The mass media or mainstream media, as many call the most popular radio and TV networks, newspapers and websites, is under fire, perhaps more than at any time in recent history. Probably every American president has criticized the media at one time or another and there were times throughout the nation’s history when journalists weren’t responsible in reporting the news or were partisan politically, but no president has attacked the media publicly like Donald Trump.
President Trump coined the name “fake news” when he hears a story he doesn’t like or sees as inaccurate, has called reporters dishonest, bad people and has gone as far as saying the press is the enemy of the people.
Even before Trump became a candidate or president there were Americans that saw the media as biased or unfair, but in today’s atmosphere, the criticism has gone beyond not believing everything that is reported. At least 34 journalists have been physically assaulted in 2017. Just last week, Walmart agreed to remove a tee-shirt the stores were selling that read “Rope. Tree. Journalist. SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED.”
The 2017 Poynter Media Trust Survey released last week found that about half the country trust the media.
Many journalists are battling back with transparency and with a renewed committment to making sure the news they report is accurate.
Tuesday’s Smart Talk addresses trust in media with Dan Shelley, Executive Director of the Radio Television Digital News Association and WITF’s Multimedia News Director Tim Lambert.
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