Case Shows Need to Reform Law, Attorney Says
Immigration Judge Halts Removal of Opinion Writer
Richmond Free Press, Weekly in Va. Capital, Folds
Super Bowl Halftime Show as Cultural Lesson
CBS Producer Quits, Citing Ideological Shift
Attention to Black Missing ‘Shouldn’t Be a Rarity’
NAHJ, Asian American Journos Lobby on Capitol Hill
Sentencing a Blow to Hong Kong Press Freedom
Month After Maduro Ouster, Journalism Still Suffers
Homepage photo:by Benjamin Leynse / Cornell Daily Sun
Amandla Thomas-Johnson in a Black History Month discussion at the University of Exeter’s Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies in Britain in 2020. He told the Intercept, “As a journalist, what’s weird is that you’re so used to seeing things from the outside. We need to think very hard about what resistance looks like under these conditions… where government and Big Tech know so much about us, can track us, can imprison, can destroy us in a variety of ways.” (Credit: YouTube)
Case Shows Need to Reform Law, Attorney Says
Google fulfilled an Immigration and Customs Enforcement subpoena that demanded a wide array of personal data on an activist Black British journalist who is a U.S. Ph.D. student, including his credit card and bank account numbers, according to a copy of an ICE subpoena obtained by The Intercept, Jessica Washington reported Tuesday for The Intercept.
“Amandla Thomas-Johnson had attended a protest targeting companies that supplied weapons to Israel at a Cornell University job fair in 2024 for all of five minutes, but the action got him banned from campus. When President Donald Trump assumed office and issued a series of executive orders targeting students who protested in support of Palestinians, Thomas-Johnson and his friend Momodou Taal went into hiding,” Washington continued.
“Google’s public privacy policy acknowledges that it will share personal information in response to an ‘enforceable governmental request,’ adding that its legal team will ‘frequently push back when a request appears to be overly broad or doesn’t follow the correct process.’
“According to Google, the company overwhelmingly complied with the millions of requests made by the government for user information over the last decade. Its data also shows that those requests have spiked over the last five years. It’s unclear how many of those users were given notice of those requests ahead of time or after.
“Thomas-Johnson maintains that he should have been given advance notice so he could challenge it.
“ ‘I’d already seen the subpoena request that Google and Meta had sent to Momodou [Taal], and I knew that he had gotten in touch with a lawyer and the lawyer successfully challenged that,’ Thomas-Johnson said. ‘I was quite surprised to see that I didn’t have that opportunity.’
“The subpoena provides no justification for why ICE is asking for this information, except that it’s required ‘in connection with an investigation or inquiry relating to the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.’ In the subpoena, ICE requests that Google not ‘disclose the existence of this summons for indefinite period of time.’ ”
Neil Richards, a law professor at Washington University St. Louis who specializes in privacy, the internet and civil liberties, “said that cases like these emphasize the need for legal reforms around data privacy and urged Congress to amend the Stored Communications Act to require a higher standard before the government can access our digital data. He also said the federal government needs to regulate Big Tech and place ‘substantive restrictions on their ability to share information with the government’,“ Washington reported.
She also wrote, “Thomas-Johnson believes that ICE requested that information to track and eventually detain him — but he had already fled to Geneva, Switzerland, and is now in Dakar, Senegal.”
Thomas-Johnson is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Literatures in English at Cornell University according to a brief bio by Al Jazeera. “As a journalist, he has reported from a dozen countries across Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Trained at [Britain’s] Channel 4, his work has appeared in Aljazeera, the Guardian, Middle East Eye, BBC and the Daily Telegraph, among others.”
He is of Afro-Caribbean background and wrote a book in 2020, “Becoming Kwame Ture,” about the former Stokely Carmichael as a Pan-Africanist.
“Amandla” is a Zulu and Xhosa word meaning “power” or “strength,” popularized during the anti-apartheid movement as a South African liberation slogan.
“So, @Google handed ICE my credit card and bank account numbers as they attempted to track and detain me. I fled to Switzerland before they could. Now my lawyer at @EFF has written to @Google @Meta, and other tech companies urging them to resist fulfilling subpoenas,” Thomas-Johnson wrote Tuesday on X. He is now in Senegal, the Intercept reported.
