There has been an inordinate amount of hand-wringing of late from the media over the Trump administration’s utter disdain for the Fourth Estate.
Instead, President Trump and his minions are treating the press as a Fifth Column, the enemy of the people. The administration has lambasted newspapers, television and the reporters who cover the new president.
They have barred them from press conference scrums. They don’t call on certain reporters during media briefings.
To which I say: good. The media should be the opposition Trump speaks of so often. That’s been our job since George Washington.
It’s now interesting to watch network and media coastal elites squirm during press briefings. They have a short memory.
Presidents for decades haven’t liked the media, and the same can be said for elected officials across the governmental spectrum. President Nixon had his enemies list. It was a matter of pride to be on that list if you were a reporter or editor.
The Nixon administration, like Trump’s, railed against White House leaks and anonymous sources. That was during Watergate.
It’s easy to wrap oneself around the First Amendment when you’re in a television studio surrounded by other talking heads and doing stories based on press releases and handouts from assistant press secretaries.
Be the lone press representative at a city council or school board meeting and object when they move to go into a closed session to discuss “personnel.” Or remember the reception you get when you hand in forms for a Freedom of Information Act request.
Watch a newspaper photographer get doused with beer at an election night “victory” party by supporters — read folks beholden for jobs or contracts — of an incumbent candidate who’s getting beaten badly in a race he was supposed to win easily.
Try to get past a police line during a night of rioting and see how far a press pass will get you. You were lucky at the 1968 Democratic National Convention if you didn’t get the fat side of a police baton.
That’s called the trenches, and that’s what newspapers, radio stations and television crews do every day in this country, whether they’re big or small, rural radio stations or minor market television. They do their jobs for a lot less money than members of the White House press corps get.
They don’t whine about it. They don’t take it personally that the powerful don’t like them.
But there is that satisfaction of making a difference and helping readers, listeners and viewers. Like the story this newspaper did last month on the attempt by the Village of Beach Park to get the Illinois Department of Transportation to install improved lighting along Sheridan Road.
Since the article, Village Administrator Jon Kindseth said, “We had gotten more response and communication from IDOT than the previous four years.” In an email, Kindseth said, “We are confident that the media has played a significant role in calling much needed attention to this safety issue.”
People lost their lives along Sheridan Road because of poor lighting and antiquated traffic signals. The story pointed that out and the frustration village officials had with state government. It got the process moving. It may save lives in the future.
That’s the job of the working press, without fear or favor. Or hand-wringing.
Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor.
Twitter: @sellenews
