Trump’s threats against the press don’t have to succeed to do damage
The FCC has no authority to punish Kristen Welker for her Trump analysis. That doesn’t make the president’s threat harmless.
Those of us who write and talk about the media spent much of Monday discussing President Donald Trump’s weekend social media attack on NBC News’ Kristen Welker.
Speaking to the NBC affiliate in Washington, D.C., before “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Welker accurately noted that Trump will loom large over the upcoming midterm elections and that he has “mixed results” in terms of candidates he has endorsed.
Related Knowledge Center: The White House vs. the press
Whether it’s the Des Moines Register’s publication of an unfavorable election poll, a routine edit of a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, or the Associated Press’s decision in its authoritative stylebook to continue to use “Gulf of Mexico,” Donald Trump and the White House have used executive authority and legal reprisals in an effort to punish and suppress press coverage that runs contrary to the administration’s preferred narratives.
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Related Knowledge Center: Free speech and public protest
The First Amendment is facing challenging times: Crackdowns on campus protests prompted both-sides claims of intolerance. Attempts to head off dangerous health misinformation have been characterized as violations of free speech. Donald Trump is publicly punishing news outlets that deviate from his administration’s version of events while privately suing some outlets into submission.
The White House vs. the press | Voiceless America
Related Knowledge Center: Media and the law
Toxic politics and vast shifts in the technology landscape have created a plethora of thorny issues — both legal and ethical — for newsrooms, courts, and regulators.
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