Immigration Judge Halts Removal of Opinion Writer
“An immigration judge terminated removal proceedings against Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk (credit), who was detained for over a month last year as part of the Trump administration’s effort to target and deport international students and activists involved in pro-Palestinian advocacy, her lawyers said Monday,” Danya Gainor reported Monday for CNN.
“The Department of Homeland Security hadn’t met its burden to prove Öztürk’s removability, prompting the immigration court to end removal proceedings against her, according to a letter from her attorneys submitted in court and a federal appeals court docket.
“The move comes after recently unsealed court documents showed the federal government didn’t have any evidence that Öztürk had been supporting terrorist activity when she was arrested, and that her visa revocation and arrest were because of an opinion article she wrote containing criticisms of Israel. . . .”
- Jacob Bogage, Jeff Stein and Perry Stein, Washington Post: IRS improperly disclosed confidential immigrant tax data to DHS
- Zak Failla, Laurel (Md.) Daily Voice: [Haitian Journalist] Sauvenson Calixte Detained By ICE In Maryland After Birthday (Oct. 7)
Richmond Free Press, Weekly in Va. Capital, Folds
The Richmond (Va.) Free Press, a Black weekly founded 34 years ago by the late Raymond Boone, a veteran of the Black press, is ending publication, his wife, Jean Boone, announced Thursday.
“We know for sure that we do not have the advertising support to continue,” she wrote on Facebook. “The Free Press was founded on the principles of truth-telling, robust debate and giving voice to those who need a champion for their righteous causes.”
Michael Paul Williams, a Black journalist who is a columnist for the daily Richmond Times-Dispatch, messaged Journal-isms:
“The loss of the Richmond Free Press is awful news and has set off a palpable sense of mourning here. Richmond is a better place for Ray Boone’s vision in launching the Free Press 34 years ago. It gave me comfort to see the Free Press soldier on after his death, in an economic environment that’s challenging for all newspapers. Its closing creates a void that will be difficult if not impossible to fill, at a time when we need Black advocacy journalism more than ever.”
Jean Boone’s statement continued, “When our visionary founder, Raymond H. Boone, my deceased husband, decided in 1992 to step away from a comfortable and consequential position as professor of journalism at Howard University, he stepped out on faith and conviction. And I believed in our combined energy and vision. One offspring in college, the other poised to enter college. We made it work for more than 30 years. Our team has worked as hard and as smart as we know how.
“Each week our advertising lineage has diminished.
“Yet the quality remains.
“Payment has become slower and slower.
“Is it racism?
“Is the Free Press no longer relevant?
“And so, this chapter ends. . . . “
The newspaper claimed an audited circulation of 18,835 and a readership of more than 85,000 through pass-alongs.
But Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., president of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, disclosed Jan. 22 that the Black press has experienced an 80 percent decline in revenue since the backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) ramped up a year ago.
Separately, the New Orleans Tribune, another Black news operation, has announced that it is now digital-only.
Publisher Beverly McKenna wrote, “This move — consolidating our efforts and amplifying our voice online — makes sense. The Tribune has had a digital presence for more than 20 years, beginning after Hurricane Katrina, when New Orleanians were dispersed across the country. We built e-newsletters, a website, and social media while continuing to publish monthly in print. Ending the print edition was hard — but focusing fully on digital was easy. That’s where readers are.”
Super Bowl Halftime Show as Cultural Lesson
“Bad Bunny‘s Super Bowl halftime show — or the ‘Benito Bowl,’ as it was affectionally named by his fans — reached an average of 128.2 million viewers on Sunday,” Selome Hailu reported Tuesday for Variety.
“Measured by Nielsen, that’s above the 124.9 million average viewers achieved by this year’s Super Bowl overall but down from the 133.5 million viewers achieved by Kendrick Lamar, who set the record last year. Before Lamar, the record was held by Usher for his 2024 performance. . . .”
Conducted entirely in Spanish, the event was filled with cultural references, explained on Tik-Tok, above, by one who goes by “Mentally Divine.”
