**Helen Pidd** reports from the Labour conference in Liverpool as Andy Burnham lays out his grand plans as prime minister. With deputy political editor **Jessica Elgot** Presented by Helen Pidd with Jessica Elgot; produced by Saskia Collette, Eli Block, Ruth Abrahams and Ross Burns; executive producers Sami Kent and Homa Khaleeli With the midterm elections approaching, voters need fact-based reporting to decide the future of our country. Facing declining popularity, Donald Trump is accelerating his attacks on journalists’ First Amendment rights.
Before you close this tab, can we ask you to support the Guardian at this critical time for journalism in the US? The assault on the free press makes it more difficult to report on top election issues like the war in Iran, immigration enforcement, and AI’s potentially existential threat to humanity. Most recently, Trump banned CNN, MS Now and Politico from the White House, in retaliation for “negative” coverage.
While a federal judge has restored White House access for now, saying the ban is likely unconstitutional, Trump is still blocking CNN from Air Force One. At the same time, Trump is using the FCC – which is supposed to be an independent regulator in the public interest – to settle political scores: The FCC targeted ABC after Jimmy Kimmel made a joke about the First Lady, and Trump suggested that the agency should punish the host of Meet the Press for making a factual statement the president disliked. The Pentagon, meanwhile, fired the editor of Stars and Stripes newspaper for “insubordination” shortly after they reported on a suicide attempt aboard the USS Lincoln, the Navy aircraft carrier reported to be in dire straits after 10 months at sea.
Making matters worse, many of the US’s largest news organizations are now owned by billionaires whose personal and business interests may imperil the outlets’ editorial independence. Media critics have observed how CBS News, now owned by a Trump ally, has softened its coverage; CNN could be taken over by the same billionaire; and Jeff Bezos has imposed extreme staff cuts and editorial interventions at the Washington Post. When freedom is under attack, it falls to a determined few news organizations to ensure the full truth still reaches the public.
The Guardian is owned neither by a billionaire nor a corporation and remains dedicated to keeping trustworthy journalism paywall-free for the world. **Despite the risks of maintaining our fierce independence, what sustains us – and fills us with deep gratitude – is the unwavering support we’ve seen from readers. A majority of our funding comes directly from readers. Your support not only powers our work, but more importantly, it safeguards the financial independence that underpins our editorial freedom and courage.** We know our requests for support are not as welcome as our journalism, but without them our journalism wouldn’t exist.
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