The Trump administration attacks on the media should alarm Americans of all political stripes
A democracy depends on many things to survive. Fair and free elections, clearly laid out rights that the government cannot take away, checks and balances between branches of government, and much more. However, one aspect that is becoming overlooked more and more these days is the importance of a free and independent press (or media, as it has become known). The founding fathers understood this, which is why “freedom of the press” is enshrined in the first amendment, right next to freedom of religion and freedom of speech.
A free and independent press or “media” is crucial to the survival of democracy for several reasons.
For starters, it provides an important check on the government by preventing them from controlling the flow of information. There’s a reason that authoritarian regimes (China, Russia, North Korea, etc.) seek to control and subvert the media. If the government is the only source of information for the people, it becomes much easier for them to do as they please.
It also provides an important function by helping to establish a base reality so we as citizens can debate the best ways to move our country forward. We may be aware of what is happening in our immediate surroundings, but without media, we wouldn’t know what’s happening in the next town over, much less on the other side of the country. We need media to keep us informed about and engaged in the world around us.
Recently however, the media has come under attack. Steve Bannon, the chief strategist to the President has called the media the “opposition party” on multiple occasions and told it to “keep its mouth shut.” His boss, the President, has gone a step further and called the media “an enemy of the American people.” And today, his press secretary, Sean Spicer, excluded multiple news outlets — The New York Times, The Hill, CNN, Politico, BuzzFeed, the Daily Mail, BBC, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Daily News—that the administration considers unfriendly from a press briefing, in favor of outlets that the administration considers more friendly.
To Americans who value the First Amendment and freedom of the press, this should be troubling indeed. It’s not that certain news outlets don’t have issues with and bias in their reporting. They do (I’m looking at you, cable news). But to declare the “media” wholesale as an “enemy of the American people” and to favor friendly news organizations over ones you may not like is a dangerous path indeed. It’s a step closer to the state controlled news apparatuses we see in authoritarian regimes where the media only reports the positive news the state wants it to, while ignoring the negative developments.
When Barack Obama attempted to do something similar (although on a much smaller scale) during his administration by attacking Fox News, fellow media organizations like CNN and the New York Times rightly stood with Fox News and opposed the Obama administration—something pointed out by Fox News’ Bret Baier. So far only Time and AP have stood with the banned outlets and refused to attend the briefing, but one would hope that other news outlets will do the same moving forward.
In the meantime, make sure you support quality journalism by subscribing to one or more of the banned outlets, and discuss these developments with your friends and family to ensure that this kind of behaviour does not become normalized.
The right to a free press is one of the foundations of a healthy democracy, and it’s our job as Americans to do everything in our power to protect that right.
