Newspapers join forces to challenge Trump’s vitriol
NEW YORK — Newspapers from Maine to Hawaii pushed back against President Donald Trump’s attacks on “fake news” Thursday with a co-ordinated series of editorials speaking up for a free and vigorous press.
The Boston Globe, which set the campaign in motion by urging the unified voice, had estimated that some 350 newspapers would participate.
They did across the breadth of the country.
The Portland (Maine) PressHerald said a free and independent press is the best defence against tyranny, while the Honolulu Star-Advertiser emphasized democracy’s need for a free press.
“The true enemies of the people — and democracy — are those who try to suffocate truth by vilifying and demonizing the messenger,” wrote the Des Moines Register in Iowa.
In St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch called journalists “the truest of patriots.”
The Chicago Sun-Times said it believed most Americans know that Trump is talking nonsense. The Fayetteville Observer said it hoped Trump would stop, “but we’re not holding our breath.”
“Rather, we hope all the president’s supporters will recognize what he’s doing — manipulating reality to get what he wants,” the North Carolina newspaper said.
On Thursday morning, Trump again took to Twitter to denounce “fake news.”
He wrote: “THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA IS THE OPPOSITION PARTY. It is very bad for our Great Country ... BUT WE ARE WINNING!”
The Morning News of Savannah, Ga., said it was a confidant, not an enemy, to the people.
“Like any true friend, we don’t always tell you want you want to hear,” the Morning News said. “Our news team presents the happenings and issues in this community through the lens of objectivity. And like any true friend, we refuse to mislead you. Our reporters and editors strive for fairness.”
Some newspapers used history lessons to state their case. The Elizabethtown Advocate in Pennsylvania, for instance, compared free press in the United States to such rights promised but not delivered in the former Soviet Union.
The New York Times added a pitch.
“If you haven’t already, please subscribe to your local papers,” said the Times, whose opinion section also summarized other editorials across the country. “Praise them when you think they’ve done a good job and criticize them when you think they could do better. We’re all in this together.”
Some newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal and the San Francisco Chronicle, wrote editorials explaining why they weren’t joining the Globe’s effort. The Chronicle wrote that one of its most important values is independence, and going along with the crowd went against that.
The Radio Television Digital News Association, which represents more than 1,200 broadcasters and websites, is asking members to point out that journalists are friends and neighbours doing important work holding government accountable.