ the nation’s media.” ([link removed])
* Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell with “A new era of government censorship has dawned.” ([link removed])
* The Wall Street Journal’s Isabella Simonetti with a somewhat flattering profile of CNN contributor Scott Jennings in “The Conservative Pundit Explaining Red America to CNN Viewers.” ([link removed])
* Politico senior political columnist and politics bureau chief Jonathan Martin with “Memo to Elon: Know Your Boss.” ([link removed])
* Variety’s Clayton Davis with “Journalist Who Uncovered Karla Sofía Gascón’s Racist Tweets Explains Why She Looked for Them: ‘I’m Not a Studio Plant.’” ([link removed])
* Awful Announcing’s Sean Keeley with “USA Today’s Nancy Armour urges sports world to avoid ‘toxic cesspool’ X.” ([link removed])
* And here’s Awful Announcing’s Drew Lerner with “NFL rift with Bluesky is reportedly over money.” ([link removed])


** Hot type
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* The New York Times’ Shawn Hubler, Alexandra Berzon,Soumya Karlamangla, Thomas Fuller and Danny Hakim with “It Was the Big One. Just Not the One L.A. Was Expecting.” ([link removed])
* “CBS News Sunday Morning” and correspondent Tracy Smith with “Jesse Eisenberg on the bitter and sweet of ‘A Real Pain.’” ([link removed]) And here’s the extended interview ([link removed]) with Eisenberg.


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* Learn how to cover critical issues surrounding child protection and the foster care system. Apply by Feb. 14. ([link removed])

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