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** OPINION
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A quick note before we get started today: The Poynter Report will not be published on Tuesday. The newsletter will return to your inboxes on Wednesday.


** This is what it looks like when a government tries to intimidate reporters
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Journalist Don Lemon, talks to the media after a hearing at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in Los Angeles on Friday. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

President Donald Trump and his administration, over the past 10 years, have stooped to many low and distressing levels in their all-out assault on the media: lawsuits, threats of lawsuits, bans, funding cuts and insults.

But last week, the administration did what was previously thought of as unthinkable. It reached for an even more ominous attack. It arrested two journalists.

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon, now an independent reporter, was arrested with three others, including independent journalist Georgia Fort, on charges that they violated federal law during a recent protest at a church in Minnesota. Lemon was charged with violating churchgoers’ constitutional right to worship when he entered a church along with protesters who were demonstrating against the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Lemon appeared to have been there merely to report on the situation.

After a court appearance in Los Angeles late Friday, Lemon told reporters, “I have spent my entire career covering the news. I will not stop now. There is no more important time than right now, this very moment, for a free and independent media that shines a light on the truth and holds those in power accountable.” He added, “I look forward to my day in court.”

It’s obvious what is going on: Trump and his administration want to intimidate reporters from doing their jobs.

Amnesty International said, “Journalism is not a crime. Reporting on protests is not a crime. Arresting journalists for their reporting is a clear example of an authoritarian practice.”

Trump claimed he didn’t know anything about the Lemon arrest, but then added, “He’s a sleazebag. Everyone’s known that. He’s a washup. Probably from his standpoint, the best thing that could have happened to him.”

CNN’s Sara Sidner said on air, “This is a stunning move by the Department of Justice, going after a journalist, arresting Don Lemon.”

​​Clayton Weimers, executive director of Reporters Without Borders North America, known as RSF, said, "RSF has learned that award-winning journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort have been arrested for simply doing their jobs as journalists — another attack on every American’s press freedom. The Trump administration cannot send federal agents after reporters simply because they don't like the stories being reported — especially after already failing multiple times to obtain a warrant from the courts for Lemon's arrest.”

The government’s case against Lemon looks pretty flimsy. It was clear from the videos that Lemon wasn’t trying to "oppress and intimidate" the church pastor, as the indictment claims. He was merely interviewing him in a calm manner.

Yet, many pointed out that these indictments targeted Lemon and Fort — two independent journalists who aren’t backed by big news organizations to help them in their legal defense.

But even if Lemon and Ford ultimately prevail, this moment in time sends a chilling message to journalists — and needs to be viewed as an attack on our democracy.

Status’ Natalie Korach summed it up well when she wrote ([link removed]) , “What began as a verbal ‘fake news’ taunt against journalists has metastasized into something far darker. Trump first escalated his rhetoric, vilifying the press as the ‘enemy of the people’ and smearing news organizations with dishonest attacks. But in his second term, Trump has gone much further, with his words crossing over into action.”

Here’s more from my Poynter colleague, Angela Fu: “Federal agents arrest journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort in what press freedom groups say is an escalation.” ([link removed])

A MESSAGE FROM POYNTER


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** Check it out
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Don Lemon is expected to appear on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” tonight.


** It’s all complicated
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President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive for the premiere of her movie "Melania" at The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts in Washington last week. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

“Melania,” the documentary about first lady Melania Trump, hit theaters this past weekend. And how did it do at the box office?

Well, the answer is complicated.

On one hand, it exceeded initial projections. It generated $7.04 million from 1,778 North American theaters. As Variety’s Rebecca Rubin notes ([link removed]) , that’s a really nice start for a documentary, especially one that isn’t a concert film or about music. Considering projections were in the $3 million to $5 million range, surely some in Trump-land are considering the first weekend as a success.

OK, that’s pretty much where the positive news ends. Friday and Saturday might have helped the doc succeed initial expectations, but there was a dip after that.

