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For a while, I thought that maybe my listlessness was due to the compounding effect of triple-digit heat, pre-dawn workouts, and long days at the community newspaper where I work. Lowering the treadmill’s elevation, taking vitamins, and downing sports drinks didn’t help. The lethargy remained.

Something else was happening, too, that was uncharacteristic: feelings of annoyance when readers phoned to ask that I investigate this or that, usually something that affected them personally. The questionable management practices of a homeowners’ association. Tea Party shenanigans threatening jobs in county government. Anti-gay censorship attempts at our library.

Throughout my journalism career, I have written stories that garnered awards for my newspaper but also won me enemies. At times, my work even carried the possibility of physical harm: once from an alleged “Asian mafia” associated with a mayor in an upscale suburban town; another time, from Aryan Brotherhood friends of a sheriff who doled out weekend furloughs to jail inmates.

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I have been the reason for canceled subscriptions, angry letters to the editor, government employees being afraid to be seen with me, and ads intended to discredit me (the payment for which my publisher happily accepted because newspapers always need ad revenue). I have been accused, as recently as a few weeks ago, of sleeping with sources (a common trope directed at female journalists), of misquoting people, and of being unethical (another common attack against female journalists). I have been assailed as biased more times than I can count. 

For years, I withstood the blowback because I always thought that I was performing a public service, the same as other hardworking journalists at other newspapers and media outlets. But these days, it seems as if few people consider journalism and public service to be synonymous. Many seem to see reporters as sub-human and fair targets, figuratively and even literally. Such attitudes anger me on two counts: No one likes to be treated that way, and blanket contempt of the media is shortsighted and ignorant.

Increased targeting of the press is not paranoia. Reporters Without Borders recently downgraded the United States on its 2019 World Press Freedom Index, labeling the country as a “problematic” place for journalists to live. Those in an industry already struggling because of social media competition now have reason to worry about their own personal safety.

“Never before have U.S. journalists been subjected to so many death threats or turned so often to private security firms for protection,” Reporters Without Borders states.

I never thought I would see such a thing in this country, but, then again, I never imagined that our constitutionally protected free press would come under constant attack by a president who swore to uphold the Constitution. I never imagined that it would be necessary for the U.S. Senate to pass a resolution affirming that the media is not “the enemy of the people,” but we arrived there on Aug. 16, 2018. I never fathomed that some who claim to be Christians would condone T-shirts bearing the message “Rope. Tree. Journalist. Some assembly required,” but apparently plenty of people think the shirts are a hoot. For a time, they were even sold online by Walmart.

Between June 16, 2015, when Donald Trump announced what would become a winning bid for the presidency, and January of this year, the former reality TV star sent 1,339 tweets about the media that were “critical, insinuating, condemning, or threatening,” according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).  In 2017, the same year that Trump’s “fake news” rhetoric segued into the disturbingly authoritarian “enemy of the people,” the CPJ and other organizations founded the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker to systematically track attacks and threats against journalists.

“It was created because we saw that there was violent anti-press rhetoric, and we wanted to be able to see whether that was going to have an impact,” said Courtney Radsch, CPJ’s advocacy director.

Tracy Everbach, a professor in the Mayborn School of Journalism at the University of North Texas, said she is “extremely concerned” and believes that the situation will get worse because Trump “has stoked the flames of hatred against journalists.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists.

*****

While Hurricane Dorian, a Category 5 cyclone with wind gusts of up to 220 mph, was wreaking havoc in the Bahamas on Labor Day morning, Trump was attacking the “Fake News Media” in his morning tweetstorm. Spending the day on the links at his Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, he let fly a dozen tweets by 8 a.m. Central Time.

The next day, Axios reported that Trump’s political allies had raised at least $2 million to investigate reporters and editors at mainstream news outlets ahead of next year’s election. The news platform reported that a three-page fundraising prospectus stated that the project will focus on “the people producing the news.” CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, “and all others that routinely incorporate bias and misinformation” were listed as “primary targets.” No mention was made of any prejudice at Fox News, where coverage of Trump has been so fawning that the network is mockingly referred to as “Trump T.V.”

On the same day that Axios reported on the GOP’s planned assault on the press, the second reporter to have his White House “hard pass” yanked by the Trump administration won a victory in court. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras ordered Trump and his press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, to immediately restore the credentials of Playboy columnist Brian Karem, who had been booted last month after a confrontation in the Rose Garden with former White House aide and conservative media personality Sebastian Gorka. A similar court victory was won last year by Jim Acosta, CNN’s chief White House correspondent. A judge ruled that Acosta’s due process rights were violated when the administration pulled his press pass without warning. 

