The Pope calls for journalists to protect the truth

Earlier this week, Pope Leo XIV was asked by a reporter about President Donald Trump sending troops to the Pope’s hometown of Chicago. The question wasn’t even fully out of the reporter’s mouth when Leo interrupted.

He said, “Yes, I prefer not to comment at this time about choices made — political choices — within the United States. Thank you very much.”

However, the Pope did sound a bit political on Thursday in what amounted to a pep talk to journalists. He made it clear that media organizations are the barrier to protect the world from the disinformation that can do so much harm.

And he championed the profession.

In a speech to media executives at the 39th Conference of the MINDS International Association, Leo said, “Doing the work of a journalist can never be considered a crime, but it is a right that must be protected.”

He would go on to say, “Every day, there are reporters who put their lives at risk to inform people about what is really happening. In times such as ours, marked by widespread and violent conflicts, many have died while carrying out their duties. They are victims of war and of the ideology of war, which seeks to prevent journalists from being there at all. We must not forget them! If today we know what is happening in Gaza, Ukraine, and every other land bloodied by bombs, we largely owe it to them. These extraordinary eyewitness accounts are the culmination of the daily efforts of countless people who work to ensure that information is not manipulated for ends that are contrary to truth and human dignity.”

Leo followed up his championing of journalism with later comments turned a bit more political.

Leo said, “With your patient and rigorous work, you can act as a barrier against those who, through the ancient art of lying, seek to create divisions in order to rule by dividing. You can also be a xxxxxx of civility against the quicksand of approximation and post-truth.”

Leo would add, “The communications sector cannot and must not separate its work from the sharing of truth. Transparency of sources and ownership, accountability, quality and objectivity are the keys to restoring the role of citizens as protagonists in the system, convincing them to demand information worthy of the name. I urge you: never sell out your authority!”

That last line seems quite appropriate in the wake of media companies bending to political pressures and economic hardships, including what we’ve seen in the U.S.

Earlier, Leo had said, “The world needs free, rigorous and objective information. In this context, it is worth remembering Hannah Arendt’s warning that ‘the ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and the distinction between true and false no longer exist.’”

He even has a handle on the way today’s technology dictates information, saying, “Algorithms generate content and data at a scale and speed never seen before. But who controls them? Artificial intelligence is changing the way we receive information and communicate, but who directs it and for what purposes? We must be vigilant in order to ensure that technology does not replace human beings, and that the information and algorithms that govern it today are not in the hands of a few.”

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He said what?

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said something that you’d hope would never come out of the mouth of a U.S. leader: “We took the freedom of speech away.”

Trump was bragging when he said that. He was talking about the executive order he signed in August that directed his administration to punish those who burn or desecrate the flag — an act, by the way, that has always been protected by the First Amendment.

Trump’s boasting came just a week after the White House said the president is a “strong supporter of free speech.” And the White House comments came just after his FCC commissioner, Brendan Carr, seemingly suggested Jimmy Kimmel’s show be taken off the air because of comments Kimmel made in a monologue.

But a president bragging about having free speech taken away is troubling.

MSNBC’s Steve Benen wrote, “Against a backdrop of an aggressive White House campaign against the First Amendment, Trump’s unscripted candor offered a classic example of a politician saying the quiet part out loud.”

For this next item, I turn it over to my Poynter colleague Angela Fu …

Federal government takes aim at journalists covering immigration and national security in latest press freedom attacks

The new administration has only been in power for a little less than 9 months and Poynter has already documented more than 60 federal actions aimed at hindering journalists’ ability to do their jobs. In the past month, those attacks on press freedom have largely centered around harassing journalists covering immigration and restricting those who cover the Pentagon. They include:

• Federal officers assault Chicago journalists reporting on immigration protests. Multiple journalists said that despite wearing visible press credentials, they were struck by pepper balls, teargassed and otherwise harassed by federal agents, who were sent to Chicago to detain people living in the country illegally. Some local media groups subsequently sued the federal government, and a judge issued a 14-day emergency order barring federal agents from arresting, threatening or using physical force — including riot weapons — against journalists who are covering protests.
• President Donald Trump sues The New York Times. Trump sued the Times for defamation over negative coverage it had published in the runup to the 2024 presidential election. A federal judge in Florida dismissed the complaint for violating a rule that complaints must be “simple, concise, and direct” and gave Trump a deadline of Oct. 17 for refiling it.
• The Pentagon releases new guidelines restricting journalists from reporting information without approval. Journalists who did not sign a pledge agreeing to the guidelines risked losing their Pentagon press credentials. Ultimately, zero journalists signed the pledge, which would have amounted to an unprecedented curtailing of their ability to report on the Pentagon.
• Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents assault New York City journalists covering immigration arrests. Three journalists were injured at an immigration court in New York City. Two said they were physically shoved by ICE agents. The third fell during the altercation and hit his head, resulting in an injury that required hospitalization.  
• The Pentagon makes plans to implement widespread nondisclosure agreements and polygraph tests. Leaked draft memos obtained by The Washington Post revealed that the Pentagon plans to subject staff to random polygraph tests and require more than 5,000 Department of Defense employees to sign NDAs prohibiting them from releasing non-public information without approval. 
• The Department of Homeland Security deports journalist Mario Guevara to El Salvador. Guevara, who fled El Salvador in 2004 after receiving death threats due to his journalism, had a work permit in the U.S. Despite this, he was arrested in June while covering anti-Trump protests, held in ICE detention for 110 days and ultimately deported back to his native country.
• The Pentagon doubles down on its media restrictions. After zero journalists agreed to its initial guidelines, the Pentagon released new ones that clarified that reporters did not need to get stories approved before publication. However, the new rules also said journalists could lose their badges if they solicit Defense Department employees to provide non-public information that has not been approved for release — a stipulation that could prevent journalists from doing basic reporting. 

