To the leaders of the most powerful media companies in the United States:

We urge you to stand with us in defense of an independent media system that holds people in power accountable.

We call on you to reject bullying, manipulation and harassment by the Trump administration. Do not compromise your independence to curry favor with an abusive and corrupt regime. The U.S. Constitution has your back, and so do we.

The First Amendment protects the media’s right to be free of government interference in editorial decisions. This freedom is essential to a functioning and healthy democracy. But press freedom is of little value when media companies put profits before people, capitulate to political pressures and fail to act as the people’s watchdogs.

Since Donald Trump took office in January 2025, far too many media owners have caved to pressure from the Trump administration in the misguided belief that toeing the White House line will win them regulatory favors, official approval of business mergers or other benefits. Fearing retribution, other media owners have settled meritless lawsuits from the president and his allies.

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    Courage, Not Capitulation.

    Tell Media Billionaires: Don't Cave to Trump

    The early framers of the U.S. Constitution baked checks and balances into the DNA of our democratic system. Chief among these is the First Amendment guarantee of a free press, ensuring that our media has the inalienable right to hold accountable any power-hungry president. What the framers didn’t foresee was the rise of media conglomerates, sprawling corporate behemoths whose interests are so inextricably entangled with political leadership that they’re incapable and reluctant to provide this essential check against authoritarianism. Unfortunately, that is where we are today. Rather than challenge a law-breaking executive, many of the nation’s largest media companies, including Disney (which owns ABC) and Paramount (CBS), have bent a knee before President Trump.

    Tell the owners of the country's 35 largest and wealthiest media companies: "Don't cave to the Trump administration." They must hear from people like you that they have a vital obligation to defend democracy and hold political leaders accountable for abuses of power.