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A look back and a look at the next four years – Poynter

Harry November 8, 2024

What a week it was.

Donald Trump completed one of the most improbable comebacks in US political history by overcoming defeat in the 2020 presidential election to regain the White House with a decisive victory over Kamala Harris.

Trump is one of the most polarizing, confusing and controversial figures our nation has ever seen. His unorthodox political style started a movement that resonated with at least half the country. He has controlled the Republican Party for the past nine years and has now won the White House twice, even though he has campaigned and said and done things that would have kept him from being taken seriously at any time in our history to lead a nation. Some of these include relentless attacks on his enemies, including the press.

It is this style and the ever-evolving media environment that has caused the journalism world to constantly reexamine how it has covered Trump and how it should cover him in the future. And he’s asking these questions as he wonders whether Trump will follow through on many of his threats to the press.

That’s why I reached out to analysts and experts in the media world to get their views on how the press is covering Trump and what to expect over the next four years with Trump as president.

Here’s what they told me.

Longtime media reporter and former Washington Post staffer Paul Farhi:

I’m not sure what “the press” is anymore and what the speakers mean when they talk about it. The New York Times, The Washington Post, NBC, CBS, CNN, Fox, USA Today? Yes. The Atlantic, NPR, PBS, BBC and Associated Press? Yes again. A thousand local newspapers? OK. Talking to the radio? So… Podcasts? Hmm… TikTok, X and social media? Now stop right there! But they all have “impact” and they all contribute to the “news” and public perception of the day.

I think this gets even more complicated when you break down what any given news organization is. People like to say that CNN (or The Washington Post or whatever) is biased or unfair. But what they really mean is, “I didn’t like what Scott Jennings said on the panel last night or what Jennifer Rubin said in her column this morning.” Thus, sensitivity disappears.

Do I think the relatively small number of beat reporters are adequately covering the issues of this campaign? Certainly. With a few clicks, you can find solid reports on nearly every aspect of the campaign (you can also find plenty of crappy reports, too). But that’s an extremely small part of the flow of information these days, and it’s not how anyone gets the information that shapes their perceptions and votes.

Eric Deggans, NPR’s TV critic and longtime media analyst:

I know there are many people who will debate how mainstream news outlets covered Harris and Trump, claiming double standards. I think traditional news media has always had a hard time communicating Trump’s dysfunction and how to be honest about his excesses while remaining fair. I also think there has been a lot of coverage across multiple news outlets to give the public a clear idea of who he is.

But there is an increasingly powerful alternative news establishment, with Fox News at the center, dedicated to explaining much of the criticism of Trump, over-criticizing his political enemies, and supporting conservative causes. I sat on a journalism panel last year and said that the biggest challenge facing mainstream media is that millions of Americans won’t believe our news, even if we get it right. And I fear that this dynamic has impacted the presidential election in ways we are only just beginning to grasp.

Dan Kennedy, Northeastern University School of Journalism professor, media observer, and author of:Media Nation”:

Despite complaints from Democrats and critics about mainstream news outlets’ coverage of both parties, especially the New York Times, by far the most damaging media outlet is Fox News. Essentially, this is the propaganda arm of Trumpworld, and its viewers distance themselves from any source of information that doesn’t align with their pre-existing views or Fox’s agenda. This means that a large portion of the population is essentially inaccessible when it comes to reliable news and information. But don’t get me wrong; The Times and its brethren also need to clean up their act, placing more emphasis on placing truth over false equivalence.

Neil Brown, president of the Poynter Institute and former editor of the Tampa Bay Times:

Is there a role in the results? I’m not sure about this framing because it suggests that press coverage should be judged on a particular outcome. The press is vital to keeping people informed so they can participate in elections, form their own opinions, decide what is right for them and be reasonable. Media sources, from major national outlets to local news outlets, social media content creators, podcasters, and more, have presented people with information they find useful, entertaining, thought-provoking, perhaps something that will stir their emotions or make them feel better. reject or ignore. That’s the role.

It seemed to me that there was no shortage of coverage of Trump or Harris in many forms. Overall, I would argue that the press did a good job and that there is no concrete misunderstanding about the two candidates due to inaccurate or inadequate media coverage.

Paul Farhi:

Fasten your seat belts. Since 2015, Trump has made trashing the mainstream media part of his brand. He’ll keep doing it (because it’s effective) and he’ll get better at it (because he’s had a lot of practice his first semester). And this time, no one will stand in the way of your worst and angriest instincts.

