Let’s get one thing straight: President Trump’s hostility towards the media is not normal.
On the evening of Jan. 10, CNN published an article reporting on the existence of a document with compromising information on the president-elect but did not comment on its contents, as the claims were unverified. The next day, CNN reporter Jim Acosta did not go into Donald Trump’s first press conference in months with the belief that Trump would stubbornly refuse to answer any of his questions. However, Trump decided to use CNN as an example for all other news organizations, and his message was clear: Do not report on potential controversies surrounding the president, or you, too, will be torn apart on national television.
The fragile state of the media today is an issue that extends far beyond political party alliance. Each and every one of us has a stake in the upholding of a free press. If we want to remain a true democracy, the press must be able to continue doing its job of reporting without fear of punishment or condemnation.
Throughout this past election season, media organizations did not shy away from reporting on incidents that placed then-candidate Trump in a variety of compromising situations. From allegations of sexual assault and fraud to audio recordings of him bragging about inappropriately groping women, it seemed as though every week there was a new Trump scandal to learn about.
As we all know, Donald Trump did not like that — and he took his opinions to Twitter. Many of his supporters praised him, regurgitating his chants of corrupt media, as if coverage of Trump’s faults were somehow unfair.
Didn't we have a right to know about the character of a man running for president?
We needed to know those things, because taken together they conveyed this man’s true temperament. If someone is asking us to elect him to the most powerful position in our country, possibly even in the world, then he had better have the character necessary to hold such high office.
Over the course of the election season, Trump and his team were quick to deny situations or statements that the public knew to be true. What’s worse, they then scorned the media for reporting on them. This places our First Amendment rights in an unprecedentedly dangerous situation. By these powerful people casting so much doubt on the organizations that have always acted as watchdogs to the government, the very foundation of our democracy has shattered.
Even though the press is supposed to be free in reporting, the current administration suffocates any news reports that condemn the president. For instance, on Jan. 25, chief White House strategist Stephen Bannon accused the media of being an opponent of the Trump administration and essentially warned the media to stop reporting.
That’s right: A man in a highly powerful position in government told the media to stop doing their jobs.
This is not normal. Such oppression of media is common in countries such as China and Cuba, not the United States of America. It goes against the First Amendment of the Constitution. And it could be only the tip of the iceberg. Once a free press becomes a thing of the past, who knows what rights will be attacked next? Regardless of political belief, that affects every single one of us.
Politics aside, we need to come together as one nation to resist the endangerment of the free press. By subscribing to news sources, we will aid them in expanding their reach and scope of coverage. It may not be how you would choose to spend about $5 a week, but this money could go a long way to rebuild our news sources.
Media allow us to remain informed citizens of democracy, possibly the most important concept in our country. It is time for us to repay the media by supporting them as they continue to report on what matters and keep our government in check.