From condemning journalists and calling them “Scum” and “Slime,” Trump says that people who believe in freedom of speech are “Foolish people.” In an article by Brian Tashman, Trump is quoted as saying, “I would never kill them but I do hate them. And some of them are such lying, disgusting people.” He believes that all negative remarks made of him are “fake news” and pushes this narrative constantly. Trump even requested that reporter Terry Moran be suspended, after he made a Twitter post calling the president and Stephen Miller “world-class haters.” ABC honored his request as they saw Moran’s actions as unprofessional. Trump has made an overall hostile environment for journalists as he paints the press as enemies of the people.
Punishing journalists that don’t agree with his viewpoints is a violation of the freedom of press as specified in the First Amendment of the US Constitution. Trump not allowing certain news sources into the White House Press Room for coverage because they wouldn’t use the new name for the Gulf of Mexico is a recent example of this. For an article on Yahoo, Todd Spangler wrote, “A federal appeals court ruled that the White House has the latitude to exclude any journalists it chooses from the Oval Office and other “restricted areas” — including on the basis of a news outlet’s “viewpoint.’” Traditionally, the AP has been allowed at all press briefings rather than be part of the rotation. However, under Trump, they have been forced to change or have been barred completely from participating. Aaron Terr wrote on FIRE, “That doesn’t mean the White House has to allow every reporter in the world into the Oval Office or briefing room. Space constraints obviously make that impossible, and not every journalist will manage to secure a press pass. But the reason for denying access matters. When the government shuts out journalists explicitly because it dislikes their reporting or political views, that violates the First Amendment.”
Trump and his administration have made their disdain of the press very obvious, but why do they hate the news? The main reason for him constantly attacking news stations that don’t align with his viewpoints while holding ones that do up on a pedestal is because he wants positive coverage of himself rather than the unbiased viewpoints. Rather than address the disagreement or criticism directly, he tells his supporters that the free press and the people in the news rooms are not on their side and are spreading “fake news.”
In his article for the BBC, Anthony Zurcher, discusses the irony of Trump’s use of the “fake news” label. He criticizes the New York Times and complains about their use of anonymous sources in articles that criticize him, yes “Mr. Trump cites New York Times reports about details of Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation that are based on anonymous sources.” It matters less that the source is anonymous and more whether he likes what the source says. From this instance and many others, it’s clear that the press is only supported by Trump when it supports him and his ideals. It’s become more and more apparent that loyalty is more important than honesty. In this video from CNN, Senator Flake compares Trump to Stalin with his anti-media rhetoric.
Trump is constantly threatening the media. He makes threats of taking media stations off the air: “Think of this, CBS gets a license. And a license is based on honesty. I think they have to take their license away. I do,” he said at a campaign in Colorado. Trump has gone as far as trying to cut budgets for news stations such as PBS and NPR. Paula Kerger, PBS CEO, said, “Without PBS member stations, Americans will lose unique local programming and emergency services in times of crisis; there’s nothing more American than PBS and we are proud to highlight real issues, individuals, and places that would otherwise be overlooked by commercial media.” Kerger’s statement is accurate; people need the news because it helps bring communities together.
In December of 1981, Poland experienced crackdowns on media and free-speech. Radios only played static and the news was replaced with state-run programs. The people refused to watch and started a silent protest, silently saying “we reject your version of the truth.” People in the community even started an underground press. If our normal, unbiased, factual news is destroyed and replaced by government-regulated news then, like Kerger said, real issues and special stories will be overshadowed. “The proposal, which is explicitly viewpoint-based and aimed at controlling and punishing content, violates the Public Broadcasting Act, the First Amendment, and the Due Process Clause” Katherine Maher, CEO of NPR said.
On another, more recent occasion, Paramount Global settled a lawsuit with the Trump Administration, giving them $16 million. In an article by Michael Schneider covering the lawsuit caused by a 60 Minutes segment Dan Rathers said, “It’s a sad day for journalism… I hope people will read the details of this and understand what it was. It was distortion by the President and a kneeling down and saying, ‘yes, sir,’ by billionaire corporate owners… What really gets me about this is that Paramount didn’t have to settle, you settle a lawsuit when you’ve done something wrong. 60 Minutes did nothing wrong. It followed accepted journalistic practices. Lawyers almost unanimously said the case wouldn’t stand up in court.”
Free press is a cornerstone of democracy. While Trump raises doubt in news sources, he is in turn trying to destroy democracy. A Stanford report from their Social Sciences Department states, “Democracy cannot function without communication. In order for voters to make informed choices among candidates, the voters must learn about the candidates’ policy positions, track records, personalities, past experience and much more… Decades ago, the messages communicated to voters by the media were relatively consistent across information providers; however, with the rise of MSNBC and Fox News, we increasingly see different messages being conveyed by different news outlets. This means that the electorate is not homogeneous in their understandings of the candidates.”
Democracy can be dismantled when news sources give opinions unsupported by facts and the government attacks basic facts merely because those facts contradict the government’s current agenda. Trump has also started to act more like an authoritarian king than a president. “When Donald Trump asserted blanket authority to commandeer the National Guard, he made that order apply to every state in this nation. California may be first, but it won’t be the last. Other states are next. Democracy is next,” said California Governor, Gavin Newsom in a FOX News interview.
While the press is constantly under scrutiny by the current administration, it’s important to remember that we are not your enemy. We take pride in writing and delivering factual, and unbiased information to the public under our journalism ethics.
