Trump's threats put press freedom in the crosshairs for his second term

Legal experts and journalism advocacy groups are warning that after a campaign marked by harsh rhetoric against journalists, calls to punish television networks, and demands to prosecute journalists and their sources, Donald Trump may have an easier time restricting press freedom during his second term in the White House.

Beyond concerns that Trump is inciting violence against journalists by demonizing the press, advocates for press freedom seem most worried about Trump's calls for the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to revoke the broadcast licenses of TV channels and his talk of jailing journalists who refuse to reveal their anonymous sources.

Nevertheless, despite the conservative majority on the Supreme Court and the fact that the House of Representatives and the Senate are likely to be under Republican control, these same individuals also say that America's strong First Amendment protections, along with proposed legislation to protect sources and the nature of technology, mean that a shrinking of the press under a Trump administration is not a certainty.

Heidi Kitrosser, a law professor at Northwestern University, stated, “My big-picture concern is that Trump will do exactly what he says he wants to do to us, which is to punish those who criticize him.”