- Jon Caramanica, New York Times: Bad Bunny’s Halftime History Lesson
- Eric Deggans, Substack: Talking Bad Bunny, Super bowl and Kid Rock on Canadian TV news
- Wesley Morris featuring Sasha Weiss, New York Times: Bad Bunny and the Art of Protest (podcast)
- Shaun Harper, Inside Higher Ed: Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Performance Is a Useful Case Study on Culture Capture
- Roy S. Johnson, al.com: Thank you, Bad Bunny, for reminding us who we truly are
- Brittany Luse, Stephen Thompson and Alana Casanova-Burgess, “It’s Been a Minute,” NPR: Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl: a radical act of resistance (podcast)
- Ruben Navarrette, Creators Syndicate: It’s Game Time, America — and Bad Bunny Is One Bad Hombre
- Julio Ricardo Varela, MSNOW: MAGA is screaming foul over Bad Bunny’s halftime show. Here’s why the NFL doesn’t seem to care
- Saad Yousuf, The Athletic: Super Bowl halftime show rankings: Where does Bad Bunny fall among the greats?
NEW: “CBS Evening News” producer Alicia Hastey sends a bombshell farewell note:
Stories are “evaluated not just on their journalistic merit but on whether they conform to a shifting set of ideological expectations.” pic.twitter.com/4orZmbkqRI
— Ben Mullin (@BenMullin) February 12, 2026
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CBS Producer Quits, Citing Ideological Shift
“A producer for the CBS Evening News has abruptly quit the show — citing the ‘shifting set of ideological expectations’ inside the Bari Weiss-run news division,” Joe DePaolo reported Wednesday for Mediaite.
“New York Times media reporter Ben Mullin, in a late Wednesday night post on X, shared screenshots from a note written by CBS Evening News producer Alicia Hastey — who criticized the ‘sweeping new vision’ at the network.
“ ‘There has been a sweeping new vision prioritizing a break from traditional broadcast norms to embrace what has been described as ‘heterodox’ journalism,’ Hastey wrote. She added, ‘Stories may be instead be evaluated not just on their journalistic merit but on whether they conform to a shifting set of ideological expectations — a dynamic that pressures producers and reporters to self-censor or avoid challenging narratives that might trigger backlash or unfavorable headlines.’
“Hastey added, ‘the very excellence we seek to sustain is hindered by fear and uncertainty.’
“The New York Post reported, on Tuesday, that six of approximately 20 producers on the flagship CBS evening newscast took buyouts ahead of impending layoffs.”
Meanwhile, John Knefel reported Wednesday for Media Matters that “A CBS Evening News segment wildly distorted CBS News’ own reporting, incorrectly suggesting to viewers that a much higher percentage of people held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement have violent criminal histories than is actually the case.
“On February 9, CBS News published an exclusive report under the headline: ‘Less than 14% of those arrested by ICE in Trump’s 1st year back in office had violent criminal records, document shows’ . . .
“Viewers of CBS Evening News on February 10 got an entirely inverted picture, one that more closely aligns with the Trump administration’s preferred narrative.
“ ‘ICE arrested nearly 400,000 people in President Trump’s first year in office,’ said anchor Tony Dokoupil. ‘Of those, nearly 60% had criminal histories, meaning charges or convictions, including many for serious crimes such as drug trafficking and child pornography, and several thousand cases involving rape or murder.’ . . .”
- Whitney Wild, CNN: Don Lemon hires former federal prosecutor who resigned over handling of fatal ICE shooting probe
The third season of the podcast series “Untold Stories: Black and Missing” features the case of Broadway Star Zelig Williams. (Credit: YouTube)
Attention to Black Missing ‘Shouldn’t Be a Rarity’
“In the 11 days since the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy Guthrie, from her home in Arizona, thousands of tips have poured in, as well as messages of prayers and support,” Natalie Korach reported Wednesday for the Status newsletter.
Korach added that “In conversations with Status, multiple TV executives said the Guthrie case has sparked renewed internal discussions about security for on-air talent, particularly as anchors increasingly blend their public-facing roles with personal storytelling.”
The intense media attention given the Guthre case coincides with the premiere of the third season of the podcast series “Untold Stories: Black and Missing” on Feb. 18.
Journal-isms asked the Black and Missing Foundation, which produces the podcast series, for its perspective on the Guthrie case.
“Our first hope is always for a safe recovery, and we certainly want that for Nancy Guthrie and her family. No family should have to experience the trauma of a disappearance,” messaged co-founder Natalie Wilson (pictured).
“Your observation about the media cycle is exactly why we stay so focused on our mission. Extensive coverage is a powerful tool because it directly results in recoveries through community engagement and puts necessary pressure on law enforcement to allocate more resources.
