Free Press Must Fight to Stay Free

Photo Credit engin akyurt @enginakyurt

The banning of the Associated Press (AP) from White House briefings because it refuses to accept the President's new "Gulf of America" designation.  The resignation of a longtime "60 Minutes" executive producer because of a threatened loss of independence in choosing what stories to cover.  The repeal of a Biden era policy that provided protections to journalists in leak investigations.

These are just some of the recent assaults on America's free press by the Trump administration.

Not sense the infamous "Enemies List" put out by former President Richard M. Nixon during the darkest days of the Watergate scandal in the 1970s has the media been under such relentless attack from an administration in power.

What can reporters do to fight back and preserve their constitutional freedoms and help protect America's democracy?

To get some perspective, CommPRO asked a panel of journalists.

John Dempsey, longtime news anchor at Chicago's legendary WLS-AM, voices concern that Trump's pattern of cracking down on big companies that own media outlets in order to eradicate critical coverage of his policies will continue.

He notes that Paramount, which is the parent company of CBS News, is engaged in talks with lawyers for President Trump to settle a lawsuit Trump filed against the network that accused CBS' "60 Minutes" of "deceptively editing" an interview with Democratic Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris last year. 

"Even though most legal experts believe there are no grounds for this lawsuit," Dempsey continues,  "Paramount needs Trump administration approval for its effort to sell the company to the Hollywood studio Skydance.   That financial pressure makes it more likely that Paramount will settle the suit with Trump, which will be seen as a successful example of his attempt to influence news coverage of him, and his administration."

He warms that if that happens it will mean that appeasing Trump, and possibly cracking down on aggressive coverage of him by CBS News, is more important to Paramount than journalistic integrity.   

Dempsey points to a similar action taken by ABC News, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company, to pay Trump $16 million to settle a defamation case that most legal experts considered frivolous.   

"Unfortunately, I predict such big companies will continue to look to settle legal disputes with Trump even if it means restricting their news coverage," he says.

Regarding Trump's efforts to limit access to the AP, Dempsey believes that there is little the news organization can do, besides suing the administration as it has already done.   

While noting that a federal judge ruled in the AP's favor, Dempsey points out that the Trump administration has been ignoring that order and decided to admit AP reporters to certain events on a case by case basis.   

"While the AP seems to be on solid legal ground, there is little it can do if the Trump administration ignores the court order," he says.

To Ernest L. Wiggins, an independent scholar and professor emeritus at the University of South Carolina School of Journalism, Trump's actions with the media are part of an overall strategy to sow confusion and render reporters impotent.

"This administration seems to be banking on uncertainty to keep the media and the general public unsettled and in a reactive mode, unable to plan a strategy or a well-reasoned response to statements and actions by the executive and legislative branches." he says.  

Wiggins adds that the flood of Trump's  executive orders and startling array of incompetence displayed by agency heads and department secretaries is to overwhelm, frustrate and ultimately demoralize the citizenry -- to take the fight out of a disgruntled public, leaving them grateful when the drama finally subsides and some semblance of order is allowed to take hold. 

"I don't know if that is true," he states,  "but it would not surprise me, at all. It is as feasible of an explanation for what is happening as anything!"

Wiggins argues that covering public entities is much easier when dealing with honest     agents who recognize the responsible media's mission of informing the public about     the actions of elected officials, the impact of their decisions as well as the anticipated outcomes. 

"When the newsmakers are more interested in sowing confusion and distrust, it is difficult to rein them in with reason or correct deliberate falsehoods, calculated misinformation and gross propaganda," he adds, pointing out that a fact-checking industry has sprung up in answer to rampant dishonesty in the public sphere, a lot of it generated in social media.

Wiggins notes that since journalists act as proxies for the American public, they should be treated respectfully by Trump and others in his administration.

"When he treats them with contempt by assaulting their freedoms, Trump is also treating the American people with contempt," he reflects.  "When his administration demonstrates no obligation to be truthful to the press, they are saying they are ready and willing to lie to citizens as well."

Wiggins believes that as part of their pushback on Trump's assaults, reporters need to dig in while making abundantly clear that it is really the American people whom they represent that are in attendance at White House press briefings and other events.

"This might not resonate with the current administration but the message would not be just for them. It would be for the listening and reading public, maybe even more so, in fact."

To Richard Greb, a veteran reporter with Reuters, the Associated Press and the Chicago Tribune, Trump's assaults on the free press go along with his desire to be a dictator.

Emphasizing that the mission of the free press is to stay free, Greb urges news people to keep reporting as accurately and promptly as possible what Trump is doing and the consequences of his actions.

"The impact will ultimately trickle down to the American public who will then make up their own minds on how best to respond," he says, pointing out that recent polls have shown the unpopularity of Trump and his policies on tariffs, immigration and other issues.

Greb observes that public opinion fueled by extensive and accurate news coverage can help alter bad policies.

"We are already seeing some evidence of that by Trump's willingness to talk with America's leading trading partners to lessen the tariffs, which have rung alarm bells on both Wall Street and Main Street," he states.

Despite decisions by owners of the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times to cancel anti-Trump endorsements, Greb is heartened by coverage from those platforms and others who continue to print hard hitting stories that are often critical of the administration.

"We also see that the Rupert Murdoch owned Wall Street Journal, sister outlet of Trump friendly Fox News, seems to be attacking the president's tariff and economic policies on a daily basis," he adds.

Greb expresses optimism that despite the challenges this administration poses to its freedom, there is a vibrancy and resiliency to the American press that will ultimately prevail, safeguarding its historic role as the "Fourth Estate" which serves as a critical check on our leaders.