With the 2020 presidential campaign ramping up, Radsch said that the CPJ is “particularly concerned about the anti-press rhetoric that, frankly, has been characterized by President Trump since he was a candidate. As we enter another election period, I hope that everyone will moderate criticism, moderate their attacks on journalists. Journalism is a fundamental part of what makes democracy work.”

Radsch maybe shouldn’t hold her breath. Trump’s base loves his attacks on the press, so it is unlikely that he will tone down his rhetoric. But also, Democrats and liberals are now piling on. Embarrassing controversies involving the country’s largest newspapers, top editors, and cable news personalities have pretty much guaranteed that the press will be “a central character in the 2020 presidential cycle,” The Hill reported in August. 

The mainstream media made itself a target from the get-go this year by jumping to conclusions about a January encounter at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., between 16-year-old Covington, Kentucky, high school student Nick Sandman and Native American drummer Nathan Phillips. Sandman was part of a school field trip that unwittingly visited the national monument at a time when a clash was occurring between the Black Hebrew Israelites and those who were part of the Indigenous Peoples rally.

A video clip of Sandman, standing stock still with a smile on his face and a “Make America Great Again” cap on his head just inches from Phillips, who was beating a war drum and chanting, was interpreted as racist and an intent to mock the Native American. Various news outlets ran with the clip, which didn’t show the encounter in its full context. Sandman later said that he and the other boys thought that the group of Native Americans was being friendly and that they were attempting to respond in kind but later realized that some in the group had hurled racial insults at them.

“The news media was so determined to use the encounters of that day to smear President Donald Trump that they completely ignored the timeline and instead created a false narrative from a brief video clip,” wrote Don Loucks, a contributing columnist, in The Austin American Statesman. The mainstream media, he wrote, “had the video clips it wanted for their completely incorrect MAGA racist narrative.”

Other missteps occurred throughout the year, including two last month.

The New York Times demoted deputy Washington editor Jonathan Weisman because he repeatedly posted messages on social media about race and politics that the paper said showed “serious lapses in judgment.” A couple of weeks later, the host of MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell issued a cringe-worthy on-air retraction and apology after quoting an unsubstantiated claim from a single source that loans made to Trump by Deutsche Bank were co-signed by Russian oligarchs “close to Vladimir Putin.”

O’Donnell rightfully was forced to issue the retraction and apology, but the president of the United States wasted no time in publicly mocking the cable news host because, well, this is where we are now in this country. The question is: Where will we go from here?

The Committee to Protect Journalists.

*****

Although Trump has broken presidential norms with his serial assaults on the free press, it wouldn’t be fair or accurate to solely blame him for the current tattered relationship between the press and the public it claims to serve. The public’s trust in the media has been heading south for years, according to “Indicators of News Media Trust,” a Gallup/Knight Foundation study published in 2018. In 2003, 54% of Americans polled by Gallup said they had “great trust” or a “fair amount of trust” in the news media, but by 2016, those numbers had dipped to 32%.

The study found that trust in the media is a partisan issue. More than nine in 10 Republicans and conservatives said that their trust in the news media decreased over the past decade. Those on the left report a higher level of trust in news reporting, but nevertheless 42% of Democrats and 46% of liberals said their trust level has waned. Seventy-five percent of independents and 66% of moderates said that they, too, are less trusting of the media than they were 10 years ago.

The report states that Americans “give clear indications” that their trust relies upon getting accurate, unbiased, and balanced news, but that those factors “are more philosophical in nature” and don’t provide clear direction on how news organizations can win or regain public trust. It also points out that accuracy and bias “are often in the eye of the beholder.”

Last year, I reported on a “Families Belong Together” rally, which protested the Trump administration’s policy of separating families at the border. The event was newsworthy in part because my county is heavily Republican and pro-Trump. It was also of interest because similar rallies were being held in cities across the nation and the Democrat who organized the march was married to our then-Republican Party chair.

Following the rally, I posted a brief news item on my paper’s Facebook page,  taking care to include that even though Trump supporters showed up to challenge the protestors’ views, the groups engaged civilly. Nevertheless, there was immediate backlash – a lot of it. Posts were insulting, with orders to “Shut up!” and referring to my newspaper as a “liberal rag.” A columnist at a major newspaper shared the post to his own Facebook page and noted that my community newspaper was being blasted for “straight-forward reporting.”

