Thanks Austin. I couldn’t agree more. Most Presidents and administrations have gone after the press at points in their terms. But, at the risk of cliche, we seem to be operating now in a perfect storm that risks obliterating what’s left of serious accountability journalism in the US: the massive decline in independent, in-depth, hard reporting journalism; the constant law breaking and corruption of the Trump Administration that cries out for press coverage and review; the increasing subservience of business leaders as they consolidate media control; and the unprecedented level of attacks on the remaining sources of accountability focused reporting.
In a time when rightwing influencers and their sort promulgate all kinds of nonsense, that the Justice Department would now go after NYT reporters makes clear how this admin fears the freedom of the legitimate press, i.e., with long established, tried and proven, policies, source-checking and cross referencing, practiced by trained and experienced journalists and editors ... the NYT is not some run-of-the-mill rag/podcast/substack outta Alabama. I suspect nothing will come of this, but it'll be a costly process (financially and emotionally) for these reporters, their families, and the NYT.
Thanks Austin. I couldn’t agree more. Most Presidents and administrations have gone after the press at points in their terms. But, at the risk of cliche, we seem to be operating now in a perfect storm that risks obliterating what’s left of serious accountability journalism in the US: the massive decline in independent, in-depth, hard reporting journalism; the constant law breaking and corruption of the Trump Administration that cries out for press coverage and review; the increasing subservience of business leaders as they consolidate media control; and the unprecedented level of attacks on the remaining sources of accountability focused reporting.
In a time when rightwing influencers and their sort promulgate all kinds of nonsense, that the Justice Department would now go after NYT reporters makes clear how this admin fears the freedom of the legitimate press, i.e., with long established, tried and proven, policies, source-checking and cross referencing, practiced by trained and experienced journalists and editors ... the NYT is not some run-of-the-mill rag/podcast/substack outta Alabama. I suspect nothing will come of this, but it'll be a costly process (financially and emotionally) for these reporters, their families, and the NYT.
Thank you for this post.