Learn more about these actions and the government’s past attacks on journalists by following Poynter's Press Freedom Watch.

My thanks to Angela. Now onto the rest of today’s newsletter.

The Poynter Report Podcast

Be sure to check out the latest episode of “The Poynter Report Podcast.” My guest is Karen Attiah, the opinion writer who was recently fired by The Washington Post.

We talk about how she got started at the Post and her career there. And, of course, we go in-depth on the social media posts that led to her firing, as well as details of how she was fired.

Media news, tidbits and interesting links for your weekend review

• Here’s something to keep an eye on. A strike might be coming at the Los Angeles Times. The newsroom has been in contract negotiations at the paper for three years now, and an overwhelming 85% of its participating journalists voted to authorize. The move is intended to put pressure on management to move negotiations forward. This doesn’t mean there will be a strike, but it does give the union the ability to call for one. Here’s more from The Hollywood Reporter’s Kate Kilkenny.
• There’s no question that former Fox News and NBC host Megyn Kelly has a big following as a podcaster. But there’s also no question that her brand of podcasting is steeped in divisiveness. Essentially, she profits in trolling and talking smack about the left. On Thursday, her platform got a little bigger. SiriusXM gave Kelly her own channel and signed her to a new multiyear deal. The channel will launch on Nov. 4 and will continue to feature Kelly’s show with additional programming hosted by Kelly and others. Basically, it’s SiriusXM telling Kelly, “Here’s a channel, do whatever you want with it.” Kelly has been doing a show on SiriusXM since 2021. Variety’s Brian Steinberg has more.
• NBC News’ Lawrence Hurley with “Alex Jones asks Supreme Court to block massive defamation judgment.”
• For Poynter, with permission from Northwestern University’s Medill Local News Initiative, it’s Mary Randolph with “The leader of a major press association resigned after his board opposed a lawsuit defending journalists’ rights.”
• NewsNation will hold a special town hall next Wednesday, hosted by their own Chris Cuomo, who will be joined by Bill O’Reilly and Stephen A. Smith. The two-hour event will start at 8 p.m. Eastern and feature members of the Trump Administration and leaders from both major political parties.
• Fox Sports NFL game analyst Mark Sanchez, who was stabbed and then later arrested for a late-night altercation in Indianapolis last weekend, will not be assigned a game this weekend. And it is not known if and when he will return to the booth. Awful Announcing’s Matt Yoder has more.
• Wow, this is quite the behind-the-scenes look at one of America’s most famous movie stars and, apparently, one of its biggest divas. For The Hollywood Reporter, Peter Kiefer with “How Kevin Costner Lost Hollywood.”
• Finally today, this interesting story from The Washington Post’s Shane O’Neill: “He’s gay. She’s straight. They’re happily married.”

More resources for journalists

• Interested in learning more about funding local news? Start here.
• Gain the skills to spot AI risks like bias, misinformation and hallucinations before they harm your work. Enroll now.
• Amp up your editing skills, improve your work life and advance your career with Poynter’s ACES Certificates.
• Stop wasting hours on repetitive tasks — automate them instead. Learn how.
• Get training to track federal climate policy rollbacks and their local impacts. Enroll now.
• Deepen your coverage of incarcerated women and women with incarcerated family members and get the chance to apply for one of five $10,000 reporting grants. Enroll now.
• Master the tools to connect Washington decisions to local stories — essential coverage as the 2026 elections approach. Enroll now.
• Access Poynter’s comprehensive mental health reporting resources.

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected].
The Poynter Report is your daily dive into the world of media, packed with the latest news and insights. Get it delivered to your inbox Monday through Friday by signing up here. And don’t forget to tune into our biweekly podcast for even more.