I felt incensed at the knee-jerk insults over simple, forthright reporting, but I also felt validated by the columnist who shared the post. I had long felt that the anger expressed by many in my deep-red county wasn’t because of bias in my reporting but the fact that I report at all. I am apparently supposed to disregard the cruel immigration policies of an unpopular Republican president and ignore any event sponsored by Democrats.

While there are reasons to be discouraged about the damaged relationship between the news media and the public, findings in the Gallup/Knight Foundation’s “Indicators” study as well as their “American Views: Trust, Media and Democracy” report indicate that there is hope: Most Americans still believe that the news media play a critical role in U.S. democracy, and 69% believe that faith can be restored.

This raises another question: If trust in the media is tainted by partisanship and if bias is often in the eye of the beholder, how is the press to cover a president who is himself a purveyor of fake news? According to an analysis by The New York Times, Trump has made more than 12,000 false or misleading statements since taking office.

The Committee to Protect Journalists.

•••••

It may be that Trump Fatigue will be what ultimately lowers the temperature in our volatile political climate. At the end of January – more than seven months ago – Trump had tweeted more than 5,400 times to his 55.8 million followers since taking office, according to the CPJ. Oftentimes his tweets serve to vent grievances and spew insults. The media hasn’t been his only target. He has lashed out at other world leaders, celebrities, Democrats, Congressional women of color, war heroes, black athletes, members of his own party, and even Fox News.

Opinion columnist Frank Bruni recently wrote in the Times that Trump “has worn us all out” and that maybe the public’s exhaustion “spells his end.” Maybe. But we’ve got a grueling campaign season to suffer through before we find out.

City leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, are reportedly regretting their razor-thin vote to host next summer’s Republican National Convention (RNC), where, presumably, the GOP will nominate Trump for a second term. The Huffington Post reported that in July, Charlotte officials, upset over statements by Trump that they deemed racist, discussed trying to pull out of the deal but decided not to attempt it after the city attorney warned them that they would likely face big legal bills.

Cities bid to host national political conventions because they put thousands of heads in beds, fill up restaurants, and boost the host city’s profile. That process played out a bit differently in the case of next year’s GOP gathering. Other cities did initially indicate an interest, but Charlotte was the only one to formally submit a bid. Even then, approval passed the City Council by just one vote, with some city leaders citing concerns about protests.

By comparison, seven bids were submitted to the Democratic National Committee for its 2020 convention. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was the winner.

During the time I worked for a large metropolitan daily, I attended several Democratic and Republican national conventions and was always excited to witness history being made on either side of the political spectrum. Never once did I feel threatened. I’m not sure that would be the case if I were to attend the assembly in Charlotte. Any history made there will probably be history that I don’t care to witness, especially with press credentials hanging around my neck. I have no desire to be on the floor of the arena when balloons and confetti and upbeat music fill the air in celebration of a man who refers to the press as “scum,” publicly praises a lawmaker who body-slammed a reporter, and endangers an assortment of his fellow citizens through hateful rhetoric.

While the GOP convention might be very different from Trump rallies, it also might not be. Many people who watched the televised 2016 Republican convention in Cleveland, Ohio, were shocked when delegates chanted, “Lock her up!” in reference to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Hateful rhetoric has only intensified since then. At a Trump rally last February, the BBC’s Ron Skeans was attacked from behind by a MAGA-cap-wearing Trump supporter who was heard to say “fuck the media” before he jumped the cameraman from behind.

The hatred is taking a toll. UNT’s Everbach said that other journalists have been feeling the same lack of energy and professional passion that I have been experiencing.

“Anecdotally, I can tell you that I hear from working journalists, including former colleagues and former students who are in the industry, that the constant criticism and harassment has an effect on their mental health and also causes them to fear for their safety,” she said. “Not only are they supposed to do their jobs, but they also constantly are exposed to comments that degrade them and attack them. Women and people of color are particularly susceptible to harassment on social media and comments sections. The current climate and the advent of social media have allowed some people to think that this kind of harassment is perfectly acceptable.” 

Trump clearly cares little about the First Amendment and the rights of a free press. About 40 percent of the country doesn’t care that he doesn’t care.

So here’s another question: How long will it be before the watchdogs who have exposed corruption, spoken truth to power, and given a voice to the marginalized decide they don’t care either?

