# What Should Be the Role of the Press in a Trump Presidency **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 17, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-the-role-of-the-press-in-a-trump-presidency/777397 "2017-01-17T16:04:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-the-role-of-the-press-in-a-trump-presidency/777397/121 "2017-01-31T17:55:27Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > The problem is, people don’t actually want to read that stuff. Oh, they _say_ they do, I think they do want to _read_ it; it’s just that they don’t want to _see_ it on TV. Because while they can follow it in print - web or paper - they can’t follow it on TV. TV has to condense everything into snappy sound-bites to get everything in before the next commercial break; when it’s in print, you can take your time. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-the-role-of-the-press-in-a-trump-presidency/777397/122 "2017-01-31T22:17:11Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I think they do want to _read_ it; it’s just that they don’t want to _see_ it on TV. Because while they can follow it in print - web or paper - they can’t follow it on TV. TV has to condense everything into snappy sound-bites to get everything in before the next commercial break; when it’s in print, you can take your time. They don’t want to read it online either, unfortunately. There’s a few key players like the Guardian who have established a name for doing quality long-form journalism online, but for the most part, you put a Serious Story with more than a thousand words or so in it and most readers go “TL;DR”. Even more critically, they don’t want to _pay_ for longform journalism in print or online. Nor do the advertisers. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2017, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-the-role-of-the-press-in-a-trump-presidency/777397/123 "2017-02-01T09:11:00Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > They don’t want to read it online either, unfortunately. There’s a few key players like the Guardian who have established a name for doing quality long-form journalism online, but for the most part, you put a Serious Story with more than a thousand words or so in it and most readers go “TL;DR”. And then, if it piques their interest, they do read it. > [@](#): > > Even more critically, they don’t want to _pay_ for longform journalism in print or online. Nor do the advertisers. This then may be a difference between the UK and the US. Because we not only have a variety of newspapers with in-depth reporting - Times, Telegraph, Guardian, FT, Scotsman, etc - but also magazines like the Economist and the Spectator. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2017, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-the-role-of-the-press-in-a-trump-presidency/777397/124 "2017-02-01T10:54:17Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > This then may be a difference between the UK and the US. Because we not only have a variety of newspapers with in-depth reporting - Times, Telegraph, Guardian, FT, Scotsman, etc - but also magazines like the Economist and the Spectator. I live in Australia. The media landscape here is quite different to the US or UK. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2017, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-the-role-of-the-press-in-a-trump-presidency/777397/125 "2017-02-01T21:19:44Z")
Well, these things certainly answer the question in the OP. [Reuters orders reporters to cover Trump like an authoritarian regime: Expect ‘physical threats’](http://www.rawstory.com/2017/02/reuters-orders-reporters-to-cover-trump-like-an-authoritarian-regime-expect-physical-threats/) > [@](#): > > The Reuters news agency this week recognized the challenges of covering Donald Trump’s presidency by comparing it to authoritarian regimes like Egypt, Yemen and China. > > “It’s not every day that a U.S. president calls journalists ‘among the most dishonest human beings on earth’ or that his chief strategist dubs the media ‘the opposition party’,” Reuters Editor-in-Chief Steve Adler wrote in a message to staff on Tuesday. “It’s hardly surprising that the air is thick with questions and theories about how to cover the new Administration.” > > He cited the organization’s work in “Turkey, the Philippines, Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Thailand, China, Zimbabwe, and Russia” as an example of how to report on the Trump administration. > > Adler said that reporters could use experience learned in “nations in which we sometimes encounter some combination of censorship, legal prosecution, visa denials, and even physical threats to our journalists.”… And [White House ices out CNN _Trump administration refuses to put officials on air on the network the president called ‘fake news.’