In the 365 days following President Donald Trump’s first year in office, he used the word “fake” relating to the media more than 400 times on social media and on air, CNN reports. Soon after, journalists were coined “enemies of the American people.”
That same year, many of our staff members were early in their journalistic careers or just beginning. We have yet to know our jobs as anything other than conflictual in the eyes of the American public.
Still, we are encouraged — hopeful even that what we provide to readers as student journalists and future career professionals adds value to our communities, even when the leader of the free world doesn’t think so.
Last week, more than 200 newspapers across the country voiced their concerns about the current political climate in regard to journalism through their editorials. The opinion pages of those papers were filled with similar views in different words: Trump’s attacks on the press is a direct attack on democracy.
Since then, a slew of guilty pleas and the truth behind Trump’s early campaign days have emerged. Michael Cohen’s account of what occurred during the 2016 campaign could seriously implicate the president in the future. This news wouldn’t have been possible without the diligent work of national journalists searching for the truth — searching for what the public has a right to know.
Trump’s words don’t just undermine the value of journalists — his words undermine their safety. We saw similar negativity toward journalists become fatal for one newsroom this summer.
Because reporters are often first on a scene that is still unfolding or the first to report terrible news, they will inevitably receive some backlash.
With a constantly changing political environment, breaking news can be ambiguous and difficult to report. Error is bound to occur. There is a difference between “fake news” and a simple error. There is a difference between “fake news” and news the president simply doesn’t like.
Journalists are not the “enemy of the people.” If you have a question for your local paper, let them know. If you’d like to learn more about a certain story, reach out.
Amid all the negativity and chaos, journalists and inquisitive community members are needed more than ever to combat the idea of “fake news.”
— BH, HS