14 COMMENTS

  1. Speaking the truth to power never seems to make any difference. If every media story wasn’t laced with attacks on the President, like some liberal triggering unconTROLLably, then that would give good cause for your rant. But seeing 98% off all the news reported is anti President its not hard to see that the media is way biased, along with these constant congressional investigation, which the media generates more fake news stories, and the Democrats keep slandering everyone, which creates more news stories from you guys, its easy to see why news reporters are so reviled these days, by no less than half the voting public, can’t stand you guys, although I understand, and have no animosity, towards the media, but if they were attacking me, that would change real fast. The People voted, Hillary the one who was guaranteed to win lost, take it to the bank some one said. Well the bank didn’t take that deposit, and now a fee for returned check came due. America has spoken, stop trying to steer this country with fake stories, American People won’t allow it. This opinion is mine, based on my understanding of whats going on, and I happen to think that its correct. If you want to debate this on some part, lets go, I got all day my friend.

  2. And also the media hasn’t given President Trump a choice he has to counter punch, and he also warned you media types, during the first campaign, so what we’ve seen for a solid 3 years is 24/7 seven days a week sometimes eight, the media is in attack mode, why don’t you research any stories gone to print about ALL the good things President Trump has done, print the first page, or may I say paragraph, or maybe just a sentence, then print all the attack stories that have been printed, and do a simple weighing of the papers printed, I would dare to guess you would find 100,000 plus pounds of attack stories, and a half pound of positive stories, you do realise ‘We The People’ are watching, and can read right? Anyway until the media becomes honest you had better learn, no respect for you, from no less than half the American People.

  3. BS such as the above long winded rants are part of the problem.
    I think reporters are superheros and I’m ashamed by my fellow Americans and sad to read how it effects you (all of you).
    I do believe that most of us who respect the media branch of government stay quiet because there’s just nothing gained by arguing with these trolling idiots.
    Please keep reporting.

  4. I have been in politics for over 50 years, and NEVER have I seen a President being attacked day in day out by the media like this one. That being said, The President is gaining in things he has been able to do, and done, and has plans to do, with or without the medias approval, or the Democrats, to a thinking person that means something. To the dense that means nothing.

  5. Sadly, the media is full of self serving lies. Too bad 90% of journalists and media talking heads seem to echo and re-echo stuff that 1) is nasty and divisive to society and/or 2) poorly analysed BS. Leftist leaning media seems to have little compass and shows no enlightened way forward for well meaning people. The now three year long media toddler temper tantrum following the election of President Trump is ridiculous. I have to agree that the media in most of it’s forms is toxic to society.

  6. What these haters don’t realize is that the very fact that they get to spew this nonsense about the media IS them using the free world media.
    In other words if we didn’t have our great American free media they wouldn’t have a way to complain.

  7. Gone are the days that the democrats could debate a topic with a argument that had substance, had at least a sliver of truth to find a toe hold with, last time a Democrat was able to find a toe hold was in the 1930’s during the depression they created, its been a long long while since a Democrat had anything worth saying, JFK said we will get to the moon, yes we did, without him seeing the day, that was the last time I can remember anything good from a Democrat, I can go into detail of each and every politician who was a Democratic President, since JFK, but I prefer not to waste my breath and thought on deaf eyes, and dull minds. I cast way too many pearls of wisdom in this story comment section. No one has stood up to challenge me, to debate, tho I have tried many times to stir debate. This is a default win, no one wants to defend the media, not even the person who wrote this llame piece of dribble,…does that stir up the writer??? Lets do it, I got all day!

  8. I would suggest part of the problem is that the deplorables or the indignant people with time enough to attend a rally or post a comment are largely old white guys who want America to be forever white and segregated. Good luck getting your yard mowed. They have been played as chumps and super-saturated by foxaganda to the point where the have forgotten what makes America exceptional , aka the 1st Amendement. Without a free press you wouldn’t know a thing about any Clinton crime, a clan you are still fixated on.

    have you all forgotten the 8 years of negative press directed at Obama? how he was Kenyan muslin and all that, or how trump accused him a wire tapping Trumps’ campaign, a felony.

    Remember the wal to wall coverage of the Tea Party? btw what happened to the ‘debt and deficit ‘ angst that was the tea party.

    trump started this fight because he is a serial liar and con man and won’t tell the truth when a good lie will do. and we would know next to nothing about his high crimes and misdeamearos if the didn’t tweet about them 10x a day..

    you anger should be redirected at R’s in the house and senate who capitulated on every stated value of the R party, I suppose you are, can find it within yourself to admit you have been duped so you indulge in a little transference.

