From Hungary to Russia, authoritarian regimes have made silencing independent media one of their defining moves. Sometimes outright censorship isn’t even required to achieve this goal. In the United States, we have seen the administration apply various forms of pressure on news outlets in the year since Trump’s election. One of my great disappointments is how quickly some of the most storied US media organizations have folded when faced with the mere specter of hostility from the administration – long before their hand was forced.

Mostly, this has not been the doing of journalists or editors, but that of billionaire proprietors and corporate brass putting their private interests above the public good. Worryingly, we now seem to be moving into a new phase, with top editorial roles being filled with appointees seen as more palatable to the White House, and reporters’ access to public information

© The Guardian