Week 6: Can Trump Shut The Media Out?

Donald Trump and Ben Carson.

You’re probably familiar with Spicer’s work as Donald Trump’s newly appointed White House press secretary.

But the administration’s determination to punish reporters and news outlets whose coverage officials dislike went far beyond the accustomed picking of favorites – and anyone who understands how critical a free and unfettered press is to sustaining a democracy should be deeply concerned.

But Trump’s assault on the media should not come as a surprise. He threatened to sue the New York Times for reporting on sexual assault allegations against him and in May said, “The political press is among the most dishonest people that I’ve ever met”.

The First Amendment protects freedom of speech, and the press.

Matthew Bunn, who co-edited the book “Insider Threat”, told the Hill the White House effort to crack down on leakers by monitoring their phones could wind up producing more leaks as unhappy staffers become more disgruntled.

However, while these latest actions are drastic, they are nothing new: Trump long ago declared war on the press, and spent much of his campaign trying to discredit any negative reports. The media must continually remind us, whether reporting from within the White House press briefing room or not, that the worst thing we can do is to normalize the risky actions of the Trump administration.

White House briefings are an integral part of this protection. Nor are damaged feelings a prime concern. But he was just as clear in saying that Spicer and Trump’s aggressive defensiveness with the press isn’t encouraging overall.

The context is Trump banned these journalists in light of his labeling of time-tested news outlets as “fake news”. The reason he keeps screaming fake news and lying press is because when the story breaks, no one will believe it is factual; especially his base.

I hope the people who voted for Trump are real happy right now.

As to Trump having started his speech acknowledging the shooting death of an Indian man in Kansas City a week or so ago, the former press secretary said, “I think we waited entirely too long for the President of the United States to speak out about that bad violence”. Without a free press, there can be no democracy. Throughout his campaign, Trump insulted dozens of individual reporters. But to some who knew Trump from a different era, it’s a little jarring.

John King wondered why reporters should even trust the White House going forward.

At the heart of journalism lies the desire to deliver truthful, unbiased news that offers information to the public. Politico first reported the meeting Sunday.

“We have sort of ideas”, Trump said. Preventing the normalization of Trump’s tactics will require sustained expressions of umbrage less by media outlets themselves than by other influentials – NGOs, politicians and civic leaders. Are positive stories about the Trump administration falling victim to the bias of omission?

It is important that the media stays focused on the issue, which is: Donald Trump’s relationship with Russian Federation, and unveiling all of their previous business transactions. And also similar to the media conglomerate that they are contemplating on implementing. Although the media does need to be held to a top standard, it is very important that Spicer does the same.