Alarm bells: Trump’s first 100 days ramp up fear for the press, democracy

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ): “The first 100 days of the Trump administration have been marked by a flurry of executive actions that have created a chilling effect and have the potential to curtail media freedoms. These measures threaten the availability of independent, fact-based news for vast swaths of America’s population. CPJ has noted a significant increase in the number of newsrooms seeking safety advice, concerned that the changing national political environment could threaten their ability to report without fear of retribution from authorities. This report provides a snapshot of the Trump administration’s policies that directly affect press freedom. The fate of American democracy and journalists’ ability to work without fear are intertwined. The blitz of policy changes from the White House and its appointees set a concerning tone for local governments domestically, and authoritarian-minded rulers globally, and has deepend a climate of hostility toward journalists.  CPJ is calling on the public, the media, civil society, and all branches, levels, and institutions of government – from municipalities to the U.S. Supreme Court – to safeguard press freedom to help secure the future of American democracy. (Read the full list of CPJ’s recommendations here).

In this report, CPJ made the following findings:

• Changes in the procedures that govern White House access and the makeup of the press pool, the group of journalists with regular access to the president in small, closed events, have the potential to set a precedent by which presidents pick and choose the media that cover them most closely. In the case of The Associated Press, its exclusion from many pool events deprives its thousands of news outlet subscribers which rely primarily on AP for their Washington coverage, access to fact-based, nonpartisan, and real-time news from the White House.
• Major news outlets are unsure how to react to increased pressure from the White House, and owners and journalists alike are facing the choice of whether to placate the president or risk losing access.
• Critics believe that the Federal Communications Commission and other regulatory agencies have become increasingly politicized in their work. While it is common for a president to appoint agency heads that are sympathetic to their views, some of the current administration’s appointments have raised concerns that this administration has taken this to a new level in what one expert told CPJ was “Nixon on steroids.” This sense of uncertainty coupled with Trump’s own harsh rhetoric and behavior has set newsrooms on edge.
• The White House’s call to deprive public broadcasters NPR and PBS of government funding has opened the possibility that millions of Americans who rely on these stations and their affiliates, especially in the nation’s growing “news deserts,” might lose access to their valuable news and information programming.
• Reopening FCC investigations into CBS, ABC, and NBC has created a heightened sense of concern among newsrooms. Journalists covering issues viewed as important by the Trump administration, such as immigration, have expressed concern about increased scrutiny and the possibility of retribution for their reporting…”