_](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/trump-cnn-press-234455) > [@](#): > > The White House has refused to send its spokespeople or surrogates onto CNN shows, effectively freezing out the network from on-air administration voices. > > “We’re sending surrogates to places where we think it makes sense to promote our agenda,” said a White House official, acknowledging that CNN is not such a place, but adding that the ban is not permanent. > > A CNN reporter, speaking on background, was more blunt: The White House is trying to punish the network and force down its ratings. > > “They’re trying to cull CNN from the herd,” the reporter said. > > Administration officials are still answering questions from CNN reporters. But administration officials including White House press secretary Sean Spicer and senior counselor Kellyanne Conway haven’t appeared on the network’s programming in recent weeks. > > Spicer, speaking at an event at The George Washington University on Monday, denied that CNN is being frozen out, pointing out that he’s answered CNN’s questions in the regular daily briefings. > > But, he added “I’m not going to sit around and engage with people who have no desire to actually get something right.”… And it’s only been two weeks! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2017, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-the-role-of-the-press-in-a-trump-presidency/777397/126 "2017-02-01T22:05:03Z")
You got to wonder why the Trump presidency doesn’t just cut out all press conferences altogether and announce by Tweet only. Or have press conferences in which only Fox News is invited. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2017, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-the-role-of-the-press-in-a-trump-presidency/777397/127 "2017-02-01T23:31:15Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Well, these things certainly answer the question in the OP. > > [Reuters orders reporters to cover Trump like an authoritarian regime: Expect ‘physical threats’](http://www.rawstory.com/2017/02/reuters-orders-reporters-to-cover-trump-like-an-authoritarian-regime-expect-physical-threats/) > > And > > [White House ices out CNN > _Trump administration refuses to put officials on air on the network the president called ‘fake news.’_](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/trump-cnn-press-234455) > > And it’s only been two weeks! :smack: It appears that they are only following the Obama administration’s example. from your linked article - \*It’s not unusual for an administration to tangle with certain outlets. The Obama administration, at times, had a rocky relationship with Fox News and limited its officials from appearing on its programs. Former Obama White House Communications Director Anita Dunn told The New York Times in 2009 that they were going to treat Fox "the way we would treat an opponent.” “As they are undertaking a war against Barack Obama and the White House, we don’t need to pretend that this is the way that legitimate news organizations behave," she said at the time. A former official in the Obama administration acknowledged that they had their “battles with Fox,” and that there may have been some times where “we sent people on other networks and not on Fox.” But as a general rule, the official said, officials would go on the network.\* ---
**Author:** ![Dana\_Scully](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5daacb/32.png) [@Dana\_Scully](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dana_Scully)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-the-role-of-the-press-in-a-trump-presidency/777397/128 "2017-02-03T18:01:44Z")
He’d prefer that it has no role at all. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-the-role-of-the-press-in-a-trump-presidency/777397/129 "2017-02-04T15:17:36Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > It appears that they are only following the Obama administration’s example. > > from your linked article - > > \*It’s not unusual for an administration to tangle with certain outlets. The Obama administration, at times, had a rocky relationship with Fox News and limited its officials from appearing on its programs. Former Obama White House Communications Director Anita Dunn told The New York Times in 2009 that they were going to treat Fox "the way we would treat an opponent.” > > “As they are undertaking a war against Barack Obama and the White House, we don’t need to pretend that this is the way that legitimate news organizations behave," she said at the time. > > A former official in the Obama administration acknowledged that they had their “battles with Fox,” and that there may have been some times where “we sent people on other networks and not on Fox.” But as a general rule, the official said, officials would go on the network.\* You are hilarious!! 😃 Equating FOX news with CNN?? Oh, God-- that’s a good one. More, please. You do standup in your spare time, don’t you? If not, you should. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-the-role-of-the-press-in-a-trump-presidency/777397/130 "2017-02-04T15:28:53Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > You got to wonder why the Trump presidency doesn’t just cut out all press conferences altogether Worked great for Obama. ---
