US newspapers to Trump: We’re not enemies of the people
Newspapers from Maine to Hawaii pushed back against President Donald Trump’s attacks on “fake news” with a coordinated series of editorials in defense of a free press Thursday, and not surprisingly, Trump didn’t take it silently.
The campaign was set in motion by an editor at the Boston Globe, which argued in its own editorial that Trump’s label of the media as the enemy of the people “is as un-American as it is dangerous to the civic compact we have shared for more than two centuries.”
Trump denounced the effort on Twitter, saying the Globe was in collusion with other newspapers.
“There is nothing that I would want more for our country than true FREEDOM OF THE PRESS,” the president typed. “The fact is that the press is FREE to write and say anything it wants, but much of what it says is FAKE NEWS, pushing a political agenda or just plain trying to hurt people.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate Thursday passed a resolution with no objections saying that “the press is not the enemy of the people.”
Cognizant of heated feelings on the issue, the Globe hired extra security Thursday, said Jane Bowman, newspaper spokeswoman. “Journalistic outlets have had threats throughout time but it’s the president’s rhetoric that gives us the most concern,” Bowman said.
It was not clear how many newspapers participated. Marjorie Pritchard, the editor who launched the campaign, said earlier in the week that some350 news organizations indicated they would, but she did not immediately return messages Thursday. Even with the coordinated effort, there was some significant blowback from newspapers that wrote to say they would not participate.
The Radio Television Digital News Association called on broadcasters and websites to express support. Since Monday, there have been 2,240 mentions of either “First Amendment” or “free press” by broadcasters across the country, said Dan Shelley, the group’s executive director. One TV station, WPSD in Paducah, Kentucky, showed a copy of the First Amendment guaranteeing freedom of the press on its screen before every commercial during newscasts, he said.
“It has been a big source of conversation all across the country,” Shelley said. “Just because people are talking about it, it’s a victory in my book.”
Editorial boards at the Portland ( Maine) PressHerald and the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and many places in between weighed in to support the effort.
“The true enemies of the people— and democracy— are those who try to suffocate truth by vilifying and demonizing the messenger,” the Des Moines Register wrote.
In St. Louis, the PostDispatch called journalists “the truest of patriots.” The Chicago Sun-Times said it believed most Americans know that Trump is talking nonsense. The Fayetteville (North Carolina) Observer said it hoped Trump would stop, “but we’re not holding our breath.”
The Morning News of Savannah, Georgia, said it was a confidant of the people.
“Like any true friend, we don’t always tell you what 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.”
It remains unclear how much sway the effort will have. Newspaper editorial boards overwhelmingly opposed Trump’s election in 2016. Polls show Republicans have grown more negative toward the news media in recent years: Pew Research Center said 85 percent of Republicans and Republican- leaning independents said in June 2017 that the news media has a negative effect on the country, up from 68 percent in 2010.