    Russia,Putin, your good friend now, thinks you are fools and will play you. Of course now we are sending troops to defend Saudi. Muslims if I recall. some are from Kenya.

  9. So Fox News, Sinclair, and right-wing talk radio make up only 10% of the media? Seriously? Can you cite any studies or facts to back up what you say? Or, is your 90% figure just made up?

  10. Its very sad that a free press is full of so much deceit. Truth lost its shine with media types, and why write the truth when a lie better represents their story? In this day we see the free press steering the narrative, not just reporting the facts of the story. I read recently the main editor has decided to step down, never having responded to my posts of how the free press has been shredded, from once a respected form of media, to a distrusted one. I find and hold the printed media in total disdain, basically wasted effort. Never to be trusted again. I wonder why my posts get posted on this site, as if their may be a glimmer of hope for a come back for them, but still I see what they print day in day out, this paper isn’t as bad as others, [cultural stories, beer, food, music], but it does go along to get along, in the free press swamp pond. Maybe just maybe it the free press reverted back to speaking truth to their power, then them correcting the power they are entrusted will be given an honest ear, and support, till that happens not respect for the media. Sure if you disagree with me this seems like an attack [rant], if you agree, you wished you would of had the courage to of said it. That is how being able to say things on print or video that of-course not everyone will agree on, I’m a critic just like you are on your words, print them and I’m likely to read them and if I so will, will supply my choice of words. You steer one way I steer the other, the truth wins always. If some one were to ask me what is the free press failing on the most, I would say that they fail to go after those Democrats who have broken the laws, of our nation, and the media is culpable by not holding their feet to the fire. The media including this one gives a pass to the Democrats, not a sort of pass, a real PASS! This is the down fall of all media, speaking and writing the truth, truth to power is well and good, but not speaking the truth to power is just as bad, and that is how the media has failed, they have a cover up for the Democratic Party, I remember a few years ago, how Hillary was going to win, and there was a 95% chance of her winning, the media all over the land ran with this story, not sure where the media stood, but it was everywhere as I remember, Trump blew out Hillary, wasn’t even close. If anyone whatsoever that can read what I have written and can prove me a liar, with actual facts, [proven facts] bring the debate on, I got all day to debate it. The editor who is stepping down can challenge me, I can not lose, and I win by default if she doesn’t try to defend journalism. I have buried journalism in just a paragraph, without proper punctuation, and proper grammar, but still my message is crystal clear, it undermines everything being written by journalist all around the world if they print half truths in order to steer the story a certain direction. To protect one party and diminish another as what we are seeing now. Back in the 60’s we had a saying that was so true to reality, it was “Get Real” for such a long while about 50 years the media platforms have not been real, they became FAKE, that is where we are now, with few media types being real. Gone are those days when the editor made sure the writer stories were fact based, and real. Get Real and once again gain respect, not immediately it will take time to regain the respect you seek, those reading your words don’t trust you anymore, you have betrayed us, and we as a whole disdain you for your lies, and half truths and for not doing what your supposed to do hold the guilty, guilty no matter which party affiliation they belong too. That right there is the medias problem, start work on [Getting Real] and people will notice you, people will listen, people will see a great light, and shining light of honest reporting, which there has been a lack of for 50 years. Start by writing stories on how the media has strayed away from being neutral on its reporting, and not in the pocket of any single party. That is why the media is protected, to protect honesty in politics, if the media is in one or another’s pocket, then the media lost its way. This time the media and the Democrats have a licences to steal, both being one hand of the same party, there is no honesty there, its plain to see. The media is a murderer of the truth, they lick the bones of lies, and death, is in their breath. Until the media (Gets Real) there will be no change in politics or the direction of this nation, I have thrown you a bone on how the light of truth so shines on nations, and how words said and not said steer stories in one direction or another, and how the media’s job is to be neutral and discover and fend for the people, not a party, only a idiot can’t see what the media does these days, the media is turning into (Big Brother) of the eye opening book, 1984, the thought police are going to be the hardest thing for the media to put into place, but I am sure your making strides in it all the time. Maybe as science abounds the media will be able to control a computer chip installed in to the brains of people, which will be directed, by the media as being so great to expand the mind, with all the internet has to offer, then have a way to monitor and control it some devilish way. Sounds crazy eh, may not be wait and see. Science will increase, while humanity will decrease. If we are not human, we are inhumane, I pick human. The whole is the child a he or she comes to mind, and the media spin on it, [depraved], one word. Again if anyone cares to stand up against me and debate what I have said, I got all day.

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