So, perhaps it isn’t the total bomb that Trump critics figured it would be, but as CNN’s Brian Stelter wrote ([link removed]) , “By financial standards, the film is not a winner, at least not yet. The company that financed it, Amazon MGM Studios, still has a long way to go to break even.”

While many can tout good numbers for a documentary, it should be pointed out how much it cost. The New York Times’ Brooks Barnes wrote ([link removed]) , “No documentary has ever cost as much as ‘Melania.’”

Amazon spent $40 million to make “Melania,” with reportedly $28 million going to the first lady. In addition, Amazon spent $35 million to market it. It made $7 million in the first weekend when interest was at its highest. So, do the math.

Stelter wrote, “Given that the film won't be in theaters for long, there is no way that Amazon will recoup its costs just from the theatrical release. And this strengthens the argument Amazon's industry rivals have made for the past year: That the studio bought ‘Melania’ to curry favor with the Trump administration.”

However, Stelter smartly noted, “Box office figures are not the only way to measure success, since "Melania" and three companion TV episodes are going to stream on Prime Video, and the studio can eventually recoup more of its spend via advertising and Prime signups.”

When it’s all said and done, Trump fans will paint the documentary as a success, while detractors will call it a loser. As I said, it’s complicated.


** This is not complicated
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So what are people actually saying about the movie?

Well, the Rotten Tomatoes score of the documentary as of Sunday evening was at 10% — a number that appears to be boosted by new accounts that likely were Trump and/or Melania supporters.

You may have seen a false post on your social media feed that said Variety wrote that if the movie was shown on a plane, people would still walk out. However, to be clear, the Variety review did not include that line ([link removed]) . However, Owen Gleiberman’s review for Variety ([link removed]) was not a good one. Gleiberman wrote, “‘Melania’ is a documentary that never comes to life. It’s a ‘portrait’ of the First Lady of the United States, but it’s so orchestrated and airbrushed and stage-managed that it barely rises to the level of a shameless infomercial. Is it cheesy? At moments, but mostly it’s inert. It feels like it’s been stitched together out of the most innocuous outtakes from a reality show. There’s no drama to it. It should have been called ‘Day of the Living Tradwife.’”

The headline on Alexandra Petri’s story for The Atlantic ([link removed]) called “Melania” a “horror movie.” Petri wrote, “Fans of the Melania Cinematic Universe may wonder what has happened to the protagonist of Melania (the memoir) and Melania (the creator of the Cursed Red White House Christmas Forest) since her last foray into entertainment. Bad news! The first lady is trapped in an invisible bubble from which she will never be able to escape as long as she lives, and she hasn’t even noticed.”

Petri added, “Every so often, Melania almost senses that something is wrong; she experiences a ripple of genuine feeling when facing her grief over the loss of her mother and the raw anguish of an October 7 hostage whose husband was being held captive. But for the most part, the movie reveals how well insulated she is from anything resembling human life, like a cheetah in the house of a Russian oligarch.”

USA Today’s Brian Truitt wrote ([link removed]) , “‘Melania’ doesn't quite work as a documentary, though that doesn't matter: People who don't like the Trumps won't go near the theater, and those who love the Trumps probably will. Just don't expect much insight either way: While it does offer an extremely flattering view of all things Melania, outside of a few candid glimpses, you're not going to learn a lot about who she really is.”

For The Hollywood Reporter, Frank Scheck wrote ([link removed]) , “To say that Melania is a hagiography would be an insult to hagiographies. This is a film that fawns so lavishly over its subject that you feel downright unpatriotic not gushing over it. Fittingly, it was directed by Brett Ratner, whose feature film career was derailed in 2017 after numerous sexual assault allegations that he has denied. But like many unsavory people associated with Donald Trump, he’s apparently received a pardon.”

In a brutal take on the movie, The New York Times’ Maureen Dowd wrote ([link removed]) , “The perennial question about what Melania Trump is really like, behind her exquisite mannequin’s mask, has been answered by her new infomercial, ‘Melania.’ It turns out there is no riddle, no enigma, no mystery, no dark anguish. Melania is not Rapunzel in the tower, pining to be saved from the ogre imprisoning her. She is comfortable in the frosty vertical solitude of the tower, swaddled in luxury.”

