The US media landscape is relatively diverse, especially online, but ownership of traditional and mainstream media is highly concentrated. Many large media companies are seeking to merge, risking reductions in journalism jobs and weakening media pluralism. President Trump, meanwhile, has tried to pressure these companies to soften their stance on him and install his allies in leadership positions. Local news is in serious decline, to the point where as many as 50 million Americans lived in “news deserts” in 2025, according to The Medill Local News Initiative. 

Since returning to the White House in 2025, President Trump has extended the war on the press he launched while running for his first presidential term. He has censored government data, attempted to dismantle US public broadcasters, weaponized independent government agencies to punish media that criticize his actions, halted aid funding for media freedom internationally, sued disfavored outlets, and applied pressure to install cronies to lead others. Press freedom in the United States continues to decline as a result of these actions.

The First Amendment to the US Constitution provides broad protections for the press. However, no meaningful press freedom legislation has been passed at the national level in recent years despite the country’s consistent slide on the Press Freedom Index. The PRESS Act, a federal shield law, failed to pass for a second successive time in 2024. More than a dozen states and communities have proposed or enacted laws to limit journalists’ access to public spaces, bar them from legislative meetings, or prevent them from recording the police. The Trump administration is increasingly weaponizing the state’s legal and regulatory systems against the press.

Economic constraints have a considerable impact on journalists. While some public media outlets, and radio stations in particular, have been able to offset this decline thanks to online subscription models, others have found ways to sustain growth through individual donations. Massive waves of layoffs swept the US media in recent years. 

According to recent studies, more Americans have no trust in the media than trust it a fair amount. Online harassment, particularly towards women and minorities, is also a serious issue for journalists and can impact their quality of life and safety. 

Journalists reporting on the ground can face harassment, intimidation and assault while working. When covering demonstrations, journalists are sometimes attacked and physically assaulted by protestors or wrongfully arrested by police. According to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, there were more than 170 attacks on journalists in 2025, nearly double the previous year, driven by an increase in violence against journalists while covering protests and law enforcement activity. The last journalist to be killed in the course of his work was Dylan Lyons in February of 2023.