Media, Don’t Play Trump’s Game of Divide and Conquer

Media, Don’t Play Trump’s Game of Divide and Conquer

Media, Don’t Play Trump’s Game of Divide and Conquer

Journalists should remember that we all face a common threat from an administration that is hostile to the very notion of freedom of the press.

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Nineteen years ago Tuesday, The Drudge Report introduced the world to Monica Lewinsky and changed journalism forever. Now, at a time when sensationalism and salacious headlines are again dominating the news, the media industry is confronting one of the toughest challenges it has faced at any time since: how to cover President Trump.

Clearly emboldened by the media malpractice that defined much of 2016, Trump has been testing journalists on a near-daily basis since winning the election. He has attempted to manipulate press coverage through early-morning Twitter rampages, trumped up job-creation announcements, and, most recently, the farcical news conference he convened last week, the ostensible purpose of which was to discuss how he’ll avoid conflicts of interest in his business dealings. (Spoiler: He won’t.) Taking questions from reporters for the first time since July, Trump marked the occasion by berating news organizations for running stories he didn’t like about his campaign’s purported coordination with Russia.

In fairness, BuzzFeed’s decision to publish the unverified contents of a sensationalistic dossier compiled by a former British intelligence official detailing Trump’s alleged Russian contacts was a matter of legitimate disagreement among journalists. But the whole spectacle was also a timely reminder that the media, like the rest of the country, are entering uncharted territory as Trump assumes the presidency. And in this brave new world, if we hope to succeed in holding power to account, we’re going to have to step up our game.

Read the full text of Katrina’s column here.

We cannot back down

We now confront a second Trump presidency.

There’s not a moment to lose. We must harness our fears, our grief, and yes, our anger, to resist the dangerous policies Donald Trump will unleash on our country. We rededicate ourselves to our role as journalists and writers of principle and conscience.

Today, we also steel ourselves for the fight ahead. It will demand a fearless spirit, an informed mind, wise analysis, and humane resistance. We face the enactment of Project 2025, a far-right supreme court, political authoritarianism, increasing inequality and record homelessness, a looming climate crisis, and conflicts abroad. The Nation will expose and propose, nurture investigative reporting, and stand together as a community to keep hope and possibility alive. The Nation’s work will continue—as it has in good and not-so-good times—to develop alternative ideas and visions, to deepen our mission of truth-telling and deep reporting, and to further solidarity in a nation divided.

Armed with a remarkable 160 years of bold, independent journalism, our mandate today remains the same as when abolitionists first founded The Nation—to uphold the principles of democracy and freedom, serve as a beacon through the darkest days of resistance, and to envision and struggle for a brighter future.

The day is dark, the forces arrayed are tenacious, but as the late Nation editorial board member Toni Morrison wrote “No! This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

I urge you to stand with The Nation and donate today.

Onwards,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

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