Dowd added, “Melania is where she wants to be, in the bosom of a corrupt family that is prostituting the People’s House.”

And the headline on the column by the Los Angeles Times’ Mary McNamara: “‘Melania’ isn’t a documentary. It’s a cynical and stupefying piece of political propaganda.” ([link removed])

For more, check out The New York Times’ Melena Ryzik with “6 Takeaways from ‘Melania,’ the Documentary About the First Lady.” ([link removed])


** Let’s not forget
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Barnes wrote in the New York Times, “Amazon, of course, can also monetize ‘Melania’ on its Prime streaming service, where the film is expected to become available in three to four weeks. But the company’s spending on the documentary was so extreme — it paid $40 million for the rights alone, about $26 million more than the next closest bidder — that a question will linger: Was this all just an attempt for Amazon to ingratiate itself with President Trump?”

And the part that you can’t help but note is that Amazon announced just last week ([link removed]) that it was laying off 16,000 employees, after laying off 14,000 last October ([link removed]) .

In addition, The Washington Post, which is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is expected to undergo severe layoffs at any moment now — including reports that it may make deep cuts to the foreign staff and eliminate the sports section entirely.


** Trump to shut down Kennedy Center for two years
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Trump seemingly has broken the Kennedy Center. Now he is trying to fix it, at least physically.

In his second term, Trump put his name on the performing arts center, put his own hand-picked people in charge of it, and then even hosted the Kennedy Center honors. Of course, ever since Trump asserted control over the center, it has tanked, mostly because performer after performer has canceled appearances there as a protest against Trump.

In a Truth Social post on Sunday ([link removed]) , Trump announced the Kennedy Center would close for two years starting on July 4 for renovations. Trump claimed funding is already secure, but didn’t say from where and for how much.


** Iger stepping away?
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Disney CEO Bob Iger, shown here in April of 2025. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

The Wall Street Journal’s Robbie Whelan, Jessica Toonkel and Ben Fritz report ([link removed]) that Disney CEO Bob Iger has told associates he will step down before his contract expires at the end of the year. The Journal added that Disney’s board of directors will meet this week, when they are expected to vote on who will replace Iger.

The Journal wrote, “In private conversations over the last few months, Iger has told people close to him that he is ready to move on from the grind of being CEO and was frustrated by conflicts at Disney’s ABC network over the brief suspension of late night host Jimmy Kimmel, people who have spoken with him said.”

The Journal also added that the timing of Iger’s departure has yet to be determined and could change. Iger is expected to stay on as CEO, even after his successor is named, so he can help with the transition. In addition, Iger would end up with a seat on the board.

It’s believed the two leading candidates to replace Iger are Josh D’Amaro, who oversees Disney’s parks business, or Dana Walden, who oversees Disney’s entertainment and streaming businesses. At one time, some thought ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro was a potential candidate, but he has said in the past that running ESPN is his “dream job.”

The New York Times’ Brooks Barnes wrote over the weekend about D’Amaro in “Can This Man Break Disney’s Succession Curse?” ([link removed])

A MESSAGE FROM POYNTER
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** Media tidbits
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* The Associated Press’ David Bauder writes about The Minnesota Star Tribune in “In Minneapolis, all-encompassing immigration story tests a newsroom in midst of digital transition.” ([link removed])
* Mediaite’s Sarah Rumpf with “ProPublica Identifies Fed Agents Who Shot Alex Pretti: ‘Few Investigations That Deserve More Sunlight.’” ([link removed])
* The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand with “Government regulators approve ESPN’s billion-dollar acquisition of multiple NFL Media assets.” ([link removed])
* And here’s Awful Announcing’s Drew Lerner with “How did the ESPN-NFL mega-deal get approved so quickly?” ([link removed])
* NPR’s David Folkenflik with “Kari Lake promotes Trump on Voice of America. Does that break the law?” ([link removed])


** Hot type
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* The New York Times’ Yewande Komolafe with “How Losing My Limbs Turned Me Into a Different Kind of Cook.” ([link removed])


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Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

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