Eric Deggans:

I think fearless, independent journalism is at serious risk right now. When Jeff Bezos, owner of The Washington Post, issued a free congratulatory text to Trump shortly after his newspaper lost more than 200,000 subscriptions due to his action to eliminate Harris’ endorsement, consumers are wondering which news source they can trust. And journalists are wondering how Trump, who has often talked about wanting revenge on news organizations he feels have wronged him, will react to the harsh news.

The conservative-focused media bubble has distorted even what many people believe is fair news coverage and increased the amount of misinformation and disinformation in the public sphere. But I think one of the biggest problems facing mainstream news organizations right now is the belief among non-conservative consumers that coverage of this election cycle has failed them by “mindwashing” them and normalizing Trump’s excesses. Having already lost the trust of conservative consumers, traditional journalists now face declining trust from remaining news consumers, which is not a good combination.

Dan Kennedy:

It’s worse than the first four years, when Trump’s White House was disorganized and full of aides who leaked to the press to prevent the president from acting on his impulses. I think we will see much more disciplined work from now on. As Trump continues to rail against the media as the “enemy of the people” and make disgusting jokes about shooting journalists, those around him will try to turn that anger into policies like weakening libel protections and challenging local broadcasting licenses. by networks and continues to delegitimize accurate reporting.

Neil Brown:

For journalists and news companies, just as for politicians, it’s all about the ground game. When we get caught up in conventions of macro analysis of things like the economy, crime, or climate, consumers fail to connect or find relevance. Or they think our stories require them to see a bigger picture that doesn’t actually resonate with their daily lives. In this case, journalism ceases to be mandatory and becomes optional. We need to close the reality gap between our so-called nuts-and-bolts graphs of meaning and what audiences and communities actually experience. So the challenge is not entirely new. Don’t define all your news in terms of “Trump.” If he or those in power take action, take a deeper look at what that involves and what happens as a result. Our stories need to be narrower and deeper to be relevant to people.

Donald Trump’s open disdain for the media creates challenges that must of course be resolved. They must continue to be held accountable for their actions and words; the national press corps now has good experience in this regard after years of covering it. Still, there’s a balance between getting caught up in attempts to portray us as the enemy and reporting that feels shorthand. We need reporting on Trump and everyone in power that is rigorous, provides context, and is as transparent as possible about where the information comes from. And we must avoid falling into the trap of being out of breath with each new development.

At the local and small newsroom level, we need to commit to ground-level news coverage that gives people a whiff of reality. If we say “politics is local”, we really need to accept that every news is local.

And now there’s more media news, tidbits and interesting links for the weekend review…

With the Atlantic’s Jennifer Senior “Focus on What Matters.”
Columnists of The Washington Post “He’s back. Thirteen columnists tell us what worries them most about Trump’s return and why they are optimistic.”
My Poynter colleague Angela Fu, “After the initial ‘podcast election,’ media is likely to continue to play a role in future campaign cycles.”
Another one from Poynter. With Fernanda Camarena “Once again, the mainstream media misunderstood Latino voters.”
With Boston Globe’s Aiden Ryan “How did Trump avoid the mainstream media and win the presidency?”
With Eric Lipton, Kirsten Grind, David A. Fahrenthold and Theodore Schleifer of the New York Times “Elon Musk Helped Trump Get Elected. What Does He Expect in Return?
Rob Gillies of the Associated Press “Canada orders termination of TikTok’s business in Canada but does not block the app.”
New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin reports Washington Post CEO Will Lewis notified staff that they are expected to work in the office five days a week starting in February. Mullin also reports: The Post Guild is unhappy with the plan, saying they are “troubled” by the announcement and that “the Post intends to create an inflexible and outdated working from office policy that does not reflect the reality of our jobs or lives.” ”
With Neil Shah of the Wall Street Journal “Bob Dylan is on X. Is he kidding us?”
Last week, ESPN analyst (and former NFL star) Jason Kelce had a run-in with a sports fan, which resulted in Kelce grabbing a phone from the fan’s hand and smashing it to the ground (which many thought was for a good reason). Anyway, Kelce apologized, saying he felt bad for taking hate with hate. Candace Buckner of the Washington Post writes: “The devilish question for Jason Kelce and all of us: How to respond to hate?”