My Reply: Here's Why Reporters and Their Bosses are “Caving” to Trump
Your questions and my replies
Welcome to My Reply, where I curate your questions and publish my replies.
These exchanges are culled from the comments sections of Convulsions newsletters and the “Morning Read-In,” a pre-dawn ritual exclusive to paid subscribers.
Your parts are in italics. Mine are not
Why are White House reporters caving to Trump?
said he read “Dear White House Reporters: WTF?” with anger and asked why is “this current generation of journalists … caving? Ron, as an insider, (tell me) what are they afraid of? Is it simply a fear of losing their jobs? Do they think they (might risk) losing their place to a Trump apologist? Are they afraid of interrupting a well-planned-out career path?
REPLY: Some of your suggestions apply to some reporters, Mike. But there’s more to it:
The desire to avoid conflict is part of human nature.
Confirmation bias also plays a part; nobody wants to admit they’re being bullied.
There’s the boiling frog phenomena, when overworked and mission-driven journalists cannot fully grasp the danger of their situation while Trump slowly turns up the heat.
The biggest culprits are corporate media executives — the men and women of the C-Suites who wouldn’t know a lede from lead, but who worship the bottom line. They don’t want to risk legal, reputational, and financial damage, even to protect the First Amendment.
As a former White House Correspondent for The Associated Press, I’d like to make clear my respect, admiration, and sympathy for every journalist covering the Trump White House. It’s a hard job on the best days. These are not the best days.
But as I wrote in a letter Monday to my friends and former colleagues in Washington, the media needs to stop capitulating, band together, and take collective actions. Options include:
Boycott the briefings, an unpopular idea defended here.
Cancel the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Use the time to catch up on your rest or FOIAs.
Join The AP lawsuit, or at least frame it properly: A strong-arming government vs. every American’s First Amendment rights.
When the White House pulls a reporter from the pool or the briefing room, don’t take their place (you know who you are, and you ought to be ashamed).
When Trump or his people duck one of your competitor’s questions, repeat the question and demand an answer.
Devote more resources to investigative journalism that highlights the human cost of policies in Washington. No fear or favor. But especially no fear.
With news that the Trump team planned to seize control of who does and does not have access to White House briefings, the White House Correspondents’ Association issued another statement critical of the administration. I won’t quote from it because it’s just words on a white sheet. Fighting fire with paper never works.
How do reporters get and keep access to White House sources?
followed up: I would love to know more about access — how one gets a “foot in the door” (and) how a critical article can effect access.”
REPLY: My approach to gaining access was getting to know the people around the president and letting them get to know me. Through a professional relationship, a good reporter can find ways to talk sources out of information that they would otherwise not share with the public. Other reporters were more transactional, and less successful, by assuming that pulling punches is how you gain access. It’s not.
I wanted my sources to respect the fairness of my coverage, appreciate the size of my audience, and fear my relentless determination to hold powerful people accountable. It worked for me.
“Spare us the crocodile tears”
opined: “The White House Press Corps has served as state propaganda for JFK, Biden, Obama, Clinton and served only as a check on power when” Republicans presidents were in office. “So spare us the crocodile tears.”
REPLY: For all its faults, the White House Press corps has held presidents in both parties accountable. Just do a Google search on my name and “Clinton,” “Obama,” and “Bush.” Plenty of hard-hitting stuff on Democrats from me, better still from the rest of the White House press corps.
You’ve been gaslit into believing otherwise, Autry, and now Trump is setting a precedent that could make your worst fears come true, when all presidents fully control their coverage and, like Trump, attack your First Amendment freedoms.
I’d like to make one more point: To liberal partisans who whine about a Washington press corps that isn’t compliant to the Left, check your biases and stop the gaslighting. Your favorable media ecosystem is still bigger than MAGA’s.
Who is responding to these polls?
said she had a hard time believing 91% of Republicans approve of Trump’s job performance, a stat she pulled from an item in Monday’s MRI. “Who did they ask?”REPLY: They asked Republicans, my good doctor. Regardless of the framing of the questions and protocols of the surveys, polls consistently show that Republicans support Trump by lopsided margins. And here’s a thing: Until his disastrous debate performance forced liberals to face reality, Democrats supported President Biden by lopsided margins.
We are, as you reminded me, a two-tribe nation of lemmings.
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History has a way of humbling those who align themselves against its arc of progress. The challenge before us is not merely to recognize the urgency of the moment, but to summon the will to act upon it. 🇺🇸🆘
This may be helpful. 💙
https://open.substack.com/pub/iamdonnyevans/p/bearing-witness-the-power-of-visual?r=5dsl4z&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false