Toledo Blade staffers blast managers’ edict
As Toledo Blade staffers, like journalists everywhere, scrambled Wednesday to document the attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob incited by the president, they say a curious edict came down from management: To avoid calling the rioters “Trump supporters” in web headlines and to change stories and photo captions to say that others might be involved in the violence.
To the paper’s staff, the intent was clear, said Nolan Rosenkrans, a Blade reporter and head of the Toledo News Guild.
“The goal was simply to cast doubt on what everyone saw live on TV, which was Trump supporters attempting to conduct a coup,” Rosenkrans said.
“Some people were calling for boycotts of the paper, and it’s already a really tough time in journalism,” he added. “We wanted to send the message that we’re on the same side. Do not give up on us.”