**Author:** ![crucible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-the-role-of-the-press-in-a-trump-presidency/777397/131 "2017-02-04T15:38:47Z")
What is the Conservative response to outrage concerning their elimination of the Obama regulation that prevented a certain extreme group of mentally ill people from legally obtaining guns? ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-the-role-of-the-press-in-a-trump-presidency/777397/132 "2017-02-04T19:51:11Z")
This is a Dutch article ( in English) with an, IMHO, good overview of what the role of the press should be. Both in Trumps America, and in the Netherlands, where we are five weeks away from elections where our own Dutch Trumpian party is polled as the largest party. [This is how we can fight Donald Trump’s attack on democracy - The Correspondent](https://thecorrespondent.com/6150/this-is-how-we-can-fight-donald-trumps-attack-on-democracy/157624500-afd6a4d7) ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-the-role-of-the-press-in-a-trump-presidency/777397/133 "2017-02-04T20:10:15Z")
> [@crucible](#): > > What is the Conservative response to outrage concerning their elimination of the Obama regulation that prevented a certain extreme group of mentally ill people from legally obtaining guns? Why outrage? The fact that the mentally ill now have access to buy guns just justifies their own need to have and carry guns in public. “I’ve got to carry my gun, they let crazy people have them now!” ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-the-role-of-the-press-in-a-trump-presidency/777397/134 "2017-02-04T20:50:07Z")
WHOA! > **[Donald Trump gets harsh treatment on magazine covers | CBC News](https://www.cbc.ca/news/photos/trump-magazine-covers-1.3966101)** > > The German news magazine Der Spiegel stunned many with its Feb. 4 "America First" cover by illustrator Edel Rodriguez. Der Spiegel is not the only magazine to deliver ominous cover treatment of the new president. Here are some other noteworthy... The Donald can’t be too happy about these. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-the-role-of-the-press-in-a-trump-presidency/777397/135 "2017-02-04T20:51:32Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > WHOA! > > [http://www.cbc.ca/news/photos/trump-magazine-covers-1.3966101](http://www.cbc.ca/news/photos/trump-magazine-covers-1.3966101) > > The Donald can’t be too happy about these. Why, you think they caught his bad side? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-the-role-of-the-press-in-a-trump-presidency/777397/136 "2017-02-04T21:01:57Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Why, you think they caught his bad side? Hehe. Actually, I take it back. He’s probably thrilled to be on so many magazine covers. And being portrayed as The Big Bad Badass Bully. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-the-role-of-the-press-in-a-trump-presidency/777397/137 "2017-02-04T21:19:49Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > This is a Dutch article ( in English) with an, IMHO, good overview of what the role of the press should be. Both in Trumps America, and in the Netherlands, where we are five weeks away from elections where our own Dutch Trumpian party is polled as the largest party. [This is how we can fight Donald Trump’s attack on democracy - The Correspondent](https://thecorrespondent.com/6150/this-is-how-we-can-fight-donald-trumps-attack-on-democracy/157624500-afd6a4d7) Thanks for this. I was interested to read (on Wikipedia) that _De Corresponden_t was funded through crowd-sourcing. Maybe that’s the only way for American long-form journalism to survive… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-the-role-of-the-press-in-a-trump-presidency/777397/138 "2017-02-04T21:44:59Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Why, you think they caught his bad side? They couldn’t fail to. He doesn’t have a good side. I’m lovin’ it, though. Nothing in history compares to this. Nixon’s impeachment comes close, Bubba a distant third. And it took less than two weeks. It still won’t penetrate the info-free bubble that Trumpistas live in, but the rest of us get it. So how’s that filing for the 2020 election going, Donny? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-the-role-of-the-press-in-a-trump-presidency/777397/139 "2017-02-04T21:51:38Z")
I can’t help it. Every time I see **doorhinge** ’s name, I think doorwhinge. Yeah, yeah, I’ll be taking my warning as a door prize now. But it’s true. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-the-role-of-the-press-in-a-trump-presidency/777397/140 "2017-02-09T21:07:14Z")
> **[Trump administration seen as more truthful than news media: poll](https://thehill.com/homenews/media/318514-trump-admin-seen-as-more-truthful-than-news-media-poll/)** > > The Trump administration is more trusted than the news media among voters, according to a new Emerson College poll.The administration is considered truthful by 49 percent of registered voters … Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk Pro [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-the-role-of-the-press-in-a-trump-presidency/777397.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-be-the-role-of-the-press-in-a-trump-presidency/777397.md?page=8)