OPINION: Michelle Wolf’s truth bombs aren’t the only thing America’s elite journalists don’t get | Will Bunch
Over the last 36 hours, Wolf's defiantly crude but often wrongly characterized 19-minute comedy rant in front of the country's elite journalists, a gaggle of top aides from the
Wolf's monologue -- which targeted both patently dishonest Trump aides like
The case for a tough but fair, independent and not-deferential free press was best made by
It's the approach that made
It would be comical were such hatred of the media not a) the glue holding together Trump's base, keeping him at a reelection-possible 40 percent approval despite a slew of scandals and a failure to deliver much for the middle class and b) the underpinnings of a serious assault on press freedom in
Fact: Once again, the respected group Reporters Without Borders has dropped America in its annual rankings of global press freedom to 45th out of 180 nations, an embarrassing showing for a country that once boasted our 1st Amendment rights as proof of "American exceptionalism." To be fair, some of these problems predated the Trump presidency, including the war on whistleblowers (thanks, Obama) and arrests of reporters covering protests in
Fact: The laughter (or non-laughter) from Wolf's shtick had barely died down when
Fact: The memos from former FBI chief
Let me be as clear as I can be: The notion of a free press in America -- enshrined in the Bill of Rights, celebrated by earlier chroniclers of
This Saturday night at the
The problem wasn't
You guys are obsessed with Trump. Did you used to date him? Because you pretend like you hate him, but I think you love him. I think what no one in this room wants to admit is that Trump has helped all of you. He couldn't sell steaks or vodka or water or college or ties or Eric, but he has helped you. He's helped you sell your papers and your books and your TV. You helped create this monster, and now you're profiting off of him.
What happened in the hours after Wolf's routine landed essentially proved her right. The reaction was furious and much of it was predictable, but the majority of big-name, well-paid journalists in that room rallied not behind the teller of painfully uncomfortable truths but behind the people who regularly abuse them with falsehoods and deceitful spin. Reporters from news orgs who've made millions off subscriptions by marketing "the truth" or keeping democracy lit now showed that their highest values are "civility" and "unity," which sure looks like unabashed deference.
The most disappointing thing was watching journalists that I've admired for things they've done in the past --
But even more humiliating -- especially for anyone who works in journalism -- was the statement issued on Sunday by the leadership of the
A truly free press is cacophonous, messy, loud, and divisive -- much like Wolf's monologue. Too often, calls for a "unifying" message and "civility," in this context, are used to stifle diversity of thought. Talev's pitiful missive reads like a hostage note from a media elite that has already been bulldozed into submission. And when the American media can be so easily bullied and humiliated by fear of the president, then our press is already not free.
And now it's going to get worse. It's hard to imagine anything that could have been more disastrous for the American journalism at this precarious moment than the 2018 White House Correspondents' Dinner. To the haters on the far right, the event only served to fuel every grievance -- some legitimate (black-tie journalists sucking up to celebrities and the powerful they cover, out of touch with the average American) and some ridiculous (the lie that Sanders' looks were mocked, or the fainting spell over Wolf's crudity by these supporters of "
How can we pull press freedom back from the ledge?
The White House Correspondents' Dinner needs to end, yesterday. I'm hard-pressed to think of any institution in America that -- with its clueless elitism -- does more to harm the very cause it was created to promote. Replace it with a new mass movement of all journalists -- not just the boldface names but the fearless folks who hold local folks accountable from Peoria to
It's time to end "access journalism" as we know it. As the
Stop treating the present crisis in
Because Flint still doesn't have clean water.
___
(c)2018 Philly.com
Visit Philly.com at www.philly.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Medicare surveys call for corrections at Palomar Medical Center
Group to submit 60,000 signatures for Medicaid expansion in Idaho. Here’s what’s next.
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News