What Happens When the Press Stops Asking Hard Questions?

In a moment when the integrity of our free press is more critical than ever, I am reaching out to ask you to consider becoming a paid subscriber to Lincoln Square — an independent voice committed to holding power accountable without compromise.

This week’s headlines painfully remind us why this fight is so important. As legacy media outlets continue their capitulation to Donald Trump’s corrosive influence, the truth risks being buried under narratives shaped by billionaire business and media interests. We have seen aggressive shifts: The Washington Post, once a fierce investigative force that exposed government wrongdoing, has transformed under Jeff Bezos’ ownership and influence. Its coverage is increasingly cautious, if not complicit, when it comes to scrutinizing Trump and his allies.

And CBS, under Bari Weiss’s leadership, mirrors this troubling trend — prioritizing commentary that normalizes authoritarian flattery over the hard-hitting journalism demanded by our democracy.

The stakes could not be higher. The Trump administration’s ongoing cascade of corruption and deceit—whether it’s financial manipulations, interference with elections, encouraging racial profiling, setting armed and masked men against American citizens, prosecuting political enemies for invented wrongdoing, seeking to prevent doctors and hospitals from providing care for LGBTQ youth, or assaults on democratic institutions and more — requires unflinching coverage. It demands the willingness to ask difficult questions and expose uncomfortable truths, even when they rattle powerful figures or unsettle corporate backers. The consequences of silencing these voices are already visible: distortions of reality, unchecked abuses of power, and the further fragmentation of American society, as well as the erosion of public trust.

But remember, it hasn’t always been this way, and together, we have the power to create the America we all deserve — not only the most powerful and, if the Trump Administration has its way, white in our country. America’s most significant progress —civil rights advancements, government accountability, systemic reforms — were made when the free press took seriously its sacred duty. When journalists held presidents accountable regardless of their party or connections.

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That tradition of courage is alive today — not in conglomerate-controlled media, but on independent platforms like Lincoln Square Media, which are free from the influence of millionaires, billionaires, or sprawling corporate conglomerates. Lincoln Square and you, the Lincoln Loyal, do not fear the truth or back down from pressure or threats from the most corrupt presidency in history.

By becoming a paid subscriber, you’re not just supporting independent media — you’re supporting a movement. A movement toward transparency, resilience, and democracy. Your subscription underwrites the relentless pursuit of facts amid chaos and confusion. It empowers independent media to serve as a watchdog, unbound by the interests that constrain much of the mainstream press.

In this critical moment, your choice matters.

Please join us as a paid subscriber today. Stand with Lincoln Square in defending the truth, demanding accountability, and reclaiming the role of the free press as the guardian of our democracy.

Lisa Senecal is Lincoln Square’s Founding Editor.