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Media defend aggressive standards for covering Trump
Posted on: August 30, 2016 at 11:40:47 CT
JeffB MU
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http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/media-defend-aggressive-standards-for-covering-trump/article/2600486
Several media figures are actively lobbying their peers to challenge Donald Trump more aggressively when interviewing him or his surrogates, or even block Trump's campaign from gaining access to the press in some cases.
Trump's campaign has benefited from billions of dollars worth of earned media, and has put him in a position where he doesn't have to run campaign ads as much, and yet still competes. However, more and more media figures are mounting an effort to end Trump's free ride.
On Sunday, Jorge Ramos, anchor for the Spanish-language Univision, became the latest news figure to urge other journalists to take a more active approach on covering the Republican nominee. Ramos indicated that more reporters need to act the way he did last year, by challenging Trump loudly and aggressively.
"And I think in this case, neutrality is really not an option," Ramos said on CNN. "I think we have to take a stand, and in this case, Donald Trump is a unique figure in American politics. We haven't seen this in decades, since probability Senator Joe McCarthy."
Ramos earned notoriety on the campaign trail last year for his famous clash with Trump on immigration. He was ejected from a press conference the candidate was hosting after calling out to Trump and repeatedly interrupting other reporters who had been called on to ask questions, though he was later allowed to return and debate Trump for about 10 minutes.
But Ramos isn't alone. Last week, liberal New York Times columnist Charles Blow argued on CNN that a Trump supporter who had joined him for the segment should not have been booked to appear at all.
After Paris Dennard, a GOP former White House staffer, said Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton is attempting to suppress white voter turnout by accusing of Trump of racism, Blow said that his appearance on the show "is why people have a problem with us in the media."
"To let somebody like this come on and say what Hillary Clinton is doing is suppressing the white vote by pointing out what Donald Trump has said in his life, that's just patently false, ridiculous. … I'm not letting that slide," he said. "This guy should not be allowed to come on television and say something like that."
Since Trump launched his unlikely campaign last summer, reporters and media critics have grappled with how to cover Trump, whose unpredictability left many in the media confounded and flatfooted. Trump has rarely backed away from controversy, and is much more likely to strike back at critics with his favorite medium, Twitter.
Some in the media say his controversial remarks and policy positions, which often shift, demand a different level of coverage.
"If you view a Trump presidency as something that's potentially dangerous, then your reporting is going to reflect that," wrote New York Times media columnist Jim Rutenberg in August. "You would move closer than you've ever been to being oppositional. That's uncomfortable and uncharted territory for every mainstream, nonopinion journalist I've ever known, and by normal standards, untenable."
"But the question that everyone is grappling with is: Do normal standards apply? And if they don't, what should take their place?" he asked.
CNN media correspondent Brian Stelter said on his show in August that it's near treasonous for any journalist not to challenge Trump on his "dangerous" rhetoric.
"Journalists cannot just play these soundbites, quote these claims and then move on to the next subject," said Stelter. "We can't just let it seep into the discourse like it's normal. We have to stop and fact check and contextualize. … Right now, it's the Republican candidate for president who is trying to delegitimize our democratic process without proof. It is unpatriotic for any journalist or any interviewer to help him."
Several media figures are actively lobbying their peers to challenge Donald Trump more aggressively when interviewing him or his surrogates, or even block Trump's campaign from gaining access to the press in some cases.
Trump's campaign has benefited from billions of dollars worth of earned media, and has put him in a position where he doesn't have to run campaign ads as much, and yet still competes. However, more and more media figures are mounting an effort to end Trump's free ride.
On Sunday, Jorge Ramos, anchor for the Spanish-language Univision, became the latest news figure to urge other journalists to take a more active approach on covering the Republican nominee. Ramos indicated that more reporters need to act the way he did last year, by challenging Trump loudly and aggressively.
"And I think in this case, neutrality is really not an option," Ramos said on CNN. "I think we have to take a stand, and in this case, Donald Trump is a unique figure in American politics. We haven't seen this in decades, since probability Senator Joe McCarthy."
Ramos earned notoriety on the campaign trail last year for his famous clash with Trump on immigration. He was ejected from a press conference the candidate was hosting after calling out to Trump and repeatedly interrupting other reporters who had been called on to ask questions, though he was later allowed to return and debate Trump for about 10 minutes.
But Ramos isn't alone. Last week, liberal New York Times columnist Charles Blow argued on CNN that a Trump supporter who had joined him for the segment should not have been booked to appear at all.
After Paris Dennard, a GOP former White House staffer, said Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton is attempting to suppress white voter turnout by accusing of Trump of racism, Blow said that his appearance on the show "is why people have a problem with us in the media."
"To let somebody like this come on and say what Hillary Clinton is doing is suppressing the white vote by pointing out what Donald Trump has said in his life, that's just patently false, ridiculous. … I'm not letting that slide," he said. "This guy should not be allowed to come on television and say something like that."
Since Trump launched his unlikely campaign last summer, reporters and media critics have grappled with how to cover Trump, whose unpredictability left many in the media confounded and flatfooted. Trump has rarely backed away from controversy, and is much more likely to strike back at critics with his favorite medium, Twitter.
Some in the media say his controversial remarks and policy positions, which often shift, demand a different level of coverage.
"If you view a Trump presidency as something that's potentially dangerous, then your reporting is going to reflect that," wrote New York Times media columnist Jim Rutenberg in August. "You would move closer than you've ever been to being oppositional. That's uncomfortable and uncharted territory for every mainstream, nonopinion journalist I've ever known, and by normal standards, untenable."
"But the question that everyone is grappling with is: Do normal standards apply? And if they don't, what should take their place?" he asked.
CNN media correspondent Brian Stelter said on his show in August that it's near treasonous for any journalist not to challenge Trump on his "dangerous" rhetoric.
"Journalists cannot just play these soundbites, quote these claims and then move on to the next subject," said Stelter. "We can't just let it seep into the discourse like it's normal. We have to stop and fact check and contextualize. … Right now, it's the Republican candidate for president who is trying to delegitimize our democratic process without proof. It is unpatriotic for any journalist or any interviewer to help him."
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Media defend aggressive standards for covering Trump - JeffB MU - 8/30 11:40:47