For a long time, American television news claimed it could not be pushed around. It presented itself as tough, fearless, and independent. That image is now starting to crack in public view.
George Clooney says the problem is no longer subtle. He believes the press should have taken one clear message to heart: don’t back down. Those three words, he argues, capture exactly what networks like ABC and CBS needed to do when facing lawsuits from Donald Trump.
The actor says major news networks showed weakness when they chose to settle legal fights with Donald Trump instead of fighting back. To Clooney, those choices sent a dangerous signal that pressure works and that even the press can be bent.
Trump has spent much of his second term using lawsuits as a tool. Billion-dollar threats hang over newsrooms. Executives are forced to choose between defending reporting and protecting business deals. Too often, Clooney says, they pick safety.
ABC moved first.
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Disney agreed to pay millions to settle a defamation claim tied to Trump’s complaints about on-air remarks. Legal experts warned that the case was far from settled law. Still, the company paid and moved on.
That moment mattered.
It showed that large media companies were willing to give ground rather than risk a fight with the White House. Once that door opened, it did not close again.
CBS soon followed.
Paramount paid millions more to end a lawsuit over a 60 Minutes interview. Inside the company, lawyers reportedly believed the case was weak. Outside the company, the timing raised serious questions.
Not long after the settlement, the Trump administration approved Paramount’s major merger deal. The company insisted the two events were unrelated. Many observers were not convinced.
Now lawmakers are asking questions.
Clooney sees this as part of a larger pattern.
He believes media companies are starting to act scared. Stories are delayed. Topics are softened. Decisions are filtered through legal risk rather than public interest.
That fear, he says, quietly reshapes coverage.
CBS News, once known for holding power to account, now faces growing criticism for playing it safe. Editorial choices feel cautious. Some reports never air at all. Viewers may not notice what is missing, but Clooney does.
For him, this issue is personal.
He grew up around newsrooms. His father worked in broadcast news. Clooney also played legendary journalist Edward R Murrow on stage, a man who confronted political power during another tense era.
That history matters now.
Murrow believed the press existed to challenge authority, not comfort it. Clooney fears that belief is slipping away.
The irony is impossible to ignore.
The same political forces demanding cooperation from journalists have spent years attacking the media as dishonest. Free expression, Clooney suggests, suddenly matters only when it benefits those in charge.
Featured image via YouTube screengrab