“Our work is dedicated to securing that same visibility for families we serve and those whose stories often stay under the radar. We believe that level of pressure and attention shouldn’t be a rarity, but a standard we fight for in every case we represent.”
Moderated by NOTUS reporter Daniella Diaz, standing, panelists were, from left, Karina Cuevas (“PBS News Hour”), Jerry Zremski (Philip Merrill College of Journalism), Joseph Torres (Free Press) and Deena Shetler (Federal Communications Commission). They “examined the real-world consequences of consolidation on local journalism and community-centered media.” (Credit: NAHJ)
NAHJ, Asian American Journos Lobby on Capitol Hill
Hispanic and Asian American journalists joined the organization Hispanic Tech and Telecommunications Partnerships and other groups this week to lobby on Capitol Hill “in an effort to relay the value of community/local journalism,” La Voz Colorado reported Wednesday.
“Same advocacy groups met with some members of Congress to speak about the current pending merger/consolidation of local stations/outlets that would allow a single corporation (Nexstar acquisition of Tegna) in a acquisition of over 265 TV stations, reaching over 80 percent of U.S. households. The current ownership cap is now at 39 percent. (Photo shows past and present NAHJ activists and officeholders.)
“This merger is under review and if approved would diminish local/community journalism, reduce viewpoint diversity, will be contrary to public interest and will affect community information/reach to Latinos and all ethnic communities. As it stands, this merger would result in an overall generic reach to all audiences, excluding diversity in journalism.”
The effort is part of a year-long conversation tour by NAHJ “tackling the biggest challenges facing journalism and the communities we serve” the association announced.
“Our first event at THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB OF WASHINGTON DC tackled media consolidation and its impact on democracy. . . . ‘Our communities are profitable,’ ” Karina Cuevas of the “PBS News Hour” said. ” ‘What was last night? The highest-rated halftime show. Everybody was watching the Benito Bowl. It’s a good look into what the future of journalism for the Latino community looks like.’ ”
Sentencing a Blow to Hong Kong Press Freedom
“Hong Kong’s most vocal China critic, media tycoon Jimmy Lai, was sentenced on Monday to 20 years in jail, ending the city’s biggest national security case that has fueled global concerns about Beijing’s clampdown on freedoms in the ex-British colony,” James Pomfret and Jessie Pang reported Sunday, updated Monday, for Reuters.
“Lai’s sentence on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one for publishing seditious materials ends a legal saga that has lasted nearly five years.
“The 78-year-old British citizen had denied all the charges against him, telling the court he was a ‘political prisoner’ facing persecution from Beijing. . . .”
The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned that sentencing as well as the jail terms of six to 10 years for former colleagues from the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper. It was Hong Kong’s largest media trial.
“The rule of law has been completely shattered in Hong Kong,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “Today’s egregious decision is the final nail in the coffin for freedom of the press in Hong Kong. The international community must step up its pressure to free Jimmy Lai if we want press freedom to be respected anywhere in the world.”
Month After Maduro Ouster, Journalism Still Suffers
“One month after January 3rd,” when the United States launched an incursion into Venezuela and removed its strongman president, Nicolas Maduro, “the Venezuelan news landscape shows no signs of recovery,” Venezuela’s Press and Society Institute reported Feb. 3.
“What has unfolded since then is a sequence of events that confirms the persistence of an adverse environment for the practice of journalism, marked by direct controls, administrative sanctions, public warnings, and the repeated use of state force as a mechanism for suppressing information.
“This scenario was reinforced by the declaration of a State of External Disturbance through Decree No. 5,200, which established a nationwide state of emergency for 90 days, renewable. Although the decree is based on constitutional provisions and the Organic Law on States of Emergency, its wording grants broad powers to the Executive Branch without precisely defining which rights can be restricted or under what criteria.
“This lack of clarity expands the scope of state discretion and poses direct risks to freedom of expression and the right to information by enabling vague and potentially disproportionate restrictions.
“Provisions such as the possibility of prosecuting those who ‘promote or support’ military actions, without defining these concepts, open the door to arbitrary interpretations that can affect opinions, analyses, or journalistic coverage, reinforcing a climate of fear and self-censorship in a context already marked by institutional weakness and the absence of effective controls. . . .”
