Press Under Siege: Media Experts Assess the Impact of Trump’s Attacks

By Mel Laytner

  

  In an afternoon of lively give-and-take, two leading observers of the national news media offered bleak and contrasting assessments of the challenges confronting the press today, from relentless attacks by President Donald Trump to collapsing business models.

 

They offered reasons for despair and some rays of hope. Brian Stelter, chief media analyst for CNN, and Oliver Darcy, publisher of the highly regarded Status newsletter, spoke before a rapt Silurians luncheon on March 19.  

 

Moderator and Silurian Board member Carol Lawson set the tone with a “scary thought,” that “we have an American president who hates the free press and is doing everything he can to destroy it.” Turning to Stelter and Darcy, she asked, “How do you see this moment of Trump in the press and what worries you the most?”

Brian Stelter,  chief media analyst for CNN Worldwide and lead author of the Reliable Sources newsletter.

Oliver Darcy's media newsletter,  Status, has been hailed as a "must read" by the Wall Street Journal.

 Lifetime Achievement Award

Connie Chung, Celebrating a Lifetime of Achievement

The Silurians Press Club is proud to honor Connie Chung, a brave pioneer in broadcast journalism and outstanding talent as its 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.


Connie was the first woman to co-anchor the CBS Evening News and the first Asian to anchor any news program on CBS, NBC or ABC—both milestones in TV history.


In her best selling new book,  “Connie: A Memoir,” which she will speak about, she details her struggles in a largely patriarchal industry—struggles many women journalists have experienced—and still are.

She's won three Emmy Awards, the George Foster Peabody Award, the Edward R. Murrow Award, among others.


But her singular achievement may be that she inspired “Generation Connie,” as a 2023 New York Times headline dubbed it, noting that many Asian American parents have named their babies after her.

Click to Register (Members Only)

Judge Orders Mississippi Newspaper to Remove Editorial

Owner of The Clarksdale Press Register plans to challenge judge’s order against an editorial that criticized city officials.


Click for NY Times Story (paywall)
The logo for the ap is black and red on a white background.

AP sues Trump administration, citing freedom of speech

The AP says case about an unconstitutional effort to control speech — in this case not changing its style from the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America."

Click for AP Story

Many Americans don’t trust the media to cover Trump: Survey

YouGov poll (2/21) found 67% of U.S. respondents said that they don’t have “very much” or any trust that news outlets can state facts fairly, accurately and fully while covering Trump’s second term.

Click for The Hill Article

Fla. Appeals Court Rules Trump Can Pursue Suit Against Pulitzer Board

Dispute rooted in Pulitzer Prize to NY Times and Wash Post for reporting about alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.


Read Miami Herald Story

Judge Orders Mississippi Newspaper to Remove Editorial

Owner of The Clarksdale Press Register plans to challenge judge’s order against an editorial that criticized city officials.


Click for NY Times Story (paywall)

AP sues Trump administration, citing freedom of speech

The AP says case about an unconstitutional effort to control speech — in this case not changing its style from the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America."

Click for AP Story

News Media News

Voice of America wins in court, for now.


Judge issues temporary restraining order barring the agency from “any further attempt to terminate, reduce-in-force, place on leave, or furlough” employees or contractors.

Read AP Story
A close up of a stopwatch on a red background that says `` 60 minutes ''.

Trump and Paramount Agree on Mediator in ‘60 Minutes’ Lawsuit


President Trump’s $20 billion suit accuses CBS News of deceptively editing an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Read NYT Story (paywall)

Radio Free Europe says US shut off its Russian broadcast


"We came into work today and saw that satellite services that reach into Russia had been turned off by USAGM," RFE/RL chief executive Stephen Capus told AFP Association.

Read Story in Barron's

Newsprint continues to be exempt from administration tariffs


USMCA-compliant goods, including newsprint, continue to be exempt from both the 25% tariffs imposed on goods from Canada and Mexico, and the additional 10% baseline tariff announced today.

Read News Media Alliance Press Release

Judge dismisses Gov. Phil Bryant’s lawsuit against Mississippi Today


Circuit Court Judge dismissed defamation lawsuit against Pulitzer Prize winning news outlet that "became a beacon in the fight for American press freedom."

Read Story in Mississippi Today

AP renews court request for reinstatement to White House press pool


"...banning a news agency...for not using the words that a government demands — is extraordinarily unusual in a country whose Constitution guarantees free speech without official interference."

Read AP Story

Voice of America wins in court, for now.


Judge issues temporary restraining order barring the agency from “any further attempt to terminate, reduce-in-force, place on leave, or furlough” employees or contractors.

Read AP Story

Trump and Paramount Agree on Mediator in ‘60 Minutes’ Lawsuit


President Trump’s $20 billion suit accuses CBS News of deceptively editing an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Read NYT Story (paywall)

By Mel Laytner


What is art?

Journalist Bianca Bosker tackled this question head-on, or more accurately, head-first, diving deep and emerging with  Get the Picture, a rollicking expose of New York’s contemporary art scene.


Offering sharp humor and sharper insights, Bosker shared her experiences in a wide-ranging conversation with the Silurians own Betsy Ashton, herself a successful fine artist, at the club’s Feb. 19 luncheon  catered, perhaps ironically, by the National Art Club.


“For most of my adult life, art and I were not on speaking terms,” Bosker said. Wandering through galleries and museums, she recalled she felt“at least two tattoos and a master’s degree away from figuring out” what she was seeing.


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Recent Guests/Speakers

[More] Silurians Speaker/Event Videos

Recent Guests/Speakers

Applications Now Open for Silurians' 80th Excellence in Journalism Awards

  • We're the only awards program exclusively honoring local news coverage in the Metro area. 
  • Awards presented in 16 categories.
  • Deadline: Monday April 7, 2025.
Click for complete contest rules and application.

A Silurian at the Met Museum of Art: Chester Higgins, Jr.

Award winning photographer's fascination with Egypt

By Roberta Hershenson

One of the hottest art shows  in town this winter was “Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876—Now,” which closed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Feb. 17. Critic Jason Farago, writing in the New York Times, called the show “winningly eclectic” and “beautifully designed,” while referring to Ancient Egypt as “an inspiration but also a lost dream” for the Black diaspora.

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Photo by Betsy Kissam

Chester Higgins, Jr., flanked by his two pieces in the Met’s “Flight Into Egypt” exhibit: “My two images help celebrate the African presence in the ancient Egyptian civilization.”

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