Many Americans Don’t Care Much for Press Freedoms; a Tariff on Movie Production? Coachella Valley Independent’s Indy Digest: May 5, 2025

Indy Digest: May 5, 2025

Over the last several days, you likely received some fundraising emails from us—timed to coincide with World Press Freedom Day, which is on May 3 each year.

To those of you who sent us some financial support, or have done so before: Thank you! (To those of you who were thinking about it, but didn’t get around to it, you can still do so here!)

Some readers also sent emails of encouragement. Those were appreciated just as much as the money; thank you to those of you who sent them.

However, I also received some, shall we say, less-than-encouraging emails. In each case, I tried to engage the reader to learn more about their misgivings regarding press freedoms. Here are verbatim quotes from two of those readers—one a reader of the Independent, and the other a reader of our sister paper in Reno.

Reader No. 1 was someone who said she wanted facts, not opinions, from her news sources. She also took issue that a statement in one of the emails that press freedoms are “increasingly under threat in the current administration.” When I sent her several examples of Trump’s attacks on press freedoms, she said this:

Respectfully, President Trump is not attacking the Press. He is clamping down on Press bias trying to influence readers to their views. Why is he defunding PBS and NPR? Because they are left, liberal and totally biased in that direction. Why should the government (our tax dollars) pay for only one viewpoint. Let them pay their way like everyone else and they can have whatever slant they want. He sued 60 minutes because they admitted to blatantly editing the interview to help the Harris campaign. Is that the media’s job? The AP issue- is the media above the President to openly defy him to push their own opinions- all to influence readership. (Do) you forget that the Biden administration brought the biggest censorship we gave ever had as a country? If you said anything on any platform against the woke pushed narrative, you were banned or account closed. Sorry, but it has everything to do with political beliefs.

Okay. Here’s the second:

The media is supporting the illegal criminal elements, murderers, rapists and drug dealers to name the worst. Apparently you also wish for the corruption, waste and incompetence in government agencies to continue. You are so fixated on opposing Trump that you are willing to further divide our country no matter how damaging. You know it but either refuse to admit it and do it on purpose. Or you’re stupid. I doubt that you are stupid. 

According to the UN’s World Press Freedom Day website: “May 3 acts as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom. It is also a day of reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics. It is an opportunity to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom; assess the state of press freedom throughout the world; defend the media from attacks on their independence; and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty.”

Note that it does not say “defend the media that you like from attacks on their independence.”

Let’s focus in a little closer to home, and take a look at the First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” The National Constitution Center says: “Although the First Amendment says ‘Congress,’ the Supreme Court has held that speakers are protected against all government agencies and officials: federal, state, and local, and legislative, executive, or judicial.”

Presidents generally don’t try to destroy media outlets they dislike. But the actions Trump has taken, and is talking about taking, against media outlets goes against everything the First Amendment stands for—and millions of his supporters are completely fine with that.

—Jimmy Boegle

More News

• Speaking of the president not thinking the Constitution applies to him: As NBC News explained in a headline, “Trump, asked if he has to ‘uphold the Constitution,’ says, ‘I don’t know.’” Details: “President Donald Trump argued in an interview with NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press’ that fulfilling his ambitious campaign promise to rapidly carry out mass deportations may take precedence over giving immigrants the right to due process under the Constitution, as required by courts. … In an interview last month with ‘Meet the Press,’ Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, ‘Yes, of course,’ when asked whether every person in the United States is entitled to due process. Trump, however, isn’t so sure. ‘I don’t know. I’m not, I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know,’ Trump replied when asked by ‘Meet the Press’ moderator Kristen Welker whether he agreed with Rubio. His comments came during a wide-ranging interview at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, which aired Sunday.”

• Meanwhile, the president announced he’d enact a 100 percent tariff on movies made outside of the United States. The Los Angeles Times points out that it’s unclear how that would work: “Looking to boost the production of Hollywood movies in the U.S., President Trump on Sunday announced a new 100% tariff applied on films produced overseas. But studio executives on Sunday were surprised by the announcement, saying they had no advance notice of the tariffs plan and didn’t know the details of how it would be applied. For more than two decades, major studios have shifted movie production to cheaper countries, including Canada, U.K., Bulgaria, New Zealand, Australia and other countries that offer generous tax benefits to build their local economies, luring films away from Hollywood. The migration of high-paying jobs has become a critical issue for Los Angeles, which has seen a dramatic loss in film production and jobs in recent years. … Movie executives reached Sunday privately wondered how a tariff would be imposed on a film, which, like a car, has components made in different countries while post-production often occurs in the U.S.“

• The Associated Press offers an update on measles outbreaks in the U.S.: “One-fifth of states have active measles outbreaks as confirmed cases nationwide keep ticking up, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC’s confirmed measles case count is 935, more than triple the amount seen in all of 2024. The three-month outbreak in Texas accounts for the vast majority of cases, with 683 confirmed as of Friday. The outbreak has also spread to New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas. Two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children died from measles-related illnesses in the epicenter in West Texas, and an adult in New Mexico who was not vaccinated died of a measles-related illness. Other states with active outbreaks—defined as three or more cases—include Indiana, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.”

• Southern California’s largest newspaper just endured another round of layoffs. NBC Los Angeles reports: “The Los Angeles Times’ newsroom lost more people to a new round of layoffs, the Los Angeles Times Guild, a union for the journalists, announced Friday. A total of 14 people were laid off this time, with the newsroom losing 6% of its staff. The union said this was the third round of newsroom layoffs in recent years. In January 2025, more than 115 journalists were let go, decimating nearly a quarter of the newsroom then. ‘What was once one of the nation’s most widely read newspapers has become a shadow of its former self, our ranks halved in just three years,’ the union said in a statement.“

• Today’s recall news involves … pressure cookers! The AP says: “SharkNinja is recalling more than 2 million pressure cookers sold in the U.S. and Canada—after consumers reported over 100 burn injuries spanning from a hazard that can cause hot food to spew out. According to a recall notice published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on Thursday, Ninja-branded ‘Foodi OP300 Series Multi-Function Pressure Cookers’ have a lid that can be opened while the cooker is in use. That can cause hot contents to escape from the product, posing serious burn risks. SharkNinja has received 106 reports of burn injuries in the U.S.—including more than 50 reports of second or third-degree burns to the face or body, per the CPSC, which adds that 26 lawsuits have been filed as a result. No additional injuries have been reported in Canada, an accompanying notice from Health Canada notes.”

• And finally … buttons are making a comeback on vehicles. Why are manufacturers returning to buttons over touch screens? Wired explains: “Automakers that nest key controls deep in touchscreen menus—forcing motorists to drive eyes-down rather than concentrate on the road ahead—may have their non-US safety ratings clipped next year. From January, Europe’s crash-testing organization EuroNCAP, or New Car Assessment Program, will incentivize automakers to fit physical, easy-to-use, and tactile controls to achieve the highest safety ratings. ‘Manufacturers are on notice,’ EuroNCAP’s director of strategic development Matthew Avery tells WIRED, ‘they’ve got to bring back buttons.’ Driving is one of the most cerebrally challenging things humans manage regularly—yet in recent years manufacturers seem almost addicted to switch-free, touchscreen-laden cockpits that, while pleasing to those keen on minimalistic design, are devoid of physical feedback and thus demand visual interaction, sometimes at the precise moment when eyes should be fixed on the road.”

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