Poynter is reporting that the Trump administration is pursuing a significantly broader crackdown on government leaks. The Washington Post said the White House is preparing a government-wide nondisclosure agreement, set for a 30-day public comment period, that broadly defines "confidential government information" beyond typical classified designations. It said the draft would block employees from sharing "non-public, confidential, or proprietary information" or "any sensitive, pre-decisional or deliberative material that is not currently publicly available and should not be disclosed under applicable law." CNN reported the draft agreement cites "unauthorized disclosures" to The New York Times and The Washington Post regarding a U.S. raid on Venezuela earlier this year. Politico noted that if an employee violates the rule, the administration could seek legal punishment, including financial restitution such as "royalties" received from disclosing the confidential information. The Guardian pointed out that federal law prohibits government retaliation against federal workers who disclose fraud, abuse, and misconduct to internal government watchdogs and Congress, meaning the NDA would not apply to such disclosures. The Associated Press quoted American Federation of Government Employees National president Everett Kelley, who called the proposed NDA an attempt to "purge the civil service of nonpartisan career employees" and replace them with loyalists.
Poynter also highlighted that CBS News did not mention the finale of Stephen Colbert’s late-night show on "CBS Mornings." Puck reported this omission was a specific directive from CBS News president Tom Cibrowski, who was reportedly angered by a Colbert bit mocking CBS News' failure to secure a China visa for anchor Tony Dokoupil.
Separately, Poynter noted that The Guardian’s U.S. operation achieved record revenues of more than $81 million in its most recent fiscal year. Axios said this marks the highest revenue since its U.S. launch 15 years ago, driven largely by reader donations, which constitute 70.7% of annual revenues. Advertising makes up approximately a quarter of the revenue, and most reader donations are recurring.