American journalists and media institutions seem critically unprepared to cope with the bad faith and corruption coming out of their own government. Repeatedly played by Trump, network executives appear capable of rationalizing any decision. If he came out to announce a coup, they would probably go ahead and broadcast it on the basis of its newsworthiness. It’s a sharp contrast with the skill of American correspondents dealing with hostile administrations abroad. [...]
This isn’t entirely new thinking. Within days of Trump’s win in November 2016, Masha Gessen, who had reported from Russia, published her widely read piece on surviving autocracy, writing that “the national press is likely to be among the first institutional victims” and warning reporters they would likely face the possibility of losing access if they pushed officials too hard. [...]
I saw some of this DRA thinking with MSNBC’s decision late last year. The channel had decided not to air a White House press conference. That move attracted a ton of attention, but it shouldn’t have. U.S. cable broadcasters’ habit of pro forma distributing White House briefings should stop. Propaganda from the administration should be given no more credibility or time than American media gives to Nicolás Maduro’s daily rants or Xi Jinping’s patriarchal videos. This doesn’t mean instinctively dismissing them but instead evaluating the government as they would any other country’s rather than instinctively following its every demand. [...]
In China, it became kind of a thing for outgoing correspondents to produce their juiciest stories in the final months of their stay, on their way out and when officials had the least leverage to punish them (such as by threatening to revoke their press credentials). Not giving a single solitary fuck can produce some great reporting. When it became clear my own stay in China had an expiration date—officials had indicated they would expel me—I went to town my final month, investigating extralegal detention centers by barging right into facilities and interviewing a rights attorney against the direct wishes of state security.
No comments:
Post a Comment