In North America, though nations have historically respected the press, journalists in these countries are being challenged by the very institutions on which they report. Journalists and the media regularly face verbal and physical threats, denied access to information, as laws and lawsuits restricting their rights multiply.
Is that it?
How about: “journalists in these countries are being challenged by the very institutions they used to be part of, as pluralism plummets, self-censorship rises to heights not seen since the 1950s and tribal ideology becomes more important than objective reporting in a world aswim in misinformation and deliberately encouraged bias”.