This study examines news professionals’ responses to external attacks from the right-wing populist political elite. When facing negative reporting of their government's handling of the COVID-19 crisis, Jair Bolsonaro, limited and delayed access to information while using physical and psychological threats to control and intimidate the media. In reaction, many Brazilian journalists and news outlets employed distinct adaptive coping strategies to protect the image of quality journalism and reinforcing the profession's legitimacy in society. As a response to verbal harassment and physical aggression, segments of the national media stopped holding informal news conferences outside the presidential palace. Additionally, they collaborated on a project to address the government's delay in releasing data about the coronavirus and solidarized with peers in resisting the undue President's interference in their work.