The Media vs. Trump
On Jan. 20, 2017, the nation completely divided itself after the inauguration of President Donald Trump. Many were shocked and upset after the defeat of Hillary Clinton, leading those who disliked Trump to speak their mind, including the media.
The term “Witch Hunt” has been brought back to life after the claims Trump has made about the media’s treatment towards him. He insists many outlets pick on him just because they don’t like him, but is this really a witch hunt? A look at the treatment of past presidents comes close to Trump’s, but it’s not the same.
Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton are great examples of presidents who have been outed by various media outlets. Nixon was exposed for the Watergate Scandal and Clinton was exposed for the Lewinsky Scandal. Arguably, both of these men received the same type of criticism from the media and many journalists poked and prodded their way to get answers.
It is true that Trump has been the headline for many news outlets, being both criticized and praised. But some headlines will have many questioning whether or not the media really is after President Trump.
This headline from CNN says, “A 12 Diet Cokes-a-day habit like Trump’s is worth changing.” There are a lot of questions raised when reading a headline like that. Why does CNN care how many Diet Cokes Trump drinks a day? Was it a slow news day?
Though the Diet Coke article mainly focused on what happens to your body if you drink 12 Cokes a day, they still managed to bring Trump into the mix and get some type of news out of it. This begs the question, do journalists unfairly report on Trump?
Another CNN headline reads, “Donald Trump’s incredibly unpresidential statement on Charlottesville.” This article focuses on the white supremacy riots in Charlottesville, Va. in 2017.
This is what Donald Trump said on the matter, “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence, on many sides. On many sides. It’s been going on for a long time in our country.”
His quote is professional and concise, exactly what’s needed. Though, many viewed his statement as equating Nazis to those protesting against Nazis. This is the kind of journalism that Trump points at for “fake news.” But even still, the importance of journalism to the people is unmatched.
Though Trump’s claims that CNN or MSNBC is “fake news” are far from the truth, these companies have a record to maintain. The line gets blurred when less credible organizations are thrown into the mix.
In the Trump era, journalism is paramount, whether one chooses to believe if the article they are reading is true or not. Without journalism in any presidential era, the people would not be as informed as they are now and they would not have the choice to believe what they want.
