Dear American media,
when I watched President Trump’s press conference shortly before his inauguration, I was shocked. Not because of his obvious narcissism or his perfidious way to praise the news channels that portrayed him in a positive manner and to degrade critical media outlets as “fake news”. It weren’t even the attempts to intimidate journalists or humiliate them in front of a whole room of their competitors. It was you and your behaviour that shocked me the most, or more importantly: the things you didn’t do.
By now, everyone knows what to expect when facing Trump in a critical discussion. We’ve been presented with much more lies than truths during his campaign, with claims that are so far from reality that it’s embarrassing for a President-elect to even attempt to persuade us of their authenticity. And most recently, we were told that “alternative news” are now the world we live in — the racist, hateful fantasy-world of Donald Trump. But, please, remind me, how come that so many of you keep playing along?
As a student of Communication Sciences and with the hopes and dreams of becoming a journalist one day, I ask you how you can sit and watch your collegues being discredited by a man who doesn’t even know what that word means? How can you stand on the sidelines, watching someone destroying the values which our societies have spent centuries fighting for? Why was there not even a single person at this press conference who had enough courage to stand up for their colleagues and defend the right of free speech and the criticism of authorities? You call yourself “watch dogs” because you want to control and watch over the government, the ideal of an independent and responsible journalism system. How can you sit at a press conference like that and expect young people like me, who want to work in your profession, to keep believing in the values that you’re supposed to represent?
If Trump continues to sign executive orders at the speed he’s currently signing, the USA will have turned into an autocracy before we know it. Of course, that won’t happen over night, but we’ve been there before and the signs, while weak, are already there. This President doesn’t care about American values or even human rights and so far, there’s no one to stop him. Well, almost no one. The protests have gained more and more support since the Women’s Rights March on January 20th and, as Madonna put it, “the Revolution starts here”. People aren’t stupid and they know when they are being lied to. Fake news might be on the rise, but the US election proves that the majority of people still values the truth over everything else, because Trump didn’t win the popular vote (no matter what he claims).
In times like these, we need facts more than ever. Poppy Harlow, a CNN journalist, proved that rather impressively in a live interview with Trump’s adviser and former US Representative Jack Kingston. Piece by piece, she depicted Kingston’s statements and questioned Trump’s muslim ban while uncovering how shallow populism’s façade truly is by asking questions such as “Can you point to a single terrorist attack in this country that was carried out by a Syrian refugee?” Yes, it takes time to research the facts and point out when your opponent is wrong and it takes even more time to dig though the mud that publicists throw your way, but it’s your job to take a shovel and make the world see what is really going on. Maybe, the last couple of years have been a bit too easy, a bit too comfortable and it’s convenient to just keep going the way you always do. But if you’re not going to start digging, who else has the ressources to do that?
Dear American media, in times like these, we not only need facts, but solidarity as well. I don’t think that it’s an exaggeration to say that for the first time in decades, maybe even centuries, American values are at stake. So, if at the next press conference, the President tells the journalist next to you that he won’t answer their question because they work for a media outlet that is too critical or that he doesn’t approve of, then why don’t you raise your hand, stand up and repeat the same question again? And if the President still won’t answer, then your next colleague should get up and repeat the question as well and so on and so on. Because right now, it’s not a time to worry about rivialities on the market or media competitions in terms of TV raitings. Right now, it’s time to worry about the very ground on which you’re standing and everything your profession stands for. If you chose to work as a journalist for the same reasons I want to become one, it’s time to show loyalty to your profession and your colleagues because unity might be the only weapon against hate and discrimination there is.
